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Janelle Davison, OD

CEO/Founder
Brilliant Eyes Vision Center and Premier Dry Eye Spa
Smyrna, Georgia

CHOSEN BECAUSE… “Dr. Janelle Davison initiated a new optical solution for the eyecare industry, Paradeyem, a software program that allows package bundling for patients with and without insurance. This program takes the guess work out of calculating co-pays and it helps opticals increase their revenue.”





Janelle L. Davison, OD, is the CEO and founder of Brilliant Eyes Vision Center and Premier Dry Eye Spa in Smyrna, Ga. She’s been in the optical industry for more than 20 years, first working as an optometric assistant in the early 2000s. After graduating from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry at Salus University in 2006, she worked in a corporate setting for a year, and as an independent contractor for three years. In 2010, she started her own practice as a solo practitioner.

Her office specializes in dry eye, optometry aesthetics, scleral contacts, and myopia management. Over the years, she has partnered with CTAE Cobb County Work-Based Learning and S.C.O.R.E. Inc., a nonprofit (founded by Dr. Jamison and her sister, Joya Lyons, DDS) to expose, empower and encourage minority girls to pursue a career in health care, specifically optometry, ophthalmology and dentistry. Over the past 12 years, over 50 high school minority female students have matriculated through her office.

“The pandemic has taught us that tomorrow is not promised,” Davison said, “During the pandemic, we learned to become more efficient, elevate our customer service and expand our practice services. Every day we use the Paradeyem Optical Solutions tool, [which] has allowed us to see fewer patients and increase our revenue per patient by 30 percent in one year.” She developed Paradeyem with her business partner and husband, Jimmie Davison.

SHE SAYS… “It brings me great joy when a patient of color is excited to see me, a black woman as a doctor, business owner and community leader.”


Carissa Dunphy, ABOC

Founder
OpticianNow
Optician
Monroe Vision Clinic
Monroe, Washington

CHOSEN BECAUSE… “Carissa is influential because of her dedication to bettering the world of optical. She has recently hit 10k followers on her Instagram page, OpticianNow, where she continuously educates opticians. She is a RealDeal writer for Invision Magazine, ROWT Magazine, Optical Women’s Association, and Women In Optometry. Carissa is a wealth of knowledge and deserves to be recognized for her efforts in changing our industry for the better.”





Carissa Dunphy began her optical career in 2008, working at the front desk of a private optometry practice. She then moved into a technician role and gained her ABO certification, and has worked as an optician ever since.

While working as a full-time optician, Dunphy founded OpticianNow.com, a website and social channels that provide resources for opticians. Dunphy explained that she is driven by an inspiration “to stay up to date with product knowledge to best help the needs of any patient that may come into my care. It rings true that the one gem you learn off-hand will provide a solution that makes one patient’s life exponentially better. Professionally I am inspired to educate and share knowledge to better the opticianry profession as a whole.”

Dunphy has made a huge impact on opticians everywhere. She said, “I’d like to think that I have helped people find their path. I’m an advocate for trying different things out to find the right fit.”

SHE SAYS… “Don’t let a lack of resources slow you down, go out and find them. Whatever you’re needing, it’s out there for you. Join online forums or groups, be a part of associations, and help others. In turn you will be helping yourself—a rising tide raises all ships.”


Alice Hsueh

Senior Director, U.S. Daily Disposable Brand Marketing and Digital Strategy
CooperVision
San Ramon, California

CHOSEN BECAUSE… “Alice Hsueh is a true innovator and leader, driving groundbreaking opportunities in both sustainability and presbyopia—and elevating them not only for CooperVision, but for the contact lens category and eyecare industry as a whole.”





Alice Hsueh, senior director, U.S. daily disposable brand marketing and digital strategy at CooperVision, grew up with very high myopia and astigmatism. Her life was directly affected by eyecare professionals, optical innovations, and the industry, and her interest and passion for the optical field is perpetually renewed by her own personal experiences.

Hsueh joined CooperVision’s global team in 2013 as marketing director of 1-day brands. In 2020, she was promoted to her current role. She earned a master’s degree in business administration from Cornell University and a bachelor’s degree from Babson College. Prior to joining CooperVision, she held a variety of marketing roles at Johnson & Johnson and worked as a consultant for Accenture. Hsueh has led more than nine product launches, including the most recent, MyDay multifocal from CooperVision.

Hsueh’s mentors include Jerry Warner, president of CooperVision, who gave her the opportunity to help CooperVision establish a foothold in the global daily disposable market.

Sustainability is a core value of CooperVision, and Hsueh cited the company’s net plastic neutrality initiative, which has removed the equivalent of more than 57 million plastic bottles from the world’s oceans. In addition, 87 percent of prospective contact lens wearers agree that wearing Clariti 1 Day is an easy way to have a positive impact on the environment.

SHE SAYS… “My advice is when we consider innovations, we must lean into the voice of our customers. By listening closely, we can develop technologies and programs that offer tangible value to our doctors and patients.”


Rachel Oakley

Segment Marketing Manager, Specialist Plastics,
Eastman
Rotterdam, The Netherlands

CHOSEN BECAUSE… Thanks to her dedication and leadership, Rachel led her team to quickly drive wide, and seamless adoption of circular Renew material—from affordable to luxury eyewear, among smaller independents as well as large multinational companies. She also engaged manufacturers and brands in developing compelling messaging and communication tools to convey a simple yet transparent explanation of molecular recycling technology and its sustainability benefits. Rachel is passionate about making sustainability accessible to all and has been critical in creating a better circle for eyewear.”





Rachel Oakley parlayed her business management and marketing experience into her role at Eastman when she joined the company in 2019. One of her main roles is to drive the adoption of sustainable materials into all types of eyewear. In doing so, she has helped introduce Eastman Acetate Renew, a fully sustainable material made from bio- and recycled content, now used by more than a dozen of the biggest names in eyewear.

She has also championed new concepts to create circularity in the eyewear industry, such as the demo lens to Acetate Renew’s recycling program that was recently launched with Warby Parker.

Oakley is passionate about helping companies become more sustainable in the optical industry. She takes pride in the small part she is playing in reducing plastic waste and keeping fossil materials in the ground. Supported by her team, she has helped Eastman and the optical industry overcome the many challenges in bringing sustainable materials to market.

SHE SAYS… “I meet women in all sorts of roles from engineering, production, design, product development, brand management, marketing communications, as well as eyecare professionals. I think I would recommend the industry for the diversity of career paths, and the supportive nature of the industry.”


Christina Olney

VP Digital Marketing
MyEyeDr.
Vienna, Virginia

CHOSEN BECAUSE… “Christina joined MyEyeDr. in November of 2020 to help lead the transformation in marketing at MyEyeDr. She hit the ground running and led the selection and migration of our CRM system to a new platform to allow for more advanced personalization of our patient communications.”





When Christina joined MyEyDr., she had already worked in digital marketing roles in various sectors. In her role at MyEyeDr. she has helped introduce new patients to the company through paid media and retain existing customers through CRM communications. She has also helped revamp patient communications to give the organziation the ability to create more personalized messaging for their patients. She believes having the ability to tailor the right messaging for each patient allows an organization to extend their commitment to personalized care for patients.

Olney has found inspiration from the stories she hears every day from optometrists and in-office teams about the impact they have on their patients’ lives, using the results to learn from these great experiences. Her own experience requiring vision correction as a child also had a huge impact on her goal to provide the best vision solutions for patients.

During her time in the optical industry, she has seen all the ways that great vision care can enhance someone’s quality of life, from ensuring that children can see clearly and have the opportunity to excel in school to hearing about serious medical conditions that were first identified through vision care.

SHE SAYS… “Always take advantage of opportunities to learn about your industry from a different perspective or from colleagues you don’t work closely with, even if it’s not immediately obvious how it’s connected to the immediate task you’re working on. Often the best insights and ideas come from having a broader perspective.”


Amanda Rights, OD

Optometrist, Founder and Creative Director
SimplifEYE Social, OptomEyesLife
Boone, North Carolina

CHOSEN BECAUSE… “She’s an innovative trailblazer who helps other optometrists grow and succeed by keeping them at the top of their social game.”





For busy ODs and practice owners, keeping up with social media trends is extremely valuable, but also a huge time drain. Amanda Rights, OD—an optometrist by trade and creative innovator in her free time—helps solve that challenge.

Dr. Rights started her career as an ophthalmic technician in 2010. In a twist of fate, she later joined the same practice as an associate optometrist in 2017, where she still practices today.

Along the way, she launched another exciting journey—helping others harness the power of social platforms.

In 2015, she started an Instagram account (@optomeyeslife) and blog to share eye health content. This opened doors for her to share her expertise through workshops, courses and speaking engagements at industry trade shows, as well as become a contributing writer for industry magazines and other media outlets.

From there, her creative journey blossomed even further.

“Through my experience using social media to build a brand, I founded SimplifEYE Social in 2020 to give fellow eyecare professionals the creative tools and strategies they need to bring their own brand and business into the spotlight online,” she said. “It’s a boutique content marketing company that helps others in the industry eliminate their content creation overwhelm and simplify their social media marketing.”

SHE SAYS… “I have dual backgrounds in both art and optometry, which gives me the unique skills, perspective and experience needed to expertly create eye-catching designs and informative content for the eye-care industry. I love that I get to flex my creativity while also incorporating my passion for eyecare and eyewear.”