About Me

Hi! My name is Clarissa, or Claire for short. Since I started wearing glasses at the age of 6, I decided that optometry would be a good career choice. I've been with Kaiser Permanente for over 25 years.

Biography

I am originally from Chicago and lived most of my early years in the Midwest area. I started my undergraduate work at Purdue University in Indiana. After 2 years at Purdue, my family decided to get away from the freezing-cold winters and move to sunny California. So I resumed and finished my undergraduate work at UC Irvine. Since I wanted to stay in Southern California, I decided to attend the Southern California College of Optometry. After graduating from optometry school, I took a few months to do a little traveling. My call of duty finally came, and I decided to start working with Kaiser Permanente. At that time, I thought that I would work with Kaiser Permanente for 2 years to get my feet on the ground and then start a private practice. Since the clinical setting at Kaiser Permanente seemed to fit my lifestyle, I decided to stay with Kaiser Permanente and keep practicing here.

About my practice

I am presently at the Yorba Linda Medical Offices with 4 other great optometrists. There is also an outstanding staff for the Ophthalmology and Optical Departments. If you add Optometry to the group, we're known as "The 3 Os." I provide general eye and contact lens examinations. Our contact lens program allows us to get some of the latest contact lenses on the market, so that members get some of the best technology that is available. Along with the contact lens practice, I also have been certified for the therapeutic management of the eye and am certified for treatment of glaucoma.

How I thrive

During my time off, I enjoy spending time with my husband and 3 dogs. My mom and dad also live with us, so I also enjoy spending time with and taking care of them as they did with my sister and I growing up. My husband and I are also busy taking care of our avocado grove, since we live in the rural area of Southern California. So we do get our exercise climbing those hills! If time allows, we'll occasionally go to the movies, play bingo, or go to the auto shows and races.