Board of Directors
And Advisors
PAUL LEVINE O.D., FIAOMC
PRESIDENT, EDUCATION COMMITTEE CHAIR
Dr. Paul Levine graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1992 and earned his Doctorate with honors from the New England College of Optometry in 1997. He completed a one-year residency in Primary Care Optometry at the South Boston Community Health Center. He co-founded Vision Care Specialists in Southborough, Massachusetts in 2004. In addition to primary eye care for patients of all ages, Dr. Levine specializes in Orthokeratology and Specialty Contact Lenses. He is a Certified WAVE designer as well.
CHERYL CHAPMAN, O.D., FIAOMC
Dr. Chapman works in private practice in Gretna, Nebraska. She has instituted a full-scope myopia management clinic within her practice and works tirelessly at spreading myopia management knowledge. In addition to working one-on-one with doctors to implement practice protocols, she lectures within the optometric community as well as to local pediatricians and ophthalmologists. Serving as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of the Incarnate Word Rosenberg School of Optometry, Dr. Chapman also enjoys working closely in training 4th-year extern students in current myopia management strategies. She is a graduate of the University of Houston College of Optometry, has an undergraduate degree from Creighton University, and lives in Omaha, Nebraska with her husband and six children.
CAROLINE KAUFMAN, O.D.
Dr. Caroline Kaufman is originally from Alaska. She has been a practicing Optometrist since 1994 and has owned Factoria Eye Clinic since 2005. Dr. Kaufman is a wonderful doctor who takes the time to give thorough, accurate exams. She has a passion for fitting Orthokeratology, as well as Rigid Gas Permeable, Scleral, and hybrid lenses for specific eye diseases or hard to fit contact lens prescriptions. Her perfectionist tendencies and love of what she does sets her apart in the contact lens world. When she is not at the office, she is spending time with her husband, who is also a practicing Optometrist in Sammamish, and her two amazing boys. She enjoys spending time hiking, practicing yoga, or hanging out at the lake.
CAROLINE CAUCHI, O.D., FIAOMC
Dr. Caroline Guerrero Cauchi graduated from the UC Berkeley School of Optometry and has been in private practice since 1980. She is the managing partner of a three-doctor practice in La Mesa California – a suburb of San Diego. She is a Fellow and Board Member of the AAOMC, a member of the International Society of Advanced Orthokeratology, and a certified Wave fitter. Prior to changing career paths for optometry, Dr. Cauchi was trained in the field of Human Behavior and Psychology. She worked as a therapist/teacher for physically and emotionally challenged children and later with Project Head Start developing programs to integrate challenged children into the classroom. This background in psychology has provided her with unique skills to understand patient motivation, compliance, and behavior. As one of the few Latina healthcare professionals in San Diego, she gives back to her community by participating in several mentoring programs for students from underprivileged backgrounds. She also serves as a role model and speaker promoting optometry and college attendance to high-risk youth with programs hosted by UCSD, SDSU, community colleges, grammar, and high schools.
DENNIS LEUNG, O.D., FIAOMC
Dr. Leung graduated in 1984 from New England College of Optometry, Boston, Massachusetts. He was a member of the Beta Sigma Kappa Optometric Honor Society and is currently a board member of the American Academy of Orthokeratology and Myopia Control (formerly the OAA). Dr. Leung is also affiliated with the California Optometric Association and American Optometric Association. Dr. Leung is a certified Controlled Substance Agent and Diagnostic and Therapeutic Pharmaceutical Agent. He also holds certification for the Treatment of Glaucoma and Corneal Refractive Therapy (CRT).
SAMI G. EL HAGE, O.D., PH.D., D.SC., FIAOMC
Prof. Sami G. El Hage, O.D., Ph.D., D.Sc. received his O.D. degree from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry, and his Ph.D. and D.Sc. from the University of Paris. He is a former student and colleague of Professor Yves Le Grand in Paris, France. He has taught at the University of Paris and the University Of Houston College Of Optometry, where he was a tenured full professor and graduate faculty at the age of 33. He has lectured extensively nationally and internationally. He was invited by the British Council to the City University in London, for post-doctoral work. He initiated the Corneal Research Laboratory at Professor Herbert Schober “Institut fur Mediziniche Optik der Universitat Munchen”, in Munich, He was invited by Professor Vasco Ronchi of the “Istituto Nazionale Di Ottica” in Florence – Arcetri He was elected as an honorary fellow of the “Collegio de Optometrista de Venezuela”. He received the Grand Honors Award of the National Eye Research Foundation in 1983. He received the 2005 Founders Award at the Global Orthokeratology Symposium meeting in Chicago. He serves as a consultant to several scientific and board organizations. He is a member of several societies, the American Academy of Optometry, the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, The European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons, the French Society of Ophthalmology, and many other organizations. He has published numerous articles and chapters in scientific journals and books. He also co-authored a book with Professor Yves Le Grand on the optics of the eye, published by Springer Verlag. Professor El Hage holds several patents and trademarks on corneal topography and contact lens design; he maintains a private practice in Houston, Texas.
BRUCE KOFFLER, MD
Dr. Bruce H. Koffler, MD is a fellowship-trained ophthalmic surgeon who completed his training in Cornea and External Disease at the Georgetown University Center for Sight in Washington, D.C. in 1979. Dr. Koffler served as an Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology and the Director of the Corneal and External Disease services at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine from 1979 to 1987. During his tenure, he developed the University of Kentucky Lions Eye Bank in 1980 and served as its Medical Director from 1981 to 1987.
ABRAHAM ZLATIN, O.D., FIAOMC
Dr. Zlatin is the owner and founder of Eye Q Optometrist in New York. He holds a Doctorate from the New England College of Optometry and is a longstanding member of the American Optometric Association, and the New York State Optometric Association. He is also a proud member of The American Academy of Orthokeratology and Myopia Control. He is the New York States’ first Fellowship-trained Orthokeratologist. In 2002 he became one of the first doctors to be FDA Certified in the procedure of Corneal Refractive Therapy. Dr. Zlatin’s patient care interests include specialty contact lenses, Scleral lenses and pediatric eye care, and myopia control. He is a provider for the InfantSee program, which affords all infants between the ages of 6 and 12 months a comprehensive eye examination at no charge to the family. He provides for the treatment and management of eye disease and visual disorders for patients of all ages. He is fluent in Hebrew and English.
MICHAEL D. TWA, O.D., PH.D, FAAO
Dr. Twa was appointed Dean of the College of Optometry on June 1, 2019. He previously served as a faculty member at the college from 2007 to 2014. From 2014 to 2019, Dr. Twa served as the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Optometry. His undergraduate training in biology was completed at UC San Diego and his clinical doctoral training in optometry was completed at UC Berkeley. He practiced for more than 10 years in the department of ophthalmology at UC San Diego before pursuing a Ph.D. in machine learning, data sciences, and biomedical image analysis at the Ohio State University. Dr. Twa currently serves as a grant reviewer for the NIH/NEI, he is a member of the AOA Council on Research, the AAO Research Committee, and is the current Editor in Chief of Optometry and Vision Science.
SOMI OH, O.D., FIAOMC
Dr. Oh received her Doctor of Optometry degree with high honors from the School of Optometry at U.C. Berkeley and has been successfully practicing optometry in the Bay Area since 1983. She has helped open five practices and has a long history of excellence in all aspects of optometric care, including diagnosis and treatment of vision problems and ocular health. She specializes in practicing corrective vision therapy, hard to fit lens and Orthokeratology, a non-surgical procedure/form of myopia control to eliminate or reduce myopia and/or astigmatism. She is an industry pioneer, particularly in corrective therapy with children, and has taught internationally and published papers on the subject. She brought Orthokeratology, known as DreamLens to Seoul, Korea in 1993. Dr. Oh prides herself in providing excellent family eye care for clear vision and long term eye health.
ANITH PILLAI, O.D.
Dr. Pillai received his undergraduate degree from the University of Texas at Austin and his Doctor of Optometry from the University Of Houston College Of Optometry. He is the co-owner of Evolutionary Eye Care, where he has a clinical emphasis in anterior segment disease including Keratoconus, Specialty Contact Lenses, Myopia Management, and Ocular Surface Disease. He has written articles and lectured on the topics of Scleral Lenses, Ocular Surface Disease, Orthokeratology, and Practice management. He is an active member of the American Optometric Association and the Texas Optometric Association. He serves on the Board of the Harris County Optometric Society, on Board for the American Academy of Orthokeratology and Myopia Control, and is the Texas leader of the Young ODs of America.
JONATHAN SKONER, O.D., FIAOMC
Dr. Skoner received his Doctorate of Optometry degree from Salus University (formerly Pennsylvania College of Optometry) where he graduated with academic and clinical honors. In 2017 Dr. Skoner opened Ortho Eyes, Pittsburgh’s first and only eye care clinic devoted entirely to myopia control. He now practices full-scope optometry at Eye Care Specialties of PA in Pittsburgh, PA and his clinical specialties include pediatric myopia and binocular vision. Dr. Skoner was the first FIAOMC in the state of Pennsylvania. He has been published in the Journal of Asthma, Journal of Asthma and Allergy, and Korean Journal of Asthma, Allergy, and Clinical Immunology regarding ocular complications secondary to inhaled corticosteroid use in patients with asthma and allergies. When Dr. Skoner is not seeing patients he enjoys spending time with his wife, fishing, tennis and scuba diving.
DWIGHT BARNES, OD, FIAOMC
