Dr. Jessica Chang was born and raised in Vancouver, B.C. She completed her Bachelor of Science degree, majoring in Biology, at the University of British Columbia. She then continued her studies at Pacific University to complete her Doctorate of Optometry degree. Her externship sites during her optometry training included a Veterans Affairs Hospital in Portland, a large private clinic specializing in contact lenses, and an ophthalmology hospital at Wenzhou Medical College in China. Dr. Jessica Chang graduated with distinction and was a member of Beta Sigma Kappa, an international optometric honour society.

In recent years, Dr. Jessica Chang has focused her training on dry eye disease management and attended the first Canadian Dry Eye Summit in Mississauga in 2018. She enjoys learning about the newest dry eye treatments and helping those who suffer from this growing problem. Dr. Chang is also a member of the American Academy of Myopia Control and is a certified orthokeratologist. She attended the Vision by Design conference in 2018, the largest myopia management and prevention meeting in North America.

During her optometric studies, Dr. Chang discovered a passion for community work and eyecare missions. She had the privilege of going on an eyecare mission to Ghana where she traveled to several villages to provide eyecare and dispensed donated glasses and medications to those in need. Her more recent community work includes volunteering as an optometrist for the 2010 Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic Games. She also joined Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity (VOSH) to provide eyecare in remote regions of Guatemala. Dr. Chang continues to enjoy volunteering as a speaker to educate the local Kerrisdale community about vision and eye health.

In her spare time, Dr. Chang enjoys spending time with her husband and toddler son in the beautiful outdoors that Vancouver provides, from the mountains to beaches.

Born in Hong Kong and raised in Vancouver, Dr. Karen HL Lee completed her undergraduate studies at the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Science degree in Cell Biology and Genetics. She then obtained her Doctor of Optometry degree at the University of Waterloo and graduated on the Dean’s Honour List.

During her studies, she had the opportunity to join a Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity (VOSH) mission trip to Cuzco, Peru. Along with other volunteers on that mission trip, she provided eye care and dispensed donated glasses to the residents there. In her final year of the Optometry program, she was able to gain invaluable experiences through various externship sites. These sites include a Veterans Affairs Hospital in Kentucky, the optometry clinic at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and a general ophthalmology clinic in Richmond.

In her spare time, Dr. Lee enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking and skiing/snowboarding. She also enjoys traveling and sightseeing with her family and friends.

Dr. Ying Zhao is an Associate Optometrist at Avenue Eyecare. In this role, she provides comprehensive eye exams for patients of all ages, and has a particular interest in contact lenses. She has a wide array of knowledge on various disposable soft contact lenses, and is also certified to fit orthokeratology (“Ortho K”) lenses for myopia control.

Dr. Zhao obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Cell Systems Biology from the University of Toronto and a Doctor of Optometry degree from the University of California, Berkeley. During optometry school training, she completed clinical rotations in low vision, binocular vision, and contact lens at the Meredith Morgan Eye Center in Berkeley, California. In addition, Dr. Zhao has worked with renowned optometrists at the San Francisco Veterans Affairs and Palo Alto Veterans Affairs medical centers which strengthened her knowledge and experience with ocular diseases. Upon graduation, Dr. Zhao entered the retail industry and worked in the position of Managing Optometrist at Eyexam of California, a role she held before moving back to Vancouver.

In her spare time, you can find Dr. Zhao blogging about optometry and attending yoga classes.