Angeliki Arvanitis graduated from the University of Melbourne in 1994 and immediately joined the ACO to begin her optometry career.  She has extensive clinical experience and has particular interest in diabetic ocular disease, low vision, paediatrics and clinical teaching.  She is involved in the Diabetes clinic at the endocrinology unit at Austin health, and recently joined Deakin University to be involved in the pre-clinical teaching of optometry students. Angeliki has managed the ACO’S East Reservoir clinic since 2001 and is involved with site run diabetes clinics and co-management with general practitioners and other allied health services. She gives regular talks to local community groups and oversees clinical teaching of final year optometry students.  Angeliki continues to provide clinical care to the Greek and broader CALD population the local community.

Dr Adrian Bruce, BScOptom PhD FAAO is Lead Optometrist for Contact Lenses at the ACO. He is also a Senior Fellow, Department of Optometry and Vision Sciences, University of Melbourne. Adrian is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry, received the Dallos Award for research from the British Contact Lens Association (BCLA), an American Optometric Foundation clinical research award and was a research fellow at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT). Dr Bruce has co-authored three textbooks, the most recent being Anterior Eye Disease and Therapeutics A-Z  2nd edition 2011. He also has more than 50 scientific publications.

Piers began working at the ACO in 1994. In the early part of his career, he was the manager of the East Preston site, and then Lead Optometrist in Low Vision Services. In 2001, he was asked to set up an eyecare program for people experiencing homelessness. This has grown into a broader program of eye care for people who are vulnerable, or experiencing disadvantage where he is now the head of this service. After 20 years, it remains his passion, and he enjoys his part management, part clinical role, working with partners, and contributing to the strategy of the ACO.

Jennifer graduated with a Bachelor of Optometry from the University of Melbourne in 1996 and began working at the ACO in 1997.  Jennifer has completed the Post Graduate Diploma in Advanced Clinical Optometry and the Graduate Certificate of Ocular Therapeutics. While working at the ACO, Jennifer has held positions of site manager in Braybrook, manager of disability services, Senior Optometrist and Head of Low Vision Services, Lead Optometrist in Primary Care and has been in her current position as Head of Clinic Operations and Service Improvement since 2015. Jennifer has a strong interest in ocular disease as well as an undergraduate in clinical teaching.

Mae is a clinical optometrist with special interest in the fields of low vision, paediatric optometry and ocular diseases.  She is an experienced clinical instructor and is also actively involved in clinical research.  Mae has presented lectures, workshops and tutorials to many audiences including optometrists, students and allied health professionals. A national level classifier with the Paralympics Australia, Mae is involved in the evaluation of vision impaired athletes.  Currently, Mae is the Lead Optometrist in Clinical Teaching and Manager of Low Vision Services in the Clinical Services Division at the Australian College of Optometry.

Dr Nellie Deen graduated with a Doctorate of Optometry in 2004 from SUNY College of Optometry, New York.  She completed externships in Paediatrics and Vision Therapy at the Beth Israel Hospital in New York and in Ocular Diseases at the Newington Veterans Hospital in Newington, Connecticut.

Nellie relocated to Melbourne in 2004 and was awarded her OCANZ certificate of Competency in Optometric Examination that year. Nellie joined the ACO in 2007, and is currently Head of Specialist Services and Clinical Care. Previous ACO roles include Lead Optometrist of Paediatrics Services and Lead Optometrist in Clinical Teaching. Nellie is a  member of the College of Optometrists in Vision Development (COVD), Optometry Australia and the Australian College of Optometry.  She has presented at the Australian Vision Convention (AVC) Conference , Early Childhood Learning Conference and SEMO Conference.

Zeinab Fakih graduated from the University of Melbourne in 2009 with therapeutic endorsement. Zeinab went on to complete a Graduate Certificate in University Teaching from The University of Melbourne, a Master’s Degree of Public Health from University of Sydney and a Certificate of Children’s Vision through the Australian College of Optometry (ACO). She has a keen interest in teaching and has worked as both a senior clinical teaching instructor at the University of Melbourne and in teaching clinics at the ACO. Zeinab is passionate about the provision of eye care to disadvantaged populations. She has special interest in myopia and is currently researching the effect of social factors on the management of myopia. Zeinab has presented to community groups and to pharmacists on issues in public health optometry.

Tristan is the site manager and optometrist at Elizabeth Eye Care, the ACO’s clinic in South Australia. He graduated from Flinders University with a Masters in Optometry with a letter of commendation from the Dean. Before taking up the role in SA, Tristan worked at the ACO’s main eye care clinic in Carlton Melbourne. Here he was involved in contact lenses and ocular disease care as well being involved with outreach work to regional and remote Victoria. Tristan is always making sure his patients understand everything they need to know and discusses all of the management options available.

TBC

Iris graduated from University of Melbourne in 2004.  She then undertook and completed Post-graduated diploma of Advanced Clinical Optometry in 2006 and Ocular Therapeutic in 2008 while working at ACO as a full-time clinical staff.   Iris has worked in a wide variety of clinical settings including both public and private practices, including clinical teaching, Low vision clinics, RVEEH collaborative clinics, clinics with outreach settings in Victoria, Northern Territory and Central Australia.  Iris is passionate about public health optometry and community engagement, ocular diseases, and vision rehabilitation.  Iris was acting Lead optometrist Low Vision Services at ACO in 2003 and she is currently Manager of Frankston Metropolitan clinic as well as Acting Lead Optometrist Satellite Clinics and VES at ACO.

Nilmini graduated from the University of Melbourne in 1999, completing ocular therapeutics qualifications in 2007. Prior to joining the ACO in 2006, Nilmini worked in a variety of settings including independent, corporate and specialist paediatric optometry practices. Nilmini is the Manager of Aboriginal Services as well as the site manager of the ACO’s optometry services at the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service (VAHS). Nilmini is passionate about public health optometry, particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander eye health, clinical education and paediatric optometry. Nilmini sits on Optometry Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Eye Health Advisory Group and is one of two National Clinical Advisors for Optometry for the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).

Lauren graduated from the University of Melbourne in 2008 and commenced working at the ACO as a resident in 2009. She completed her residency as well as a post graduate diploma in Advanced Clinical Optometry in 2010. Lauren has a keen interest in paediatric optometry as well as the management of glaucoma. She also has a passion for caring for refugee and asylum seekers as well as Aboriginal Australians. She has worked with Indigenous communities extensively in rural Victoria and remote Northern Territory. Lauren is grateful to have had the opportunity to be involved in voluntary work in South Africa, Cambodia, Vanuatu and East Timor.

Vivian joined the ACO as a graduate optometrist in February 2020. Prior to that, Vivian lived in Sydney and graduated from the UNSW Optometry Class of 2019. Before being mostly stationed at ACO’s Braybrook location as Deputy and then Acting Manager, Vivian spent time working at a few other metropolitan clinics including Wyndham, East Reservoir and Broadmeadows. Vivian is also involved in outreach and teaching services in Carlton.

Josephine is the Manager of Community Eyecare Services. Her role involves providing outreach eyecare services to disadvantaged communities, working with various allied health workers, training outreach optometrists and outreach clinic management.  Josephine completed her Bachelor degree in 2004, Graduate Certificate of Ocular Therapeutics and PhD in Science in 2008 at the University of Melbourne. Josephine has held various roles at the ACO including Staff Optometrist, Acting Lead Optometrist of Outreach Services and has led clinical research studies. Her professional interests include ocular diseases, clinical research and providing eye care services for people with multiple disabilities.

Alice McLennan completed a Bachelor of Optometry at the University of Melbourne in 2010 and began her working career in a disadvantaged and culturally diverse community in Melbourne’s north. Alice started working at the ACO in 2014 in the areas of paediatrics, ocular diseases and clinical teaching. She now also provides specialist services to patients with disabilities, complex binocular vision and developmental visual information processing disorders. In 2022, Alice became the Lead Optometrist in Primary Care and leads the daily operations team in our largest clinic in Carlton. She is also completing the Certificate in Public Health and Leadership in Eye Care at the ACO.

As Manager of the Visual Functions Clinic, Ho Wah has expertise in colour vision, aviation and other occupational vision assessments. He likes to explore optimal patient pathways for investigations into drug-toxicity retinal screening and driving assessments. He has a special interest in custom-designing rigid contact lenses for vision rehabilitation of keratoconus, post corneal graft and ocular trauma cases. For all his assessments, he is proficient in the use of the ACO’s full range of specialised diagnostic equipment.

Janelle graduated with a Bachelor of Optometry from the University of Melbourne in 2007. She has held a number of roles at the ACO since completing her clinical residency and has been the Lead of Ocular Disease Services since 2018.  Janelle enjoys all aspects of clinical optometry and has a particular interest in glaucoma, including co-management with ophthalmology. She is a fellow of the Australian College of Optometry and the American Academy of Optometry.

Michael graduated from University of Auckland in 2005 and he completed his Ocular Therapeutics in 2008.  He has a Master of Optometry from University of New South Wales (2010) and a Specialist Certificate in the Management of Neuro-Ophthalmic Disorders (2018).  Michael has worked in in New Zealand and Australia and has special Interests in paediatric optometry and ocular diseases.  He has worked at the ACO since 2016 and enjoys the diversity of work, in particular outreach and clinical teaching.  Michael is the manager of ACO’s Braybrook.

Danielle has joined the ACO since 2007, after graduating from the University of Melbourne in 2006. She has worked in various clinical settings including community, private, hospital, and outreach services in rural Australia. Danielle has extensive clinical experience and is particularly interested in ocular diseases, paediatrics, contact lenses, and clinical teaching.