Chelsea: Patient Services Team Lead

Chelsea is often the first person to greet you in our office whether in the optical, answering the phone, at our front desk, or starting your exam. She has been with us since 2017 and has trained in almost every area of the office to better answer our patients’ questions. From working as a Doctor’s Assistant to helping as an Optician and Contact Lens Tech, she loves to work with people. Chelsea completed her Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Tarleton State University in 2020.

Chelsea is married, has a son and many fur-babies, and loves to spend her free time with family and friends. She also loves to travel and try new things. She loves God and loves people.

Jackie, CPO: Patient Care Team Lead

Jackie spends her work days as our Lead Doctor’s Assistant — screening patients, running special testing, and assisting in anything else our patients may need. Jackie is also a Certified Paraoptometric.

Outside of work, Jackie likes to stay home and watch her favorite shows while spending time with her two daughters and husband. Jackie is a Disney fanatic and is always dreaming of her next visit to Disneyworld. She is also a self-proclaimed foodie and loves to try new foods!

Maria, Patient Care

Maria was born in Waco and has lived here her entire life. She enjoys spending time with family, especially Saturdays with her granddaughter. She loves the outdoors, Disney, Mexican food and movie nights with friends.

Maria has worked in eyecare for 17 years. She started in an optical lab making glasses lenses, then moved into direct patient care. From frame styling in the optical to assisting contact lens patients, she has experience in all areas of an eye care office. Her current role of doctor’s technician is her favorite, though, because she loves one on one patient care.

Shannon, Optical Team Lead

Combining strong customer service skills with a fine arts background, Shannon has been an amazing addition to our Optical Team. Her previous career spanned the beauty industry as a retail advisor, makeup artist, and skincare specialist with both private salons and major cosmetic brands. Shannon uses her knowledge of facial structure, color theory, and design principles to style our patients in their next amazing pair of glasses. She is currently working toward her American Board of Opticianry (ABO) certification.

She is a bibliophile, cat mom, and history geek who loves to cook, sit around campfires with friends, laugh, and collect obscure bits of useless trivia.

Alena, Optician

Alena is fascinated with the science behind lenses and knowing what can help each patient see their best, but she also loves how the right frame can bring out someone’s personalities and highlight their best features. Because she enjoys helping patients maximize their vision care benefits, she is cross-training into other areas of the office including contact lenses and insurance.

Alena moved to Texas from Boise, Idaho where she completed a B.S in Health Studies from Boise State University. She loves her family and says her purpose in life is her rescue dog, Rhett. In her free time, she loves to go hiking and exploring new places in Texas with her fiancée. She is a certified catadores.

Kate, Optician

Kate uses her experience in beauty and retail to help you select the most amazing eyewear you’ve ever had. She loves to help patients pick out frames that make them feel confident while also protecting the health of their eyes.

A central Texas native that graduated from West High School, she is currently pursuing a B.S. in International Relations at Texas Tech. She is a history fanatic and is obsessed with her golden retriever, Daisy. She loves traveling no matter if it’s a day trip across Texas, a historical site, or just lounging on a beach sipping a margarita..

Megan, Contact Lens Tech

Megan is our Lead Contact Lens Technician. She was born and raised in Austin. Megan has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Radio Television and Film from the University of North Texas, but her heart lies in healthcare. After over six years in a specialty medical practice, her family relocated to Waco in 2019. She is currently working toward her National Contact Lens Examiners (NCLE) certification.

When not busy helping patients, she enjoys attending her son’s baseball games, working outside and spending time with family.

Allison, Contact Lens Tech

Allison is proficient in many areas of the office, from contacts to optical to assisting the doctors during exams. She is most often found assisting as Dr. Virden’s Specialty Contact Lens Technician.

Allison has lived in the Waco area her entire life. She graduated from West High School in 2018 and from MCC with an Associates Degree in Biology. She is currently working on her Bachelor’s degree at Texas Tech and plans to become an Optometrist herself.

​​​​​​​In her free time, Allison enjoys hiking, shopping, and hanging out with friends and family.

Kelly, Insurance

Kelly is a Certified Clinical Medical Assistant and currently serves as our Insurance Pre-Verification Specialist. She brings with her years of medical customer service experience.

Kelly and her husband were both born right here in Waco. She enjoys spending time with her family, especially her nephew and 2 nieces as well as her husband’s daughters and granddaughters. She and her husband enjoy traveling and attending football games.

Diana, Insurance

Diana is our Medical Billing Specialist with a background in medical transcription and medical billing as well as insurance verification.

She enjoys spending time with her husband and getting to see her three grown children whenever possible. She’s an avid reader who also loves to bike and walk.

Hutton, Patient Conceirge

Hutton’s infectious smile is the first thing you’ll be greeted with when you visit our office. Her previous retail, management and customer service experience make her the perfect fit as our Front Office Coordinator.

Hutton is a lover of Mycology, an avid tattoo collector, polymer clay creator, painter & is book obsessed. She loves to cook & is always ready for soup season! She enjoys traveling & seeing live music with her husband whenever they can. When they aren’t at a concert, they are usually focusing their energy into their photography business, Luminary Perspectives.

Ryan, Business Manager

Between insurance company rules and government regulations, managing a practice has gotten so complicated that you often need an engineer to figure things out. Our Business Manager, Ryan, graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in Civil Engineering, and he keeps things running smoothly behind the scenes for our practice. He worked as a Licensed Professional Engineer before joining our practice in 2009.