OUR OPTICIANS AND STAFF AT Five Points Eye Care
Our exceptional eye care staff in Athens, Georgia look forward to helping you and your family with all your eye care needs. We will help you select the most appropriate frames or contact lenses and will meticulously fit your new glasses to meet your needs. At Five Points Eye Care, we are dedicated to optimizing your vision care.
Meet Our Team in Athens, Georgia
Nate Sedlacek joined Five Points Optical in May 2010. Nate is a Licensed Dispensing Optician and comes from a family of opticians including his father, mother and sister. He is certified by the American Board of Opticianry (ABO) and the National Contact Lens Examiners (NCLE). Nate began his career in the optical field in 1993 and has many years of experience in optical management.
Nate gives back to the community by volunteering. He traveled on a Gift of Sight trip to Mexico and volunteered on the Vision Van in Atlanta to provide eyecare to those without insurance or access to eye care. Nate lives in Winterville with his wife and 3 children and loves boating, fishing and activities around the lake.
Katie joined Five Points Eye Care in November 2009. She has a Bachelor in Business Administration with a focus in Finance degree from the University of Michigan where she graduated with distinction. She was a personal shopper for Ralph Lauren for 2 years and worked at Tiffany & Co. for 3 years. She then joined Edward Jones as a financial planner, running the Troy, Michigan branch as well as training and recruiting in the region.
Katie is a Licensed Dispensing Optician (LDO) in Georgia, and is American Board of Opticianry (ABO) certified and National Contact Lens Examiners (NCLE) certified. Katie is responsible for our frame styles and selection in our optical. As a Licensed Dispensing Optician she helps patients choose frames and lenses that work with their lifestyle and specific needs. Katie is married and lives in Athens. She recently started her family and has a new baby boy. Her hobbies include reading, traveling and swimming.
Originally from Atlanta, KC moved to Athens around 2014 after living in NYC for some time to be near family and fell in love with the Classic City. She has a background in the Arts, Architectural History and Communications and joined Five Points Eye Care in 2017. She plans to use that creative background to help patients choose the perfect glasses and receive the best care possible. In her free time she enjoys reading, playing with her dog, searching for new and interesting architecture in Athens and traveling.
End of Year Reflections:
I love that it makes such a difference in peoples lives and not an insignificant one!
I appreciate that it feels like a family. It’s a very different dynamic than working for a large corporate company.
Gary joined Five Points Eye Care in May 2021 as an optician. He began a career in the optical field in 1999 as an optical lab technician and received a Dispensing Opticians license in 2004. He is certified by the American Board of Opticianry. Gary brings an experienced knowledge of optics along with understanding the best fits and style when helping patients find the perfect eyewear for all of their needs. Gary is passionate about helping patients see and look their very best. Gary is married to Joni and they reside in the Sanford community of Madison County with their daughter Fia and his step-son Kaleb. He also has 3 sons (Isaac, Will, Gabe), 2 step-daughters (Brianna & Tula) and 2 step-sons (Kaleb and Dawson). Gary loves taking trips to the mountains exploring towns along with antique/thrift shopping, movies, and concerts with Joni. He also enjoys running, playing guitar, and coaching his daughter’s soccer teams. And of course he is a die-hard Georgia Bulldog – GO DAWGS!
End of Year Reflections:
I've always been passionate about helping others and optical provides so many opportunities to practically change someone's life when you are helping them with their sight. It means so much to see patients' faces light up with joy when they can see clearly for the first time with new glasses that I have helped them with.
I love working at Five Points Eyecare because I'm able to truly care for the patients and listen to them, spend time with them, and get to know them. Our family environment with the office translates over to how we treat our patients and customers. We are driven & inspired by putting the patient's needs first and not by just selling a product or gaining business.
I've had many positive patient experiences and those are definitely what makes this more than just "work" but a greatly rewarding career! A great patient experience I recently had involved a young man that had never worn glasses before. He was in need of glasses and never knew how poor his sight was until he had an eye exam. He had a really busy job and was unable to get the time to come pick them up. It was a Friday afternoon and I really wanted him to have them. I offered to bring them to his workplace so he could get them for the weekend. He was using a computer and on the phone with a vendor of his when I gave him the glasses. He was so thrilled when he put them on he exclaimed to the person he was on the phone with and said "Man! Are you seeing this?!" And we all had a good laugh because he said, "oh yeah I know you can't see this through the phone but let me tell you I've never seen this clearly before, Wow!!!"
Amanda joined Five Points Eye Care in 2019 as an Optician-in-Training. She has a bachelor’s in fine arts and a master’s in interior design from Brenau University so she loves accessories, from the ones that fill your home to the ones we wear, like beautiful glasses! She is married with two teenagers and enjoys spending time with her family, cooking, antiquing and visiting historic homes.
Courtney joined our staff in 2021 and currently is our patient coordinator in our call center. She is the first person many of our patients have contact with since she answers most of our phone calls. She is a graduate of University of North Georgia in Criminal Justice and moved to Madison County, Georgia in 2013 where I met the love of her life, Josh. She has 3 very energetic boys, Kason, Grayson, and Charlie and spends most, if not all her time, outside of work with her family. She also has 2 dogs, a Labrador Retriever (Ranger) and a Weimaraner (Fisher). She enjoys the outdoors, reading, racing, and watching her children play sports.
I am very much a people person. I love talking to people daily. For me (as I am in the Call Center), I am really the first person a patient speaks to when they call our office. I love being able to help the patient schedule their appointment, order contacts, etc. It gives me a chance to get to know the patient a little bit through our small talk.
Everyone and I mean Everyone is so nice and compassionate. I’ve never worked or been in a setting where everyone friendly and enjoys being a part of a team. I love being behind the scenes of things and being able to schedule a patient’s appointment but also call them after their appointment to follow up and see how things went.
When I first started working here, I was clueless on Optometry. I had no idea how to order contacts or what certain terminology means. I asked tons of questions (probably more than I should have). A few months in, a new patient called to schedule an eye exam. The patient had tons of questions, just like me. I couldn’t answer all her questions but assured her that I would call her back with those answers. A short while later, I called her back and answered every question she had. The patient came to her appointment a few days later and then I found a card in my box from her. It was so sweet, and it made me feel like I had accomplished something so amazing!
Michellle joined our practice in April 2021. She is dedicated, dependable, and a team player. Michelle worked as an ophthalmic diagnostic technician in her previous job of almost 20 years in the Boston area. She is a loving mom , MiMi, and wife and in her downtime she loves decorating, walking, and binge watching TV series.
Kenzie is a part of our business office staff, helping patients when they first arrive for their appointments. She is also attending Georgia State University to get her bachelor’s degree. She is a big “people person” and loves to interact and work with people. Her goal is to keep a smile on anyone’s face as much as she can. She enjoys traveling, hiking, sports (whether watching or playing) and quality time with family and friends.
Carley joined Five Points Eye Care in 2020 and helps in the optical and clinic. She currently attends the University of Georgia as a student and is on track to graduate with a bachelors degree in biology. After graduating from UGA, Carley plans on attending a school of optometry in hopes of gaining her license to practice as an O.D. Carley enjoys hiking, spending time with friends and family, and playing tennis in her free time.
Amber started with Five Points Eye Care as an optometric technician in May 2018. She is originally from Covington, GA and now lives in Danielsville, GA with her sons and husband. Her days are mostly spent at the lake, the ballfield, or staying inside to watch a good movie or playing video games.
End of Year Reflections:
Having fun and new experiences working with patients every day. It’s a great learning opportunity and I have fun each day helping patients.
I have made great relationships with both coworkers and patients!
My favorite positive story is when I had a patient mention that we have been the only office to figure out a cure for her headaches. She has gone to multiple offices and chiropractors who had a temporary fix, but nothing fully helped her. She has tried every medicine but Vision therapy. The neurolenses helped correct her vision and she now has headaches about once a month (or not at all) and feels we have changed her outlook on life.
Kathy Ramsay joined Five Points Eye Care in August 2016. She has always enjoyed helping and working with patients in her many years in the medical field. Kathy is a member of our business office, helping patients check-out. She enjoys fishing with her husband on the weekends as well as reading, puzzles, having her granddaughter visit and playing with her three dogs. She also loves to get out and enjoy nature.
End of Year Reflections:
Always something new and exciting to learn concerning the eyes
Enjoy the patients - love listening to their stories
Had a patient the other day after she checked out just wanted to Vent about some problems she was having and she thanked me for listening to her. She was at the point of tears when she left.
Celeste joined Five Points Eye Care in August 2015. She is a graduate of Athens Technical College in Medical Assisting and works as one of our technicians as well as is our low vision rehabilitation coordinator. She currently lives in Danielsville with her young daughter. She enjoys reading, spending quality time with family and friends, traveling and being at the lake.
End of Year Reflections:
I was raised by my legally blind grandmother and now help to take care of her. So being the low vision technician I love helping my patients to be as independent as they can and see to the best of their ability. I love being able to share my experience and techniques that helped her to still do almost everything she wanted or needed to do to stay independent even with her significant vision loss and hopefully be able to help others be the same.
I love how it is one big family and we are always there to help each other on bad days or cheer each other on when needed. There is always someone around to laugh with or if you need it to give you a hug and cry with you when you need it.
One of my favorite is I had a patient that was really struggling with her vision loss and to be able to do the things she loved to do. I took my time and showed her devices and things to potentially help. I also explained a lot of things that previous offices had never explained to her. By the end of her appointment she was crying hugging me and thanked me for everything I did to help her.
Abby grew up in nearby Jefferson and joined Five Points Eye Care in 2013 after working for several years in the service industry. She started as a full time Optometric technician and became National Contact Lens Examiners (NCLE) certified in 2017. She is now currently in charge of verifying insurance prior to patient’s appointments, in addition to helping with patient care in the clinic and being our full-time Clinic Care Coordinator. Abby enjoys spending time with her husband and his young daughter, loving on their four German Shepherds, watching UGA football, and relaxing with family and friends.
End of Year Reflections:
I love being a part of helping patients to be able to see – Growing up I’ve always had 20/20 vision, so I never really understood what it was like to not just be able to wake up and see. Working here over the past 10 years I’ve gained a new appreciation for having good vision, and for helping others to achieve that!
I love how the entire staff is like one big family. Each person in the office plays a key role in making us who we are. There’s not a day that someone doesn’t make me laugh until my sides hurt, even on days I don’t always want to laugh.
We have one older male patient that we all love, and he comes in just to see all of us on a monthly basis. Sometimes he brings us treats, and other times it’s just a laugh, a smile, and a hug. Either way, patients like him just make our days better!
As a Vision Therapist, Noemi supervises children with various eye problems including amblyopia (lazy eye) and focusing problems as they complete vision training to improve their vision and visual function. Noemi joined our practice in February 2008 and lives in Athens. She is fluent in Spanish, English and American sign language. She enjoys pet sitting, singing, dancing, traveling, and playing Pokémon Go.
End of Year Reflections:
We only get one set of eyes, knowing we improve people’s quality of life is very rewarding.
The atmosphere, the employees and we have amazing Doctors! Everyone here is amazing, fun, loving and kind. (Which is why I’ve been here 14 years.)
Seeing patients successfully do the orthokeratology program warms my heart. One patient who plays sports was sick of wearing glasses and now he can comfortably play sports and go swimming without the need of any correction during the day.
Marie has been in the medical field since 1985 and joined our practice in October 2003 as the Front Office Payment Coordinator. Since then, Marie has been promoted to Insurance and Billing Manager, handling all patient billing and insurance questions and claims filing for our practice. As her proficiency in coding and billing has increased, Marie has used her knowledge to educate the doctors and staff about proper insurance coding. She is also responsible for keeping our billing software compliant with federal regulations. Marie has two sons and one granddaughter. She enjoys spending much of her free time with her family and friends. She also enjoys sewing, watching good movies, and reading “Oprah” magazine.
Notice of Clinical Externs
Externship Definition
Externships are a series of clinical rotations to various sites for patient care away from the optometry school setting. The intent of externships is to provide the optometric student the opportunity to be trained by outstanding practitioners in primary and/or secondary care optometry. Externships are an integral part of the optometry school curriculum and are designed to transform the optometric student into a complete health care professional who can apply scientific knowledge in concert with clinical insight and overall concern for the patient. The student is expected to practice, under the instruction and guidance of the attending faculty, according to the highest standards of clinical, moral, and ethical conduct.
Why do we have externs?
Five Points Eye Care Center doctors are honored to be adjunct clinical faculty for The Ohio State University College of Optometry, The University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Optometry and Salus University Pennsylvania College of Optometry. Drs. Jon and Nadine Forche and Dr. Meg Brya are educators involved in the training process for externs. They provide clinical training in order to assist in the cultivating of our next generation of optometrists.
How will this affect me?
The extern is asked to gather detailed information from you, the patient, in relation to the examination and provide their review to their attending optometrist. At that point, your optometrist, Dr. Jon Forché, Dr. Nadine Forché or Dr. Meg Brya, will review the extern’s findings, perform their own examination and consult with you regarding your final diagnosis and treatment plan.
Although we believe our patient care is enhanced by our clinical externs, we understand that certain patients may prefer to be seen by a doctor following the preliminary work-up by a technician. Please let us know if that is your preference and we will note that in your medical record.