Meet Our Team

Ashley joined the Elite Eye Care team in 2022. As a former patient, she always remembered the friendly smiles she would see throughout her visit. She now loves working with patients and learning new things each and every day as a technician. In her free time, she enjoys playing with her 3 dogs, hiking, and watching movies.

I was born and raised in central Iowa but I have called Norwalk home since 2018. I first joined the field of optical care back in 2006. Not long after Elite Eye Care first opened its doors, I joined the Elite team in 2014. Over the years I have dabbled in every aspect of the office; front desk, technician and clinical optician.  Following the birth of my second son, I took some time away from eye care to prioritize family before returning back to Elite in 2022. My journey is a testament to my dedication to family and passion for delivering exceptional eye care to my community. I enjoy getting to know the families of patients over the years. When I am not working, I enjoy spending time with my husband, three children, and two Siberian Huskies.

Calli joined the Elite Eye Care family in 2021 and has been working in the optometry field, as an optician and technician, since 2016. She enjoys working with patients to help them find the best lenses and frame style to suit their personality and needs. She grew up in Minnesota and moved to the Des Moines area in 2010. Outside of work she enjoys spending time with her family, crafting, watching movies, and gardening.

Christine first joined Elite Eye Care in 2014 as our “Director of First Impressions.” She served patients at our front desk until 2018, when she took an early retirement. Christine missed her EEC family so much that she returned part-time in 2020. She now serves patients behind the scenes in our Operations Department. Christine enjoys helping our patients schedule appointments, locate and verify insurance and support her teammates in any way needed.

Hayley joined Elite Eye Care in February of 2023. Throughout her time here Hayley has enjoyed working with the patients, building relationships, and making connections with the patients and coworkers. Being on the operations team allows her to connect with many people, which is what she loves the most about working at Elite Eye Care. In her free time Hayley loves playing with her energetic Australian Shepherd, reading a good book, or spending time with friends.

Lorena recently joined Elite Eye Care in the summer of 2023. She is from Chicago, Illinois and was raised in Michoacán, Mexico when she was little before settling down in Iowa. She has a passion for helping people, especially when there is a language barrier and she can help bridge that. Lorena is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Communications. When she is not at Elite Eye Care she enjoys working on her podcast, watching true crime documentaries, and traveling.

Victoria joined Elite in August of 2023. She came to Elite Eye Care because she loves working with people and she wanted to put her previous Customer Service skills to use and be able to interact more with patients. Victoria loves being at Elite because of the teamwork everyone uses with each other daily and loves how much Elite does for the surrounding community.
In her free time, Victoria enjoys taking walks, putting puzzles together, and spending time with her family, especially her nieces and nephew.

Maya joined Elite Eye Care in July of this year. Though she does not have prior experience in the optical industry, Maya loves working with people and has experience in the customer service industry, which has helped tremendously when it comes to being able to help at the front desk and being able to bring great service to our patients. Maya loves being at Elite because she loves the teamwork that is executed and she loves how everyone helps each other out. During her freetime, Maya likes to read, go on runs, and practice the piano.

Darcey joined Elite as a Patient Care Coordinator in August of 2024 after relocating to Norwalk from Eastern Iowa to be closer to family. With her past experience of working at an optometry office and then working in her family’s business, exceptional customer service and understanding customer and patient needs has always been an integral part of her career. Darcey enjoys the day to day interaction with patients and is eager to learn all she can about the optometry business at Elite Eye Care. In her spare time, you can find her reading a book, taking a walk or enjoying a bike ride on one of Des Moines great trails. She also enjoys traveling and spending time with her family, which includes her husband, Mark, 4 kids, 5 grandkids and a 14 year old Shih-poo named Shiloh.

Katie has been with Elite Eye Care since August of 2023. Katie and her partner, Mayron have two kids, Micah (age 6) and Lilah (age 4) who are the lights of their life. She enjoys outdoor activities including playing sand volleyball, being around the pool in the summertime and spending time with her family. Katie has a passion for baking for her family and close friends and spending time with her amazing companion, Maxine, an 11-year-old Newfoundland dog. Katie enjoys being around people and making them happy in any way she can. She strives to connect with patients and make their experience at Elite fun and comfortable.  

Bio coming soon!

Felicia has been in eye care since spring of 2014. She has been trained as a technician, an optician and is now one of the smiling faces of the front desk. Felicia loves to be able to use her cross trained knowledge to be able to answer questions right when people walk in and loves to be able to put a smile on people’s faces. She loves working for EEC and loves the way EEC cares about not only their patients but their employees as well. In her free time, Felicia enjoys spending time with her husband and 3 children, drinking coffee, and perusing the aisles of Target.

Coming soon!

Erin has been a part of the Elite Eye Care family since 2011.  She has been recognized by the American Board of Opticianry as a certified optician since 2013. She has served on the board of the Opticians Association of Iowa since 2016 and was recently elected President. 

One of Erin’s favorite things about working at Elite is helping families year after year. Some of the kids she started helping in 2011 are now adults. While this makes her feel old, she loves being able to see them grow each year.  When she isn’t working, Erin loves spending time with her husband and three children, crocheting, and watching nerdy TV shows.

Brynn has been in Eye Care since Fall of 2019, she joined Elite Eye care in August of 2020.  She specializes in helping our doctors in the exam rooms to ensure the best knowledge in our Optical department with styling in frames and getting her patients the best lenses. Her favorite part about her job at Elite Eye Care is creating the relationship with her patients and getting them out of their comfort zone with the multiple frame options. When she is not at Elite Eye Care, Brynn enjoys reading and spending time with her cat Bella, also you will find her every weekend at a Des Moines Buccaneers hockey game, Go Bucs!

Mica joined Elite Eye Care in February 2023. Mica has been in optical since 2019 and became  ABO Certified in 2021. Mica comes to the Elite Eye Care team with tons of knowledge in frame styling and adjusting. Mica specializes in helping out with our Doctors in the exam room to best be able to help her patient’s understand their prescription and what lenses they need for their glasses, she is great at listening and understanding each of her patient’s needs and wants. 

In her free time, she spends time with her son going to parks, movies, and building a variety of Legos. 

Jaclyn joined the Elite Eye Care team in January of 2024 with two years of optical experience. Working closely with our doctors and helping our patients find the right eyecare solution for them is her favorite part of the job. When she is not at work, she loves to read a good book, watch a good movie with her friends, and spend time outdoors hiking or enjoying the sun.

Jazmine has been in the optical industry since 2019 and started with Elite in September of 2023. While she has lived in Iowa her whole life, she was briefly living in Indiana during the earlier years of the pandemic. Meeting new people and making connections with patients is her favorite part of the job. When she’s not at work, she loves watching any Gordon Ramsey show with her cats, playing video games, and making/eating delicious food with her husband, Chris.

Taylor has been in the optical world since 2020. She started with sales and now is a Clinical Optician here at Elite since 2023. Taylor is a team player who adds positivity in the workplace. Her favorite thing to do in the office is helping people choose new frames and sunglasses. 

Brice began work at Elite Eye Care in 2019. He has a specialized background of product design and art. He now works as a clinical optician with a particular affinity for fixing and adjusting frames, frame styling, and scribing. 

Bio coming soon!

Kaitlin has been in Optical since 2023 and joined the Elite Eye Care team in March of 2024. Kaitlin loves spending time with her family (especially her siblings, nieces and nephews) playing outdoor games as well as video games. She also loves spending time with her fur babies (1 dog and 3 cats!). Kaitlin loves spending special holidays and birthdays at Hu Hot, her favorite restaurant. 

Kaitlin loves coming to work because the environment Elite Eye Care has created for patients and employees is stronger than anywhere she has ever been.

Courtney joined Elite Eye Care as a Vision Therapist in August of 2019 and received her Certified Optometric Vision Therapist Certification (COVT) in April of 2022.  At the start of therapy Courtney’s patients make goals for what they want to achieve through vision therapy and watching them reach those goals is the most rewarding part of being a Vision Therapist. When not at Elite, Courtney spends time with her family, Dude and Orbit (the cats), Ace (the dog) and her Boyfriend Cody while grilling and cruising in the mustang.

Tina is our vision therapy technician. She has been part of the Elite Eye Care family since 2021. Tina and her family are longtime patients of Elite Eye Care, with both of her daughters graduating the EEC vision therapy program. Having seen first hand the benefits of vision therapy through her children, Tina wanted to learn more about functional vision and how vision therapy improves how a person processes and interprets visual information.

Tina believes the best part about working in vision therapy is the personal connections she makes with the patients she works with, and getting to celebrate as they develop and reach their visual goals.

In her free time, Tina enjoys spending time with her family and friends, reading a suspenseful novel, and shopping for the perfect pair of shoes. Can you really have too many?

I grew up in a small town called Iowa Falls. I am very close with my family and love spending time with my niece and nephew. In my free time I like to read, paint/draw, watch movies and bake! 

I worked as an optometric technician at my hometown Vision Clinic for 2 years and moved to Des Moines in August 2021. I have worked for Elite Eye Care since! Working with children and making connections with families is my favorite part of our clinic. Getting to spend time with kids and truly changing people’s lives is very important to me and Elite.

Bio coming soon!

Rylie was new to the world of Vision Therapy but has an extensive work history of behavior analysis. Working with people to help them in any way is her biggest joy. She loves seeing people improve in whatever area they’re trying to grow in. Whenever she is not working, you can find her enjoying the outdoors. She could garden and read all day every day!

Jackson graduated from the University of Iowa in the Spring of 2024 and then moved back to West Des Moines, where he grew up. While he is new to the vision world, his fascination with eyes combined with a passion to help others led him to Elite.

When not at the clinic, Jackson enjoys spending time with his girlfriend, Sydney, and their cat, Melon. He also enjoys outdoor activities such as golfing, and biking!

This is my first time working in eye care/health care. I have 4 kids, ranging 4 to 16. I enjoy spending time with my family and cooking outside of work. I am happy and excited to learn and to be a part of the Elite Team

Z has been a technician at Elite Eye Care since 2022. The things they enjoy most about working at Elite are the positive work environment and the opportunity to learn. When Z isn’t at work they can be found picking up a new hobby such as crochet, DJing, or puppet making just to name a few. Z never thought this was the field they would end up in but very happy that their life led them here to Elite.

Natalie started at Elite in 2023. She has been working in the field since 2021 as an Optometric Technician, and absolutely loves what she does! Natalie is passionate about patient care, learning new things about optometry, and bonding with her teammates while she is at Elite. When she is off the clock, you can find her baking, at concerts, or spending time with her husband Connor. Together they frequently visit Colorado, and love to travel as much as they can.

Allie originally joined the Elite team in January of 2021 and after taking a couple years off to spend with her youngest son she returned to the Ankeny offices in February of 2024. Her favorite parts of working at Elite are the culture, the people, and that every day you can learn something new. When she isn’t working, her favorite things are hanging out with her two sons, reading, spending time outside, and being active, whether its lifting or taking a walk with the kids and dogs!

Haley joined the Elite Eye Care family in 2022 and has been working in the optometry field, as an optician and technician, since 2021. Haley enjoys interacting with and helping patients with their vision needs. Outside of work she enjoys spending time with her friends and family at the Downtown Farmers Market or tailgating at Jack Trice. Go Cyclones!!!!

Hello there!! My name is Amy Rodgers. I am the Lead Technician at Elite and I am a Certified Paraoptometric Technician. I joined our amazing team in February 2016 and have been in eyecare for 12 years. My favorite part at Elite Eye Care is all our patients. I love getting to know them and their interests so that we can help them with all vision and their healthcare needs.

I love spending my spare time with my family and my grandchildren. Let’s be honest…my favorite role is being Nana. We love being outdoors and spending our time together.