Directors and Leadership Team

Amanda Nicholas

Chief Operations Officer

Amanda graduated Northwest Missouri State University in 2010 with a double major in Business Management and Business Marketing. Directly after graduating, she began her career in the optometry world. In the twelve years in the industry, Amanda has worked as a technician, insurance specialist, optician and practice administrator. In 2017, Amanda became an optometric consultant where she traveled throughout the US and Canada helping optometrists create their best patient experience, office efficiency, team culture and overall financial security. 

In 2020, Amanda was fortunate enough to find a home with Elite Eye Care. Since starting she has implemented and contributed to multiple foundational guidelines that align and represent the Elite patient experience and overall office operations and efficiencies. She strongly believes in our mission, which is to provide optimal eye health care and services to our patients, while committed to taking care of our team and community. 

Amanda enjoys spending her free time with her husband, Trever, and their daughter, Palmer. They love their annual Colorado hiking/UTV trips, watching football (Go Chiefs!) and enjoying a day in the sun with their dogs, Cooper and Chewie. 

Sara Mohr

Director of Vision Therapy

Sara is our Director of Vision Therapy and has been in the optometry industry for over 9 years. She joined the Elite Eye Care team in 2016 and became a Certified Optometric Vision Therapist in 2020. With Vision Therapy, Sara’s passion is working with patients that suffer from a traumatic brain injury, strabismus, amblyopia, and visual discomfort.

She enjoys motivating and encouraging her patients to achieve their goals, making connections with her patients, creating a positive and safe environment for successful learning, and transforming patients’ lives through vision therapy and overcoming obstacles while building confidence. She enjoys working one-on-one with her patients and teaching them the skills they need to grow and take ownership of their own success.

When not at Elite Eye Care, Sara loves to spend time with her husband, Justin, and son, Callahan, and always looks forward to booking the next family vacation. She loves to binge true crime documentaries, keep up on the latest Bachelor/Bachelorette season, and always up for a good board game.

Adison Keller

Director of Patient Communications

Adison joined Elite Eye Care in the fall of 2019 shortly after relocating from Salt Lake City, Utah. She has worked in the medical field for 11 years, 6 of those being in the contact lens and optometry industry. She has a passion for quality communication between patients and staff and is so grateful to be a part of such a wonderful community. In her free time, she loves heading back to her home state for some snowboarding or hiking.

Ashley Eichhorn

Director of Human Resources

Ashley is our Director of Human Resources and is present at our Ankeny, Norwalk and Waukee locations. Ashley has her Masters in Arts of Teaching and completed her undergrad at Augustana University in Sioux Falls, SD. Ashley resides with her husband, Matt and her two children, Easton and Emree in Urbandale. Ashley has a unique background beginning as a teacher in the public school system for 14 years. She was a business owner in the fashion industry and has experience with Human Resources in the childcare industry as well. Ashley has a “passion for people” and cares about what makes them individuals. She loves being part of the Elite Eye Care team and growing alongside her colleagues.

Jennifer Magnee

Optical Manager

Jennifer joined Elite Eye Care as an Optician in 2017, and has been the Optical lead since December of 2021.  She is a Certified Optician by the American Board of Opticianry. Jennifer’s experience and friendly personality will help guide you to have an Elite experience while choosing that perfect new pair of glasses. In her free time, she enjoys traveling with her husband, Charles, and spending time with her grandchildren, Riley, Dax, Joe and Maddix.

Calli Smith

Ankeny Team Lead

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.

Patient Care Coordinators

Christine

Waukee

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

Waukee

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

Waukee

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

Waukee

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.

Felicia

Waukee

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.

Maya

Waukee

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.

Allyson

Norwalk

Allyson has had quite a bit of customer service experience over the past 4 years. This is beneficial to Elite eye Care because she is one of our receptionists and is very welcoming to everyone who enters the building with a smile on her face. One thing Allyson enjoys about working at Elite Eye Care is knowing how satisfied each patient leaves after being seen by our doctors that have such knowledge and passion! Even if they are here for just a quick appointment or even seeing an optician, every patient that leaves is always leaving with a smile, expressing how great the service they received was! In her free time Allyson enjoys getting into a good TV show or going on nature walks with friends & family.

Sheri

Ankeny North

Sheri was welcomed recently to the Elite Eye Care family in August.  She is new into the vision world as a career; but not new to glasses. She has proudly displayed Eyewear since the young age of five. Customer service excellence is number one on her agenda. She adores working with clients and creating a positive experience. She was born and raised in Iowa and a proud alumni of ISU. She is an animal advocate and mama to three furry kids.  Outside of work she is a Theater geek and loves playing board games and watching movies with her son Q and husband Chris.

Clinical Opticians

Erin

Waukee

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

Waukee

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!

Kaden

Waukee

Bio coming soon!

Natalie

Waukee

Natalie joined Elite Eye Care in August 2023. She is new to eye care, but is learning a lot from her spectacular team. Her favorite part about her job at Elite is creating a relationship with patients and getting to know them and helping them choose the best frame fit and style for their lifestyle. When she is not at Elite Eye Care, Natalie enjoys reading and spending time with her family and dog Murphy. Natalie loves to travel and experience new things that pushes her out of her comfort zone. 

Mica

Waukee

Bio Coming Soon!

Ron

Waukee

Bio coming soon!

Alicia

Waukee

Alicia joined Elite Eye Care in 2022 as a Clinical Optician and has worked as a Optician since 2021. She specializes in helping our doctors in the exam rooms to ensure the best knowledge in our Optical department, frame styling, educating patients on lenses, and creating relationships with our patients. 

When she isn’t working, she enjoys being outdoors, spending time with her daughter, traveling and cooking. She also loves going back to her hometown in Colorado, and visiting her friends and family.

Brice

Waukee and Norwalk

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. 

Tonya

Waukee

Coming soon!

Miranda

Norwalk

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.

Andrea

Ankeny North

Andrea joined the Elite Eye Care family in 2023 and has worked in the optometry field as an Optician since 2022. She’s new to the industry and has achieved her certification with the American Board of Optometry. Children are her passion, so she especially loves helping kiddos pick out their frames and getting them excited about it!
In her free time, she soaks up all the quality time she can with her husband Steven and two kids Luke and Brooke. She also loves to go to concerts with friends and she always looks forward to football season so she can cheer on her Minnesota Vikings!

Lori

Ankeny South

Lori has been pursuing her passion for eyewear as an optician since 2017. Outside of work, she cherishes her role as a mom, nana, dog-mom, and great-great auntie. Lori’s hobbies include quoting movies and music, glamping, and enjoying smoked meats that her husband makes.

Michal

Ankeny South

Hello! Just in case you are wondering, my name is pronounced Michelle. After joining in March 2023, I am very happy and proud to be a member of the Elite Eye Care Clinical Optician team! I have been in the optical field for 35 years and have enjoyed my experiences in about every avenue of it– ranging from optical testing, training, technical, repairs, fashion frames and lens consultant, to contact lens guru. I think I am best known for my smile and patience with a dash of humor mixed in. Obviously I love my work, not just by the many years I’ve done it, but by the friends I’ve made along the way. Such a great feeling to see those smiles on their faces both coming in and leaving our office door satisfied and happy.


When I’m not at work, my husband of 36 years, Britt and I love to travel and plan to do more in the future. We have two beautiful daughters Channing and Taylor, who are both married with two son-in-law‘s I adore!  I am an avid concert and Broadway show attender, and overall music and movie buff. College football is my game, and GO BIG RED is my yell you’ll hear in the Fall! Any and all remaining time I may have left in a day or night is spent with our “lil fluff” Bijou. She’s our one year old Havaton pup, who holds my heart in her paws.

Emily

Ankeny

Emily grew up in Illinois but has moved around quite a bit. She has lived in more than 3 states. Some of Emily’s hobbies are driving, kayaking, gaming, traveling, and watching tv shows over and over again. Scotland is the top place on her list to adventure to. Nature is a big part of her life due to her passion for landscape photography. Emily has been in Optics for 4 years. She is looking forward to expanding her knowledge in this field. Lastly, fur babies mean the world to her! They are her rocks when she needs them, and she wouldn’t trade them for the world. 

Vision Therapists

Courtney

Waukee

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.

Taylor

Waukee

Hi. My name Taylor Moellenbeck and I have been a part of the Elite Eye Care family as a vision therapist since 2018, and I became certified as a vision therapist in 2021. I feel very fortunate to be able to work one on one to help patients work towards their goals of improving their quality of life while simultaneously getting to know them and their families along the way. It’s a pleasure to work amongst a team of truly caring individuals and doctors who lead by example, provide mentorship and give back to the community. I enjoy being outdoors, exercising, cooking and laughing and making memories with family and friends.

Maddy

Waukee

Maddy joined the Elite Eye Care family in 2021. She has a passion for working with kids and has done it her whole life. Her favorite part about being a Vision therapist is creating that relationship between therapist and patient. She also loves watching her patients grow and achieve their goals in and out of therapy. When she is not at Elite she enjoys working on her small business and hanging out with her husband and fur babies.

Tina

Waukee

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?

Samantha

Waukee

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.

Optometric Technicians

Ashley

Waukee

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.

Crystal

Waukee

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

Yazmin

Waukee

Yazmin is a technician at Elite Eye Care. She has been a part of the team since April of 2022. Her favorite part about working at Elite is the supportive work environment. Outside of work Yazmin is a photographer and editorial/fashion sessions are her favorite. In her free time she enjoys hiking, watching movies, and daydreaming about living somewhere warmer.

Katie

Waukee

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.  

Gunner

Waukee

Bio coming soon!

Amy

Norwalk

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. 

Ginni

Ankeny North and Waukee

Greetings!  My name is Virginia (Ginni) Breidinger. I grew up on a farm, in a small town in northern Iowa (Spencer) and moved to Ankeny in 2019. Since I grew up on a farm, I enjoy spending time outdoors, and going four-wheeling to explore. I am an animal lover and adore hanging out with all of the farm animals when I am home. I also frequently spend time helping my dad (boss man) on the farm. 

Family and friends are a significant part of my happiness! I love trying new restaurants, going to the family lake house, and watching sports with them. I bleed black and gold (LETS GO HAWKS) and cheer loudly and proudly for the KC Chiefs!

Haley

Ankeny North, Ankeny South, and Waukee

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!!!!