Our Eye Clinic in Omaha

Jackie has been working with insurance claims for 12 years. She is full-time and has been with Heartland Eye Consultants since March 2008. Jackie enjoys helping patients with any questions or concerns they might have regarding the processing of their claims.

When she’s not at work, Jackie loves spending time with her family.

Melisa has a background in nursing, having worked in an Alzheimer’s unit for 2 years. She earned an associate’s degree in health and science at Breckinridge School of Nursing. 

She says, “my favorite part of working here is that I get to learn something new every day. Then I get to take my knowledge and share it with our patients and really help make their quality of care better. In my spare time, I’m a volleyball coach who still loves to play recreationally. I have a miniature dachshund named Maci, whom I enjoy snuggling with during my time off. I’m also a diehard Husker fan, and love spending time with my family and friends.”

Jeanie, Ophthalmic Technician

Jeanie is originally from Ojai, California, a small city not far from Santa Barbara. In 1998, she moved to Nebraska, where she started her training and work as an ophthalmic technician. She joined Heartland Eye Consultants in June of 2016 after a 10-year break to be a stay-at-home mom to her 2 kids.

Jeanie says, “I am very grateful to be back doing the kind of work I enjoy and being part of the team at Heartland Eye Consultants. I am continually learning new things and am proud to be part of a practice that excels in patient care.”

Jeanie enjoys spending time with her family and is always up for a good book.

Kari earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education with an endorsement in early childhood from the University of Nebraska-Kearney. She enjoys pairing her love of teaching with this unique aspect of health care. 

Kari says, “I love to see my patients develop new skills which help them improve their quality of life.” Kari works full-time with therapy patients and has been a part of the Developmental Vision Associates team since November 2006.

In 2013-2014, Kari successfully completed a rigorous course of study, case writings, written testing, and oral examination passing the highest level of accreditation for vision therapists. She obtained her Certified Optometric Vision Therapy endorsement in October of 2014. This puts Kari in the top 10-20% of therapists in the country.

In Kari’s spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends. She enjoys reading and any outdoor activities.

Lauren is originally from Sioux City, Iowa. She is a graduate of Morningside College and received her Bachelor of Science degree in Biopsychology. In college, she enjoyed volunteering with children and adults doing therapeutic horseback riding, which is centered around occupational therapy. 

From there, she found her gravitating toward the discipline of vision therapy. She has a passion for helping people reach their full potential and has learned how much vision therapy can impact a person’s life. Lauren says, “I love being able to give people the tools needed to succeed in all aspects of their life!” In April of 2022, Lauren successfully completed a rigorous course of study, case writings, written testing, and oral examination passing the highest level of accreditation for vision therapists. She obtained her Certified Optometric Vision Therapy endorsement. This puts Lauren in the top 10-20% of therapists in the country.

In her free time, Lauren enjoys doing anything outdoors and spending time with her family and friends.

Debonnie earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology with a minor in Mental Health from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. In college, she enjoyed being a learning assistant, where she first learned about metacognition and teaching students how to learn. 

Debonnie says, “I love being a vision therapist because I get to help my patients understand and take control of their visual system. I’m also able to give them learning tools that will impact their academic success for years to come.” Debonnie has been a part of the Developmental Vision Associates team since March 2020.

In her spare time, she enjoys coaching volleyball, photography, reading, and spending time with her friends, family, and her dog Max.

Jessie joined Heartland Eye Consultants in December 2019 after her son started vision therapy. She was born and raised here in Omaha, Nebraska. Jessie has earned her Bachelor’s Degree in business management from Bellevue University in Bellevue, Nebraska, and her Associates’ Degree in Veterinary Technology. 

She also holds a Nebraska Veterinary Technician License.  She worked in a companion animal hospital for many years before moving into a sales management role in pharmaceutical sales. 

Jessie combines her past medical and managerial skills along with her experience as a VT mom to her job here at Heartland Eye Consultants. She enjoys spending time with her husband, kids, and 2 cats. When she isn’t doing the mom thing, she enjoys crafting, scrapbooking, game nights with friends, and binge-watching her favorite shows.

Jessie says, “I am a mother of a VT graduate. My son had been struggling with reading and writing for years! We could never figure out why. His pediatrician kept telling us his sight was fine. It wasn’t until a friend suggested we take him to an actual eye doctor that we found the answer. 

He was diagnosed with convergence insufficiency and referred to see Dr. Will here at Heartland Eye Consultants.  Within just a couple of months, we saw a huge change in our son. Not only with his school work but also with his focus, attitude, and most of all, his confidence. It was like we had a completely new kid. He went from hating reading to loving reading, drawing, and learning. We went from me yelling at him to read to me yelling at him to stop reading and go to bed. 

It truly is the most amazing gift that Heartland Eye Consultants gave my son. It’s a gift he will use for the rest of his life and will propel him to success in the future. So when I saw Heartland Eye Consultants had a position open, I jumped at the chance to be a part of that amazing team. I am so blessed and honored to be a part of the Heartland Family and help other patients and families get the gift we were given!”

Daphne joined our office staff in 2011 as a perceptual testing assistant to assist Dr. Vicky Vandervort and Dr. Will Ferguson in the evaluation of children’s visual perceptual abilities. Beginning in 2016, she became the vision therapy coordinator. She helps with the enrollment and coordination of patients in our Vision Therapy Program.

Daphne earned her Bachelor of Science at Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois, and her Master of Social Work at Hunter College in New York City. She has worked with children and families in a variety of settings as a teacher and therapist.

Daphne says, “I’m a positive person, so working at Heartland Eye Consultants is a pleasure. Positive professionalism is paramount in the office and is kept through a sense of ownership and teamwork. Furthermore, the focus is on individualized cutting-edge treatment for our patients and is offered through knowledgeable and friendly staff.”

Daphne is married to Ken, and she has home-schooled their 4 children. She enjoys her faith, history, music, needlework, and physical fitness.

Cari is a graduate of the University of NE-Lincoln and has a journalism degree. After college, she moved to Omaha, where she got married and started a family. Cari has a daughter who is 15 and a son who is 13, and she recently added Nash, a mini goldendoodle, to the family. 

She has primarily been a stay-at-home mom for the past 13 years, but after some long years of raising kids, she decided it was time to get back out into the workforce. Luckily, Dr. Will offered her a spot on the vision therapy team, and she couldn’t be more grateful. Cari truly enjoys her time with patients and the staff at Heartland Eye Consultants.

Prior to joining the Heartland Eye Consultants team, I was a SAHM and an online student. Also, during that time, my son was receiving vision therapy here and I was able to meet all of the wonderful staff that were responsible for my son’s successful outcome! After learning what my career interests were, Dr. Will offered me a job in the billing department and I couldn’t be happier to now be a part of this team! When I’m not working, I enjoy just being home with my family, crocheting, or doing other arts and crafts.