Meet Our Team
Dr. Kate Claffie
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Dr. Kate ClaffieDr. Kate Claffie moved from Rochester, New York to Florida in 1987 to attend the University of South Florida where she graduated with a Bachelor's of Science in Biology. As an undergraduate student at the University of South Florida, Dr. Claffie worked at the Central Florida Lions Eye Bank as a tissue harvester for corneal transplants. She also had the tremendous opportunity to work as a pharmacy technician and as an ophthalmic technician for Don Perez, M.D., (a retinal specialist) while attending USF.
After completing her undergraduate work, Dr. Claffie matriculated to Nova Southeastern University College of Optometry in Fort Lauderdale. She was awarded her doctorate and began her career in Boca Raton. She managed all aspects of a multi-location practice, including medical management for an ophthalmic surgeon. Dr. Claffie then moved to Tampa and has practiced in the bay area for over twenty years. When not seeing patients, Dr. Claffie enjoys spending time with her family, traveling and cooking. |
Dr. Thu Nguyen
Dr. Thu is a local Floridian, born and raised in Tampa. She attended the University of Florida and received her degree in Interior Design. She is a recent graduate from the New England College of Optometry and enjoys working with children and teenagers and fitting them into contact lens for the very first time. During her rotations, she worked at a pre/post opt cataract practice in Fairfax, VA. She has experience in ocular disease working at the VA Bay Pines in St.Pete FL. Her favorite experience was having the opportunity to work with children at Perkins School for the Blind in Boston, MA.
In her free time, Dr. Thu enjoys supporting her local community sports teams by attending gator football and Lightning games. Every year, you’ll find Dr. Thu volunteering in a new country providing eye exams to patients around the world. This past year she was able to provide eyecare in Benue, Nigeria. Her previous mission trips have been to Honduras and Nicaragua. On her time off, Dr. Thu enjoys going to the beach, kayaking, indoor rock climbing and taking her dog to the park.
Dr. Thu is a local Floridian, born and raised in Tampa. She attended the University of Florida and received her degree in Interior Design. She is a recent graduate from the New England College of Optometry and enjoys working with children and teenagers and fitting them into contact lens for the very first time. During her rotations, she worked at a pre/post opt cataract practice in Fairfax, VA. She has experience in ocular disease working at the VA Bay Pines in St.Pete FL. Her favorite experience was having the opportunity to work with children at Perkins School for the Blind in Boston, MA.
In her free time, Dr. Thu enjoys supporting her local community sports teams by attending gator football and Lightning games. Every year, you’ll find Dr. Thu volunteering in a new country providing eye exams to patients around the world. This past year she was able to provide eyecare in Benue, Nigeria. Her previous mission trips have been to Honduras and Nicaragua. On her time off, Dr. Thu enjoys going to the beach, kayaking, indoor rock climbing and taking her dog to the park.
Natalie Cole
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Natalie Cole, Office ManagerNatalie Cole is also a Tampa native, attending Hillsborough High School and then Capella University. Natalie has been in the optometric field since 2001 when joining Dr. Claffie at her then private practice as a technician and then progressing to be her office manager. After a brief hiatus and career change, Dr. Claffie was fortunate to be able to have Natalie rejoin her in practice as her office manager and team leader! Natalie's hobbies and interests include spending time with her children, reading, learning about all things psychology related, nature hiking and exploring.
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Staff
Our eye care team strives to provide you with the best and most comprehensive eye care. We accomplish this by making sure all members of our team are carefully and thoroughly cross-trained to perform front desk duties as well as optometric technician tasks. This way, you can have full confidence in any task from learning how to insert and remove contact lenses for the first time, to having your vision insurance benefits explained in full detail. Do not hesitate to ask any member of our team any questions/concerns you may have!
