Karen Brown

Karen Brown is an ophthalmic technician with over 26 years of experience in the medical field, most of it in ophthalmology. She began her career in her early twenties after starting in the medical field as a senior in high school, initially handling office tasks such as answering phones and billing at a practice where she worked for over 20 years. Karen progressed to roles including surgical scheduler, where she educated patients on cataract and laser surgeries, and later took on management responsibilities at a surgical center, including preparing reports and participating in board and quarterly meetings. She became a certified ophthalmic technician through New York State training and testing, working in that capacity for about six years across multiple locations in the Finger Lakes region before returning to the surgery center. Currently, she works at a smaller privately owned practice performing patient workups, special testing for eye diseases, and patient education. Outside of her professional roles, Karen has volunteered with the Red Cross to help organize blood drives during the COVID-19 pandemic and performed financial work at a nonprofit drug and alcohol rehab center. She attributes her drive to her passion for helping people, cheering up patients, putting them at ease, and educating them about their conditions, which she finds self-rewarding.