I grew up in North Carolina and graduated from Princeton University. I pursued a career in medicine because I enjoy helping others, educating patients and health care trainees, and applying scientific knowledge to patient care. Prior to joining Kaiser Permanente, I was an associate professor of ophthalmology at the University of Washington School of Medicine, where I served on the full-time faculty for 10 years. I cared for patients with corneal diseases and cataracts at the University of Washington Eye Institute, University of Washington Medical Center, Harborview Medical Center, and the VA Puget Sound-Seattle. During that time, I taught cataract and corneal surgeries to UW ophthalmology residents and directed medical student education for the UW Department of Ophthalmology, receiving teaching awards for resident education.