Dr. Smider graduated from SJSU in 1992 with a Bachelors of Science Degree in Physiological Sciences. She then earned her doctorate from UC Berkeley School of Optometry in 1996 and completed a residency specializing in Low Vision and Ocular Pathology. She specializes in prescribing devices for those patients who are visually impaired from diseases such as Macular Degeneration and Glaucoma. During Dr. Smider’s residency training, she worked with Stanford Ophthalmology residents and attended grand rounds at the Stanford School of Medicine. After graduation she became the first Chief Optometrist at the Willow Clinic in Menlo Park, CA where she started and directed a new optometry center and trained optometry residents. Prior to relocating to San Diego in 2006, she worked in private practice in Alameda and San Francisco for eight years. Dr. Smider in board certified in the treatment and management of glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, corneal disease and can prescribe topical antibiotics, anti-allergenics, anti-inflammatory and other ocular and systemic drugs. In addition, she consults and co-manages patients who undergo refractive surgery. Dr. Smider resides in Rancho Penasquitos with her husband and two children and is active in the San Diego Optometric Society.