Conversations with Elise Brisco

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Elise Brisco, Ms. Woman California United States

Hi Elise, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I am the child of immigrant parents who came from Vietnam without knowing how to speak English. They had literally nothing when they came here, and when I was born, they had to save a month’s wages just to buy a fan to keep me cool during the summer. My parents worked hard to give me a good life, which is where I got my work ethics from.

I took our four loans to buy my practice after graduating from Optometry School. Taking care of patients, friends and family is my life’s work. My mission has always been to educate and motivate people to take good care of themselves so that they could enjoy a meaningful life. This is why I went back to school to become a Certified Clinical Homeopath. Having both a medical and holistic health background allows me to integrate the best of both worlds of healthcare.

As I got older, I became more alarmed that chronic disease exists in nine out of ten people once you reach your 60’s. Many of these health problems are preventable by healthy habits. This is a big reason why I started doing beauty pageants last year. I wanted to inspire people to look forward to midlife by living their best and healthiest life. I was crowned Ms. Woman California United States in August of 2021. I then went on to represent California at the Miss United States Pageant where I came in as first runner-up. There are eight age divisions in the pageant, and I am in the oldest category Ms. Woman which is 35 years and up. My platform is Healthy Living for Healthy Aging.

As as pro-aging spokesmodel, I am a Health and Beauty influencer and content creator. I post daily tips about how to live your best life through healthy living including: fitness, eating, mindfulness, fashion and holistic health. I am also the Founder and CEO of NearSight. We are a vision wellness company that develops solutions for vision problems that result from heavy screen time. All the time we spend on digital devices for work, school and play have taken a toll on our eyes. We are looking for investors to help us raise the capital to launch our first product which is a phone case with a reading lens. This will eliminate the need to carry reading glasses with you to see your phone or off your phone like menus and price tags. It is so much more convenient than having to look for your reading glasses when you need to see close up.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
There have been a lot of challenges as a female doctor and as a minority. When I graduated from optometry school, fewer than 10% of doctors were women. Today, over half of medical and optometry school graduates are women!

Here are some examples of challenges I had to overcome as a woman. When I lectured at conferences, doctors would assume that I was someone’s daughter. When I was the Team Optometrist for the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks, sometimes the guards wouldn’t let me into the locker room because they thought I was a Decoy which is one of their team’s cheerleaders instead of one of the team’s doctors. As the only female assistant coach for my son’s Little League baseball team, the referees would tell me to get off the field because “no moms are allowed on the field”.

I also had to work seven days a week when I first bought my practice. Not only did I need to pay off my student debt, but also the four loans that I took out to buy the practice. I was driven to provide the best care possible for my patients who trusted me with their precious vision so I invested most of the profits into the practice buying the latest technology and hiring the best-trained staff.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My life is very full these days. I wear many hats as
* Founder of NearSight
* Ms. Woman California
* Health and Beauty Influencer
* Single Working mom
* Spokesmodel

I am proud of all my accomplishments and for being able to inspire and mentor those who follow me. I had an internship program for USC and UCLA pre-optometry students for two decades. 100% of my interns went on to become ODs or MDs. Now I inspire the next generation on social media and my peers by leading by example. I have never been afraid of challenges and pushed myself to excel. My work is my pleasure so I enjoy what I do. I also schedule almost every aspect of my day so that I can fit everything in including working out and taking care of myself.

How do you define success?
Happiness

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.NearSight.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hollywoodeyes/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hollywoodeyesbrisco
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_ZiZfm8yJoFBm_LyB711Lw
• Other: https://www.supadata.net/cards/Elise_Brisco_Elise_Brisco_33274.asp

Image Credits:
Photography by Gregory Zabilski and Milo Tan.