Chu On This!

In this episode of Chu on This!, Dr. Katie W. Chu sits down with optometrist, educator, and career development specialist Dr. Diane van Staden for an inspiring conversation about finding your voice, overcoming self-doubt, and discovering that professional success doesn't have to follow a traditional path. Diane shares her remarkable journey from growing up in apartheid-era South Africa, where prof...

In this episode of Chu on This!, Dr. Katie W. Chu sits down with second-generation optometrist, educator, and mentor Dr. Mark Schaeffer for a heartfelt conversation about family, vulnerability, finding purpose, and the importance of human connection. Mark reflects on his career in optometry, the joy of mentoring younger doctors, and how small interactions with patients can leave a lasting impact....

In this special 50th episode of Chu on This!, the roles are reversed as Dr. Melissa Barnett takes over the microphone to interview Dr. Katie W. Chu, offering listeners a deeply personal look at the woman behind the podcast. Katie reflects on her journey from building a successful optometry practice serving generations of immigrant families to navigating some of life's most difficult experiences. S...

In this episode of Chu on This!, Dr. Katie W. Chu sits down with fellow optometrist and entrepreneur Dr. Chris Smiley for an inspiring conversation about leadership, gratitude, personal growth, and having the courage to bet on yourself. Chris shares how an unexpected change in his career plans led him to purchase an optometry practice straight out of school, eventually growing it into a thriving b...

In this episode of Chu on This!, Dr. Katie W. Chu sits down with fellow optometrist, educator, and entrepreneur Dr. Kriti Bhagat for an honest conversation about resilience, vulnerability, finding your voice, and embracing life's unexpected changes. Kriti shares how an exciting career opportunity turned into a devastating setback when she relocated to Rhode Island, only to discover that her new po...

In this episode of Chu on This!, Dr. Katie W. Chu sits down with longtime friend, fellow optometrist, and entrepreneur Dr. Osama Said for an honest conversation about success, family, perfectionism, personal growth, and learning when it's time to let go. Osama shares his journey from electrical engineering into optometry, eventually building a successful group of practices before selling to privat...

In this episode of Chu on This!, Dr. Katie W. Chu sits down with Rita Kandamkalam for a deeply personal conversation about growth, faith, identity, belonging, vulnerability, and learning to find more joy in the person you're becoming. Rita shares how a recent trip to Italy unexpectedly shifted her perspective. Returning to Los Angeles, she realized that parts of her old life no longer seemed to fi...

In this episode of Chu on This!, Dr. Katie W. Chu sits down with fellow optometrist and entrepreneur Dr. Thanh Mai for a candid conversation about business, leadership, asking for help, and learning to live with greater intention. Thanh shares his journey from opening an optometry practice from scratch to growing through acquisitions and additional locations. Along the way, he learned lessons that...

In this episode of Chu on This!, Dr. Katie W. Chu sits down with longtime optical industry colleague and friend David Carneal for a thoughtful conversation about perspective, clarity, relationships, gratitude, and learning to see ourselves differently. After 25 years in the optical industry, David moved into consulting, workflow and process development, and perspective alignment coaching. He and K...

In this episode of Chu on This!, Dr. Katie W. Chu sits down with longtime industry colleague Ryan Solomon for a personal conversation about success, loss, family, mentorship, service, and learning that strength doesn't mean doing everything alone. Ryan shares how losing his mother to breast cancer at just 24 changed the direction of his life. It forced him to rethink the "lone wolf" mentality he h...

In this episode of Chu on This!, Dr. Katie W. Chu sits down with longtime Oakley leader Kyle Lan Franco for an honest conversation about resilience, identity, persistence, mental health, and rebuilding yourself when life doesn't go according to plan. Kyle shares the persistence that eventually landed him a role at Oakley after around 20 interviews, beginning a career that has now lasted almost 17...

In this episode of Chu on This!, Dr. Katie W. Chu sits down with glaucoma and cataract specialist Dr. Huy Ly for a candid conversation about purpose, perseverance, family sacrifice, patient relationships, and learning to become more comfortable with life's gray areas. Born in Vietnam, Huy immigrated to the United States at six years old and eventually pursued medicine, although becoming a doctor w...

In this episode of Chu on This!, Dr. Katie W. Chu sits down with internationally recognized cataract and refractive surgeon Dr. Sheri Rowen for a warm and deeply personal conversation about confidence, reinvention, motherhood, mentorship, breaking barriers, and learning to appreciate the person behind the professional achievements. Sheri shares the bold decision that brought her from Baltimore to...

In this episode of Chu on This!, Dr. Katie W. Chu sits down with board-certified ophthalmologist and retina specialist Dr. Yi Jiang for a thoughtful conversation about medicine, entrepreneurship, community, relationships, and what happens when you choose to move forward before you feel completely ready. Yi shares why he returned to Southern California after completing his medical training in Chica...

In this episode of Chu on This!, Dr. Katie W. Chu welcomes educator, sociologist, and higher education leader Dr. Vanessa Ochoa for a heartfelt conversation about family, identity, community, leadership, and the importance of knowing where you come from. What begins with memories of Chu’s Kitchen, Katie’s father’s beloved Los Angeles restaurant, quickly becomes a rich discussion about legacy. Vane...

In this episode of Chu on This!, Dr. Katie W. Chu welcomes entrepreneur and NuLIDS CEO Mark Saad for a thoughtful conversation about purpose, leadership, family, faith, and the quiet moments that ultimately shape our lives. While Mark’s professional mission is focused on transforming proactive eye care through innovative technology, the conversation quickly reveals that his true passion extends fa...

In this episode of Chu on This!, Dr. Katie W. Chu sits down with California optometrist, entrepreneur, speaker, and Vision Source leader Dr. Tim Trinh for a deeply reflective conversation about resilience, purpose, leadership, and living life with intention. Tim shares his remarkable journey from graduating during the 2008 financial crisis and piecing together work across more than thirty-five dif...

In this episode of Chu on This!, Dr. Katie W. Chu sits down with Texas optometrist Dr. Oliver Lou for an honest and deeply personal conversation about gratitude, resilience, family, healing, and the relationships that shape who we become. What begins as a lighthearted discussion about family life, sports, and the simple joy of a morning coffee soon evolves into a series of meaningful reflections o...

In this episode of Chu on This!, Dr. Katie W. Chu welcomes longtime colleague, Vision Source leader, and optometrist Dr. Bobby "Chip" Wood for a heartfelt conversation about stewardship, leadership, resilience, gratitude, and what it truly means to build a meaningful life. Recorded during the Vision Source Exchange in Nashville, the discussion begins with Chip reflecting on his role as an educator...

In this episode of Chu on This!, Dr. Katie W. Chu welcomes marketing executive and Optical Women's Association leader Kristen Tischler for a heartfelt conversation about courage, motherhood, relationships, vulnerability, and the power of taking the first step into the unknown. What begins as a discussion about Kristen's career journey from financial services into the eye care industry quickly unfo...

In this inspiring and thought-provoking episode of Chu on This!, Dr. Katie W. Chu sits down with optometrist, entrepreneur, practice owner, and founder of Dr. Contact Lens, Dr. Brianna Rhue, for a conversation about ambition, entrepreneurship, family, purpose, and the seasons of life. What begins as a discussion about Brianna’s journey from practicing optometry to becoming a technology entrepreneu...

In this episode of Chu on This!, Dr. Katie W. Chu sits down with optometrist, humanitarian, and longtime Vision Source leader Dr. Mark Kapperman for a thoughtful conversation about faith, service, purpose, forgiveness, and the relationships that shape our lives. Recorded during the Vision Source Exchange in Nashville, Tennessee, the discussion begins with reflections on independent optometry, the...

In this episode of Chu on This!, Dr. Katie W. Chu sits down with optometrist, speaker, and longtime colleague Dr. John Womack for a heartfelt conversation about family, gratitude, purpose, personal growth, and the people who shape our lives. Recorded in Atlanta before a professional training event, the conversation follows the show's signature “soft chews and hard chews” format, blending lighthear...

In this episode of Chu on This!, Dr. Katie W. Chu sits down with optometrist, entrepreneur, leadership strategist, and founder of LeadOD, Dr. Ben Thayil, for a thoughtful and transformative conversation about leadership, purpose, authenticity, and the inner work required for meaningful growth. What begins as a discussion about leadership development quickly evolves into a deeper exploration of per...

In this deeply personal and emotional episode of Chu on This!, Dr. Katie W. Chu sits down with longtime friend and optometrist Dr. Jon Crum for a heartfelt conversation about healing, resilience, faith, personal growth, and the unexpected ways life can come full circle. The episode begins with reflections on their shared history, including opening an optometry practice together in Chino Hills in t...