2024 Richmond Hill Honouree
Radhika Chawla is a woman who understands, values and practices vision in every sense of the word. She is owner and operator of Richmond Hill Optometry Clinic and has travelled to other countries to help improve the prospects and possibilities for other communities in addition to her own.
After completing her Bachelor’s of Science degree at McMaster University, she then graduated from the State University of New York College of Optometry, where she was awarded the College of Optometrists in Vision Development’s Award for Excellence in Vision Therapy.
While she is younger than most accomplished practitioners, her extensive career has been a result of her willingness and wanting to educate and be educated, as well as her deeply rooted desire to make a difference.
Health and vision are not exclusive of each other, so wherever Radhika shines her slit lamp, she finds opportunities to make a difference in the bigger picture of the lives she touches. Sight is a game-changing factor for everyone and of the five senses, it’s capacity to improve or hinder your quality of life or ability to contribute to society is most impactful.
Since childhood, Radhika knew with certainty that she wanted to work in health care and that she wanted to specialize and focus on children. Assessing, educating, and caring for children’s eyes is the most proactive approach to the health of any community. With an exceptional focus and passion for children’s vision care, Radhika has earned the trust of multiple generations and takes great pride in serving the families of her community.
At her clinic, Radhika is very hands-on with her team and her patients. She’s always wanting to learn more about everyone and wanting everyone around her to learn. She and her team use vision as a measure of health, but it is through their caring interactions and conversations that they are able help people connect more dots between underlying health concerns like diabetes, hypertension or stroke.
“Sharing our passion with others allows us to lift one another towards happiness and success – this is my reason for helping others.”
Many professions come without “thanks” but for Radhika and her team, the appreciation is frequent and often profound. Changing a child’s ability to learn in school changes the rest of their lives. Volunteering through ORBIS, an organization aimed at fighting global blindness, has allowed Radhika to travel and teach Optometry in other parts of the world. While attending a conference recently, she had the pleasure of running into an Optometrist she worked directly with in Vietnam on a very complicated patient. He told her of the impact and impression her guidance and kindness made on him and told her he had recently moved to Canada to continue learning and growing in the eyecare profession.
It is through her kindness, authenticity and sharing that Radhika leaves everyone feeling important and cared about, and it is through these strengths that she inspires, heals and helps anyone within her sight.
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