January 2026

Happenings of the Society

We’re heading into an exciting year filled with CE events, OD mixers, and plenty of opportunities to connect with fellow San Diego optometrists. For my first president’s message, I wanted to share what being part of the San Diego Optometric Society has meant to me.
 

In 2021, I moved back to San Diego—my hometown—after spending a few years living and working in New York City. If you’ve ever been to New York, you know it’s high-energy and fast-paced, so transitioning back to San Diego’s beach-life, vacation-loving culture definitely took some adjusting. I remember thinking, how does anyone get anything done?
 

I started my OD career in NYC, where a six-day workweek was the norm and there was constant pressure to keep up. While I was involved in optometry, I had become a bit complacent—busy, but not really contributing to shaping the future of the profession.
 

Coming back to San Diego ended up being the breath of fresh air I didn’t know I needed. It gave me the space to step back from the grind and reconnect with my purpose in optometry. I joined SDCOS within a few months and quickly realized this was a group of ODs who were thinking beyond their 9-to-5 practices. These were doctors, actively shaping our profession at the society level.
 

Within the SDCOS Board and Society, I found guidance and support beyond what I expected. As a new practice co-owner, it was incredibly comforting to know I wasn’t going through it alone. The first few years of ownership were a whirlwind—IYKYK—but through all the ups and downs, I always felt grounded because I had a community where I could share both the horror stories and the wins.
 

CE meetings started to feel less like an obligation and more like hanging out with friends… with the bonus of earning CE credits. Seeing the board and members advocate for our profession, lead meaningful community projects, and help bring eye care to underserved populations truly inspired me. It made me realize that this society—and this profession—deserves my time and energy beyond just my day job.
 

I am so excited, honored, and proud to serve as President of the San Diego Optometric Society in 2026. We continue to have an amazing Board of Directors who generously volunteer their time, pro bono, to make sure our members have a year filled with learning, connection, and plenty of San Diego fun. I can’t wait for what’s ahead and look forward to an incredible year together.

-Sloan Rajadhyksha 
SDCOS 2026 President

Volunteer Outreach

The recent vision initiative between the La Mesa–Spring Valley School District (LMSVSD), Lions Optometric Vision Clinic (LOVC), and SDCOS has been a great success thus far.

This semester, district students at eight schools were evaluated using Spot portable screening devices. Various teams of Lions, led by Mike Brandenburg and Helen Quintanilla, screened well over 2,000 students and referred more than 300 for comprehensive eye exams. While some of these students have vision insurance, the majority do not.

SDCOS doctors, led by Drs. Bob Meisel and Eric White, have performed 179 exams to date, with five additional district schools scheduled to be included during the spring semester. Drs. Sam White, Jeff Hall, Simona Grosu, Joyce Medina, John Pack, and Doug Osborne also generously volunteered their time to provide examination services.

Enrique Rodriguez, LOVC Manager, oversaw the optical portion of the program and was invaluable in coordinating and transporting all examination instruments to each school site. Glasses are being fabricated through LOVC and dispensed at each school by Enrique. The glasses are fully funded through an LMSVSD grant, resulting in no cost to the students or their parents.

This true team effort has successfully provided many students with the opportunity to learn more effectively through clear and comfortable vision.

OD Relations Liaison message

Please contact Dr. Lucia Millet, OD, Society Optometrist Relations Liaison at odjobs@sdcos.org to be put on an official list for the following:
fill-in/part-time work
full-time work
purchase/partner in/sell a practice
This service is offered free of charge to SDCOS members.

Upcoming CE meeting

• Location: Westpac 5280 Carroll Canyon Rd, Suite 300San Diego, CA 92121
• February 12th - 2 hr CE:  Lee Katzman, MD – Glaucoma | 1hr Thomas Laazrini, MD- Retina - 1 hr
• February 20- 21: House of Delegates

SDCOS board of Directors

Classifieds

What Will 2026 Bring? One Thing We Know for Sure

Brought to you by: Nichole Mayer & Will Hage

2025 was a year full of surprises. Some good and some bad. It seemed like each week a dramatic new story would dominate the headlines, causing us to forget the big story everybody was talking about just a few weeks before.

From natural disasters to political strife to the moves of the market, there were a lot of major unexpected events. These were things it would have been nice to know about ahead of time.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could assemble a group of experts to tell us in advance what the New Year will bring?

In 1995 BBC’s World of Tomorrow TV program attempted to do just that. Enlisting the help of leading scientists and other experts, they boldly predicted what the world would look like 30 years in the future—in the distant year 2025.

Among their predictions they said:

• The internet would be taken over by “business barons” who would restrict access to the general public, setting off riots.

• Surgeons would be ranked by their performance stats (like athletes) and all surgeries would be performed remotely.

• Most interpersonal communication would be carried out via hologram.

• The space junk problem would be solved by deploying giant blobs of foam jell.

Now that 2025 is over, we can assess how they did.

Some of these predictions came partially true. But not a single one of them was accurate enough to be actionable. For example, if you had invested heavily in space foam in 1995, it appears that it would have paid off.

Basically, each of these forecasts was made by taking a major trend of 1995 and then imagining it developing in a straight line over three decades. The problem is that real events are usually set off by unlooked-for and unforeseen causes. For example, there’s strong evidence to suggest that the Black Death, which wiped out half the people of medieval Europe, was indirectly caused by a volcano. The eruption in 1345 blocked the sun, causing crops to fail. Italy had to import grain from Central Asia, which included rats infested with fleas carrying the pathogen. Brought to you by: Nichole Mayer & Will Hage Nichole.Mayer@WestPacWealth.com Will.Hage@WestPacWealth.com

But the biggest barrier to accurately forecasting the future is the unpredictability of human behavior.

Philosopher Karl Popper analyzed why even the most scientific predictions about the future are so consistently inaccurate. He concluded that while the study of history can reveal trends, there’s no guarantee these trends will continue. Just like we saw above.

So, we’re pretty safe in predicting that 2026 will be full of the unexpected—both good and bad—for all of us. There’s just no telling what might happen. It’s yet another great reason to stay flexible with your expectations and broadly diversified with your investments.

What we can determine ahead of time is how we will respond. We can cultivate the personal resilience and financial discipline to meet any challenges head on.

We wish you and yours a very happy New Year and a rewarding 2026.

The information contained in this article is general in nature and is not legal, tax or financial advice. For information regarding your particular situation, contact an attorney or a tax or financial professional. The information in this newsletter is provided with the understanding that it does not render legal, accounting, tax or financial advice. In specific cases, clients should consult their legal, accounting, tax or financial professional. This article is not intended to give advice or to represent our firm as being qualified to give advice in all areas of professional services. Exit Planning is a discipline that typically requires the collaboration of multiple professional advisors. To the extent that our firm does not have the expertise required on a particular matter, we will always work closely with you to help you gain access to the resources and professional advice that you need.

This is an opt-in newsletter published by Efficient Advisors, LLC., and presented to you by our firm. We appreciate your interest.

Any examples provided are hypothetical and for illustrative purposes only. Examples include fictitious names and do not represent any particular person or entity.

Nichole Mayer & Will Hage are Registered Representatives and Financial Advisors of Park Avenue Securities LLC (PAS). Securities products and advisory services offered through PAS, member FINRA, SIPC. Financial Representatives of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America® (Guardian), New York, NY. PAS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Guardian. WestPac Wealth Partners LLC is not an affiliate or subsidiary of PAS or Guardian. Insurance products offered through WestPac Wealth Partners and Insurance Services, LLC, a DBA of WestPac Wealth Partners, LLC. | Mayer CA Insurance License #0F54659 | Hage CA Insurance License #0D97541