Administration

At the Retina Macula Institute, we have hand-picked one of the finest teams of professionals to support you & your treatment.

Front row (left to right): Briggitte Luevano, Administrative Assistant; Sonia Ruiz, Human Resources & Front Office Manager; Esmeralda Gallemore, Practice Administrator; Lillian Chen; Natalie Truong, Clinical Research Coordinator
Back row (left to right): David Nguyen, EMR Director & Assistant Back Office Manager and Calvin Chou, Clinical Director

Our management team is a group of hand-picked professionals with the diverse experience and unique educational backgrounds required to manage and grow one of the leading retina centers in the country. Since its establishment in 2007, RMI has experienced over 100% growth each year. Practice Administrator, Esmeralda Gallemore, has assembled a management team from the best and brightest candidates, with backgrounds in business, medicine and information technology, in order to advance the Institute's goals of patient care, education and research. RMI has seven management personnel and over 35 staff members.

Our management team has an exceptional depth of experience in developing and managing each individual department under their specific command.

Each member of our team is a leader in each of our Institute’s departments and is responsible for supervising their individual departments. They provide leadership and help orient our personnel, while performing a variety of operational duties.

Individual Biographies

Esmeralda Gallemore, Practice AdministratorEsmeralda Gallemore is the Practice Administrator for the Retina Macula Institute and has helped build RMI from the ground up, interviewing, training and developing our management team and staff. Her entrepreneurial spirit and strong background in marketing led her to California where she established Ophthalmic Consulting Services, Inc., a private, for-profit, company providing consulting services, employee training and practice development. In addition, she is the owner of veyetamins, Inc., a private company that develops and distributes nutritional supplements for patients with eye disorders.

With her strong background in employee training, education, marketing and practice development she has worked with numerous practices around the country and the world as a consultant and has been recognized by her contemporaries for her abilities, hard work and dedication. She is a nationally recognized certified lecturer for the Joint Commission of Allied Health Professionals (JCAHPO) as well as the Ophthalmic Photographers Society (OPS). She has taught courses in a variety of fields including Refractive Surgery, Oculoplastics, Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, and Retinal Disorders. She organized and directed the first accredited Ophthalmic Technician Update meeting in Southern California in 2006 with a faculty roster consisting of leaders in ophthalmic subspecialties, billing, coding and medical-legal consulting.

Using her skills as a Certified Ophthalmic Technician, retinal angiographer and as a master of many tongues, she has trained staff and doctors in other countries and has participated in medical missions in Fiji, El Salvador, Mexico and Chile.

Esmeralda has a strong educational background and completed her certification in Ophthalmology at the Jules Stein Eye Institute, UCLA School of Medicine. She has had additional advanced training in Refractive Surgery through VISX University and became a Certified Instructor for Technicians through accredited programs including National Eyecare Ophthalmic Technician Training (OTT).

Esmeralda is a brilliant administrator and the Institute’s “go-to girl”, a leader who can make things happen when the train falls off the track. She has had to wear many hats over the course of her career, allowing her to hone a variety of skills through experience. Esmeralda’s latest project, the development of RMI, is her crowning achievement. She is now recognized for having developed one of the fastest growing retina institutes and research centers in the nation.

Calvin Chou, Clinical DirectorCalvin Chou is the Clinical Director at the Retina Macula Institute and has been an integral part of the practice since it was established. Calvin graduated from the University of California, San Diego in the summer of 2007 with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology. Shortly after graduation an opportunity arose in the Ophthalmology field and he decided to pursue it.

He adapted to and thrived on the new challenges and responsibilities of being an ophthalmic technician. He quickly became a lead technician and was given the chance to enter the world of retinal imaging. Through hard work and dedication as well as attendance in continuing education courses with Joint Commission of Allied Health Professionals (JCAHPO), Ophthalmic Photographers Society (OPS) and American Academy of Ophthalmic Executives (AAOE), Calvin was promoted to Director of Photography at the Retina Macula Institute.

To date he has completed thousands of retinal images including but not limited to fundus photos, fluorescein angiography, auto-fluorescence, OCT’s and b-scan ultrasonography. Calvin is certified and involved with dozens of clinical trials across the country and works with universities such as Duke and the University of Wisconsin as well as renowned reading centers like DARC.

Today Calvin is the Clinical Director and heads the Photography Department with his team of renowned photographers dedicated to ensuring patients feel as comfortable as possible while obtaining the best photos for the doctors to review. If you have any questions regarding the photography department or related imaging procedures feel free to contact us and we will gladly answer any inquiries you may have.

Sonia Ruiz, Human Resources & Front Office Manager
Sonia Ruiz is the first friendly face to greet you when you come to the office. In the past, Sonia worked as an office receptionist and as a back office technician. She is currently the Front office Manager at RMI.

The physicians and the rest of the management team rely on her for professional input, guidance, and advice. She always listens with an ear toward team improvement and harmony. She brings energy, knowledge, and a good sense of humor to the office, not to mention some really great treats.

Sonia has been in the Medical field for more than 20 years.She has attended a number of accredited courses in ophthalmology, enhancing her skills and furthering her knowledge of the field.

Sonia’s hands-on job experience and career training, in a wide variety of diseases, have given her the leadership traits and expertise necessary for successful team management. Under her guidance, the front office staff is committed to making sure you connect with the person best suited to meet your needs. She answers hundreds of questions each week and I’ll bet she can answer yours.

David Nguyen, EMR Director & Assistant Back Office ManagerDavid Nguyen is part of the Retina Macula Institute management team as the Director of Electronic Medical Records (EMR). He has a strong background in medical sciences with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Biological Sciences from the University of California, Riverside in 2007.

David started with Dr. Gallemore in 2007 as a back office technician and quickly advanced to the management team, after displaying vast knowledge of Ophthalmology and proper patient care. David spends most of his time alongside Dr. Gallemore, assisting in various procedures and diagnostic tests, offered at RMI.

Besides assisting in management of the back office, he also oversees patients’ medical records and participates in the RMI Research Center. As the Director of EMR, David has been an invaluable asset during the transitional phase of our medical record programs.

David has customized this new program, adapting to practice needs by increasing efficiency levels. Using his knowledge of Ophthalmology, he has also dedicated countless hours to back office staff training, here at RMI.

In addition to managing the clinic flow in the back office, David is involved with the clinical research trials of View1 and Copernicus as an Unmasked Study Coordinator. While exhibiting stellar work ethic and professionalism, David also practices gentility when dealing with patients, a quality complimented by many.

Natalie Truong, Clinical Research CoordinatorNatalie Truong has more than 6 years of clinical research experience. In addition to her work as a back office technician, she provides support and leadership, working with and under a principal investigator in clinical research.

Natalie received a Bachelor’s of Science in Biochemistry and graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with honors. She also received the Wasserman scholarship in 2008.

Natalie works in collaboration with the study team to ensure trial preparedness. She also assists in visit coordination and scheduling and facilitates clinical treatments, while maintaining a rapport with the Institutional Review Board and research sponsors. As part of the RMI team, she is dedicated, hard working and devotes most of her time and effort to clinical research and education.

Natalie gives her undivided attention to individual patient care. Even during the busiest days at RMI, she ensures patient needs are met and manages to have energy leftover to assist fellow staff members when necessary.

Briggitte Luevano, Administrative AssistantBriggette Luevano is the administrative assistant of Retina Macula Institute. She works closely with the practice Administrator managing the physician’s schedule, arranging appointments and meetings, compiling statistics, tracking the budget, running interference, and, in general, supporting the needs of the practice.

In addition to her responsibilities as an administrative assistant, Briggitte oversees all aspects of human resources and works closely with new employees throughout their orientation period, providing education and guidance. In fact, she is dedicated to enhancing employee skills from the get-go.

Brigitte earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Finance from La Sierra University as well as a Bachelor’s of Arts in Management. Before joining RMI, she accumulated six years of customer service experience and two years of secretarial experience.

Briggite is known and praised for “her extraordinary ability, utmost sincerity and trademark friendliness” when dealing with patients and personnel at RMI. Briggitte “is so diligent and conscientious. She is known to put in 12 hours at the office, working on various projects, and then another three to four hours at home.” Our expert team considers her “a great credit” to RMI.