VISION SOURCE SOUTH ASHEVILLE - Key Persons

Dr. Aundria Lear was born in Asheville and grew up in Western North Carolina where her family has lived and worked for generations. When in high school and considering her career path, Dr. Lear wasn't sure what she wanted to pursue. It was her sister who first suggested that she would make a great optometrist. After shadowing a local optometrist and falling in love with the profession, Dr. Lear started working as an ophthalmic technician while obtaining her undergraduate degree at UNC-Asheville. In 2006 she graduated from UNCA with a B.S. in Management with a concentration in Health Care and obtained the necessary prerequisites for optometry school. While on track to graduate with her optometry prerequisites, it was actually an interaction with a little girl at work that solidified her decision to pursue the profession. This particular girl was brought into the office to pick up her first pair of glasses. Kids can be difficult to treat in any health care setting and Dr. Lear was nervous of how she would react. However, the little girl's reaction was one that Dr. Lear will never forget. Once she had her new glasses on, she slowly looked around the room as if seeing the world for the first time. She gazed lovingly up at her mom who then said "Hey, I'm Mama". That is the exact moment Dr. Lear knew that she wanted to be an optometrist. She feels that the gift of vision is truly a blessing and one which should never be taken for granted. Dr. Lear obtained her Doctorate in Optometry at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2010. There she was trained in primary care, ocular disease diagnosis, treatment, and management, cornea and contact lens, pediatrics, surgery co-management, and emergent/urgent eye care. She completed internships at the UAB School of Optometry, the VA Medical Center in Birmingham, and the Simon-Williamson Clinic. After graduation from UAB, Dr. Lear began working for a local private practice in Asheville. She had dreamed of opening her own practice for years and made it a reality in 2015 when she created Twenty 20 Eyecare + Eyewear. The goal was to provide excellent eye care and a superior patient experience in an environment that focuses on the uniqueness of each individual. That is still Dr. Lear's focus and every decision is designed to work towards achieving this goal. In 2020, Dr. Lear decided to rebrand her practice in a continued effort to achieve her practice goal. Since its inception, Dr. Lear's practice has always been affiliated with Vision Source, which is North America's premier network of private practice optometrists with over 3,200 locally owned practices and more than 4,500 doctors who collaborate to provide quality professional eye care and support the long-term success of independent optometry. Twenty 20 Eyecare + Eyewear effectively changed to Vision Source South Asheville. It's a new name, but with the same great care. As for her personal life, Dr. Lear met her husband, Mark, while they were in high school and they were married in 2007. Thirteen years later, they just had their first child in 2020 - a sweet baby girl named Addison. Finally, no Dr. Lear bio would be complete without mentioning Homer, her faithful rat terrier. "Homerdog" is just as spunky as ever and has adjusted well to no longer being the "top dog" around the house ""Dr. Aundria G. Lear is a queen among optometrists. The service here makes you feel like you're in a heavenly realm of eye care + eye wear."