(Clockwise from top left) Dr. Constadina Manettas, Dr. Anna Marie Fernandez, Dr. Eric C. Rubinfeld and Dr. Tanya L. Carter.

NEW YORK—SUNY College of Optometry has announced that it will honor four distinguished alumni at its inaugural Alumni Weekend in New York City on Saturday, September 14, 2024. According to the announcement, this year’s honorees include: Dr. Constadina Manettas, ’20, (Rising Star); Dr. Anna Marie Fernandez, ‘85 (Alumna of the Year); Dr. Eric C. Rubinfeld, ‘87 (Alumni Mentor of the Year); and Dr. Tanya L. Carter, ’87, R’88 (Distinguished Resident Alumna of the Year). The awards celebration will begin at 7:00 p.m. at The Empire Ballroom at 230 Fifth Avenue in New York City.

Dr. Manettas is originally from Canton, Mich. and graduated with a Bachelor of Science from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. In 2020, Dr. Manettas graduated from SUNY College of Optometry. She is currently working as a solo optometrist at Bedford Stuyvesant Family Health Center, a federally qualified health center in Brooklyn, and performs comprehensive eye exams with clients at the Bowery Mission shelters in Manhattan. While at SUNY Optometry, Dr. Manettas was president of the Public Health Club and traveled to Jamaica to volunteer with the Eye Health Institute along with other members of the SUNY Optometry community.

Dr. Fernandez is a second-generation Hispanic woman and the first in her family to graduate from college. She is also the first to pursue a professional degree, graduating in 1985 from SUNY College of Optometry. In 1988, Dr. Fernandez opened her own franchise after having worked in several different practices. She sold the practice in 2016 but continued to see patients as a part-time optometrist across a few practices.

 
She has served as a mentor to students, including those attending SUNY College of Optometry; acted as an ambassador for the profession, sharing her experiences and having students shadow her; and performed eye exams for elementary school children. She is an active SUNY Optometry Alumni Association board member and past president, a member of the SUNY College of Optometry Foundation Development Committee, and a committed donor to the College.

With 36 years of experience to his credit, Dr. Rubinfeld is the owner and president of Westchester Eyes since 2018. He treats patients with eyelid, eyelash, and ocular surface diseases and conducts research and development to identify and develop optimal homeopathic treatments, pharmaceuticals, supplements, technology and other products for patients. The grandson and nephew of active military veterans, Dr. Rubinfeld has a particular interest and focuses attention on military veterans and their unique needs, working with veteran and first-responder organizations like the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. In addition, he supervises and provides training for four optometrists and technicians within his practice and mentors students at SUNY Optometry.

Dr. Carter is a professor emerita at SUNY Optometry. She has served in various positions over 30 years including as associate clinical professor for third- and fourth-year interns, instructor of record for the geriatrics course, and ocular disease residency supervisor at Coler Memorial Hospital. Dr. Carter earned her doctor of optometry at SUNY Optometry in 1987 and completed a residency at St. Albans Veterans Administration Hospital. Dr. Carter received her B.S. degree from the University of California at Los Angeles.

Dr. Carter is currently in private practice in Montclair, N.J., where she serves as chief operating officer of BNC Eyecare Group. Dr. Carter has served in several capacities on the board of the National Optometric Association (NOA) and has mentored numerous pre-optometry and NOSA students along their optometric journey.

This year’s Alumni Weekend celebration has been extended to a weekend of events, the school said, centered around the awards ceremony and an all alumni cocktail reception on Saturday, September 14.

To purchase a ticket to the all alumni cocktail reception on September 14 and to find more information on events throughout the alumni reunion weekend, click here.