Our Practice in Madison

A Wisconsin native, Dr. Tessa Sokol has traveled the country to gain her education, skills, and community-focused outlook, bringing it all back to Wisconsin, and ultimately to Sokol Advanced EyeCare. Dr. Sokol got her start in the optical field in 1998, beginning as an optician and then becoming an optometrist.

After studying at the Illinois College of Optometry, Dr. Sokol had gained a vast amount of experience completing 4 optometric internships. She received training in advanced medical care, ocular disease, surgical comanagement, and low vision rehabilitation at the West Palm Beach VA Medical Center in West Palm Beach, Florida. She then trained at the distinguished Child and Family Optometry clinic in Wichita, Kansas, focusing her studies on pediatric optometry, vision therapy, and developmental vision disorders. Her third internship concentrated on primary care and contact lens fittings at the Naval Hospital and Parris Island Marine Training Facility in Beaufort, South Carolina. Lastly, Dr. Sokol provided advanced ocular disease and pediatric care at the Illinois Eye Institute in Chicago, Illinois, as well as low vision examinations and device fitting at the Chicago Lighthouse.

Dr. Sokol graduated cum laude (with honors) from the Illinois College of Optometry in 2007 with her doctorate in optometry. She was awarded membership into the Beta Sigma Kappa and Tomb & Key optometric honor societies. In 2014, the Wisconsin Optometric Association presented Dr. Sokol with the distinguished Wisconsin Young Optometrist of the Year award. And in early 2015, Madison’s InBusiness magazine recognized Dr. Sokol was one of Madison’s top 40 under 40 business professionals.

Dr. Sokol puts a significant value on reaching out to the community and helping others. During her stint in Georgia, she served as a district secretary for the Georgia Optometric Association. Currently, she is an active member and volunteer for the Wisconsin Optometric Association (WOA) and the American Optometric Association (AOA). She is on the legislative committee for the WOA, having currently and previously served in various presidency roles for the Madison Area Optometric Society. In addition, she is an InfantSEE provider, offering free examinations for infants 6 to 12 months old. This service allows for the determination of healthy visual development and early detection of eye conditions which may otherwise be overlooked. Dr. Sokol is also a member of the Volunteer Optometric Service to Humanity (VOSH) group where she has dedicated her time to helping local people in need of vision care, and she has traveled internationally to help people that have no access to eye care at all.

Throughout her career, Dr. Sokol has traveled to 9 different countries to provide eye care to underserved areas. Locally, Dr. Sokol provides examinations in affiliation with the OneSight Organization and performs screenings for community elementary schools. Unrelated to optometry, Dr Sokol has fun being on the committee planning Madison’s St. Patrick’s Day parade.

In her spare time, Dr. Sokol loves to stay active with long-distance cycling, running, cooking for friends, learning how to fly, and chasing after her dogs.

Dr. Todd Zarwell has been fascinated with eyes and vision ever since he was in grade school. He feels that the best part about his profession is working with people, and that nothing is more satisfying than helping a patient meet their vision and eye health needs. Dr. Zarwell spent 17 years helping educate new optometric residents while serving as an adjunct clinical professor for the Illinois College of Optometry.

Dr. Zarwell earned his undergraduate degree from Ripon College before pursuing his doctorate at the Illinois College of Optometry (ICO). At ICO, he was a member of the Gold Key Optometric Honor Society and was awarded the Colleague of the Year by his graduating class. Obtaining his Fellowship in Anterior Segment Disease and Refractive Surgery is an admirable achievement as fellows who reside in the United States represent less than 10% of the practicing optometrist in the U.S.

Since 1999, Dr Zarwell has developed several popular websites and applications used by optometrists. Recently, these websites have received national recognition. 

In his spare time, Dr Zarwell enjoys reading, painting, crossfit, and finding things to do with his 3 boys.

Erin Avila-Vissers is our new Operations Manager. She began with Sokol Advanced EyeCare in 2017 as a part-time optometric technician. In late 2018, Erin was promoted to a full-time technician and given the role of assistant manager. In that time, she has developed ways to obtain and maintain high standards of patient interactions. Erin became the office operations manager in June of 2022. Her career in optics dates back over 25 years, and she brings with her an extensive knowledge of contacts, glasses, finishing of glasses, and insurance to our practice.

Erin grew up in Indiana and Wisconsin. She moved to Madison in 2002 to finish up a Bachelor’s degree in Art from the University of Wisconsin. As a true Badger, it was inevitable that she fell for the great city of Madison and stayed to develop a career that includes her love for both art and optics.

For fun outside the office, Erin is involved in a number of volunteering opportunities from school PTOs to serving as a board member for a local children’s choir group, and community events such as Art Fair on the Square and Red Cross programs. Recently, she has been showing her art at local businesses and restaurants around Madison. But the majority of her time is spent with her 3 children and husband. Cooking, playing board games, and spending time outside on the farm with their puppies and cats are just a few things the family enjoys doing together. 

Sokol Advanced EyeCare has been a perfect fit for Erin, because she can use her creativity to advance the practice in the community while still having a hands-on family life, enjoying her passion for making art and enriching the community through volunteering both on her own and while in the office.

Zach has a long history and years of extensive knowledge in optics. He started working at Sokol EyeCare in March 2022 and has never looked back. Zach loves traveling and has plans to visit all 7 continents before he dies. He also has a personal motto: “If you’re bored then you’re boring.” In addition, Zach has a goal of seeing a Brewers game at every National League Central Park. When he was 10 years old, he dreamed of being a professional baseball player for the Milwaukee Brewers, but now he’s content just cheering them on from the stands! Zach prefers dogs over any other animal and will always stop to pet one whenever he sees one.

Sara is a Northwoods Native, now residing in Oregon with her husband, Dino and Beagle dog, Marley.
A graduate of UW Oshkosh’s Radio/TV/Film program, she enjoys collecting records, making jewelry, traveling and spending time with friends and family.
One of her favorite places to visit is Lake Superior in Northern Wisconsin and Upper Michigan.
Sara’s favorite part of working at Sokol Advanced EyeCare is the patient interaction with all the shiny happy wonderful people who come in for their eye care needs. So stop on by to show off your shiny happy face today! 

James is a hardworking student at UW Madison. He is a biochemistry major and aspires to get a 4.0 for this upcoming semester. James really admires his parents as they have both worked really hard to provide for their family. His best skills are good people skills – he loves talking to people and getting to know them better. He also enjoys watching sports and reading sports illustrated, and if he could be any pasta shape, he would choose linguini because it’s his favorite!

Sofia is a senior at UW Madison, majoring in Neurobiology and Religious Studies. Along with working part-time at Sokol EyeCare to obtain patient experience, she also works in a neurogenetics lab studying neural tube development. She is currently the VP of diversity, equity, and inclusion for the UW panhellenic association. Fun Fact: she has worked in a deli 1/4 of her life! Sofia can play 6 instruments and we are going to try and convince her to start an office band. If she could be any pasta, she would be a farfalline because it is the best pasta shape that exists.

Kara grew up in Stevens Point Wisconsin where she attended UWSP and obtained a bachelor’s degree in science. She has lived in various cities in Wisconsin but is happy to call Madison home with her husband and daughter. Kara enjoys gardening, walking her dog and playing board games with her family.

Kara has been working in eyecare for about 10 years and is excited to be part of Sokol Advanced Eyecare!
She enjoys helping patients enjoy their best vision in a frame they love. Kara’s favorite pasta is fusilli because she is silly.

Originally from Tennessee, Mitch moved to Wisconsin 10 years ago in pursuit a second Bachelor’s degree in Advertising from The Art Institute – his first being in Forensic Anthropology from the University of Tennessee. While he still uses both degrees, he found a passion for optics. Mitch has been in the optical industry for 4 years. He is excited to work at Sokol Advanced Eyecare, where he can continue to grow, learn, and explore the ever advancing field of optics.

Mitch likes to spend his free time reading a good book, binge watching Netflix shows (recommendations are always welcome), wandering around the city and finding new places. He is a lover of cold weather, especially cozy fall nights. Mitch is also a writer, singer, and actor. 

If Mitch were a pasta he would be Farfalle- keeps it classy, but loves to have a good time.