About Jennifer
Jennifer Harner is the Chief Executive Officer of The Eye Care Institute, bringing over two decades of eyecare experience to a role she considers far more than a career — it is a calling.
Jennifer joined The Eye Care Institute in 2006 after relocating from Arkansas, and from her earliest days with the practice, it became clear she had found her professional home. Her path through the practice has been genuinely uncommon: she has worked across nearly every area of the organization — from front desk and billing to optical and operations — building the kind of ground-level understanding that shapes exceptional leadership. She rose through those ranks to serve as the practice’s inaugural Chief Operating Officer before being named Chief Executive Officer, a distinction that reflects both her institutional knowledge and her vision for the future of ECI.
That vision is rooted in something simple and enduring: the belief that kindness, compassion, and genuine human connection are not soft ideals — they are the foundation of exceptional care. Jennifer leads with the conviction that every physician, every team member, and every patient deserves the most positive experience possible, and that when a practice gets that right from the inside out, it shows. It is this culture of warmth and willingness to truly help that she believes sets The Eye Care Institute apart — not just as a place people come to receive care, but as a place where they feel it.
For Jennifer, the draw to eyecare began long before her career did. A sixth-grade first pair of glasses sparked a curiosity that never faded — deepened by an eighth-grade cow eye dissection and a career class project that had her researching optometry before most people her age had any sense of direction at all. Though her path led her away from clinical practice, it led her exactly where she was meant to be: shaping the experience, culture, and operations of a practice she genuinely loves.
Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and an MBA with a focus in Healthcare Administration. She is also a Certified Ophthalmic Executive (COE). When she is not leading staff or building strategy, Jennifer loves spending time with her husband and two children, diving into pop culture, or gathering everyone around the kitchen table for a board game.
