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  • Monday-Friday 9:00 to 6:00
  • Saturday 10:00 to 4:00
  • Sunday Closed

Doctors

Joe Torres, O.D.

Dr. Torres established Eye Carumba Optometry in 2004 specifically to provide high quality optometric services to the residents and employees of San Francisco’s financial district. The driving force behind this venture has been Dr. Torres' commitment to ensure that patients receive high level, individual attention that allows our patients to fully participate in their optometric health care. Dr. Torres, his associate doctors and his exceptional staff strive to provide personal assistance in selecting eyewear, and offer detailed attention to the logistics of our patients' optometric health and eyewear needs.

A third generation Mexican-American, Dr. Torres is fluent in Spanish. He is an active volunteer in the Bay Area, having served on the Board of Directors of Maitri, and specifically supporting the gay community by volunteering for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation for many years, and most recently expanding his volunteer efforts to include G4G: Gay 4 Good. He is a firm believer in education and an ardent supporter of the arts.

Dr. Torres graduated from the University of California, San Diego in 1982 receiving a Bachelor's degree with a major in animal physiology and minors in psychology and studio art. He then earned a second Bachelor of Science degree in physiological optics (1985) and a Doctorate in Optometry (1987) from the University of California, Berkeley School of Optometry.

O. Vanessa Braimah Avery, O.D. FAAO

Dr. Avery (née Braimah) is a native of Atlanta, Georgia where she graduated from Emory University with a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology and Human Biology. She then earned a doctorate of optometry from the University of Missouri-St. Louis College of Optometry, where she was inducted into Beta Sigma Kappa Honorary Society and Gold Key Optometric Honor Society.

After optometry school, Dr. Avery went on to complete a post-doctoral residency in Low Vision Rehabilitation and Ocular Disease at the Illinois Eye Institute, Chicago Lighthouse, and Spectrios Institute. During that time she served as principle investigator for a research project that was recently published. She is currently a fellow of the American Academy of Optometry.

Dr. Avery and family have fallen in love with the people, culture and food of the Bay Area. In her free time she enjoys reading a wide variety of books, traveling, and trying new restaurants. She is looking forward to providing you with personalized, quality eye care.

Laura Tracewell, O.D.

Dr. Tracewell graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a Bachelor of Arts in Biophysics. She then completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Physiological Optics and a Doctorate of Optometry at the University of California, Berkeley School of Optometry.

With more than 20 years of clinical optometric care experience at the Sutter Health Palo Alto Medical Clinic, Dr. Tracewell has become an expert at detecting eye diseases. This multidisciplinary Eye Department provided extensive training in evaluation of strabismus (eye turn) of adults and children and complex contact lens fitting solutions for patients with keratoconus, irregular corneas and high astigmatism prescriptions.

Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Dr. Tracewell is a foodie, amateur pastry chef and plans on attending culinary school someday soon. Dr. Tracewell and her husband, Henry, enjoy exploring new restaurants, traveling and cheering on the Golden State Warriors and San Francisco Giants.

Alexander Pham, O.D.

Dr. Pham received his bachelor’s degree from the University of California San Diego (UCSD) where he majored in Biochemistry and Cell Biology. Prior to attending optometry school he worked as a pretesting assistant at a local optometry office in San Diego where he became interested in the field. He then moved to New York City and earned his Doctorate of Optometry at the State University of New York College of Optometry (SUNY). After graduation he moved back to his southern California hometown of Alhambra where he worked at a couple private practices.

Dr. Pham is a big fan of baseball and basketball but growing up in southern California he loves the Lakers and Dodgers especially. Since beginning work in the Bay Area he has had many fun and “spirited” dialogue with patients regarding the Giants and Warriors. Feel free to chime in! He enjoys a good sports talk or debate with patients.

One of the things on Dr. Pham’s bucket list is to attend a game at every professional basketball and baseball stadium in the States. He also enjoys good food and trying new restaurants in the Bay Area so he is very open to recommendations from patients about their favorite restaurants. In his free time, he enjoys exploring the Bay Area, traveling, and cooking. He is excited to be part of Eye Carumba Optometry and providing patients with exceptional eye care.

Samantha Bautista, O.D.

Dr. Bautista was born and raised in South San Francisco and is happy to serve patients in the Bay Area. She earned her bachelor's degree in Health Sciences at UC Santa Cruz. During her undergraduate years, she found her passion helping and educating patients about their eye care while working at various optometry practices. Dr. Bautista obtained her Doctorate degree at State University of New York (SUNY) College of Optometry.

During her clinical training, she provided primary eye care examinations to cadets and active duty patients at West Point Military Academy. She also conducted vision therapy at Family Vision Care in San Carlos, and treated patients with various ocular diseases at Woodhull Hospital in Brooklyn, New York. She also embarked on a Mission Trip to Oaxaca, Mexico, where she served indigenous communities who did not have access to health care.

While she loved New York City, Dr. Bautista was very happy to return to the Bay Area. She is an active board member of the San Mateo County Optometric Society and California Optometric Association. In her spare time, Dr. Bautista likes to dine at local restaurants and try the latest food trends and pop-ups. She also enjoys traveling, cooking, and spending time with family and friends.

Staff

What Our Patients Say

The staff were FABULOUSLY attentive, friendly and helpful. The selection was great and the prices definitely much more accessible than at other, nearby eyewear purveyors. I've just picked up my two pairs, one for reading and one of prescription dark-glasses, and I love them!

February 1, 2018
Alejandro Iriate

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