The Team
Jennifer K. Garner, O.D.
Dr. Jennifer Garner was raised in Houston working in her father's optometric practice while she was actively involved in the academic honors curriculum and music programs during middle school and high school. She graduated with honors from J. Frank Dobie High School. After she quickly completed her pre-medical prerequisites with honors at Baylor University in three years, she was accepted into the doctoral program at the University of Houston College of Optometry where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Optometry. She held several leadership positions as a graduate student in the University of Houston College of Optometry, was elected by her peers as Optometry Senator representing the College of Optometry in the University of Houston student government, and was also chosen to be the only National Student Intern at the American Optometric Association headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri in 1992. She was the first optometric graduate student from the state of Texas to be honored with this national award throughout the entire history of the AOA national internship program. While in optometry school, she was inducted into the Beta Sigma Kappa Optometric Honor Society and is still a current professional member. After graduating Magna Cum Laude with honors and earning her doctorate from the University of Missouri College of Optometry in 1994, Dr. Garner joined her father as an optometric partner in the family business for the first 11 years of her optometric career. Dr. Garner re-located to the North Texas area with her husband in 2005 where she has worked in three separate optometric practices for the past 20 years. Although she still resides in the North Texas area, she has been commuting to Houston to provide patient eyecare services again at Garner Vision Center upon the passing away of her father, Dr. B. J. Garner.
Dr. Garner's extensive training and experience encompass a broad spectrum of optometric care. She completed an externship at the University of Texas Memorial Hermann Medical School Department of Ophthalmology focusing on managing vitreoretinal ocular diseases with surgical and non-surgical treatments, completed an externship at the Park Plaza Hospital with Berkeley Eye Center concentrating on anterior segment ocular diseases with corneal transplants, completed an externship at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois serving both active military personnel along with their families and retired veterans which specialized in both pediatric and geriatric eyecare, and she completed an internship at the St. Louis Optometric Center in East St. Louis providing eyecare to the underserved, indigenous community.
Dr. Garner holds a therapeutic optometric license and was certified as an optometric glaucoma specialist by the University of Texas Memorial Hermann Medical School Department of Ophthalmology in Houston. She was also credentialed for laser co-management from the Zale Lipshy University Hospital at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. Dr. Garner has participated in various pre-operative and post-operative refractive surgery FDA trials with the Slade and Baker Vision Center in Houston. She stays updated on the latest vision health advances by regularly attending continuing education conferences given by specialists around the country.
While in private practice for 31 years, Dr. Garner has served on the Harris County Optometric Society Executive Council for numerous years. She was also elected by her optometric colleagues as Secretary, Vice-President, and President of the Harris County Optometric Society Inc., which is the largest regional optometric society in the state of Texas with over 500 doctors. She served on the Texas Optometric Association's AGU (Assistance to Graduates and Undergraduates Committee) for multiple years helping students navigate the transitioning challenges from being a graduate student to becoming a professional optometric doctor. For several years, Dr. Garner was selected as a Clinical Examiner for the National Board of Examiners in Optometry. Additionally, she was awarded the title of "America's Top Optometrists" by the Consumers Research Council of America from her patients for many successive years.
B.J. Garner, O.D. (Deceased)
Dr. B.J. Garner hailed from the Piney Woods of East Texas, graduating from Crockett High School. He was a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin, where he played in the Longhorn Band and obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacy in 1962. He also later graduated from the University of Houston College of Optometry with both Bachelor and Doctor of Optometry degrees in 1975. He was a member of the adjunct faculty and was also a guest lecturer at the University of Houston College of Optometry for many years. Dr. Garner held a therapeutic optometric license and was certified as an optometric glaucoma specialist by the University of Texas Medical School in Houston. He served on the Pasadena Independent School District Board of Trustees for six years and was selected to preside as President after holding all of the offices on the Board. Later, Dr. Garner was appointed by Governor George W. Bush to a six year term on the Texas Optometry Board. During his time of civilian public service, Dr. Garner also had a military career. He served in both the United States Air Force Reserve and the Texas Air National Guard, achieving the rank of Lt. Colonel.
Dr. Garner and his wife Laura have two married daughters, Julie, a former missionary to Guatemala, and Jennifer, a Doctor of Optometry. Dr. Garner became a foundational rock in the Sagemont South Belt community as he actively participated in the South Belt-Ellington Chamber of Commerce as a Lifetime Charter Member and held several leadership positions on the Board of Directors. He was also a Charter Member and President of the South Belt Optimist Club and invested several years serving on the Optimist Scholarship Foundation of the Southeast Texas Board of Directors, including the role of President. Dr. and Mrs. Garner are active members of Sagemont Church in southeast Houston, where they have had an independent optometric practice for the past 49 years.
