Sandbox Stories are delivered to the eye care industry by Dr. Scott Jens, whose career as a Doctor of Optometry, then Software Founder/CEO, has led him to create "The Sandbox" - a playful, thoughtful executive business coaching service. Through Sandbox Stories, Dr. Jens aims to give anyone involved in eye care a provocative, insightful review of perspectives of, and people in, the industry.
The Illinois College of Optometry has for a couple decades held a Practice Opportunities Symposium. The 2026 event was coordinated by Dr. Alyssa Lancaster, Assistant Professor of Optometry and Practice Readiness Curriculum Coordinator at ICO. Under the leadership of Dr. Mark Colip, President, ICO continues to support students along their academic journey by bringing forth opportunities for experiences that bring them close to alumni who can bring them broader value.
In this episode, Sandbox Stories was afforded the opportunity to record the Lessons in Leadership sessions that were held with three incredibly successful ICO alums, including:
Dr. Rich Mangan works for Sun Pharmaceuticals and has held a number of leadership roles including in tertiary care management between optometry and ophthalmology.
Dr. Tessa Sokol owns Sokol Advanced EyeCare in Madison, WI, and has a history as a leader in state optometric association work and is a key opinion leader and public speaker for a number of eye care industry product vendors.
Dr. Pete Kehoe works in professional affairs for EyeMed after a longstanding career in practice ownership in Galesburg, IL, and leadership in the Vision Source doctor alliance.
Each Doctor speaks about leadership traits, the impact of mentors on their careers, and shares insights to students that can be applied to anyone in the eye care industry. The conversations cover a lot of ground and include three separate conversations with each featured guest, but also a final wrap-up session in which all three give input on the same question or prompt. They even give insight to their most memorable ICO faculty member!
The Stories within the Story:
0:30 Dr. Jens Intro
1:23 Illinois College of Optometry President Dr. Mark Colip, on the Practice Opportunities Symposium and Its Impact on Students
5:35 Lessons in Leadership with Rich Mangan, OD, FAAO
31:48 Lessons in Leadership with Tessa Sokol, OD
58:00 Lessons in Leadership with Peter Kehoe, OD, FAAO, FNAP
1:23:06 Lessons in Leadership Roundtable
9 Jun 2026
Sandbox Story - Interview of E. Dean Butler
E. Dean Butler got into “brand management” in his early career at Proctor and Gamble. While there, he helped a coworker’s in-laws optical business in Louisiana, particularly around branding. Out of that work, he founded Lenscrafters, and in his career has contributed to starting 4,500 optical stores in 45 countries. Given his brand work on “real people testimonial” advertising, he increased the throughput of the optical business, because he believed in increasing the value of products that don’t have any inherent interest. He ultimately coined the phrase “glasses in about an hour,” which he used as he grew Lenscrafters.
The Stories within the Story:
0:53 The Living in England Story
2:55 The Early Years Story
5:22 The Early Career Story
9:10 The Getting into Optical Story
15:35 The Marketing Eyeglasses Story
22:26 The Creation of Lenscrafters Story
25:09 The Starting Vision Express Story
29:16 The Russian Optical Story
36:22 The Russian Wife Story
40:55 The Delivering Service Story
45:26 The Future of Eyecare Story
56:49 The Lofty Goals Story
1:01:11 The Dynamics of Buying Eyeglasses Story
1:05:15 The Optical “Secrets” Story
1:07:50 The Message of Encouragement Story
Runtime: 1 hr 14 min
31 Dec 2025
Sandbox Story - Interview of Dr. Bill Rafferty
Dr. Bill Rafferty has dutifully committed much of his career to the critical issues of regulatory activities that govern Optometry, both in his home state of North Carolina but also nationally through ARBO. He is a 1977 graduate of the UAB School of Optometry, and has had many professional roles in addition to clinical practice, including serving as faculty at Duke University and Wake Forest. His stories include those who influenced him into health care, his family’s citrus groves in Florida, and his service to our country through the National Guard. He spent his early years in the VA and supported scope expansion efforts for Optometry. Today he is Executive Director of the North Carolina State Board of Optometry where he cares passionately to support the profession and the public.
The Stories within the Story include:
1:03 The “What I Thought Optometry Would Be” Story
3:18 The Early Years Story
8:21 The Service to Country Story
10:04 The Optometry Training in the 1970’s Story
13:01 The Mentors Story
16:57 The Early VA Efforts Story
18:50 The Duke University Story
21:12 The Educator Story
22:55 The Regulatory Affairs Story
30:53 The Optometry-Ophthalmology Story
39:20 The Joy Story
40:58 The Words of Inspiration Story
Runtime: 46 min.
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
2 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
2 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 25 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
22
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
68
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