Our Staff

Heather Gleason
Practice Manager
With 3 years at Star Retina, Heather is the driving force behind the practice’s operations, dedicated to fostering an environment of compassion for both patients and staff. Her favorite part of her role is making a positive impact on patients’ lives through kindness, while also ensuring Star Retina is an enjoyable place to work. Outside of the office, she cherishes time with her family, especially on the weekends watching her son play baseball.

Irene Mickler
Authorizations & Billing
Irene is one of Star Retina’s longest-tenured team members, with 4 years of service, and is a vital expert in Authorizations and Billing. She credits her long tenure to the people she works with, noting that her coworkers make every day a blessed day. Away from the office, Irene enjoys cooking, reading, and spending quality time with family.

Destiny Muscara
Billing Manager/Clinical Research Coordinator
In her 2 years at Star Retina, Destiny has embraced the opportunity for growth within the company. She loves working with an amazing group of people and values the company’s commitment to support, believing that “the sky’s the limit here.” In her downtime, she enjoys reading, journaling, and being a dedicated mom and friend.

Holly Budrakey
Billing Specialist
Completing 1 year at Star Retina, Holly is passionate about her role, working with a team of professionals who are truly dedicated to the health and betterment of the vision of Texans. She ensures the financial processes support Star Retina’s mission and contributes to our research efforts. She enjoys spending time with her family and exploring the outdoors.

Diana Silva
Surgery Coordinator
In her 2.5 years with the team, Diana plays a critical role in guiding patients through their treatment. She loves connecting with patients and helping them through their entire surgery journey, emphasizing the satisfaction of seeing the positive difference they make unfold. In her personal life, Diana enjoys going to the gym, traveling, and spending time with her son and husband.

Tara Hayes
Clinical Research Coordinator
With 2 years of experience, Tara is rewarded daily by her work in research, where she gets to witness the tangible improvement in her patients’ vision and overall quality of life. She helps facilitate the trials that lead to these positive outcomes. When she is not working, Tara enjoys time with family and friends, listening to music, and fishing.

Caroline Sloter
Regulatory/Clinical Research Coordinator
Caroline is a dedicated contributor, specializing in regulatory affairs for research. She values the opportunity to learn from a team that gives its all to improve patients’ quality of life. She pursues her creative side through dancing and writing music, and loves being in nature.

Vicki Emerson
Clinical Research Coordinator
With over a year of service, Vicki finds her role deeply rewarding, focusing on helping to restore and preserve vision through thoughtful treatment and education. Her favorite part of the job is fostering sweet relationships with her work family and the amazing patients. Vicki adores her family and loves traveling to any destination by planes, trains, and automobiles!

Brandi Richardson
Clinical Research Coordinator
After 1 year in research, Brandi believes one of the best parts of her job is developing a close, caring relationship with our wonderful patients. She truly cares about each and every one of our patients and is dedicated to making them feel welcome. Brandi loves traveling, cooking, hosting family events, and, of course, her dogs—who she loves, loves, loves!

Courtney Listenbee
Clinical Research Coordinator
With 1.5 years in research, Courtney feels blessed to be a part of the entire process, particularly seeing the dramatic before-and-after vision results for her patients. Forming relationships with the patients and celebrating their happiness is what makes her happy, too. She enjoys being active outdoors and spending time with her three kids.

Emily Nelson
Clinical Research Coordinator
Emily has quickly appreciated the warm and welcoming team environment that makes her excited to come to work every day. She is a dedicated part of our research team. In her relaxing time, she enjoys hanging out with her boyfriend, playing with her dogs, and getting some quality sleep!

Kyara Hidrogo
VE Research
Kyara loves the amazing patients, finding comfort in the stories they share and the care Star Retina can bring to them. She notes that our doctors and staff are amazing, ensuring there is “never a dull day.” Kyara is dedicated to her loved ones, enjoys being a mom, and has a passion for traveling the world.

Micayla Allbright
Lead Scribe
After 2.5 years at Star Retina, Micayla’s passion lies in assisting our phenomenal doctors in treating patients from all walks of life, helping them improve their quality of vision and quality of life. She loves working with her funny, compassionate, and dedicated colleagues. In her free time, she enjoys crafting, cooking, Texas Rangers Games, and watching live theatre.

Corey Mendez
Scribe
Corey is motivated by seeing the happiness and gratefulness from patients after their vision has improved, and she deeply appreciates the amazing staff she works alongside. Her favorite hobbies include spending time with her family, particularly her two daughters, and cooking in the kitchen while blasting music.

Miley Aquino
Scribe
With 1 year of service, Miley is proud to see patient advocacy prioritized at Star Retina, working with a team that shares a common interest in helping people improve their quality of life. She loves staying active with dancing and heated workouts at HOTWORX, along with traveling and singing.

Kay Krueger
Lead Photographer, COT & OSA
With 1.5 years at Star Retina and many years in the Ophthalmic field, Kay considers this the best group of doctors and coworkers she has ever worked with. She finds great gratification being part of research that helps people save their sight daily. Aside from taking retina pictures, she enjoys her dogs, reading, swimming, and being outside.

Mindi Reynolds
Front Desk/Checkout
In her 2 years with Star Retina, Mindi is one of the first friendly faces to greet our patients. Her favorite part of the job is meeting the patients and celebrating their successes and progress throughout their care journey. When she’s not at the front desk, Mindi enjoys baking, reading, and spending time with her grandbabies.

Pamela Sanders
Front Desk/VAE
Pamela is passionate about the positive difference the work at Star Retina makes for so many people. She is dedicated to making the patient experience smooth and welcoming. She loves spending time with her family, especially her grandchildren, and enjoys baking and cooking.

Lizbeth Valdez
Front Desk
In her 1.2 years at the front desk, Lizbeth enjoys the constant opportunity to learn new things and gain knowledge within her role. She loves the people she works with, noting they make the job so much easier and fun.
