Meet Our Doctors
Meet the experienced and friendly doctors who make Foresight Optometry a proud provider of vision care products and services in Concord and Clayton.
Dr. John Michelsen
I was born in Guam and spent most of my childhood in the South Pacific. After attending high school in Hawaii, I received my doctorate in optometry from University of California – Berkeley Optometry School in 2008. I then proceeded to complete a residency program in ocular pathology at the Fresno VA Hospital. As a resident, I learned how to manage and treat severe eye diseases, such as glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, and much more. This specialized training helped me appreciate how intricate the eye is and interconnected it is to the rest of the body. Expertise in ocular diseases helps me not only educate patients on their conditions, but it also enables me to provide personalized care and guidance in treatment options.
I always strive to make people feel like they’ve been taken care of and help them understand everything they want to about the eyes. I feel it is important for all to be able to look and see their best for years to come. This is one of the reasons, during my residency, that I organized and led a team of doctors and students on two separate philanthropic missions to my mother’s home island of the Republic of Palau in the South Pacific, to provide free eye exams and glasses to over 4,000 people, about 16% of the entire population of 25,000.
I enjoy fitting specialty contact lenses. Oftentimes these patients have been turned away elsewhere or told that they “can’t” wear contacts. These patients are not able to see well with conventional glasses due to a number of different corneal diseases or complications from injury or surgeries. To help them to see again with specialty contact lenses has been very rewarding.
During my spare time, I enjoy being outdoors, traveling, and experiencing new places. I have a special interest in landscape photography because I get to really focus on what makes a place special. Astrophotography also gives me a small glimpse into an amazing landscape that few ever get to see or appreciate.
Dr. Michelsen is certified by the State Board of Optometry and is licensed at the highest level under California and Hawaii law to diagnose & medically treat eye diseases including glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, eye infections, and dry eye syndromes.
Dr. Melissa Li
Dr. Melissa Li was born and raised in Los Gatos, CA. She now resides in Oakland and visits her parents often in the South Bay. She attended University of California – Davis for undergraduate and University of California – Berkeley for Optometry school. She completed her clinical externships at the Southern Oregon VA, Crow Indian Health Services, Novato Community Clinic, and West Oakland Community Clinic.
During her studies, she participated and worked on multiple clinical trials regarding dry eye treatments. She likes to treat chronic dry eye with a variety of different methods that do not have to involve just eye drops.
Dr. Li chose Optometry as a career because of her interest in myopia control. She grew up wearing the “nighttime” Ortho-K lenses and found the experience fascinating and beneficial. Today, she enjoys sharing her own personal experience with patients and spreading the word about myopia control. She also has a special interest working with children and enjoys educating families about the importance of early eye exams to detect disease.
When away from the office, she enjoys spending time outdoors, exploring the Bay Area, and eating the variety of foods the Bay Area offers. She also spends many weekends at Lake Tahoe with her husband and their furbaby, Toto.
Dr. Li is certified by the State Board of Optometry and is licensed at the highest level under California law to diagnose & medically treat eye diseases including glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, eye infections, and dry eye syndromes.