Jeffrey Levenson, MD

Jeffrey Levenson, M.D. is a board certified ophthalmologist and the Chief Medical Officer of SEE International.  He is also the medical director of Levenson Eye Associates in Jacksonville, Florida. Jeff has an extensive history of volunteering with SEE, joining the organization in 2009. Since then, he has traveled to several clinic locations in Peru, El Salvador, and Mexico, providing free eye exams and sight-restoring surgeries to those who would otherwise not have access to proper vision care.

In addition to serving on the SEE Board of Directors as the Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Jeffrey Levenson is a member of several local and national medical societies, and is an Associate Clinical Instructor of Ophthalmology with the University of Florida. He has served as Chief of the Section of Ophthalmology of Baptist Medical Center, and is active with several charitable medical organizations including Volunteers in Medicine, Vision is Priceless, and We Care Jacksonville. He has coordinated the Gift of Sight program in Jacksonville for over 20 years, which provides free cataract surgery to blind and medically indigent patients.

Dr. Levenson received his bachelor’s degree in Biology with honors from Princeton University. He received his medical degree from the University of Florida College of Medicine. He served his residency training in Ophthalmology at Emory University where he also served as Chief Resident. Dr. Jeff Levenson currently lives in Jacksonville, with his wife, Ilene. When not restoring sight, he enjoys traveling, running, mountain biking, and other outdoors activities.

TedX with Dr. Jeffrey Levenson

In November 2017, Dr. Levenson gave an illuminating talk at TEDx Santa Barbara. Jeff shared the story of how his life changed dramatically when he started losing his sight to cataracts. Once he received the treatment he needed to regain his sight, he became passionate about restoring sight to those without access to eye care. To do so, he needed to learn a different cataract surgery method that did not involve the technology commonly used in the United States.

Jeff reached out to SEE to learn the technique, known as Manual Small-Incision Cataract Surgery, or MSICS, which is critical to treat cataracts in humanitarian settings. Now an expert in the procedure, Dr. Levenson volunteers treating with SEE regularly, giving the gift of sight to those in need.

Watch the full TEDx talk, Ending Preventable Blindness: Reinventing Cataract Surgery.