Dr. Michael Zona was born and raised in Grimbsy, Ontario. He spent his younger years working the summers on his uncle’s tender fruit farm in the Niagara region. He became interested in eye care at a young age when he could not see the black board at school. His optometrist changed his outlook and gave him an appreciation for both optics and eye health. Dr. Zona studied undergraduate science at the University of Waterloo. In 1992 he graduated with a Doctor of Optometry degree (Honours) from the University of Waterloo School of Optometry.

Dr. Zona joined Simcoe Optometric Clinic in 1992 as an associate and became partner in 1993. He is certified to use ocular therapeutics, as are all the doctors at the clinic. He has been active with the Provincial Association in political action campaigns lobbying for access to eye care for all citizens of Ontario.

In his time away from work, Dr. Zona and his wife enjoy the challenges of raising their two young sons. He is involved in their extracurricular activities as the swim meet manager for the Norfolk Hammerheads Aquatic Club in Simcoe. Dr Zona recently became a certified Level 4 Swim Official. Many of his weekends are spent on deck refereeing swim meets all over southwestern Ontario.

Through Dr. Zona’s patronage, Simcoe Optometric Clinic is a proud sponsor of the Norfolk Hammerheads Aquatic Club and WinDel Kinsmen Soccer.

Dr. Zona enjoys all aspects of optometry and eye care. He enjoys the challenges of ocular and systemic disease management as well as contact lens practice. Dr. Zona is currently accepting new patients.

Dr. Linda Hadaller was born in Manitoba and grew up on the family grain farm. An interest in eye health and glasses was kindled by seeing the eye exam process when she went with her legally blind grandfather to his eye appointments.

Dr. Hadaller graduated as a member of the Honour Society from the University of Winnipeg with a Bachelor of Science majoring in Mathematics in 1990. In 1994 she graduated from the Univeristy of Waterloo School of Optometry, having won the Contact Lens Society Prize for that year.

Dr. Hadaller joined Simcoe Optometric Clinic in 1994 and became partner in 1996. She is certified to use ocular therapeutics, as are all of the optometrists in the clinic. She has derived satisfaction from mentoring optometry interns who have done practical rotations through Simcoe Optometric Clinic over the years.

The mom in her has shared the challenges and rollicking fun times of raising two boys, born in 1998 and 2002, with her husband Michael. As a result, she has a special appreciation of children and enjoys guiding them through the ever-changing eye care needs from toddlerhood through first glasses, contact lenses, and specific sport-related eyewear needs.

Through Dr. Hadaller’s patronage, Simcoe Optometric Clinic is a proud supporter of the Norfolk Musical Arts Festival.

Dr. Hadaller has the enjoyable responsibility of purchasing the frame inventory for Simcoe Optometric Clinic. Choosing frames is a balance of fashion desires, the functional and technical aspects of various prescriptions, and the multitude of lens designs that the frames need to accommodate, with an emphasis on value.

When not actively tending to her patient’s needs in the office, Dr. Hadaller can be found volunteering as a Swim Ontario official for the Norfolk Hammerheads Aquatic Club in Simcoe. She is also an avid reader, a home “foodie” and enjoys music, having at various times in her life played piano, flute, piccolo in a marching band, saxophone in a stage band, and most recently tackling Suzuki repertoire violin alongside her eldest son.

Dr. Amber McKnight was born and raised in Norfolk County, and is a graduate of Port Dover Composite School. As a child she was a patient at Simcoe Optometric, and having worn glasses from a young age she knew early on that she was interested in optometry.

Dr. McKnight has a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Guelph and completed her Doctor of Optometry at the University of Waterloo in 2008. As part of her schooling she completed an ocular disease externship at the VA medical centre in Muskogee, Oklahoma where she received much experience in diagnosis and management of ocular conditions, particularly management of diabetic eye disease.

Dr. McKnight started as an associate at Simcoe Optometric shortly after graduation, and in 2012 became a partner at the practice. She is currently a member of both the the Canadian Association of Optometritists and the Ontario Association of Optometrists. Dr. McKnight enjoys seeing patients of all ages, and has a particular interest in fitting contact lenses, especially complex fits and multifocal lenses. When not at the office she enjoys running, camping, and spending time with her family, especially her two young children. Dr. McKnight is currently accepting new patients.

Dr. Allison VanBerlo (formerly Stickl) was born and raised on a farm in Norfolk County and is a graduate of Waterford District High School. She knew from an early age that a profession in healthcare was a perfect fit for her caring personality and a way to give back to her wonderful community. Her passion for eye health, clear vision and disease prevention grew throughout her education and continues to grow today. Dr. VanBerlo graduated from the University of Waterloo with a Bachelor of Science in Honours Biomedical Science before continuing her education in Boston, MA where she graduated from the New England College of Optometry with honours in the Doctor of Optometry program. She was recognized with the NECO Alumni award and the J. Pat Cummings Fellowship for outstanding clinical contributions and volunteer work.

Dr. VanBerlo had the privilege of helping organize a mission trip to provide eye health exams and glasses to hundreds of people living in rural Dominican Republic without access to care.

Dr. VanBerlo enjoys practicing full-scope optometry to those of all ages with a special interest in education, diagnosis and treatment of Diabetic eye disease and macular degeneration as well as educating on the importance of eye care in children at an early age.

Outside of work, Allison enjoys cooking, spending time and travelling with her husband AJ and their family and friends as well as walking their dog, Bauer, on the Waterford trails.

Dr Matthew Czikk was born and raised in Jarvis, Ontario.  He graduated from Hagersville Secondary School in 2012 before going on to doing 8 years of post-secondary education at the University of Waterloo.  In 2016 he finished a four-year program in Biomedical Science before starting Optometry School at UW.  He then graduated with a Doctor of Optometry degree in 2020.  During his fourth year of optometry school, Matthew completed a four-month rotation learning to diagnose and treat ocular health conditions at Great Lakes Eye Centre in Brantford, and then finished his schooling by doing another four-month rotation at a private practice in Tillsonburg doing primary care eye exams.

Matthew has been a patient at Simcoe Optometric for almost 20 years.  While he has never worn glasses, his passion for optometry started when he had his first visit at the age of 7 and he could see reflections of the blood vessels in his eyes during the health portion of his exam.  This freaked him out at first, but it sparked an interest in the eye and how it works.  Matthew enjoys all aspects of optometry, especially primary care exams and fitting contact lenses, but has a particular interest in learning more about specialty contact lenses and myopia control management. 

Outside of optometry, Matthew enjoys reading, playing sports, and playing video games.  He grew up playing volleyball throughout school, but has also enjoyed playing tennis, squash, hockey, and, most recently, golf.  On top of playing sports, he’s a die hard supporter of the Toronto Maple Leafs and cheers for most of the other professional Toronto sports teams.  Recently he and his girlfriend Kaitlyn have been experimenting in the kitchen and enjoy cooking new recipes.