Bright Eyes Family Vision Care

Your Citrus Park Community Eye Doctor

9912 West Linebaugh Avenue, Tampa, FL

About Us

At Bright Eyes Family Vision Care and Bright Eyes Kids, our mission is to empower people by providing the best in friendly, professional, and innovative eye care.

We will help you see your best now and in years to come! Dr. Bonilla-Warford and Dr. Knighton specialize in Pediatrics and Vision Therapy, as well as contact lenses and family eye care. We welcome adults and kids in our Westchase office, and the New Tampa office is just for children.

Our residency-trained doctors are people just like you, and they know what separates a great healthcare experience from the typical rushed, impersonal ones. We like to be treated with friendly respect by professionals who know their stuff, so we strive to provide that same experience to you.

In our mission to offer the best eye care services possible, we use the most advanced diagnostic technology and eye care products available. We are committed to educating our patients and providing state-of-the-art, personalized eye care services to the people of Tampa Bay.

  • Comprehensive Eye Exams
  • Contact Lens Exams
  • Dry Eyes
  • Emergency Eye Care
  • Myopia Management
  • Pediatric Eye Care
  • Sport Vision
  • Vision Therapy
  • Neuro Optometry
  • Amblyopia Treatment
  • Strabismus Treatment

Our Team

Dr. Christine Sylvester,, O. D.

Dr. Christine Sylvester, O. D.

Dr. Sylvester AKA “Dr. S.” was born and raised in Fort Wayne, Indiana.  She earned both her Bachelor of Science in Biology (2002) and her Doctorate of Optometry (2006) at Indiana University, located in Bloomington, IN.  Go Hoosiers!! After graduation, Dr.... Show More

Dr. Sylvester AKA “Dr. S.” was born and raised in Fort Wayne, Indiana.  She earned both her Bachelor of Science in Biology (2002) and her Doctorate of Optometry (2006) at Indiana University, located in Bloomington, IN.  Go Hoosiers!!

After graduation, Dr. S. joined the staff at LaserVue in Orlando, where she primarily cared for pre- and post- operative cataract and LASIK patients.  In 2013, her husband’s job relocated their family to the Virginia Beach area, where she proudly spent 10 years on staff as a civilian optometrist in Naval Medical Center Portsmouth’s Ophthalmology Department.  There, her focus was primarily on refractive surgery pre- and post- operative management for the men and women of the United States military.  Florida life was calling though, and her husband’s job returned the family back to Florida where they plan to stay indefinitely.  

Dr. Sylvester joined the team at Bright Eyes Family Vision Care in 2023.  She is a member of the Florida Optometric Association and the American Optometric Association.  She is married to her husband Tom, and they have two children, Isabella and Blake.  In her free time, she loves to experiment with new recipes and work on home improvement projects. 

  • English
Dr. Elizabeth Knighton, O.D.

Dr. Elizabeth Knighton, O.D.

AKA "Dr. Beth" - Dr. Knighton received her Doctor of Optometry degree from the Illinois College of Optometry in Chicago. She completed a Pediatric Optometry residency at the University of Houston College of Optometry, where she was trained in pediatric... Show More

AKA "Dr. Beth" - Dr. Knighton received her Doctor of Optometry degree from the Illinois College of Optometry in Chicago. She completed a Pediatric Optometry residency at the University of Houston College of Optometry, where she was trained in pediatric eye disease and working with patients who have special needs. She joined the faculty at University of Houston College of Optometry and enjoyed working with students and residents in the pediatric clinics. While in Houston, Dr. Knighton treated patients at The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research (TIRR), a rehabilitation hospital for patients with severe brain injuries. In 2012, Dr. Knighton earned her fellowship of the American Academy of Optometry.

 

Dr. Knighton grew up in Clearwater and currently lives in Tampa with her husband, 2 children and their two Labradors. She enjoys cycling, sailing and scuba diving.

  • Family Friendly
Dr. Nathan Bonilla-Warford, O.D.

Dr. Nathan Bonilla-Warford, O.D.

AKA "Dr. Nate" - Dr. Bonilla-Warford received his Doctorate of Optometry from Illinois College of Optometry, located in Chicago, Illinois, in 2004. The following year he completed a residency program specializing in Pediatric and Binocular Vision at the Illinois College... Show More

AKA "Dr. Nate" - Dr. Bonilla-Warford received his Doctorate of Optometry from Illinois College of Optometry, located in Chicago, Illinois, in 2004. The following year he completed a residency program specializing in Pediatric and Binocular Vision at the Illinois College of Optometry. During his Optometric Internships, he studied developmental vision in Denver, Colorado and contact lenses and ocular disease in Chicago, Illinois. Owing to his passion for improving the vision of children, Dr. Bonilla-Warford has published articles on such topics as the use of vision therapy to improve reading skills and has lectured to Optometry students and paraprofessionals as well as the general public on visual care of children, the importance of vision in personal development, and options for controlling nearsightedness.

 

He has been featured on news such as Fox 13, NBC8, Bay News 9, The Tampa Bay Times, but eye care publications such as Review Optometry, Invision Magazine and others. Dr. Bonilla-Warford is very active in professional organizations and is a member of the American Optometric Association. He is a Fellow of the College of Optometrists in Vision Development (COVD), an organization dedicated to pediatric vision and vision therapy, as well as a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry, an organization dedicated to vision research and education. Additionally, he is Past President of the Hillsborough Society of Optometry and is chair of the Children’s Vision Committee of the Florida Optometric Association.

 

Not only does Dr. Bonilla-Warford care for the patients that come to his practice, but to all those in need. He has volunteered his time at the Special Olympics, Junior Olympics, and numerous school and community vision screenings. He traveled to Diriamba, Nicaragua as a member of Volunteers in Optometric Service to Humanity and helped examine and distribute glasses to over 2,000 people. Dr. Nate love to read and talk about books, especially in the areas of science fiction and health science. You can see what he is reading right now. He is a bit silly as you can see on his Tiktok.

  • Family Friendly
Dr. Annie Ku, O.D.

Dr. Annie Ku, O.D.

Dr. Annie Ku, OD is a Texas native. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Nutritional Science from Texas A&M University. She then attended Rosenberg School of Optometry in San Antonio, Texas where she earned her Doctor of Optometry... Show More
Dr. Annie Ku, OD is a Texas native. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Nutritional Science from Texas A&M University. She then attended Rosenberg School of Optometry in San Antonio, Texas where she earned her Doctor of Optometry degree in 2023. Dr. Ku is furthering her training by completing a residency in Primary Care, Ocular disease, and Brain Injury Rehabilitation at James A Haley VA in Tampa Fl. 
 
During her time in optometry school, she participated in research and published three papers and six posters at Eye, ARVO, AAO, and AOA. She was the president of Sports Vision Association, an officer of Private Practice Club, and a founding member of Spanish Optometry Society. She was also involved in Student Ambassador, Gold Key International Optometric Honor Society, and the Student Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity where she provided free eye care to underserved areas in Chichicastenango, Guatemala. She was also actively involved in the American Optometric Association and was a student fellow of Academy of American Optometry. Dr. Ku completed her clinical externships in Neuro-Vision Associates of North Texas where she trained in neuro-optometry, visual snow syndrome, binocular vision disorder, pediatric eye exam, myopia management, and vision therapy. She also completed her training in Brooks Army Medical Center in San Antonio, TX where she trained in ocular disease, specialty contact lenses, and emergency eye care. 
 
Dr. Ku is passionate about neuro-optometric rehabilitation, pediatric optometry, and sport’s vision. While she is pursuing her residency to specialize in treating patients suffering from visual symptoms due to Post-Concussion Syndrome and traumatic brain injuries, she is thrilled to focus on pediatric eye exam, amblyopia, strabismus, binocular vision disorder, learning related vision issues at Bright Eyes Family Vision Care. 
 
During her free time, Dr. Ku enjoys exploring Tampa with her dog, Luna.  
  • English
Dr. Beth was super patient with my 6 year old twins who were driving me crazy. She has wonderful banter with the kids and is able to explain everything to... Show More
Dr. Beth was super patient with my 6 year old twins who were driving me crazy. She has wonderful banter with the kids and is able to explain everything to them. Great job, we will definitely be going back.
- Kaley G. 1 month ago
Great place! Doctors are excellent. Their precision and accuracy with glasses is unrivaled! Friendly. Gail was fantastic. I was in because I accidentally stepped on my glasses, so I was... Show More
Great place! Doctors are excellent. Their precision and accuracy with glasses is unrivaled! Friendly. Gail was fantastic. I was in because I accidentally stepped on my glasses, so I was pretty upset. While in the shop, my favorite earring broke and she offered to repair it and did!!! She went above and beyond! Thank you!!
- Karen F. 2 months ago
Our 1 year old son was diagnosed with strabismus in both eyes soon after birth. We recently moved to the Tampa area, partly because our research led us to Dr.... Show More
Our 1 year old son was diagnosed with strabismus in both eyes soon after birth. We recently moved to the Tampa area, partly because our research led us to Dr. Nate as the go to for eye care. We want only the best care for our son and after our first visit my wife and I are confident we made the right choice. Dr. Nate was professional, knowledgeable and caring. Administrative staff were on point, which is rare these days. After first visit they get an A+.
- CHRISTOPHER C. 4 months ago
Super fast, super helpful, and super kind people, great experience.
- mmkayla 4 months ago
Awesome Doctor!! Great team. Treated my son with so much love and concern. The Doctor was very informative and made things easy!
- Ann M. 4 months ago
Highly recommended this vision center for your child’s ophthalmologist needs
- Volusia H. 5 months ago
Excellent team, so calm and patient with kids. Will surely recommend friends and family.
- T S. 5 months ago
They were amazing!!! I have been to 4 other eye doctors and no one could get an exam on my autistic 5yo. This place was patient and really connected with... Show More
They were amazing!!! I have been to 4 other eye doctors and no one could get an exam on my autistic 5yo. This place was patient and really connected with my son. They got the exam done and my son was so happy.
- Patrick S. 6 months ago
My kids go here and they love it
- Mia S. 6 months ago
Great services!!! The staff and the Doctor outstanding care. Recommend 100%
- Maylen O. 6 months ago