The Cherokee Indian Hospital Authority (CIHA) is proud to announce that its Chief Optometrist, Dr. Sharhonda Harrill, has been named the North Carolina Young Optometrist of the Year by NC Eyes, the North Carolina Optometric Society.
The Young Optometrist of the Year Award recognizes a North Carolina optometrist early in their career who has demonstrated exceptional dedication to patient care, professional excellence, and service to the field of optometry. Dr. Harrill’s selection highlights both her clinical expertise and her broader impact on eye care and community health.
Dr. Harrill joined the Cherokee Indian Hospital Authority in 2023 and currently serves as CIHA’s Chief Optometrist. Born in Waynesboro, Georgia, and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina, she brings a strong academic and professional background to the role. She graduated magna cum laude from Western Carolina University, where she was a four-year scholar-athlete on the Track and Field team, competing in shotput, discus, and hammer. A proud WCU alum, Dr. Harrill’s return to Western North Carolina represents a full-circle moment, bringing her skills and experience back to the region she once called home.
After completing her undergraduate studies, Dr. Harrill earned her Doctor of Optometry degree from the University of Alabama School of Optometry in 2014. Her education and training included primary eye care, pediatrics and binocular vision, learning and developmental visual assessment, cornea and contact lenses, ocular disease, and geriatric care in nursing home and Veterans Affairs settings. She completed her clinical externship at the William B. Hefner VA Medical Center in Salisbury. Prior to joining CIHA, Dr. Harrill provided optometric care to patients across the Triad region of North Carolina.
Dr. Harrill returned to Western North Carolina to work at CIHA because of the opportunity the organization offered her to form meaningful cultural connections with patients and truly take the time to understand and address their visual concerns. Continuing the work, she became familiar with during her externship, Dr. Harrill said she decided to choose CIHA because she values the opportunity to do work that directly impacts community health outcomes and helps address longstanding health disparities.
“We are so proud of Dr. Harrill for being recognized as this year’s NC Young Optometrist of the Year,” said CIHA CEO Casey Cooper. “The energy and innovation she brings to our eye clinic continues to benefit patients and the community and we are proud that she chooses CIHA to continue her career.”
Dr. Harrill noted that CIHA’s collaborative environment of integrated care, where optometry works closely with primary care, urgent care, imaging, and other departments to provide comprehensive, patient-centered care is another reason she joined the organization. Just as important to her is CIHA’s supportive leadership, which prioritizes employee well-being, transparency, and open dialogue, along with initiatives that promote work-life balance in the natural beauty of Western North Carolina.