Management Team

Forrest J. Ellis MD - Founder and CEO

Dr. Ellis, a board-certified ophthalmologist, has over 25 years of experience in the fields of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus and Ophthalmic Plastics, Orbital and Reconstructive Surgery. He is a graduate of Indiana University with a BA in Economics (honors), and the Indiana University School of Medicine. Following residency at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia and fellowships at the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute with David Guyton M.D., Dr. Ellis moved to Cleveland, Ohio where he served as co-director of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus at Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital for 11 years. He also served on the faculty of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
Dr. Ellis has published numerous articles in the fields of pediatric ophthalmology, oculoplastic surgery, and ophthalmic optics. He served on the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s writing committee for the Basic Science series on ophthalmic optics. In addition, Dr. Ellis served on the editorial board of the Journal of the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus from 2007-2019.
Dr. Ellis remains active in research and publication and has served as a course director and/or co-director on many occasions, teaching techniques in adult strabismus and in pediatric ophthalmic plastic and reconstructive surgery. Dr. Ellis has been an invited speaker at numerous national and international conferences, including named lectureships and visiting professorships.
In 2007, Dr. Ellis joined Northern Virginia Ophthalmology Associates, where he is in the private practice of ophthalmology. He has been listed as a “top doctor” both regionally and nationally. Dr. Ellis’s areas of recognized expertise include adult and pediatric strabismus surgery, correction of congenital and acquired eyelid and orbital abnormalities, tear duct surgery, and pediatric cataract surgery.
Dr. Ellis founded JelliSee Ophthalmics in 2019 to develop a fully accommodating monofocal IOL that would function within the human eye.

Michael J. Malesardi, CPA - Chief Financial Officer

In addition to his role with JelliSee, Mr. Malesardi serves as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of The Gladstone Companies, Inc., an alternative asset manager. Mr. Malesardi has served in financial leadership roles of several public and private companies including Presidio Networked Solutions, AES Corporation, OmniSky, PSINet and Watson Wyatt. He also served as SVP of HR and Chief Ethics Officer of NVR. He started his career with Price Waterhouse in Washington, DC and Calgary, Alberta, rising to Audit Senior Manager. He has been involved in two IPOs along with numerous secondary offerings and both buy and sell-side M&A transactions. A CPA licensed in Virginia, Mr. Malesardi is a graduate of Washington and Lee University with a B.S. in Business Administration and Accounting. He is a member of the AICPA and Virginia Society of CPAs, the Tech CFO Network of the Greater Washington Area, Riverbend Capital (an angel investing group) and has served as a chapter president and a regional board member of Financial Executives International.

John A. Vukich MD - Co-Chief Medical Officer

Dr. Vukich is the founding member of Summit Eye Care in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is past president, and Board Chairman of the American European Congress of Ophthalmic Surgery and past chairman of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery refractive committee.
Dr. Vukich has been the lead instructor and moderator of several courses on innovative surgical techniques and new technology devices. He has gained international attention for his work in developing the Implantable Collamer Lens. He is currently a principal investigator in clinical trials of innovative laser treatments for the correction of refractive errors, new technology IOLs and ground breaking cell therapy treatment for corneal disease.
Dr. Vukich is a frequently invited lecturer and widely recognized as a key opinion leader. He has presented original research and invited lectures on six continents. He has served on the executive committee of the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s Refractive Surgery section and on the Education Committee of the AAO. He has twice been the program chairman of the largest refractive surgery meeting in the world, the ISRS/AAO Refractive Surgery Subspeciality Day. Dr. Vukich has served as an associate editor of the Journal of Refractive Surgery and serves on the editorial board of both Review of Refractive Surgery and Cataract and Refractive Surgery Today. He has received Best Paper of Session awards at numerous scientific meetings including Australian Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery and the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery. He is the recipient of the AAO Senior Honor Award and has been recognized by as his peers locally in Wisconsin by being voted “Top Doc”. Dr. Vukich is frequently sought out by the media for expert analysis. He has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and USA Today. He has appeared in interviews on ABC’s World News Tonight and Good Morning America.
Dr. Vukich graduated with honors from Emory University and completed his ophthalmology training at the University of Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary. He is certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology. He is a member of numerous professional societies at the national, state and local level.

Kevin L. Waltz, OD, MD - Co-Chief Medical Officer

Dr. Waltz is a board certified ophthalmologist with extensive experience in international charity eye care, ophthalmic research, advanced cataract surgery, and refractive surgery. He is the President of Ophthalmic Research Consultants in Indianapolis, Indiana & Chair of the Board of Directors for Central American Eye Clinics. He has been involved in naming, testing, refining, and teaching presbyopia treatment for over 20 years, including many first-in-man trials in Central America of developing technology.
Since the mid-1990s, Dr. Waltz’s primary professional interest has been refractive surgery, including laser vision correction and refractive lens surgery. He was one of the first surgeons in Indiana to use lasers to correct nearsighted vision, and was the first ophthalmologist in the world to receive the Array multifocal lens as a patient. He was also one of the first ophthalmologists in the world to implant an Array lens in a refractive surgery patient. His pioneering efforts have taught numerous eye surgeons from around the world how to successfully use Prelex to help reduce patients’ dependence on glasses.
In 1998, he personally had bilateral cataract surgery with the Array multifocal IOL, one of the first IOLs to purposely treat pseudophakic presbyopia. He is well known for pioneering the concept of combining world class clinical research in Central America with charity eye care in the area to improve the quality and quantity of eye care available in Central America.
Dr. Waltz graduated with his Doctor of Optometry degree from the Indiana University School of Optometry and completed two years of extra training at Southern College of Optometry. He received his medical degree from Meharry Medical College, with honors, and then completed a one-year medical internship at Vanderbilt University. After completing a three-year residency in ophthalmology at the University of Florida in Gainesville, he was selected for a prestigious oculoplastic fellowship at Wayne State University to receive specialized training in surgery of the eyelids, orbits, and tear ducts. Following his training, Dr. Waltz became a full-time Assistant Professor of Surgery at Southern Illinois University. He taught surgery of the eyes, eyelids, orbits, and tear ducts, including cosmetic surgery. He also co-authored a textbook on surgery of the tear ducts and eyelids with Frank Nesi MD.
A Fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, Dr. Waltz is board-certified in ophthalmology by the American Board of Ophthalmology.

Yuri McKee MD - Co-Chief Scientific Advisor

Dr. McKee is a Board Certified Ophthalmic Surgeon with fellowship training in Corneal and Refractive Surgery. His clinical and surgical training in corneal disease, complex anterior segment surgery, and refractive surgery was completed at the renowned Emory Eye Center in Atlanta, GA. Dr McKee specializes in advanced corneal transplant techniques, premium cataract surgery, micro-invasive glaucoma surgery, anterior segment reconstruction, and refractive surgery. Dr McKee is a partner at East Valley Ophthalmology and East Valley Outpatient Surgery in Mesa, Arizona. He is the Executive Editor of five books on ophthalmic surgical technique. He is also on the Board of Directors of EyeConnect International. Dr McKee was the Medical Monitor for the first-in-human trials for the JelliSee Accommodating IOL.
Prior to his training in Ophthalmology Dr. McKee served for six years as an active duty US Air Force flight surgeon. He logged over 500 hours in USAF aircraft including the F-15, F-16, and Combat Search and Rescue helicopters. His commitment to service was recognized with numerous military medals and awards, including a Command Flight Surgeon of the Year distinction.
His background includes a BA in Psychology from Minnesota State University, a master’s thesis in developmental neurobiology, and an MD from Loma Linda University in California. Dr. McKee completed his surgical internship at the University of Minnesota. He received the Outstanding Graduating Resident Award at the Louisiana State University/Ochsner Clinic Foundation Ophthalmology Residency where he trained in the clinical and surgical subspecialties of ophthalmology.

Julie Schallhorn MD, MS - Co-Chief Scientific Advisor

Dr. Schallhorn is Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at UCSF. Dr. Schallhorn received her undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering from UCLA, and her Master’s degree in Bioengineering from UCSD. She then completed medical training at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, and her ophthalmology residency at UCSF. She went on to fellowship training in Uveitis at the F.I. Proctor Foundation at UCSF, and in Cornea at the Casey Eye Institute in Portland, Oregon. She was on faculty at the University of Southern California’s Roski Eye Institute before returning to San Francisco and UCSF.
Dr. Schallhorn has strong research interests in the study of anterior segment disease and refractive surgery, and is deeply invested in obtaining the best possible results and experiences for her patients. She has authored numerous peer-reviewed articles on visual outcomes, ocular surface disease, and patient satisfaction after refractive surgery. She currently sits on the Ophthalmic Technology Assessment Committee for Refractive Surgery for the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the Young Eye Surgeons Committee for the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons.