Dr. Leah Ruhland grew up in Le Mars, Iowa, and earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN in 2014. During that time, she was a co-founding member of the optometry club at UST and on the executive student board of the Aquinas Scholars Honors Program. Upon completing her undergraduate degree, she went on to optometry school and received her Doctorate of Optometry in 2018 from the Illinois College of Optometry in Chicago, IL. While at ICO, Dr. Ruhland completed externships at the W.G. (Bill) Hefner VA Medical Center in Kernersville, NC in primary care, ocular disease, and advanced low vision, Illinois Eye Institute in Chicago in pediatrics and cornea/contact lenses, Omaha Eye and Laser Institute in Omaha, NE in primary care, ocular disease, and post-surgical management, and McCormick Vision Source in Austin, TX in primary care and contact lenses.

After graduating from optometry school in 2018, Dr. Ruhland completed a residency program in ocular disease and primary care at the W.G. (Bill) Hefner VA Medical Center in Salisbury, NC. During her residency year, she completed rotations in a variety of specialties, including ophthalmology co-management care, medically necessary contact lenses, advanced low vision, retinal surgery observation, polytrauma eye exams, and dry eye and ocular disease management.Dr. Ruhland is a member of the American Optometric Association (AOA), American Academy of Optometry (AAO), and the Minnesota Optometric Association (MOA).

​​​​​​​In her free time, Dr. Ruhland enjoys spending time with family and friends, traveling, and trying new restaurants around the Twin Cities.

Our very own Dr. Leah Ruhland was interviewed on Kare 11 in August 2021! She highlighted the importance of children's vision exams and the impact your child's vision has on their ability to learn in school. Check out the article and video interview linked below!

SEE FULL INTERVIEW HERE