Monica Mortenson, O.D. is a native of Michigan. After completing three years of undergraduate work at Michigan State University, she moved to California in 1994 to finish her undergraduate degree and begin Optometry school at University of California, Berkeley.

Dr. Mortenson completed her Optometric training at such institutions as Denver OMNI Eye Specialists, American Eye Institute at Cedars Sinai in Los Angeles and the Missouri Eye Institute in St. Louis. She received her Doctorate of Optometry in 1998 and was a member of Beta Sigma Kappa, an Optometric Honor Society.

Upon graduation, she moved to Los Angeles and worked in Beverly Hills with the stars until she decided they were too high maintenance! It was there that she met her husband-to-be. She then spent the next three years working in refractive surgery with some of the country’s top surgeons. In the Fall of 2003, she spent a year cruising with her husband on their sailboat in Central America and the Caribbean. Upon return, they relocated back to the San Francisco/Bay Area and decided to settle down and start a family.

Doctor Mortenson and her family moved from California to Boulder in 2007, and are thrilled to be living in such a beautiful, active community. Dr. Mortenson enjoys skiing, hiking, biking and spending time with her husband and two children. She has also had the opportunity to help the less fortunate and has traveled to South Africa, Mexico, and Costa Rica as well as locally in the Boulder/Denver area to help provide eye exams and glasses with the Onesight foundation as well as Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity (VOSH). Dr. Mortenson is a member of the American Optometric Association and the Colorado Optometric Assocation.

Larry Fluss, O.D. grew up in northern California. He graduated with honors receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of California Berkeley. He worked as a researcher in the Molecular Biology department at UC Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz for many years publishing several papers. He grew tired of working with viruses, bacteria, and DNA as they weren’t able to carry on a conversation. He wished to work with people. In 1992 he completed his Doctor of Optometry degree from the University of California Berkeley School of Optometry. He was a member of Beta Sigma Kappa, an Optometric Honor Society and has a paper published concerning the disinfection of contact lenses with ultraviolet light.

Soon after graduating Dr. Fluss, his wife, and two young daughters immigrated to a rural part of British Columbia Canada where they spent a year building their home and vegetable gardens.

Dr. Fluss spent the last 17 years working in a full service Optometric office in Creston B.C. Canada. He has experience in dealing with all aspects of Optometric eye care. Dr. Fluss spent 8 years as a council member and treasurer of the British Columbia Optometric Association. He has traveled to Samoa and Guatemala taking his teenage daughters with him providing eye care and glasses to those who can’t afford or don’t have access to the care. It was an amazing experience and an eyeopener especially for his daughters to see the differences between a third world and a first world country.

In 2012 Dr. Fluss made the move down to Boulder with his wife so she could attend Naropa University. He now considers Boulder his home and very much enjoys the outdoor activities available here and the sunshine. He also really enjoys the interesting and diverse people he meets at Altitude Optometry.

He looks forward to meeting and helping you with your eye care needs

Kristen Watson, O.D. is originally from Boston, Massachusetts. She completed her Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Vermont. She then attended Southern College of Optometry in Memphis, Tennessee.

Dr. Watson completed her Optometric training at Kirtland Airforce Base Hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico which emphasized treating ocular disease. She also completed training at Colorado Optometric Center, specializing in primary care and vision training. She received her Doctorate of Optometry in 1998.

After graduation, Dr. Watson worked in Copley Square in Boston for six months. She decided to move to Colorado to explore the West and made her move permanent after meeting her husband in Denver.

She has enjoyed practicing in a primary care setting since moving to Colorado. Her patient’s eye health and clear vision are top priority. Taking time with each patient to educate them on caring for their eyes, and time to understand each patient’s concerns are both very important to Dr. Watson.

Dr. Watson spends a lot of her free time with her family. Her three young children keep her quite busy. She also enjoys the beautiful outdoors of Colorado.