Our Patients Are Like Family
About Sansbury
Sansbury Eye Center is a local family owned and operated eyecare facility that has been serving the Columbia area since 1973. Each of our eye centers includes an eye clinic that provides a complete range of optometric services including comprehensive eye exams and contact lens fitting, a large optical department providing a selection of over 2,000 frames, and on-site spectacle lens laboratory that can provide 1 hour service when needed on a large percentage of prescriptions.
The doctors at Sansbury are primary eyecare providers who pride themselves on nurturing the overall eye health of each individual they serve. Our goal is for our patients to love coming to Sansbury Eye Center, whether it’s to choose a beautiful frame, pick out that "It’s so you….sunwear" you’ve always wanted, update your contact lens or spectacle prescription, or to follow up on a chronic eye condition.
To make your time spent at our office enjoyable, our helpful, friendly staff is dedicated to providing you with a comfortable, welcoming atmosphere at each of our four convenient locations.
Serving the Midlands for 44 Years
1973-1978
In 1973, Ray Sansbury opened our first Optical Store at Dutch Square Mall. Within three years of operation, we opened a second location in Northeast Columbia. By the end of 1978, Sansbury had grown to three locations.
1979-2008
Throughout this time, we continued to grow and serve the Midlands with a total of three locations, In 1985, we began the conversion of our locations to what was being called nationally at the time, "Super Optical" Centers, which consisted of an eye clinic, optical store, and lens laboratory all under one roof and where, to this day, we still provide our customers with the latest in state-of-the-art eyecare technology and service
2009-Today
In 2009, we added our fourth location. Currently, we operate four locations in and around Columbia, have over 50 employees, and enjoy a long history of quality customer service.
Doctors & Staff
The doctors at Sansbury Eye Center care about each of our patients, and we are dedicated to providing excellent individual and family eyecare solutions. From amongst our experienced, caring staff, we can match you with the right doctor for your specific visual and eye health needs.
Our professional staff is trained to provide you not only with results, but also with outstanding customer service.
Doctors
Dr. James Taylor, OD
Dr. Taylor grew up in South Carolina and graduated from Harstville High School in Hartsville, SC. He attended college in Nashville, TN at Trevecca Nazarene University where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Chemistry. He continued his education at Southern College of Optometry where he completed his Doctorate of Optometry degree. Dr. Taylor has been practicing Optometry since 1985 in Columbia, SC at Sansbury Eye Center. In addition to comprehensive eyecare, his areas of focus have included orthokeratology, keratoconus, diabetic eyecare, and glaucoma. He also has enjoyed focusing on sports vision as an eye doctor for University of South Carolina athletic teams.
Dr. Taylor has been active in the community as a member of Columbia First Church of the Nazarene and has led eyecare mission teams to Papua New Guinea and Haiti. He also has served on the board of trustees of Trevecca University for the past 12 years.
Professional affiliations include American Optometric Association, SC Optometric Physicians Association, and American Academy of Orthokeratology and Myopia Control. Dr. Taylor has been elected to serve as President of the SC Optometric Physicians Association for the 2019-2020 year. He and his wife, Karla, have two children: Jad and Jenna (son-in-law Connor Morvay). In his time away from the office Dr Taylor enjoys time with his family, golfing and boating.Read less
Dr. Mark Taylor, OD
Dr. Mark Taylor graduated from Willington Academy in Orangeburg, SC in 1974. He was the president of his freshman class, was the treasurer of the student government, was a Boy’s State Representative, and the senior class Vice President. He went on to the University of South Carolina where he made the President’s Honor List as well as the Deans’ List. Dr. Taylor then went on to Southern College of Optometry in Memphis, TN where he graduated in 1982 and made the Dean’s Honor List and was part of the Beta Sigma Kappa Honor Society. He joined Sansbury Eye Center in 1993.
Dr. Taylor and his wife, Maureen, have three children; Michael, Nicole, and Catherine and one grandchild, Will.Read less
Dr. Justine Petty, OD
A native of Northeast Columbia, Dr. Justine Petty attended Spring Valley High School and the University of South Carolina. She attended the University of Alabama-Birmingham for optometry school where she served as president of the Beta Sigma Kappa International Optometric honor society and was the recipient of the Southern Council of Optometrists Clinical Excellence Award. After graduation from the University of Alabama-Birmingham Optometry School, she returned to her hometown to practice optometry with Sansbury Eye Center in July 2010. She married her high school sweetheart, Chris, that October and they moved to Lexington in 2011 where she primarily practices at the Lexington Sansbury location. In her spare time, she enjoys running, yoga, going to the beach, and spending time outside with her beagle, Bella. Dr. Petty and her husband are the proud parents of a son, Jack, and daughter Kate.Read less
Dr. Nicole Sherman, OD
Dr. Nicole Sherman is a New Jersey native but has been living and practicing in Columbia, SC since 2007. She completed her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at Rutgers University and then completed her Doctorate of Optometry at The New England College of Optometry in Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Sherman joined Sansbury Eye Center in 2014. She is a member of the American Optometric Association, South Carolina Optometric Association and the Midlands Optometric Society. Dr. Sherman’s mission as an eyecare physician at Sansbury Eye Center is to provide the most comprehensive, up-to-date, and compassionate eyecare possible.
In her spare time, she enjoys kickboxing, going to the beach, spending time with her friends and family, and spending time with her dog, a Wheaten terrier named Tobey. Dr. Sherman and her husband Matthew welcomed their first son, Palmer, in July 2016.Read less
Dr. Jennifer Kane, OD
A native of West Virginia, Dr. Jennifer Kane graduated from West Virginia University in 1999. She attended Nova Southeastern University College of Optometry where she received the Optometry Student of the Year award. She was also awarded the Southern Council of Optometry Award for Clinical Excellence and the Student Life Achievement Award. She served as student body president and graduated in 2003.
Dr. Kane has practiced in Columbia since 2004 in an ophthalmology setting. She is past president of the Midlands Optometric Society under the South Carolina Optometric Physicians Association. Her areas of focus include ocular disease, diabetic care, glaucoma, dry eye treatment, eye infections and injuries, and comprehensive eye care for the entire family. She enjoys hiking, climbing, boating and spending time with her son Cole.Read less
Dr. Thomas Hoskins, OD
In loving memory of Dr. Thomas Hoskins who passed away in February 2023. He will be forever remembered and missed by his peers, his staff, and his patients.
Dr. Thomas Hoskins graduated from the University of South Carolina and went on to Graduate School at Southern College of Optometry in Memphis, TN where he was President of his class. He was awarded the Robert J. Magnon Award for outstanding student. Dr. Hoskins served as President of the Central Midlands Optometric Society and has extensive optometric experience practicing optometry with a special interest in contact lens fitting. He enjoys time on the lake with his wife, Pam, and dogs Arpie and Boots as well as his bird, Cooper. He spends much of his time with family including his son, Marshall and grandson Norman, and his daughter Emmye and her husband Mitch. Dr. Hoskins loves the coast and has sailed from Charleston to Florida many times.