About
One Big Happy Family
During the Christmas break of 2012, Ben the Doctor said to his brother, "I bet we could make some amazing VT equipment." Dennis the Engineer said, "Let me get my 3D printer." The rest is history.
With a passion for truly innovative, beautifully professional equipment these brothers created a company founded on the idea that if vision therapy is going to be taken seriously, then the equipment has to reflect that kind of serious professionalism you would expect from medical equipment.
Meet the Crew
The Doctor
Benjamin C. Winters, OD, FOVDR
Dr. Ben is a developmental and neuro-optometrist, vision therapy advocate, and co-founder of Emergent VT. After years of working with patients, therapists, and clinics, he saw a clear need in the vision therapy world: better equipment, better training, and better support for the people doing the work every day.
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That conviction eventually became Emergent — a team dedicated to helping clinics grow, therapists feel confident, and patients get the care they need.
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When he is not working on new products, teaching, consulting, or talking about binocular vision just a little too enthusiastically, Dr. Ben is usually spending time with his wife and five children, running, cycling, or managing overlapping schedules, last-minute plans, and the mysterious disappearance of every phone charger in the house.
Dennis Winters
Dennis is Emergent’s resident inventor, problem-solver, and beautifully unconventional R&D mind. If he is not taking a perfectly timed 17-minute power nap, experimenting with hot/cold showers, or figuring out a new way to use duct tape, he is probably traveling the world with his beautiful family.
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Somehow, in the middle of all that, Dennis continues to dream up the creative concepts and practical products that help Emergent serve the vision therapy community.
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Dennis has a gift for turning rough ideas into polished, practical tools. He can take a problem that has frustrated clinics for years, disappear into the R&D process, and come back with a product that feels simple, professional, and beautifully designed — the kind of solution that makes people wonder why it did not already exist.
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Emergent would not be what it is today without Dennis’ creativity, persistence, and passion for developing new tools that help clinics and patients succeed.
The Engineer
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The Preacher
James Smith, COVT
James is Emergent’s resident COVT, teacher, lecturer, preacher, volunteer firefighter, and walking encyclopedia of vision therapy knowledge. If you have a question about VT, there is a very good chance James has an answer — along with three examples, a clinical story, and a passionate explanation of why it matters.
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James brings an incredible depth of knowledge to the Emergent team, but what makes him truly special is the passion behind it. His enthusiasm is contagious, his explanations are thorough, and his ability to turn a simple question into a full clinical masterclass is both impressive and slightly dangerous if you are short on time.
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At Emergent, James leads much of our digital therapist training, exams, webinars, and educational support. He also plays an important role in advocating for vision therapists, including through his leadership with OVDRA and his multi-year tenure as chair of the COVT Mentor Committee.
James blesses the Emergent team and the broader vision therapy community by helping therapists feel more confident, capable, and supported in the work they do every day.
