Dr. Christine Russo grew up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. She was awarded a Governor General’s Bronze Medal in 1997 and was admitted to the University of Saskatchewan as a Chancellor’s Scholar.  Upon admission to the University of Waterloo School of Optometry she received the Centennial Optical Award. She graduated in 2003 with Honours and was awarded the T. T. Beattie Award for Orthoptics and Visual Training, the Advanced Medical Optics General Proficiency Award (second prize) & the Prize for Academic Excellence in Ocular Pharmacology.  In 2015, Dr. Russo completed the Oral Therapeutics, Glaucoma and Advanced Diagnostic Course from Northeastern State University College of Optometry. 

Since moving to the Edmonton area in 2003, Dr Russo has devoted her career to the advancement of the profession and to meeting the needs of her patients. Dr. Russo has volunteered with both I-Care International in Mexico and the Boyle McAuley Health Centre in Edmonton’s inner city. She has given presentations to numerous kindergarten classes through the Eye See Eye Learn program and to elementary school students though the Science in a Crate program. Dr. Russo has been a supervising clinician for interns from the University of Waterloo many times over her 20 year career and was a member of the Alberta College of Optometrists Continuing Competence Committee from 2005-2015.

In the past few years, Dr. Russo has had the privilege of being a guest speaker at many local education events on the topic of Dry Eye Disease and Myopia Management. The highlight of her career was in 2021, when she had the opportunity to speak alongside experts in the field of dry eye disease at the Alberta Association of Optometrists Annual Conference in Banff, AB. 

Dr. Russo is also a trained musician and is a soprano for the Cosmopolitan Music Society Chorus in Edmonton, and for Santa Maria Goretti Church. Family is of utmost importance to her and she spends most of her free time with her husband and three amazing sons. Their family loves to travel and have enjoyed spending time in England, France, Italy, Iceland, and Hawaii.