After graduating from high school as Class Valedictorian and Student Body President, Dr. Chen entered UCLA on a full UCLA Regents Scholarship where he studied biochemistry and psychobiology and was also a UCLA Alumni Scholar State Finalist.  At the Southern California College of Optometry, Dr. Chen served as both First-Year Class President and Student Association President before receiving his Doctor of Optometry degree in 1992.  He has remained active at his alma mater by serving as a Class Chairman and also Chairman of the SCCO Young Alumni Association.

After graduation, Dr. Chen entered private practice and since then has been actively involved in both his community and his profession.  In 1996, after successfully completing rigorous written requirements and an oral examination, Dr. Chen proudly qualified for Fellowship in the American Academy of Optometry (FAAO).

At the local level, Dr. Chen first served on his local society's many active committees before becoming president of his 120+ doctor Rio Hondo Optometric Society.  At the state level, he is a volunteer doctor and past-president of the California Vision Foundation, a program that provides free eye care and eye wear to low-income California residents.  Dr. Chen is also a participating doctor for InfantSEE, a no-cost public health program created by the American Optometric Association (AOA) for infants within the first year of life.

As a proud member of Lions International, Dr. Chen is a past-president of the Downey Lions Club, has served his Lions 4L-2 District as a Lions Zone Chairman, and continues to serve to this day as an Optometric Director of the Lions Eye Foundation of Southern California.  He is also a Trustee Advisor to the Southen California Lions Eye Institute (SCLEI).  In addition, Dr. Chen is a Governing Council member of the Southern California Public Health Association (SCPHA) while concurrently serving as Co-Chairman of SCPHA's Legislative Committee. 

In 2003, the California Optometric Association named Dr. Chen California's Young Optometrist-of-the-Year for his service to optometry, service to the visual welfare of the public, and service to his community.  His hobbies include reading, playing the piano and guitar, as well as singing with, and having won, four Barbershop Harmony Gold Medals with the 130-man, six-time International Chorus Champions, the Masters of Harmony.