by Dr. Aman Kaur: Founder and President of WinDSO
Dr. Aman Kaur is the Founder and President of WinDSO. As a trained dentist and with extensive financial and business experience, Dr. Kaur has been very involved in the growth of the DSO industry. Dr. Kaur continually works with the VC and PE groups as an operating member and consultant for their DSO portfolios. Dr. Kaur has worked with multiple DSOs over her career in various executive roles and is very involved with Dental Vendors, DSOs, Not for profit and state Dental Associations developing business solutions along with helping emerging dental organizations to build development and growth strategies. Dr. Kaur’s vast dental industry knowledge and love for developing leadership teams throughout her career has given some great women business leaders to the DSO industry, especially through her partnership and mentoring relationships.
Respected as a credible voice in industry for her leadership, business decision-making, finding strategic solutions and building partnerships and alliances Dr. Kaur is constantly shaping the industry.
Susan Greenspon-Rammelt: Chief Legal Officer Counsel, EVP of Business Strategy and Corporate Secretary of SmileDirectClub
Susan Greenspon-Rammelt is Chief Legal Officer Counsel, EVP of Business Strategy and Corporate Secretary of SmileDirectClub, the global oral care company and creator of the first medtech platform for teeth straightening. Susan Greenspon-Rammelt has served as SmileDirectClub’s Chief Legal Officer since April 2018, Secretary since March 2019, and as a member of SmileDirectClub’s board since August 2019. She has also served as General Counsel of Camelot since April 2018.
Prior to joining SmileDirectClub, she was a corporate law partner at Foley & Lardner LLP since 2017, where she represented domestic and international enterprises. Prior to that, Susan was a partner at Dentons US LLP. Susan Greenspon-Rammelt has over 30 years of experience as a corporate attorney, focusing on mergers and acquisitions, financings, restructurings, corporate governance, and general corporate counseling, particularly in the retail and beauty industries.
Q: What got you excited about WinDSO?
A: Having been in traditionally male dominated industries for my entire professional life, I have always understood the importance of organizations and leaders willing to encourage and promote the ability of women to become powerful leaders within those industries. There was not such organization in the DSO space until WinDSO and the opportunity to help shape that organization so as to maximize what WinDSO can do to encourage and promote women leaders in the DSO industry is exciting and important to me.
Q: What are you looking forward to accomplishing as a board member?
A: I am looking forward to creating legitimate networking opportunities for women in the DSO industry so they can use those networks to achieve faster and better growth. I also am looking forward to our mentoring programs. With a shortage of female leaders in the DSO and dental industries, I think providing the younger women in this industry with the benefit of mentoring is extremely important for their growth and success.
Amy Mendoza Leonor: Head of Marketing for Vyne Dental®
Founding Women in DSO Board Member and Head of Marketing for Vyne Dental®, Amy is a savvy leader in brand development and strategic marketing. With 20+ years in strategic marketing of industries to include private education, real estate, advertising, culinary, design, tech, practice management, and now dental, she has effectively led branding strategy, implementation, and results-driven campaigns for 20+ dental business units, brand strategies for Breakaway Practice, Dental Whale, and 500+ dental practices and DSO groups across the US.
Amy’s career spans leadership of teams rooted in design, strategy, and omnichannel marketing. She is a committed leader in both digital and print marketing strategy with a keen focus on the organization’s P&L and growth development. Currently, she oversees corporate marketing, brand, and strategic development for Vyne Dental® and its portfolio of practice management technology solutions as well as marketing strategy of private dentists and DSO groups nationwide.
Q: What got you excited about WinDSO?
A: As a board member, I am hoping to effectively drive awareness around the mission of WinDSO which is to grow and advance women across the industry. I am excited about the core values of Women in DSO. Additionally, it is my goal to further develop a global brand for not only the organization but for the leading professionals in our industry who are making great strides in their positions and organizations.
Q: What are you looking forward to accomplishing as a board member?
A: The Women in DSO vision is groundbreaking, and I’m excited to be a part of it. The idea of not only empowering leaders that are already currently driving change in the most successful organizations in our industry, but developing the space and platform to mentor and support the future women leaders so that the industry as a whole is more diverse and rich in collaboration means we are improving and advancing the profession and DSO space as a whole, and it’s an important movement to be a part of.
Kathleen Titus: Henry Schein Director of Business Development, Strategic Accounts
Kathleen Titus, Henry Schein Director of Business Development, Strategic Accounts, has been both pioneer and significant contributor to the DSO industry since 1994. She has been advocating the landscape of our industry and our unique market segments through a visionary lens. In 2014, recognizing the market landscape was trending ever more rapidly toward private practice aggregation, Kathleen helped to launch Henry Schein’s Mid-Market specialty team, creating and bringing critical resources to aspiring group practices. One of her proudest accomplishments is her part in the creation of Henry Schein’s DSO Education Forum.
It was Kathleen’s vision to bring stakeholders together to share best practices, learn, and network. Her deep understanding of the industry was key to assuring content was relevant, topical, and valuable for the attendees, and ensured that the industry (and Henry Schein) maintained a crucial forum for the cultivation of, and access to, what would become the fastest growth segment in dental. Whether you’re a colleague, customer, vendor partner or industry expert, Kathleen believes in the power of collaboration for the betterment of business and, ultimately, providers and their patients.
Q: What got you excited about WinDSO?
A: There have been a number of very legitimate organizations that showcase women in dentistry. I love dentistry, and I love the countless contributions women make. I’ve spent 20 years in the DSO space so when I heard the words, “Women in DSO”, it stopped me in my tracks. Sometimes you just know and that was my reaction; I knew this wasn’t just a great idea. WinDSO is the right idea at the right time in history. When you see women light up talking about WinDSO’s vision and mission, when people are seeking you out to learn about the organization, when the industry responds with overwhelming and enthusiastic support, it’s simply undeniable. Finally, when I learned who would be involved, I knew this was going to be big. Am I excited? You bet I’m excited!
Q: What are you looking forward to accomplishing as a board member?
A: Leaving my mark on an industry that has given me wings is a dream come true. The dental industry has provided me a big beautiful blank canvas to paint a career that has lasted more than 3 decades. Along the way, I have been buoyed up by more experts, mentors and champions than I can count. WinDSO gives me a chance to pay back. As the word “founding” implies, it’s an opportunity to establish a special community that draws strength from each other and shares critical resources to empower women. As a WinDSO board member, I want to help create a sustainable organization that continues to pay it forward to future generations of women leaders in DSO.
Brian Colao: Director of Dykema’s Dental Service Organizations Industry Group
Brian Colao is the Director of Dykema’s Dental Service Organizations Industry Group. Brian has been in the dental space for over 25 years.
He is widely regarded as one of the foremost authorities in the United States on DSO formation, DSO business structures, DSO-related mergers and acquisitions, and regulatory compliance for DSOs including the corporate practice of dentistry, illegal fee splitting, advertising regulations, laboratory regulations, patient finance regulations, billing regulations, HIPAA regulations, credentialing, permit and licensure regulations, marketing regulations, and labor law regulations affecting dental practices.
Q: What got you excited about WinDSO?
A: The opportunity to work with a powerhouse board of directors that I’ve been friends with and have partnered with throughout the years. The ability to make a meaningful difference in the DSO industry by working for an organization whose mission is to provide access, opportunities and mentorship to the many talented women in the industry.
Q: What are you looking forward to accomplishing as a board member?
A: Making the DSO industry a better place. All of our organizations are more profitable, more effective and better places when women are fairly represented.
Kathleen Noll: Managing Director and Vice President of Dental Solutions
From pioneer to revolutionary – Kathleen Noll, Managing Director and Vice President of Dental Solutions joined NextGen Healthcare in 1988. For more than 40 years, NextGen Healthcare (formerly Quality Systems, Inc. or QSI) has been a leading provider of healthcare software and service solutions dedicated to empowering the transformation of ambulatory care.
Throughout her career, Kathleen has remained passionate and committed to providing education and enabling dentists and dental organizations in the use of technology-based solutions to automate complex, mission-critical processes. Well-respected in the industry and recognized for her long-term commitment of partnering with dental group practices and dental service organizations (DSO) to support their transformation of dental care through the use of technology to ensure that these organizations can increase productivity, reduce risk, minimize costs and improve the patient experience. Kathleen is the former Chair of the NDEDIC Board of Trustees, Strategic Planning and Uniting the Industry Committees and is a past Benjamin D. Ward award recipient. Kathleen has developed and presented educational programs on the benefits and effective use of computer technologies for clinical and business administration for dental organizations.
Q: What got you excited about WinDSO?
A: When Dr. Aman and I first discussed her vision for creating an association focused on preparing women to succeed in the DSO industry, I was instantly engaged. Providing an environment for networking, education and mentoring of women leaders, while enabling more women to advance their careers was very exciting and long overdue.
My experiences with the DSO industry as an Industry Partner vendor dates back more than 35 years, to a time when the DSO concept and industry was first emerging. During my 33 years with QSIDental (NextGen Healthcare) I and my teams had the opportunity to engage with and support many of the largest DSOs in the country. Historically, the leadership teams of the DSOs have not reflected the typical workforce within the organizations where most of the frontline workers were/are women. With the vast experience of the WinDSO membership, the association is uniquely positioned to encourage the evolution of the DSO
leadership teams.
Having recently retired from a senior leadership position in a healthcare software company (which had historically had a mostly male leadership team), I felt that I could offer insight and mentoring for women who wanted to grow and enhance their careers within the DSO industry.
Q: What are you looking forward to accomplishing as a board member?
A: As a board member with significant experience in the DSO industry, corporate leadership and another association within the healthcare industry, I hope to contribute to the development of a solid foundation and on-going support for WinDSO which enables rapid and sustainable growth while continuing to add value for members.
Sarah Sharfstein: Vice President Category Development, Aspen Dental
Sarah Sharfstein joined Aspen Dental Management, Inc. in October of 2018 in the newly-created role of Vice President of Category Development and Strategy, with a focus on creating and growing an Orthodontic business. Prior to joining Aspen Dental Management, Inc. Sarah was a leader at Align Technology, the makers of Invisalign. While at Align, Sarah held a variety of positions including directing a regional sales team, developing Align’s business optimization program, and leading all orthodontic study groups.
She developed Align’s Key Opinion Leader program and led the Professional Marketing and Education group for the orthodontic channel. Sarah received her MBA from Santa Clara University Leavey School of Business (MBA) and her undergraduate degree from the University of California, Davis. Sarah volunteers with the American Cancer Society of Chicago, is a member of the University of California, San Francisco Dean’s Advisory Council and is on the American TeleDentistry Association board.
Q: What got you excited about WinDSO?
A: I love the idea of bringing women in DSOs together! It is a great opportunity to celebrate successful women making impact across the industry and create a network of these leaders to support one another as they take on new challenges and look to grow both professionally and personally.
Q: What are you looking forward to accomplishing as a board member?
A: As a board member, I want to work to create an inclusive, collaborative environment that will facilitate learning, networking and recognition for women in the DSO space.
Andrea Hight: Director Strategic Initiatives, Darby Dental
After graduating from dental school in Australia where she grew up, Andrea Hight practiced dentistry for the Tasmanian Health Department before marrying an American on a trip to the US. At that point she had to switch countries. Andrea spent 14 years with the Utah State Health Department where she developed and implemented a clinical access program to provide effective dental care to underserved populations. She assisted numerous programs to build and run dental clinics; participated in studies related to fluoride varnish effectiveness and impacts of oral health care on pregnant women and medically compromised patients; and worked on national issues. She also served as the chief occupational health officer for the Utah State Health Dept.; and helped develop state oral health policy.
Andrea has worked in several management and director roles related to public health and group practice models including as an area director and director of community health. Andrea serves on several boards of directors and believes strongly in contributing to oral health initiatives and causes that affect the underserved in our communities. Andrea has presented regularly at national and regional oral health conferences on various clinical and management subjects.
Q: What got you excited about WinDSO?
A: The moment I learned about the mission and purpose of Women in DSO, I jumped at the invitation to become a founding board member. Having been a part of the dental industry in various roles over the years, I have experienced and seen how women have had to work exceptionally hard to be recognized for the contributions and considered for positions for which they have been eminently qualified.
I am honored to contribute to the mission of WinDSO and that this organization has given us all a platform where we can work together to encourage, nurture, and support women in their dental careers and especially in their desires to become effective and recognized industry leaders.
Q: What are you looking forward to accomplishing as a board member?
A: I hope to get to know the attendees, form connections and new friendships, share knowledge and promote the mission to help my fellow sisters in the industry.
Theresa Schekirke: CEO, Gennua Consulting and President of International Woman’s Forum
Theresa is a seasoned business executive and corporate and philanthropic board member. She is currently CEO of Gennua Consulting and President of the International Women’s Forum-Kansas, and most recently was the Chief Executive Officer of Samson Dental Partners and Chairman of the Board of KCB Bank.
She serves on the Boards and Committees of not-for-profit organizations, including the Kansas School of Classical Ballet where she is President, and the Midwest Ear Institute where she is Chairman. She is passionate about funding and sustainability for the not-for-profit organizations she supports, and operational excellence of the corporations with which she works.
Q: What got you excited about WinDSO?
A: Today, most industries recognize the need to form organizations to elevate, support and empower women leaders. We’ve seen this attempted in the dental world, with non-sustainable results. It takes a passionate leader to get a significant and meaningful organization started and sustained, and Dr. Aman Kaur’s desire to make a difference for women leaders in DSO is what we need.
