FALL Semester Faculty
Meet the FALL Semester Faculty
Finance Lab Instructor
Leadership Lab Instructor
Named a top 20 trailblazer in the industry by Meetings Today Magazine, she uses her Master’s education and 15-years of corporate leadership and sales experience working with some of the world’s biggest brands to bring researched insights and actionable results to the audiences she serves.
Her certifications and teacher training in Holistic Health, Yoga, and healing modalities also allow her to translate soft skills into solid results for her speaking, consulting, and coaching clients. Plus her personal experiences as a widowed mom add a depth of perspective to her work helping leaders maintain momentum during change and stress.
Kristen has been featured in the national media sharing insights from her bestselling books and research including Live with Kelly, Forbes, CNN, Working Mother, Psychology Today, and many more.
Kristen’s biggest faults – she’s occasionally a know-it-all and sometimes a bit of a workaholic. Her biggest loves – movies, summer, bacon, reading, naps, her dog, Boone, and most of all, her daughter, Brooke.
Marketing Lab Instructor
Software Lab Instructor
Danelle works closely with the technical support, development, and implementation teams to ensure our software and processes are up-to-date and meet our clients’ needs.
Combining humor and professionalism in her training, Danelle strives to help clients use our software to efficiently meet their practice management needs. Her hard work, dedication, and ability to learn quickly and adapt to new situations make her an asset to the training team.
When she is not training, Danelle enjoys spending time with her husband and three sons.
Finance Lab Instructor
She is a member of the Academy of Dental Management Consultants and the National Speakers Association. Teresa was recently named one of the Top 25 Women in Dentistry by Dental Products Report Magazine and is regularly recognized as a Leader in Consulting by Dentistry Today. Recently, she provided consulting assistance in the development of the American Dental Association’s Guidelines for Practice Success™. Teresa received her Master’s Degree in Healthcare Management from Marymount University.
HR/Communications Lab Instructor
Marketing Lab Instructor
HR/Communications Lab Instructor
Software Lab Instructor
Over the last 19 years she has worked with Patterson Dental in positions such as Regional Training Advisor, Regional Technology Manager, and presently as the Corporate National Technology Advisor III, overseeing all regions with Eaglesoft and digital products. Mary has been very active as a Practice Masters’ Seminar presenter for over 17 years.
She resides in North Carolina.
Software Lab Instructor
Leadership Lab Instructor
She is Past President of National Speakers Association (Minnesota Chapter), Director of Sponsoring Partners for the Speaking Consulting Network and a member of the National Speakers Association and Academy of Dental Management Consultants and recognized as a leader in consulting by Dentistry Today. She is author of three books; “TA-DAH, Delivering W.O.W. Service, and “Rise & Shine!”, and a contributing author for many dental magazines. She also publishes a monthly newsletter entitled “Show Your Shine”.
Judy Kay lives in MN with her awesome husband Steve who makes her special coffee every morning and Zoe…it’s all about me, 7 pound Yorkie!
Finance Lab Instructor
Prior to joining Kleer, Dianna worked in progressive customer service and success roles at Iron Mountain, a global leader for storage and information management services. She developed her expertise with a range of experiences from working in call centers to directly supporting large financial clients from implementation of services through execution and management of new deals. Dianna has also participated in small focus groups to build new processes for large call centers, and she has served as a subject matter expert in multiple areas of support. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania.
Dianna spends her free time with family and friends, and she enjoys gardening and cooking.
Finance Lab Instructor
Dave has a passion for creating technology-enabled businesses that improve people’s lives. He founded Kleer and championed its mission from the beginning. He designed the Kleer platform based on dentist and patient feedback, curated a passionate and hardworking team, publicly advocates for dentists and patient rights, and continuously pushes the company to innovate and be better.
Prior to joining Kleer, Dave served as the CEO of FitLinxx, where he created simple and affordable wearable devices that enabled patients to monitor and manage chronic conditions and athletes to monitor and improve their performance. He also worked at Microsoft from 1999 to 2006, where he developed and implemented new product, market and partnering strategies that helped the company and thousands of its partners grow and improve profitability.
Dave received his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Pennsylvania State University and an MBA in International Business from Loyola University. Dave is married, has three children, and resides in the Greater Philadelphia area.
HR/Communications Lab Instructor
With her interactive and innovative approach as the leader in Dental Front Office Solutions and Training, Laura has mentored thousands of dentists and dental team members to achieve unprecedented results in growth and empowered dentists and office managers to excel at performance-based hiring. An accomplished recruiting & management coach and highly renowned keynote speaker, she is the best-selling author of Step Away from the Drill, a book that has helped dentists understand & embrace the business side of dentistry.
Laura received her undergraduate degree from Eastern Michigan University in Human Resources and her master’s degree in organizational development from John Hopkins University focusing on leadership development and success. Laura is a member of the National Speakers Association, The Speaking Consulting Network, the Academy of Dental Management Consultants, and a fellow of the American Association of Dental Office Management.
Laura is the recipient of public speaking awards from The Speaking Consulting Network and Dentistry’s Got Talent. She has also been recognized as one of Dental Products Report’s Top 25 Women in Dentistry.
Laura lives in Coronado, CA with her amazing husband, Chris. She enjoys traveling & exploring new destinations, fitness activities including Spartan races and also enjoys biking.
Finance Lab Instructor
In her free time, Julia enjoys coaching college softball, teaching hitting lessons for youth athletes, working on home renovation projects and spending time with her family and friends, especially her 1-year-old nephew Jacob.
Patient Management Lab Instructor
Ms. Poppe has a unique understanding of what it takes to help dentists achieve their practice vision. She is committed to listening to, understanding, and finding solutions for her clients. She delivers a passion and level of communication that truly set her apart. From practice startup to practice transition, she has the skills and knowledge to implement systems for practice and team success.
Leadership Lab Instructor
Marketing Lab Instructor
Marketing Lab Instructor
HR/Communications Lab Instructor
A Kansas City native, Tiana has worked for two leading hospitals in the Kansas City-area in an HR capacity, so it was a dream for her to move to sunny Tucson and be able to provide HR consultation to many of our dental and medical providers. Tiana is an active member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and was a SHRM Advocacy Captain, representing her former congressional district on Capitol Hill three years in a row, lobbying for employment law reform to help both employers and employees find fair common ground. She currently resides in Tucson, AZ and enjoys drumming her heart out as a Pound Fitness class instructor and exploring the natural beauty of the desert in her spare time.
Patient Management Lab Instructor
Gary Takacs is a world-renowned dental practice Coach. He has 40+ years of experience in coaching 2,200+ dental practices around the world. He brings deep knowledge of the individual elements of business success together with genuine compassion for the challenges that Dentists face in today’s changing practice environment. As the host of a couple of podcast series, Gary guides dental professionals to a healthier practice style that lets them deliver an impeccable quality of care in a relationship-driven manner.
He is a published author, classic rock fan, biker, surfer, runner, businessman, and a family man – Gary Takacs always has unique perspectives to share.
Patient Management Lab Instructor
Dana brings her hands-on approach of teaching to the dental field for workshop-style trainings. Her greatest passion is developing confident leaders out of dental spouses who work in the practice–helping them find their role and have confidence in their management and leadership skills.
Dana is a life-time member of AADOM and achieved her Fellowship status with AADOM (FAADOM) in 2016. Dana is also a member of the Speaking and Consulting Network and the Academy of Dental Management Consultants.
Marketing Lab Instructor