Practice Administrator of the Year

Betsy is the office administrator for Ryan F. Mueller, DMD in Downtown Portland, Oregon. Single-handedly, she runs the front office of Dr. Mueller’s busy private practice; analogous to an octopus, with a hand in all areas of patient care and practice management.

Betsy’s experience in dentistry began in 1997 in dental assisting school in Virginia Beach, VA. She spent two years in the clinical setting with Dr. Ira Langstein, increasing her knowledge in patient treatment, then transitioned to the front office as a patient coordinator. In 2009, she returned home to Oregon and was quickly recruited by Dr. Mueller’s young, growing practice.

Committed to self-improvement, Betsy earned her CDPMA designation through DANB in 2002, and FAADOM designation in 2014. Through specialized training, she has had the opportunity to learn from some of the best management groups in the industry, and she loves to pass on the wisdom that she has gained. With consideration to all the different aspects of her career, she says her true passion lies in customer service. She is always designing new ways to make patients feel at home in the office, and never too busy to drop what she is doing and make you a cup of coffee. Her dedication to constant learning, and growth in business and in her personal life has helped her motivate her team to achieve continuous success.

Terri is the Practice Administrator at Midwest Endodontics in Omaha, NE.  She began her career in dentistry in 1978 as a dental assistant. She keeps her license current and is still a registered dental assistant in the State of IA. Terri received her CDPMA (Certified Dental Practice Management Administrator) through DANB in 2007 and was inducted as an AADOM Fellow in the first class in 2010. She is a lifetime AADOM member, a past member of the AADOM Virtual Study Club and is currently the president of her local study club, (where she has been a member since 2008), Metro Omaha Dental Office Leaders.

Terri loves to volunteer her time, serving as a member of the Dentistry by 1 Coalition, participant in GKAS for the past 11 years, participates in Mission of Mercy in IA and is a volunteer for her church. She is married and has two sons and two grandsons. In her spare time, she loves spending time with family and friends.

Jamie Perryman is the manager of Grove Dental Associates in Grove, Oklahoma. Grove Dental Associates provides uncommon customer service while utilizing the latest technology and training for their patients so they can enjoy the highest quality of health and life!

Jamie has always enjoyed meeting people and he says if you don’t know him, you are missing out! By the time he was 7 years old he had started his own business as a shoeshine boy in his father barbershop. This was the start of his love affair with the public. His first social interactions were with his father’s clients. Jamie, his dad and the men in the barbershop celebrated friendship with friendly banter, small talk, and a kind or encouraging word. Some men didn’t even come in for a haircut, they just came to visit, read the paper, or talk about sports, politics, economics etc… He has always been in the people business.

Jamie entered the dental business in 2008 when Dr. Crawford and Dr. Miller discovered him at the local vocational school where he was an administrator. Prior to Jamie’s 10 years of school teaching and administration he was a vice president of a community bank. Jamie was invited to Grove Dental’s annual planning meeting and was introduced as an observer and consultant. During the meeting, he witnessed the doctors sharing patient before and after photos and each employee described the depth that the patient’s life had been touched. Patient 1, 2, 3 … 40, orthodontic patient, lost 40 pounds, changed their hair, got engaged, had a child, returned to their 35th class reunion and fell in love with their high school sweetheart. He watched as each team member shared what they had contributed and witnessed the pride that they have in the “job” dentistry played within these transformations. Well, needless to say he fell in love with the relationships established with patients and the transformation of lives. He said, “Sign me up!!!!” Eight years later he is still learning the language of dentistry!

His favorite part of the job is making a difference, with patients, with the dental family, and community. Grove Dental allows Jamie to maintain constant monitoring of daily operations. He finds the finance part of management most engaging. Making the deal, negotiating, reducing costs, recruiting new doctors, expanding services, while always asking what is best for the patient keeps Jamie every day.

Jamie and his wife, Jenean, have two sons, Jacob and Jared. Both sons are married to beautiful, wonderful girls Chelsea and Ellise, respectively (both just happen to be daughters of the doctors Jamie works for). Jamie and Jenean are proud grandparents to one granddaughter, Kate.

SMILE CENTRAL DENTAL OFFICES
PATERSON, PASSAIC & HUDSON, NJ

As the COO of the Smile Central Dental offices in northern New Jersey, Cecilia has over 20 years of experience in the dental field. She is an AADOM lifetime member and an AADOM fellow since 2011. She is also a member of the Hispanic Dental Association. As a winner of the Patterson Dental Diamond Award in 2013, Cecilia prides herself on her work in the Smile Central Dental offices as well as in the local community.

After completing her MBA in May of 2015, Cecilia is now working on completing her doctorate degree while raising her three daughters. In addition to her hard work in her academics and managing four busy offices, Cecilia is also the president of the northern New Jersey AADOM chapter. Recently, she began recognizing her goal of sharing her knowledge and experience in the dental field by consulting with other dental offices.

WINDERMERE VILLAGE DENTAL CARE
WINDERMERE, FL

Lisa Marie Spradley, FAADOM, has worked in the dental front office for almost 20 years and understands the struggle to put the patient’s needs first while taking care of the business of the front office. She is the Practice Manager of Operations for Windermere Village Dental Care in Windermere, FL, and enjoys building relationships with the patients.

Lisa is a published author having written articles for publications such as Dentistry IQ, The Dental Geek, the AADOM Observer, and AGD Impact. She is an Ambassador and a lifetime member of AADOM. She received her Fellowship in 2012.

Lisa’s experience as an office manager led to the creation of her business the Front Desk Lady. As a consultant, she works with the dental front office team to develop front office systems and improve their focus on the patient. As a speaker, she discusses the best way to focus on the patient while still doing the many tasks associated with working in the front office.

Lisa and her husband Joey have been married for over 27 years and have two daughters, Jena and Elaina, and four poodles who are affectionately known as her boys. She enjoys reading, shopping, and spending time at the beach. Lisa is a proud member of the Speaking Consulting Network and is always looking for ways to learn and grow to be the very best at what she does.

OFFICE OF JOPLIN FAMILY DENTAL – MICHAEL E FITTERLING, DDS
JOPLIN, MO

Cindy Sooter is the Office Manager at Joplin Family Dental. Cindy’s career in dentistry started in 1979 as a Chairside assistant. “I was an assistant for 15 years and was very lucky to learn from some exceptional dentists. I feel that having the foundation as an assistant has helped me enormously with understanding the big picture of managing a successful dental practice. I love dentistry, the technology, and the constant evolving of better ways of doing things. CE is invaluable as well.”

As a Member of AADOM since 2007 and now a lifetime member, Cindy says the networking resources with AADOM are tremendous. “I have had the privilege of meeting some amazing office managers through AADOM, including the previous OMYs – these ladies have been so willing to share their experiences and knowledge. We learn from each other’s successes and yes, even failures.”

Cindy’s favorite thing to do is spend time with friends and family – especially her four grandchildren!