Our Leadership

Kari Ann Kuntzelman
President

“Dental therapy is an essential part of improving the quality, accessibility, and cost-effectiveness of oral health care for all Americans. We can achieve oral health parity, but it will require policy change, state-by-state, clinic-by-clinic. Fortunately, ADTA is up for the fight.”

Kari Ann Kuntzelman, Licensed Dental Therapist, shares her passion for oral health equity where she works as the Dental Health Aide Education Specialist at the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board – an organization that serves the health policy and public health needs of the forty-three federally recognized Tribes of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. As the ADTA President, Kari Ann aims to advance the practice of dental therapy as a means for ending oral health care disparities across the nation. Kari Ann is a proud member of the Chickasaw Nation and graduate of the Alaska Dental Therapy Education Program at Ilisagvik College.

Anna DeGraffenreid
Secretary

“The U.S. has so many underserved communities when it comes to oral health. Dental therapists can address these gaps. If given the opportunity, we can increase access to oral health care in a cost-effective way without compromising quality. It’s what we are trained to do.” 

Kylie Anderson
Director

“Dental therapy is about expanding access to dental services throughout our country and communities. Educating our patients on oral health and providing quality care, we are helping reduce oral health disparities.” 

Kylie Anderson, Dental Hygienist and Advanced Dental Therapist, is a practicing provider at Community Dental Care in Buffalo, Minnesota. She attended the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry, receiving a Bachelor's degree in Dental Hygiene and a Master's degree in Dental Therapy. One of Kylie's favorite things about being a dental therapist is that she genuinely believes she can make a difference in people's lives by providing quality care, building relationships, and educating people about proper oral health.

Raelene Cabrera
Director

“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” - Socrates

Raelene Cabrera, BSDH & Master of Dental Therapy Student, is a University of Minnesota School of Dentistry student working towards her dual degree as a dental therapist. She recently finished her final semester of dental hygiene and is starting her Master of Dental Therapy degree in the fall of 2023. She plans to work in vulnerable communities in rural Minnesota, where she can gain experience while furthering her education. Once she has completed her Ph.D., she intends to return to her home state of Oregon, where she would like to transition into academia and become a dental therapy educator. Raelene is passionate about dental therapy and vows to continue to advocate for it and inspire the next generation of dental therapists.

Claire Roesler
Director

“Something many people don’t know is that dental therapists provide cost-effective care. In fact, the reimbursement value of the care that dental therapists deliver often far exceeds the costs of their employment. This makes dental therapists a budget-friendly way clinics can expand their services and meet demand!” 

Claire Roesler, Dental Hygiene Therapist and Dental Therapist, works at Compass Dental located in Cannon Falls, MN. Claire attended the University of Minnesota, where she received a B.S. in Dental Hygiene and Master of Dental Therapy.

Wilber Ramírez-Rodríguez
Director 

“When I provide care, each patient in my dental chair is treated the same. It is the way I would treat someone in my family; someone that I love. Because for me, everyone deserves the same quality and standard of care. And the purpose of Dental Therapy is not only to bring health care costs down, its purpose is to reach all who need dental care."

Wilber Ramírez-Rodríguez, LDT, RDH, BSDH, DDS-Perú, is a licensed dental therapist in Oregon, licensed dental hygienist in the states of Oregon and Washington, and has been a licensed dentist in Perú since 2001. Prior to moving to the United States, Wilber completed his bachelor in stomatology and graduated as doctor in dental surgery. He worked as a public health dentist in rural areas of Perú and volunteered for the Peruvian Red Cross and Doctor Without Boarders for many years. He received his dental hygiene degree at Pacific University in 2010. In August 2010, Wilber became an adjunct faculty in the School of Dental Hygiene Studies at Pacific University. In 2013, he became the first co-faculty in conjunction with Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center. In 2017, he was appointed to manage the Smile Care Everywhere program and promoted to assistant professor. In his current position, Wilber works as the Dental Outreach Coordinator, managing all of the outreach clinics. Wilber is an active member of the American Dental Hygienists’ Association, American Dental Education Association, Mobile Health Care Association, and the Hispanic Dental Association.

Bonnie W. Vaughan 
Director 

“For more than 10 years, my goal has been to bring Dental Therapists to Maine.”

Bonnie W. Vaughan RDH, IPDH, Med, MBA, received her dental hygiene degree from Westbrook College. She received her BS Degree from Columbia University, her MEd from the University of Southern Maine, and her MBA from the University of New Hampshire. Ms. Vaughan started her career as a dental hygiene instructor at Westbrook College eight years ago. She then became the Dental Health Division Director with the City of Portland, Maine for eight years. Ms Vaughan was the first dental hygienist to become the Executive Director of the Center for Community Dental Health—a position she held for almost 20 years. 

In 2002, Ms Vaughan received the prestigious Pfizer/American Dental Hygienists Association Award for Excellence in Dental Hygiene, which she received for outstanding accomplishments that impacted the Practice and Future of the Dental Hygiene Profession.

Since 2013, Ms. Vaughan has worked tirelessly with the MDHA in Maine to make Dental Therapy a reality. Maine currently has two Dental Therapists working in Augusta and Bangor, Maine, in non-profit dental centers providing services for underserved populations. Legislators passed legislation to create a DT education program at the University of Maine shortly.

Mary Williard
Director 

Dr. Mary Williard, DDS, graduated from The Ohio State University College of Dentistry in 1994 and completed a 2-year General Practice Residency at the Carolinas’ Medical Center in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1996. She has exclusively worked in American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities since joining the Indian Health Service in 1996. One of her most treasured experiences was being the Director of the Dental Therapy Educational Program at Iḷisaġvik College in Alaska and it becoming the first dental therapy education program in the U.S. to receive CODA accreditation. Dr. Williard currently works with the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians. In November 2023, Dr. Williard was honored by the American Public Health Association’s Oral Health Section with “The John W. Knutson Distinguished Service Award,” for outstanding contributions in dental public health.