Meet Your GADHA Board of Directors
President
Kirsten Young –
I have been practicing since 1991 in General and Periodontal practice. I have worked at a DSO and currently, I am in a General practice, located in Oak Hill. Since I have been an active member of ADHA and volunteered for several board and committee positions, I would be a good representative for the hygienist in our component.
Other activities: I have volunteered as Secretary of my HOA and currently serve on the ACC Advisory Committee.
Hobbies: Working out at F45 and improving my health.
Trustee
Mara Crow –
Mara grew up here in Austin, Texas. In 2003, she graduated from the University of Texas School of Dentistry at Houston, with a certificate in Dental Hygiene. Then in May of 2007 received a Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene Degree. She has worked in periodontal office for most of her career. Looking to help support the local hygiene association and find more volunteer opportunities in the community, she has recently become more involved. Mara is married and has two energetic children. As a family they love to hike, ride bikes, play games, and travel
together.
Pres Elect
Sima Sohrabi –
Vice-President
Melissa Chagollán Vetter received her Associate of Applied Science in Dental Hygiene from Austin Community College in 2016. She also holds a Bachelors of Arts in English from the University of Southern California. Her passion lies in education and recently started her role as a Clinic Coordinator at Austin Community College. As an avid member of ADHA at both the local and state level, she hopes to provide resources for local components on how to organize community events while changing systemic issues in dental care in the US from a grassroots level. Her hobbies include knitting, attending film festivals, and playing board games with friends. She served as President of the Greater Austin component from 2020-2021 and now chairs the Communications committee.
Treasurer
Kathy Trilli –
Secretary
Erica Bell graduated with an Associates of Applied Science in Dental Hygiene from Austin Community College in 2023. She is passionate about volunteer and community work as well as advocating for dental hygienists in Texas. During her time in hygiene school, she participated in one of the student chapters of the ADHA, and is excited to begin participating at the local level. In her free time, Erica enjoys reading and book club, cooking fun meals, playing games, doing crafts!
Alt Trustee
Reena Patel holds a Bachelor’s in Science from The University of South Carolina in addition to an Associate of Applied Science in Dental Hygiene. She served as the South Carolina SDHA Treasurer and received the Colgate S.T.A.R award demonstrating excellence and commitment to the dental hygiene profession. She has been a proud member of ADHA since 2018 and participates in involvement at both the local and state levels. She is passionate about patient advocacy and community outreach and hopes to help advance the dental hygiene profession in the state of Texas. In her free time, Reena enjoys riding her bike, playing soccer, reading, and spending time with her friends and family.
Committees
Governmental Affairs
Sandy Tesch grew up in upstate New York and attended dental hygiene school at Broome Community College in Binghamton, New York. After working for a few years as a clinical hygienist, she went back to school full time to get a Bachelor of Science degree in school health education. Upon completion of her BSE degree, she was tired of the cold winters in NY and decided to move to Texas to further her professional career. Sandy worked as a dental hygiene clinician for several general practices while completing her Master of Science in Health Professions (Health Education/Health Administration) at Southwest Texas State University. She has been a registered dental hygienist for over 40 years.
Sandy works as state employee within the DSHS Oral Health
Improvement Program (OHIP) for the office of the Public Health State Dental Director. Her responsibilities include oversight of OHIP’s perinatal oral health program and training, technical writing and curriculum development, policy development, grant writing, and project management. She serves nationally as a sealant consultant for the Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors (ASTDD) and also serves as a board director on the Texas Oral Health Coalition.
Sandy is a past president of both the Austin component and state
associations. She has served as TDHA’s Legislative Director and the Governmental Affairs Councils (GAC) co-chair. On the national level, she served as ADHA’s Vice-President and District IX Trustee. She and her son Tyler live in Austin and spends their free time traveling, movie going, and eating out.
Legislative Committee Members
Bylaws and Policy & Procedure Manual
Nancy Cline, MPH, RDH
I am a retired dental hygiene educator who moved to Texas 20 years ago. I graduated from the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center School of Dentistry and received a Master’s Degree in Public Health from the University of California. I was the Dental Hygiene Program Director at the Louisiana State University School of Dentistry for 10 years before I retired.
I am an active member of GADHA because the importance of belonging to my professional association was something that my faculty instilled in me when I was a student. There was no question. .You joined and you contributed. As an educator, I also required it of my faculty and students. Membership in ADHA not only makes the dental hygiene profession stronger, on a personal level, it gives you a “home” and a network of friends where ever you move. I have had “homes” in California, Puerto Rico, Georgia, Louisiana and now Texas. The dental hygiene friendships I have developed will last a lifetime.
Dental hygiene and libraries are dear to my heart.. In addition to my volunteer work for TDHA, I work one day a week at the Blanco Library and I am on its Board of Trustees. My husband and I live on a little ranch in the Hill Country outside Blanco where we enjoy our 6 longhorns, 3 miniature donkeys and one Great Pyreness dog, Boone.
Membership
My name is Karen Tuel. I am from Maryland. I earned an Associate in Arts degree from Montgomery College in 1966. In 1968 I attended Howard University’s Dental Hygiene Program (within the College of Dentistry) in Washington, DC. I was on the Dean’s Honor Roll my second semester. I was elected to membership in Sigma Phi Alpha, the Dental Hygiene Honor Society, in February of 1970. I graduated with a Certificate in Dental Hygiene in June of 1970.
I moved to Austin in September of 1973 and obtained my Texas license in 1974. I became a member of my professional association in 1991. I practiced in general and pediatric private offices. I was employed for 10 years with the City of Austin Dental Program for medical assistance patients. In that time Doug and I married & had a son, born in 1983. I was able to take 2 years off to tend to my family. My next employment was with a private general practice which lasted 27 years until I retired in August of 2015.
I have made many friends over the years as a member of ADHA, TDHA, and GADHA. Being a member
has given me many volunteer opportunities to give back to the Austin community. I participated in
several “Seal Out Decay the Austin Way” programs, Health Fairs, oral health presentations at elementary
schools, an oral health presentation at Seton Hospital to members of the local Parkinson’s Association,
and AISD’s Back to School Bash. I served as a Delegate for many years at the TDHA Annual Sessions.
I also donated blood regularly over the years. I am proud of my 20 gallon blood donation plaque.
At the component level I have served as President for 2 consecutive years, Secretary, and Treasurer a
couple of times.
In 2004 Esther Wilkins came to Austin for a continuing education seminar and I volunteered to pick her
up at the airport. I had my Clinical Practice of the Dental Hygienist textbook in the car and she
immediately recognized it by its color and said, “Oh, I see you have the Second Edition!”, knowing the
color of each of the twelve editions. She was an energetic 88 year old that year. She autographed my
textbook, thanking me for my kind hospitality. Her penmanship was meticulous!
I have participated for several years in TDHA’s “Legislative Awareness Day” at the Capitol. I testified at
the most recent Sunset hearing for TSBDE.
Doug & I will be celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary this coming January. Currently we are
preparing our home of 27 years for the market. We will be moving to Round Mountain before the end of
the year. We will be close to 3 state parks- Pedernales, Blanco, and Inks. We love camping in our trailer,
getting out in nature, watching the birds and hiking.
Membership
Brittany Cox is a dedicated dental hygienist with a passion for promoting oral health and making a difference in her community. In 2015, she graduated with her Associates of Applied Science in Dental Hygiene, laying the foundation for her career in dental care. Recognizing the importance of continuous education, she pursued further studies and obtained her Bachelor of Science in Oral Health Promotion from O’Hehir University in 2020.
Driven by her commitment to professional growth and excellence, she is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Oral Health Promotion with O’Hehir University. This program allows her to deepen her knowledge and expand her skill set, enabling her to provide even greater value to her community and colleagues.
Recently, she joined the Greater Austin Dental Hygiene Association. By joining forces with other dental professionals, she believes they can have a stronger impact on their communities. Together, they can work towards raising oral health awareness, advocating for optimal patient care and access to services, and influencing healthcare policies that benefit both their profession and the general public.
Through their collective efforts, they have the ability to effect positive change and create a more vibrant dental hygiene community. With her unwavering enthusiasm and dedication, she aims to play an instrumental role in improving oral health outcomes, enhancing professional standards, and fostering a collaborative environment where their profession can thrive.
She is excited about the opportunities ahead and looks forward to making a lasting impact on the oral health landscape, one smile at a time.
Membership Committee Members
SCADHA LIAISON
Sima Sohrabi
ADHA Student Chapter Liaisons
Erica Bell, Brittany Cox, Melissa Chagollan Vetter, Sima Sohrabi
Community Outreach Committee Members
Kirsten McGee Young, RDH
Brittany Cox , RDH, BS
Website, Communications Members
Melissa Vetter, RDH
Brittany Cox, RDH
Erica Bell, RDH
In memorium
Kym Whitehead graduated from Austin Community College’s Dental Hygiene program in 2014. She became interested in the organizational side of the profession while still in school, and was Jr. President, and the Senior President of her graduating class. She received the only Colgate STAAR award for total student achievement presented in Austin that same year. Kym had a longstanding commitment to community service, and helped organize GADHA’s involvement with the AISD Back To School Bash every year.
Kym loved dental hygiene because the profession offers her a flexible schedule to pursue other non-profit and volunteer activities, which she believed weaved her tightly into the fabric of our community. Kym believed that membership in ADHA allowed her voice to be heard on a national level, assuring that procedures and standards were upheld, for the sake of patients’ health. As a member of TDHA, she attended annual conference and acted as a delegate for the hygienists of Austin on multiple occasions, ensuring that the concerns of hygienists are met, so that the hygienists were able to focus of meeting the needs of the patients.
Kym believed that membership in GADHA was the best way to meet a wide variety of hygienists of all ages and walks of life, in order to learn from their experience and perspective, and to discover new ways to give back to her community here in Austin. She practiced dental hygiene in a central Austin office and enjoyed baking bread and making jelly in her spare time.
Kym’s legacy continues to inspire the members of GADHA to advocate for patients and for ourselves. Her contributions to the dental hygiene profession and to the Greater Austin area continue to flower from the seeds she planted.
GADHA 