Meet Our People | AAPD Foundation

Our People

Meet the real people whose passion for little teeth makes the work we do possible.

Our Team

We have big love for little teeth

Our team of compassionate, hardworking individuals loves nothing more than bringing smiles to the faces of the families we support. Get to know the people who keep our organization running.

Meet our team

Paul Amundsen, MNA, CAE, CFRE

Senior Vice President

Learn more about Paul

Mom and Dad sacrificed a lot for my sister and me. One of my mom’s priorities was making sure her kids grew up with better oral health than they did.”

Paul is responsible for the day-to-day activities of the AAPD Foundation. With his leadership and commitment to bringing dental care to all children, he has helped the AAPD Foundation grow to be the nation’s largest dentist-led charity dedicated to children’s oral health.

Paul has spent more than 36 years supporting nonprofits in his career. He grew up with parents who prioritized his oral health, which drives a lot of his work to this day.

Lost his first tooth in a bowl of cereal

Jasmine Williams

Grants and Programs Assistant Manager

Learn more about Jasmine

I grew up in a community that didn’t always have accessibility to health care, so I know how important it is for kids.”

Jasmine oversees our Access to Care Grants from start to finish. She’s the main point of contact for grantees and the main liaison for the Grants and Programs Committee.

Before joining the AAPD Foundation, she worked as a high school graduation coach through AmeriCorps, providing support for high school juniors and seniors. Her aunt is a dental hygienist, so she grew up with a great advocate for her oral health.

Only had her bottom wisdom teeth removed

Brianna DeWitt

Senior Marketing Coordinator

Learn more about Brianna

It is not right that inequity leads to children’s health suffering. I’m passionate about addressing that inequity.”

Brianna is responsible for donor outreach, maintaining the marketing and fundraising calendar, managing the website and social media, creating marketing materials, and maintaining the database.

Before joining the AAPD Foundation, she worked in politics at the state and local level and spent time as a personal family assistant, where she witnessed the importance of healthy oral habits firsthand.

Lost her first tooth at 5 years old

Celeste Stewart

Annual Fund Coordinator

Learn more about Celeste

Even someone in an administrative role can make a difference in a child’s healthcare journey.”

Celeste provides front line support to individual donors and operational support for the Foundation by ensuring that the Foundation’s donor database is up-to-date and accurate.

Before joining the AAPD Foundation, she worked as an online learning manager. She’s very passionate about using her skills to help children, having spent several summers volunteering with children’s reading programs at her public library.

Has never had braces

Kyle Malone

Major Gifts Manager

Learn more about Kyle

Every child deserves a smile they are proud of, and I’m dedicated to rectifying the injustice that robs them of this fundamental right.”

Kyle cultivates and stewards our wonderful major gift donors. Before joining the AAPD Foundation, he worked as the Annual Giving Specialist at the Field Museum. His dedication to pediatric dentistry stems from his own childhood experience not having the funds for dental care, so he understands the challenges children face when their oral health needs go unmet.

His brother helped him lose his first tooth

Governance Team

Our Governance Team is made up of volunteers from across the country. Their efforts help the AAPD Foundation succeed in our mission to provide all children with the access to dental care they deserve.

Board of Trustees

Our Board conducts Foundation business at regularly scheduled Board meetings.

Mario Ramos, DMD
President
Douglas B. Keck, DMD, MS
Immediate Past President
Oariona Lowe, DDS
Vice President
Teresa Fong, DDS
Treasurer
Thomas Ison, DMD
AAPD President
Charlie Bertot, DMD
AAPD President Elect

John Rutkauskas, DDS, MBA, CAE
AAPD/AAPD Foundation Chief Executive Officer
Deven V. Shroff, DMD
Secretary
Mira A. Albert, DDS
Trustee
K. J. Beauchamp, DDS
Trustee
Clifford R. Hartmann, DDS
Trustee

Claudia A. Cavallino, DDS
Trustee
Shari Kohn, DDS
Trustee
Kerry Maguire, DDS, MPH
Trustee
James D. Nickman, DDS
Trustee
Harlyn K. Susarla, DMD, MPH
Trustee
Kenneth C. Thomalla, CPA, CLU, CFP
Trustee

Executive Committee

This committee conducts any Foundation business needed between regularly scheduled Board meetings.

Mario Ramos, DMD
President
Oariona Lowe, DDS
Vice President
Teresa Fong, DDS
Treasurer

Deven V. Shroff, DMD
Secretary, Grants and Programs Committee Chair
John Rutkauskas, DDS, MBA, CAE
AAPD/AAPD Foundation Chief Executive Officer
Harlyn K. Susarla, DMD, MPH
Grants and Programs Committee Chair

Claudia A. Cavallino, DDS
Marketing Committee Chair
K. Jean Beauchamp, DDS
Development Committee Chair
Douglas B. Keck, DMD, MS
Immediate Past President

Development Committee

This committee ensures all contributions to the Foundation directly support dental care for children in need.

K. Jean Beauchamp, DDS
Chair
Shari Kohn, DDS
Kevin Thomas
Kerry Maguire, DDS, MSPH
Anu R. Tate, DMD, MPH

Mario Ramos, DMD
Paul A. Kennedy III, DDS, MS
Reza Ardalan, DMD
Vanessa G. Carpenter, DDS
Mira A. Albert, DDS, MBA

Carolyn B. Crowell, DMD
Douglas B. Keck, DMD, MSHEd
Angela M. Stout, DMD, MPH
Venetia Laganis, DDS, MS, FAAPD, FICD

Finance and Audit Committee

This committee oversees our investments and financial policies while helping us maintain the highest standards of fiscal integrity.

Teresa Fong DDS
Treasurer, Chair
K. Jean Beauchamp, DDS
Miles Mazzawi, DMD
Manav Malik, DMD

Kenneth C. Thomalla, CPA, CLU, CFP
Shari Kohn, DDS
John Rutkauskas, DDS, MBA, CAE
Kerry Maguire, DDS, MSPH

Mario Ramos, DMD
Rob Conner
Deven V. Shroff, DMD

Grants and Programs Committee

This committee is responsible for all grant making and program development, assessing hundreds of grant applications every year.

Harlyn K. Susarla, DMD, MPH
Deven V. Shroff, DMD
Homa Amini, DDS, MS, MPH
Shari Kohn, DDS
Paula L. Coates, DDS, MS

Oariona Lowe, DDS
Lisa Jacob, DDS
Mario Ramos, DMD
James D. Nickman, DDS
Kelsey Brar, DMD, MS, MPH

Keri Discepolo, DDS, MPH
Edward L. Rick, DDS, MS
Renee Ramirez
Clifford R. Hartmann, DDS

Marketing Committee

This committee educates the public on the importance of oral health for all children and the challenges faced by families in need.

Claudia A. Cavallino, DDS
Chair
Craig Miller
Hubert Park, DMD, MPH

Mira A. Albert, DDS, MBA
Kenneth C. Thomalla, CPA, CLU, CFP
Jessica Lee, DDS, MPH, PhD

Mario Ramos, DMD
David Avenetti, DDS, MSD, MPH
Scott Cashion, DDS, MS

Nominations Committee

This committee finds and recruits future committee candidates, along with future Foundation Trustees and Officers.

Douglas B. Keck, DMD, MSHEd
Chair
John Rutkauskas, DDS, MBA, CAE
James D. Nickman, DDS

Clifford R. Hartmann, DDS
Claudia A. Cavallino, DDS
Mario Ramos, DMD

Harlyn K. Susarla, DMD, MPH
Teresa Fong, DDS

AAPD Foundation

Our People

We have big love for little teeth