Women in DSO® Announces the 2026 Leadership Award Finalists

Women in DSO®, in partnership with Overjet, is thrilled to unveil the finalists for the 2026 Leadership Awards, a prestigious recognition honoring outstanding women who are making a profound impact in the dental service organization (DSO) industry. This year’s finalists exemplify excellence, innovation, and leadership, representing the core values of Women in DSO®.

The Women in DSO® Leadership Awards shine a spotlight on individuals who inspire and drive change in their organizations and beyond. These finalists have demonstrated exceptional dedication to advancing the DSO industry while empowering others to reach their full potential.

This year, we are proud to recognize 10 exceptional leaders across two categories: Clinical Leadership and Business Operations Leadership. Each category features five outstanding finalists who have made significant contributions to their fields.

Belangie Perez-Torres,RDH Director of Hygiene Strategy and Operations, The Aspen Group

Dr. Anna Singh, Senior Vice President of Clinical Operations, Heartland Dental

Dr. Safoura Massoumi, D.D.S Founder, President, Managing Dentist & Pediatric Dentist, Children's Primary Dental Group

Dr. Ankoo Raina, Chief Dental Officer, Jefferson Dental & Orthodontics

Dr. Sami Webb, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, EPIC4 Specialty Partner Organization

Kelly Stillman, Vice President, Communications + Events, Dental Care Alliance

Brooke Gerrell, VP of Project Management, Riccobene Associates Family Dentistry

Sonia Williams, SVP & GM of Dental, Care Credit

Dawn Swanson, Director, Dental Network Services, United Concordia Dental

Suzanne Jackson,  FACHE, President and COO, Rodeo Dental and Orthodontics

Join Us to Celebrate Their Achievements

The winners will be announced during the Empower and Grow 2026 Conference, taking place on March 5-7, 2026, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. This flagship event brings together leading professionals and organizations in the DSO industry to network, learn, and celebrate excellence.

We invite you to attend this inspiring event and witness the recognition of these remarkable leaders. The awards ceremony will be a highlight of the conference, showcasing the incredible talent and contributions of women in the DSO industry.

Secure Your Spot Today 

Don’t miss your chance to attend Empower and Grow 2026! Register now at https://womenindso.org/empower-%26-grow-conference to take advantage of early registration pricing and join us in celebrating leadership, innovation, and empowerment in dentistry.

Suzanne Beauvoir Jackson, FACHE is the President and Chief Operating Officer of Rodeo Dental & Orthodontics, a Bain Capital Double Impact–backed, B-Corp certified DSO serving more than 600,000 patients across Texas, Arizona, and Colorado. With over 25 years of healthcare leadership experience, she is recognized for scaling multi-site operations, driving sustainable EBITDA growth, and building high performing teams.

Suzanne is a member of the Women in DSO Advisory Group and has held numerous national and community leadership roles, including Board Member of the Urgent Care Association (UCA), Board Member of the American Hospital Association’s Institute for Diversity & Health Equity, American College of Healthcare Executives District 2 Regent-At-Large and a mentor for ACHE mentor program. Her public service includes a gubernatorial appointment to the Commonwealth of Virginia Governor’s Council for Women, member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., and executive board service for the North Texas Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc.

A Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, Suzanne holds a Master of Health Services Administration from the University of Michigan and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois–Champaign

Brooke Gerrell serves as the VP of PMO (Project Management Office) at Riccobene Associates. With a clinical background as a dental hygienist, she brings a unique perspective to project management that combines clinical expertise with operational excellence. 

Her career trajectory has included pivotal roles as Training Director and Director of Operations, where she refined her skills in leadership development, workflow optimization, and strategic planning. 

Brooke’s commitment to effective communication and seamless collaboration fosters strong relationships with colleagues and stakeholders alike.

Dawn Swanson brings a bachelor’s degree in Business Management and over 35 years of industry experience in administration, operations and leadership to her role as director of Dental Network Services at United Concordia Dental. Since joining the team over 16 years ago, she has held various roles as a network service liaison, recruiter, supervisor and manager. This diverse experience, paired with her vast knowledge of operations, have well-positioned her to lead the company’s national Medicaid and DSO teams. From ideation to implementation to where it is today, Dawn was responsible for developing United Concordia’s first concierge service effort, supplying direct support to its client DSOs. While not only a first for her company, this approach is also having an impact on the way the industry partners with DSOs today.

Kelly Stillman proudly services as Vice President, Communications + Events for Dental Care Alliance (DCA), a leading dental support organization with more than 400 offices and 6,000 team members across 24 states. She leads enterprise internal communications and content strategy, team member experience programming, and high-impact events that connect, align, and inspire DCA allies across the organization. Grounded in servant leadership values, she proudly serves and elevates the dedicated teams who deliver the industry’s best dental support to DCA-allied practices and providers.

A vibrant, poised professional with 20 years of experience in healthcare operations and communications, Kelly is known for building meaningful experiences and engagement through storytelling, culture-shaping communications, and signature leadership moments—including DCA’s inaugural President’s Club event and the launch of Women of DCA in 2025, an inspiring and inclusive enterprise initiative focused on connection, development, and advancement. A founding member of DCA’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council, she also serves as an advisory board member of Women in DSO and is passionate about challenging industry norms and fostering inclusive, purpose-driven cultures.

Prior to joining DCA, Kelly held senior communications and experience leadership roles at private equity-backed organizations Alliance Healthcare Services (now Akumin) and TriMedx (initially established as part of Ascension Health). Earlier in her career, she supported multiple professional trade associations in both Washington, DC, and Indianapolis, truly shaping her people-first, service-oriented leadership approach.

A proud Hoosier, Kelly resides in Indianapolis with the love of her life and best sweetheart, Dean.

Sonia Williams is a results-oriented, senior business executive with 25+ years of professional leadership experience. Her vast and intricate knowledge of powerful sales and marketing techniques has fueled her success in creating, managing and executing detailed strategic plans that steadily deliver revenue growth. Key elements that drive Sonia's thinking: clearly outlined expectations and consistently compiling, monitoring and analyzing data.
 

Over the past eleven years with Synchrony, Sonia has renewed and cultivated critical relationships, and has successfully led the development and implementation of strategic initiatives across major clients in the apparel, furniture and consumer electronics space. She closely collaborates with all clients to energize continued growth and profitability. Sonia characterizes her leadership style as direct, yet approachable. She has a passion to coach and develop cohesive teams, while remaining keenly aware of sensitive issues that arise with diverse people and processes.

Sonia was recently appointed the global leader of Synchrony's Women's Network+ after serving in a variety of leadership roles in Synchrony's Black Experiences+ Network. She looks forward to focusing on ensuring that Synchrony continues to positively move the needle in creating spaces for women to lead, grow and excel.
 

Sonia holds an MBA in Marketing from Hofstra University (Long Island, NY) and an undergraduate degree in Marketing from Fairleigh Dickenson University (Rutherford, NJ). She’s a powerhouse single mom with two competitive, intelligent and kind teenage boys, with whom she shares a love of sports and fitness.

Dr. Anna Singh is Senior Vice President of Clinical Operations at Heartland Dental, where she leads enterprise-wide strategies that elevate education, clinical support, and operational excellence. She began her career at Heartland Dental as a newly graduated dentist from the University of Pennsylvania, transforming a 7-chair practice into a high-performing 18-chair facility, an experience that sparked her passion for developing clinical leaders.

Today, Dr. Singh leads Heartland Dental University (HDU), the organization’s premier education platform, delivering more than 1,600 hours of continuing education and a robust portfolio of academies for clinical and support teams. She also oversees leadership development through the HDU Leadership Academy, advances clear aligner initiatives, and drives cross-functional clinical strategy. Dr. Singh has served on multiple vendor boards and currently supports new initiatives with Harvard Dental School of Dental  Medicine. 

Belangie Perez-Torres, RDH, Director of Hygiene Strategy and Operations, is driven by a passion to empower hygienists to excel and deliver exceptional patient experiences at Aspen Dental–branded practices. She develops strategic plans that fuel hygienist growth and advance clinical practice by delivering innovative, scalable solutions that expand access to care and professional development. In 2023, Belangie was honored with the Global Heal Award – Brilliance in Healthcare, recognizing her as an industry trailblazer. Her leadership includes national partnerships with the Dental Assisting National Board, product development and implementation of  AI clinical technology, and the design and rollout of learner-centric, blended hygiene training programs across 46 states. She also serves as President of the New York State Dental Hygienists’ Association, leading statewide advocacy to elevate the profession and expand oral health access for New Yorkers.  

Dr. Sami Webb, DDS, MS is a practicing orthodontist, a founder, and CEO of EPIC4 Specialty Partners, a doctor-led specialty partnership organization dedicated to supporting orthodontic and dental specialists through strategic growth, operational excellence, and provider-first leadership. As CEO, Dr. Webb combines clinical expertise with executive insight to help practices scale while preserving autonomy, culture, and high-quality patient care.

Dr. Webb began her orthodontic career in Nebraska in 2004 and successfully grew a small satellite practice into a multi-location organization serving patients across Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, and South Dakota. Her hands-on experience building and leading practices shapes EPIC4’s mission and long-term vision.

She earned her DDS from the University of Nebraska and completed her orthodontic training at The Ohio State University. Dr. Webb is passionate about leadership development, practice growth, and strengthening access to specialty care in rural communities.

Dr. Ankoo Raina serves as Chief Dental Officer at Jefferson Dental & Orthodontics, providing enterprise-wide clinical leadership across a multi-region organization. She partners with executive and operational leaders to align clinical quality, patient experience, and provider performance with scalable systems that support consistent care delivery and sustainable growth.

In her role, Dr. Raina leads clinical governance, standards of care, provider development, and the integration of technology-enabled workflows. She supports both general dentistry, hygiene and orthodontic service lines through standardized protocols, consistent documentation practices, and strong regional clinical leadership structures—ensuring high-quality outcomes while maintaining rigorous compliance with regulatory and professional standards.

Dr. Raina has championed data-driven, digitally enabled care by advancing initiatives that strengthen diagnosis, treatment planning, and patient communication through modern clinical tools and performance dashboards. She is also committed to mentorship and leadership development, partnering with clinical leaders and practice teams to build accountable, high-performing cultures focused on continuous improvement.

Children’s dentistry is an art and passion. It takes a special person to put a child at ease while at the same time performing important oral care. Dr. Safoura Massoumi is just that kind of dentist. Her smile and international training make her one of the best in San Diego.Dr. Massoumi comes from a family of physicians. She attended three years of medical school and  discovered that dentistry was her passion. Educated at the top dental school in Belgium, she immigrated to the United States and completed her degree in pediatric dentistry at Oregon University. She moved to  San Diego in 1993 and opened her first pediatric office in Chula Vista near E street in 1997; and followed with an adult center as well in Chula Vista and a pediatric office in San Marcos in 2000.

Today, under managing Dentist Dr. Massoumi, Children’s Primary Dental Brand and Great Dental Group serves the San Diego County with a total of six branches. Children's Primary Dental serves the community with over a dozen Dentists and providers along with over 60 clinical staff. Dr. Massoumi also serves as a senior staff member at Rady Children’s Hospital and performs dental surgeries in the operating room. A person with many talents, Dr. Massoumi not only practices dentistry, but she also manages teams of  skilled pediatric dentists. In each clinic there are specialists who care about and are proud of their service to the community. They are known for their honesty, skills, and effective treatments. Many have worked with the company for over a decade. They know their task on hand, are self-disciplined and professional. Plus, the employees are committed to providing dental care for kids in a fun environment. Dr. Massoumi believes strongly in giving back to the community. Her clinics have been awarded and recognized by San Diego’s Health and Human Services Agency and Child Health and Disability Prevention  Program. She also supports numerous local programs including but not limited to giving over 20,000 dental hygiene kits to schools and at community events on a yearly basis to help promote dental hygiene health.Children’s primary Dental serves the greater San Diego area, is an approved medical provider by the state of California and is approved by most insurance carriers. Dr. Massoumi’s team, with its combined  knowledge of pediatric dentistry, is second to none in the country. The business is driven by repeat and happy parents, kids, and adults who get the best possible service.