Dr. Linda Niessen serves as Vice Provost for Oral Health Affairs for Kansas City University (KCU) and Founding Dean and Professor for the Kansas City University College of Dental Medicine in Joplin, Missouri.  Dr. Niessen is a diplomate of the American Board of Dental Public Health and the American Board of Special Care Dentistry. Her career includes serving as a clinician caring for medically complex and geriatric patients. 

Dr. Niessen currently serves as Chair for the Administrative Council of Deans and is a member of the ADEA EPA Work Group. She has served as Chair, Council on Dental Education and Licensure for the ADA. 

Dr. Rocio Quinonez is a Diplomate of the American Board of Pediatric Dentist and Fellow of the Royal College of Dentists of Canada. She holds joint appointments in the Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Dental Public Health and the Department of Pediatrics at the UNC School of Medicine. She served as Predoctoral Program Director in Pediatric Dentistry from 2007-2017. In 2018, she became the Associate Dean for Educational Leadership and Innovation at UNC and was charged with leading a new dental curriculum for Adams School of Dentistry. Her current role transitioned to Associate Dean for Curriculum to better reflect the program’s implementation. She has authored over 100 peer reviewed manuscripts and book chapters and is the recipient of the American Academy of Pediatrics National Oral Health Service Award, the Charles Craig National Teaching Award, and the UNC Dental Alumni Outstanding Lifetime Service Award. She practices at the Adams School of Dentistry and is an active member of UNC Health medical staff.

Dr. Yota Stathopoulou, D.D.S., D.M.D., Ph.D. is Professor and Head of Periodontology and Director of the Advanced Education Program in Periodontics at Oregon Health & Science University School of Dentistry. She holds a D.D.S. from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and a D.M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. She received a certificate in Periodontics from the University of Louisville and completed a M.S. and Ph.D. at the same institution. She has published in peer-reviewed journals and is the author of several chapters in Carranza’s Clinical Periodontology. She is a Diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology and recipient of several prestigious national and international scholarships and awards. Dr. Stathopoulou’s clinical research focuses on the non-surgical treatment of periodontitis and periimplantitis, and has been supported by industry and the NIH/NIDCR; her basic science research focuses on host-bacterial interactions and their role in the pathogenesis of periodontal disease; her educational scholarship focuses on learner assessment. She has maintained an active clinical practice throughout her academic career and currently practices at Fusion Dental Specialists in Happy Valley, Oregon.

Sandra Stuhr, D.M.D., M.S. is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry, and a current Diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology. She also serves as the director for the Pre-Doctoral Periodontics Program at the University of Michigan. She completed her dental training at LECOM School of Dental Medicine (2019), followed by a periodontal residency and an MS in Oral Sciences at the University of Iowa (2022). 

Her current research involves soft tissue biology and wound healing, oral regeneration around implants and teeth, non-surgical therapy of periodontal diseases and dental education. She was the recipient of the Tarrson Fellowship Award from the American Academy of Periodontology Foundation (2025) and the AAP Excellence in Teaching and Mentoring Award (2026).