Sara Bendoraitis is the Senior Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusive Learning at the American Dental Education Association (ADEA). In this role, Sara champions the importance of a diverse and inclusive environment and leads the creation of strategies to foster a strong sense of belonging and create a welcoming, safe, equitable, and inclusive culture in academic dentistry. 

Sara was formerly with OPTICA, where she was Director of Membership Program Development. From 2011 to 2018, she was Director of Programming, Outreach and Advocacy at American University’s Center for Diversity and Inclusion. She began her work at American University as Director of their Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Ally Resource Center in 2007 till 2011. Sara has an M.S. in Education Administration from Texas A&M University and a BA in Women’s Studies and Political Science from the University of Rhode Island. 

Sara has presented at national conferences on student identity support and advocacy, gender-neutral housing best practices, academic and student affairs collaboration, assessing Safe Zone programs, leadership, unconscious bias and women’s and gender centers. Sara also been a consultant for various federal government agencies, national and international non-profits, higher education institutions, and the United States Naval Academy. 

She has served as a board member the NASPA Center for Scholarship, Research, and Professional Development for Women, a NASPA Regional Representative, the Education, Advocacy, and Outreach Chair and Co-Chair for the Consortium of Higher Education Lesbian Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Ally Resource Professionals, and a member of the Council on the Advancement of Standards (CAS) in Higher Education Board of Directors. In her spare time, Sara can be found spending time with her family as well as running the HY-Swap, which is a non-profit organization dedicated to sharing and circulating items in good condition within the community, providing savings for local families and reducing waste.

Dr. Cristin Haase is the President of nonprofit The Society of American Indian Dentists. Dr. Haase graduated, in 2017, with a Doctor of Dental Medicine degree and master’s degree in Public Health degree from A.T. Still University Arizona School of Dental & Oral Health. She is currently training as a Pediatric Dental Specialist.

Dr. Haase grew up in the great plains of rural North Dakota and is of Lakota heritage (Cheyenne River Sioux). In 2015, he was recognized as a “Dreamstarter” by the Running Strong for American Indian Youth Organization (founded by Billy Mills) as a dental student, and received the additional honor of being named “Dreamstarter GOLD” in 2020 for organizing The AI/AN Pre-dental Admissions Workshop (PAW) program at A.T. Still University.

Dr. Haase spends her free time hiking, snowboarding and streaming all Taylor Swift’s albums.

Dr. Frances Kim is the Student Programs Manager for Society of American Indian Dentists (SAID). She received her D.D.S. from the University of Maryland School of Dentistry. After a one-year General Practice Residency at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, she received her master’s degree in Public Health with a concentration in Family and Community Health and Doctorate in Public Health in Epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Kim completed a dental public health residency at Harvard School of Dental Medicine.

As a dental public health consultant, she has been involved in various activities in both the private and public sector, has been appointed as adjunct faculty in several schools—providing instruction in public health as well as mentoring for dental public health residents and predoctoral students—and has been involved in epidemiologic research and analysis. Dr. Kim is a Past President of the American Association of Public Health Dentistry and a Diplomate of the American Board of Dental Public Health.

Dr. Teague Rutherford is the first enrolled Aaniiih and Nakoda tribal member from Fort Belknap Indian Reservation to become a dentist, having graduated in May 2024 from A.T. Still University Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health. Dr. Rutherford grew up on his reservation in Northcentral Montana where he faced traumatic experiences in the dental chair at Indian Health Service. These experiences, followed by pain-free dental experiences at a private-practice clinic, are what pushed him to pursue a career in dentistry. Using his skills, along with a master’s degree in Public Health attained at the University of Montana, Dr. Rutherford is focused on developing better oral health care for Indigenous people across the nation.

Currently, Dr. Rutherford is participating in a General Practice Residency in Fresno, Calif., to help gain more clinical and administrative experience in dentistry. His overall goals are to return home and practice dentistry within his reservation and help other Alaskan Native/American Indian students accomplish their dreams in holistic health care.