Lilian Braner, RDH, BSDH

After receiving her associate degree, Lilian continued her education and pursued her bachelor's degree in dental Hygiene, with an emphasis in public health, and graduated May of 2019. As President of the SNDHA, she hopes to provide strong support, contribute creative ideas, and continue developing her professional knowledge to become a successful leader in her organization. In her spare time, Lilian loves spending time with her husband and their two adorable fur babies, Thor and Dodger. She enjoys traveling, reading, completing DIY home projects with her husband, and eating.

Joyce Richards, RDH, BSDH

Joyce has been working in dentistry since 1978. She worked 6 years as a registered dental assistant before earning her associate’s degree in dental hygiene. Later in her career she continued her education and received her bachelor’s degree in dental hygiene in 2004. Joyce is excited to be the president for NNDHA. She is passionate about the profession and wishes all licensed hygienists would consider joining our powerful organization, and is thankful for all the current members. She feels there is strength in numbers and each hygienist has something to contribute. She has two wonderful daughters and son-in-laws, and two grand babies. Joyce enjoys scuba diving, hiking, camping, kayaking, snow shoeing, cross-country skiing, reading and sewing. But mostly enjoys a good glass of wine as she has a WSET wine certification and continues to study wine.

Antonio Ventura, RDH, BSDH

Antonio graduated from the College of Southern Nevada in 2017 with an Associates in dental hygiene and returned to obtain his bachelor’s in science in dental hygiene as a public health specialist in 2019. Antonio is passionate about increasing access to high quality oral healthcare, improving health outcomes, and promoting the dental hygiene profession. “Every day I am inspired by the work hygienists do and how we truly improve the lives of those we touch. I encourage all hygienists to become members of ADHA so we can continue improving the health of the public. ADHA is YOUR association that provides ongoing education, employment support, increased opportunities, and advancement in our scopes of practice. Together we can achieve more!”  

 Revathy Natarajan, ASDH, BDS 

Revathy (Reva) graduated from Truckee Meadows Community College with her Associate’s degree in dental hygiene in 2016. Prior to that, Reva was an Anatomy Lab Instructor at the Truckee Meadows Community College. She is a foreign trained dentist with a Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) degree from India, where she practiced dentistry for four years before she moved to the US in 2002. As the President of NNDHA, Reva is hoping to bring in better communication and connectivity between the hygienists and the dental hygiene association. She is striving to be a good leader in her professional organization and is working relentlessly to promote the dental hygiene profession to the next level. Reva enjoys spending her time with her husband, two boys and her cute little dog. She is extremely passionate about serving people and devotes her spare time volunteering for various organizations. 

Rachelle Smith, RDH, BSDH 

Rachelle was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah. She graduated in 2019 with her bachelor’s degree from the Utah College of Dental Hygiene. She moved to Nevada with her husband, three kids, and dog a year ago and they love Nevada. She is excited to serve as President-Elect this year and is looking forward to meeting all the wonderful hygienists in our community who are working toward the same goals and wanting to progress in the field. When she is not working, you can find her at the hockey rink, on any body of water, hiking, and spending as much time with her family as possible. 

Kristen Grayson, ASDH 

Kristen graduated with her degree in Dental Hygiene in 2007. She has worked in private practice, as a government contractor for the VA, and for the Community Health Alliance, an FQHC. As the Northern Nevada component Trustee, she hopes to represent all the constituents as their Delegate in an objective manner. Kristen would love to see our organization grow, and with it the opportunity for advancement in the field of Dental Hygiene will too. In her spare time, Kristen spends time with her husband and three children, camping, fishing, and gardening. 

Alma Pippin, RDH, BSDH 

Alma graduated from the College of Southern Nevada in 2010 with an Associate Degree in Dental Hygiene. She continued her education to obtain her bachelor’s degree in Dental Hygiene the following year. She enjoys spending time with her loving husband, four kids, and two dogs. She loves quiet nights with a great book and a glass of wine. She also loves the outdoors, traveling, cruising, and seeing as much of the world as possible. Alma has a growing passion to positively impact her community as well as her profession and is proud to serve as SNDHA Treasurer. 

Ruthanna Lee, RDH, BSDH 

Ruthanna was born and raised in Southern California. She attended Loma Linda School of Dentistry and received her BS in dental hygiene in 2013. Soon after, she moved to Owen’s Valley, California and worked in private practice providing care in a rural area and working with remote dental needs.  She has called Nevada her home since 2017 and enjoys its rugged beauty with its urban setting.  She is looking forward to being a part of the bigger Nevada dental hygiene society and being and advocate for her fellow dental hygienists. Ruthanna also has a passion to see Northern Nevada’s rural health and dental needs addressed. 

Kelly Taylor, RDH, BSDH 

Kelly graduated with her Associates Degree in Dental Hygiene in 2002 from Southwester College and has worked in both private and public healt for the County of San Diego. Being involved in her professional organization has been a big part of Kelly and her husband Bob’s life. She has served many positions, on both component and state levels. In 2020 Kelly went back to school and got her bachelor’s degree in Dental Hygiene, with an emphasis in public health. In her spare time, she enjoys biking, working out, hanging out with her husband, and traveling. She is looking forward to helping the board achieve great things in the coming year. 

Michelle Trimbath, BSDH 

Michelle has worked in the dental field since high school, earning her first associate degree in dental assisting from Foothill College in 2009 before completing the Foothill College dental hygiene program in 2013. After working in a private general practice for six years, she returned to Foothill College and earned her Bachler degree in dental hygiene in 2020. Throughout her career in dental hygiene, she has served her local California component as Membership Chair s well as two terms as the CDHA trustee. She now serves as secretary for the NNDHA after moving to Nevada in the fall of 2020 and continues to practice in a private general office. She enjoys hiking, camping, reading and traveling. Michelle is passionate about supporting her fellow dental hygiene colleagues as well as the dental hygiene profession, and is excited about contributing to the future of the NNDHA. 

Angela Martin, RDH 

Angela has held a variety of positions in the field of dentistry since 2003. Initially a graduate of the Dental Assisting Program at College of Southern Nevada, she then earned an Associate’s of Science Degree in Dental Hygiene in 2007, thus making her the first person to successfully complete both dental programs offered at CSN. During her term as Component Trustee, Angela aspires to compose and engage an efficient SNDHA Delegation for the NDHA House of Delegates meetings. Her main goal over the next two years is to partner with local charitable organizations to serve the underprivileged population of Southern Nevada. However, work rarely triumphs over having fun with her young daughter, friends and four cats. The pair likes to swim and snorkel in the ocean, camp in a tent and cook together. 

Liesel Tavey, ASDH, B.S 

Liesel Tavey was born and raised in Reno, NV. She attended Bishop Manogue High School and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Nutritional Science from the University of Nevada, Reno in 2004. She then received her Associate of Applied Science in Dental Hygiene from New York University in 2008. She was a clinical instructor at New York University where she was also involved with outreach trips to Grenada. She has volunteered her time and skills with the non-profit organization, Global Dental Relief, where she has traveled to Guatemala and Vietnam. She has worked for Community Health Alliance since 2015.