WHO WE ARE
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer - Michael Silva
Mr. Silva was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Western Dental Services, Inc. (“Western Dental”), the largest dental practice management group in the U.S., from 1994 to 1996. At the time Mr. Silva was hired by Western Dental as interim CEO (through an agreement with the California Department of Health Services and the company), the company was under sanction by the State of California for severe practice quality violations and improper billing procedures. During his tenure, Mr. Silva rebuilt the company’s management team and imposed practice quality and financial controls.
Prior to working for Western Dental, Mr. Silva led a group of strategic consultants to the Board of Directors of TriValley Growers, the largest food cooperative in the U.S. Over a seven-year period, Mr. Silva restructured the company, including the replacement of the existing CEO and management team with a new president and management structure.
Mr. Silva's prior health care experience includes leading the 1986 acquisition of Americare, the predecessor of Foundation Health Systems, and the replacement of the existing management team with a new executive structure. Foundation is now one of the top HMOs in the country.
Similar to Foundation, Mr. Silva participated as a member of a buying group in the acquisition of SmileCare, a Knox Keene DMSO in California. He currently serves as consultant to SmileCare and holds options on 7% of the outstanding stock.
President and Chief Operating Officer - Marlon R. Berrett
Mr. Berrett is the founding and managing partner of the Executive Alliance Group, a western states regional management consulting firm. Previously, he was with Ernst & Young from 1970 to 1991, where he opened Arthur Young & Co’s Salt Lake City office in 1976 and founded and served as the managing partner of the firm's consulting practice in the Intermountain West. His consulting practice has specialized in the health care field. He is recognized throughout the western U.S. for his leadership in directing sensitive management and systems evaluations of private and public organizations, including extensive evaluations of the Utah and Arizona state Medicaid systems and operations. He has conducted numerous feasibility, cost, system, and marketing studies for health care clients, including IHC and FHP, throughout the western states. His engagements have also included those related to the acquisition and consolidation of physician groups.
Mr. Berrett was also a partner in Advanced Care Data L.C., a health care information technologies development company, where he served as director on a project to develop a distributed practice office and claims processing system for the largest consolidated dental practice in the U.S. He has also served as an advisory development officer for start-up software development companies.
Mr. Berrett served as a management and systems consultant on the project to develop a new strategic plan and company restructuring for TriValley Growers, the largest fruit and vegetable agricultural cooperative in the U.S.
He is a Director and past Chairman of the Board of Directors of Davis Behavioral Health Inc. which serves as a contracted Mental Health Service Provider for County governments.
He has authored numerous reports and articles and is co-author of "The Fourth Dimension," a book on work concepts in the "new economy," published by Wiley & Sons Publishers, New York.
Executive Vice President and Area Director (Utah) – Andrew Eberhardt
In 1999 Mr. Eberhardt was hired by DPCA as Vice President. His responsibilities and duties have largely included managing membership growth and development. He has been key in negotiating and managing purchasing contracts and agreements for Cooperative members including companies such as Henry Schein Dental, Ultradent, Dentsply International and Orapharma.
Among multiple marketing responsibilities, he was assigned to develop and direct a dental insurance plan to compete with existing plans in the Utah market. “Dentist Direct Dental Plans” now has a growing provider panel of over 500 dental providers and is providing dental insurance coverage to thousands of patients throughout the state of Utah.
Mr. Eberhardt has also played a critical role in the development and creation of a powerful alternative to traditional dental insurance, the Dental Benefit Program. This Co-Op program now serves over 300 sponsoring groups spanning across four different states.
Regional Director (Utah) - Jared Hansen
Jared has a real passion for dentistry and the significance that independent dentists play within the industry. Prior to coming to the Dental Cooperative, Jared was a market analyst for Henry Schein Inc. and was based in Schein’s technology division at Dentrix. After leaving Schein, Jared worked independently as a business development consultant for dental specialists. From his experience, Jared has gained a comprehensive understanding of the industry at large as well as the individual issues confronting practicing dentists.
Since 2004, Jared has also worked with Utah Give Kids a Smile, a charity whose mission is to provide free dental care to Utah’s neediest children. Three years ago, Jared was elected Executive Director responsible for 590 dental volunteers across the state. He organized a state board and implemented a turnkey model which was successfully replicated across the state. During his time with the organization, Jared helped increase production by 900% in six years. Under Jared’s leadership, Utah Give Kids a Smile was highlighted by the ADA as a model charitable organization.
Director of Program Development - Ben Tuinei
Ben Tuinei began his professional career in the real estate industry, where he experienced a tremendous amount of success. He began selling mortgages to a national clientele and was eventually recruited by a fortune 500 company that sold private placement investments.
In 2008, Ben was hired by a dental corporation in Arizona to serve on the executive management team. Within four months of employment, Mr. Tuinei helped to create electronic systems to automate recruiting and insurance credentialing processes. Because of his solid sales and negotiating background, he quickly learned how to effectively negotiate higher insurance reimbursements which landed him the opportunity to direct all insurance affairs.
In October of 2009, Mr. Tuinei joined the management team of the Dental Cooperative, bringing with him his unique set of skills and experience to help increase the value of Cooperative membership.
Director of Member Recruitment
and Area Director (Arizona) – Danny Dorr
In 2004 Danny Dorr began his career in recruiting and direct sales. After a successful stint in residential sales management and consumer banking, Mr. Dorr entered the dental industry. As part of the executive committee for a rapidly growing dental group in Arizona, he recruited dozens of dental professionals in four new state-of-the-art dental centers.
Mr. Dorr's background has enabled him to successfully expand membership in the Utah and Arizona markets as well as create new benefits that Dental Cooperative members enjoy today.
Area Director (Idaho) – Teresa Jardine
Teresa has spent nearly 30 years in the administrative field, the last ten being solely dedicated to the dental industry. Having worked in dental and orthodontic offices for many years, it was an easy transition for her to move into the consulting field and be able to help other dentists make the most of their practice by increasing production & collections, and maximizing the abilities of both front and back office staff. She loves working in the dental field and understands what it takes to maintain a successful dental practice. She is also aware that there are many pitfalls in dealing with those in the dental industry at times, and her expertise and experience in these areas are a valuable asset to the dentists she works with.
After seeing firsthand the number of practices struggling to make ends meet in this troubled economy, Teresa set about finding a solution to the problems many dentists were facing. It was that search that lead her to the Dental Cooperative and ultimately to become the Area Director for Idaho. Her strong dedication to this cause has helped her bring the benefits of the Dental Cooperative to many dentists throughout the State. She is also busy trying to educate the business world on the advantages of using the Dental Benefit Program for their employees. Her goals are to ultimately give every business throughout the State the opportunity to participate in the Dental Benefit Program, and to bring the independent dentists together in an effort to preserve and protect independent dentistry throughout Idaho.
Area Director (Nevada) – Sharon George
Sharon has called Las Vegas home for 25 years. Her extensive experience in the dental office, both clinical and administrative, brings a high level of expertise and knowledge to her position in the Dental Cooperative.
She helped implement the Dental Assisting Program at College of Southern Nevada and continued on as an adjunct instructor for seven years. Additionally, her experience as a supply sales representative and technology advisor for a major dental supply company enable her to thoroughly understand the needs of cooperative members.
Sharon’s love of dentistry and her desire to promote independent dental practices makes her a natural fit for the Dental Cooperative.
Director of Purchasing Programs – Louis James
Mr. James began his professional career in sales and marketing. After working his way up to the position of Vice President of Operations at a worldwide optical company, he started several other ventures that were sold. He then formed a manufacturer’s representative company, Louis James and Associates; that acted as a contract sales force for start-up or data communication companies. For 16 years they serviced the western US.
In 2000 Mr. James was hired as National Sales Manager-Channel Sales for Symantec. He led his team thru multiple acquisitions, growing sales from $600M to $6.2B. He then led several smaller software companies at Director of Worldwide Sales and Marketing.
In 2007, he was hired as a consultant for a dental corporation to assist in purchasing and information technology. This became a full time position as Director of Purchasing and Information Technology. He managed the purchasing of a $1.5M budget and supervised the installation of a large data network for multiple offices.
Mr. James joined the Dental Cooperative in September of 2010 and is responsible for the various purchasing programs. This will include both supplies and equipment along with other programs that can benefit our members.
Member Marketing Specialist – Sean Ravarino
Sean Ravarino is the Marketing Specialist with the Dental Cooperative. Sean is responsible for signing up groups, on behalf of member dentists, to participate in the Dental Benefit Program. Prior to joining The Dental Cooperative of Utah, Sean worked for a dental marketing company where he was able to set industry records for obtaining new patients on a monthly basis through a number of unique strategies.
With 11 years in outside business-to-business sales experience, he has been able to effectively develop lasting relationships with participating businesses and residential groups. This experience has helped Sean deliver immediate patient flow to participating Dental Cooperative members.
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