Shannon Huffman Polson is a keynote speaker, author, and founder and CEO of The Grit Institute, where she helps individuals, teams, and organizations build courage, resilience, and purpose-driven leadership. Her work blends practical leadership training with powerful storytelling, drawing from her experience in the military, corporate leadership, and writing.

After graduating from Duke University, Shannon was commissioned in Army Aviation and became one of the first women to fly the Apache attack helicopter, serving on three continents and commanding an Apache line company. She later earned her MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, where she now serves on the faculty, and held corporate leadership roles in the medical device industry and at Microsoft.

She is the author of North of Hope and The Grit Factor, published by Harvard Business Review Press. Today, through speaking, writing, and leadership training, Shannon works with organizations across the country to help people connect to purpose, navigate change, and lead with grit. Outside of her professional work, she enjoys reading, painting, singing, playing piano, spending time in the mountains, and adventuring with her husband and two sons.

Dr. Steve Carstensen is a respected educator, clinician, author, and advocate in Dental Sleep Medicine who practices in Bellevue, Washington. Within the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine (AADSM) he has served as a Board Member, Secretary-Treasurer, and President-Elect, helping shape the field at a national level.

He co-authored The Clinician’s Handbook for Dental Sleep Medicine with Dr. Ken Berley (Quintessence), directs sleep education at The Pankey Institute, and has guest lectured at Spear Education and the University of the Pacific and LSU dental schools. His advocacy contributed to the ADA’s 2017 policy statement on sleep-related breathing disorders, which emphasized dentists’ role in screening patients for airway issues.

He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine (ABDSM), the credentialing board of the AADSM. Outside of his professional work, he lives near Seattle with his wife, Midge, and enjoys music, movies, live concerts, and his extensive vinyl record collection.

Along with Dr. Stacey Layman, Lesia Tierney co-founded GoTo Sleep Center for CPAP Alternatives, which operates four locations across the Phoenix Valley (Glendale, Scottsdale, Tempe, and Goodyear) dedicated to oral appliance therapy. She previously co-founded GoGo Billing and brings roughly three decades in the dental industry, moving from the front office to treatment coordination to ownership.

As CEO, Lesia leads a team of physician assistant treatment coordinators across the offices, enjoys an 87% case acceptance rate, and laughs way too loud in the movie theatre.

Dr. Erin Elliott is a practicing general dentist and owner at Post Falls Family Dental in Post Falls, Idaho, as well as a dental sleep medicine educator and nationally recognized speaker. She has a strong passion for Dental Sleep Medicine, short-term orthodontics, CAD/CAM technology, and cone-beam imaging, and she regularly teaches dentists how to bring these services into their practices.

An active member of the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine (AADSM), the American Dental Association, and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), Dr. Elliott graduated summa cum laude from a small NAIA school in Western New York, where she also played collegiate soccer, and later graduated in the top five of her class from Creighton Dental School.

Today she teaches sleep apnea implementation courses with 3D Dentists and Dr. Tarun Agarwal, co-hosts the Sleep Matters podcast, privately coaches dental practices, and speaks at events to help clinicians simplify and successfully implement sleep medicine. Outside of her professional work, Dr. Elliott enjoys spending time with her husband, Tom, and their two sons, as well as golfing, traveling, playing soccer, reading, and serving her community.

Randy Curran is the founder and CEO of Pristine Medical Billing and the founder of Pristine Sleep Medical Group. He helps sleep medicine providers strengthen the financial side of their practices through practical workflows, documentation, and ethical billing and coding.

A national lecturer, Randy teaches strategies for navigating insurance reimbursement and preparing for audits and clawbacks. His work focuses on helping practices build sustainable billing systems while improving patients’ access to sleep apnea treatment.

Dr. Suzanne Thai has practiced for more than 20 years and is the founder and owner of DFW Sleep Solutions, with two locations in Corinth and Plano, Texas. Featured in Living magazine’s SuperDocs, her practice has won “BEST of Denton County” awards for many consecutive years. Beyond helping thousands of patients improve their health, Dr. Thai has made it her mission to educate the community and local physicians on the importance of screening, testing, and treatment for sleep apnea.

She was invited to speak at Harvard on Sleep Disordered Breathing, delivered a 2025 TEDx talk, and authored the book Snoring: The Clue That Can Save Your Life (2018). She is a member of the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine (AADSM), a Diplomate of the International Academy of Sleep, and a Diplomate of the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine.

Outside of work, Dr. Thai loves music, singing, dancing, and spending time with her family, especially watching her son, Connor, who is a professional dancer for the Dallas Cowboys.

Dr. Dan Taché, DMD, has dedicated his career to the intersection of orofacial pain, temporomandibular disorders, and sleep-disordered breathing, and practices with the TMJ and Orofacial Pain Treatment Centers of Wisconsin in Appleton. A graduate of Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, he completed advanced residency training and extensive education in myofascial pain dysfunction, shaping his clinical philosophy around complex, interdisciplinary care.

A member of the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine (AADSM), the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), and the American Academy of Orofacial Pain, he is also a past president of the Wisconsin Sleep Society and lectures nationally on orofacial pain and sleep apnea. He became the first dentist in Wisconsin to earn board certification from the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine (ABDSM).

Outside of dentistry, he is a husband, father of four, classical guitar player, and woodcarver.

Dr. Jennifer Sherwood Bragg, DMD, is a sleep dentist in Cumming, Georgia, dedicated to helping patients improve their health and quality of life through better sleep. Her passion for dental sleep medicine began after her husband experienced sleep-related breathing issues during his recovery from prostate cancer surgery, inspiring her to pursue advanced training in Oral Appliance Therapy for snoring and obstructive sleep apnea.

Dr. Bragg earned her undergraduate degree in biology from Mercer University and graduated from the Medical College of Georgia School of Dentistry. Through her practices, Sleep Forsyth and Bragg Dental, she works closely with sleep physicians, ENTs, pulmonologists, neurologists, and primary care physicians to support patients with sleep apnea. She is a member of the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine (AADSM) and a Diplomate of the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine (ABDSM).

Outside of the office, Dr. Bragg enjoys spending time with her husband, Steve, their two sons, Tyler and Beau, and their dog, Bella, as well as yoga, working out, hiking, camping, reading, and cooking.

Dr. Stacey Layman practices at GoTo Sleep Center, which she co-founded and which operates four locations across the Phoenix Valley (Glendale, Scottsdale, Tempe, and Goodyear). Originally from Texas, she moved to the Valley in 2003 and began focusing on sleep-disordered breathing in 2009, helping countless patients improve their quality of life through personalized sleep apnea care.

Before becoming a dentist, Dr. Layman planned to attend medical school and worked as a registered nurse. After earning her undergraduate degree from the University of Texas at Austin, she attended Baylor College of Dentistry, where she earned her dental degree. She is a member of the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine (AADSM) and a Diplomate of the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine (ABDSM).

Outside of the office, Dr. Layman enjoys spending time with her husband, Nick, their two daughters, Lainey and Zoe, shopping, watching movies, and traveling whenever she can.

Dr. Dimi Barot is a board-certified neurologist and sleep-medicine specialist, and the founder and CEO of Arima Health, a technology-driven sleep-care platform that combines AI-powered screening, at-home testing, and virtual visits with board-certified sleep specialists to deliver care across the country. Yale-trained in sleep medicine, he has published in national journals and contributed chapters to sleep-medicine textbooks.

Dr. Barot has worked with elite professional athletes, coaches, and executives, including figures in the NBA, in a concierge model designed to optimize sleep, health, and performance. Through Arima Health, he is now focused on making high-quality sleep care more accessible and modern.

Dr. Mark Murphy is the Director of Dental Sleep Medicine Education at ProSomnus Sleep Technologies and the principal of Funktional Consulting. He started the dental sleep medicine program at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry, where he remains guest faculty, and has served on the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine (AADSM) practice-management course faculty.

He practiced dental sleep medicine in the Detroit area for more than 30 years and is a longtime presenter at The Pankey Institute on leadership and practice management. He lectures internationally, has authored numerous articles on sleep, business development, and leadership, and is a Diplomate of the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine (ABDSM).

Kyle Curran oversees operations at Pristine Medical Billing, helping dental practices navigate the day-to-day demands of dental sleep medicine billing. He joined the team that launched Pristine while in college and developed experience across benefits verification, claims management, practice support, and team leadership.

Having helped onboard more than 600 practices, Kyle brings a practical understanding of the systems and support teams need to implement and grow their sleep programs. His work focuses on consistent service, effective workflows, and helping practices manage billing with greater confidence.

Dr. Ashley Spooner is a practicing dentist, practice owner, and one of the most innovative voices at the intersection of dental sleep medicine, medical integration, and clinical technology.

She owns Falcon Park Dental Group in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, a general dentistry practice built on a foundation of oral-systemic health, and is the founder and CEO of Dynamic Dental Sleep, LLC, an AGD PACE-accredited education company that trains dentists and their teams to implement dental sleep medicine without disrupting daily practice.

As a former Physician Builder for Epic, she worked inside one of the world’s most widely used health systems to optimize records workflows for dental providers, reflecting her commitment to real medical-dental collaboration. Immersed in the sleep space since 2015, she is a member of the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine (AADSM), a nationally recognized speaker and published author, and a Diplomate of the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine (ABDSM) since 2020.

Dr. Jonathan Lown serves as Clinical Director at the Delta Sleep Center of Long Island and owns Lown Medical Group, a private internal-medicine practice on Long Island. With decades of experience in private practice, clinical education, and lecturing, he brings a strong medical foundation to the diagnosis and treatment of sleep-related conditions, and also serves as Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at Stony Brook University’s medical school.

Dr. Lown was selected to the national medical honor society Alpha Omega Alpha in 1992 and graduated from medical school magna cum laude in 1995, before completing his internship and residency at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center. A member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), he is board-certified in Internal Medicine, Sleep Medicine, and Clinical Lipidology.

Dr. Kent Smith is a nationally recognized leader in Dental Sleep Medicine and the CEO of Star Sleep & Wellness, which operates seven locations across Texas, including Dallas, Denton, Frisco, Irving, Mansfield, McKinney, and Pearland. Since 2007, when he was asked to develop a sleep curriculum for the Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies, he has been deeply involved in advancing education and clinical standards in sleep medicine.

Through Star Sleep & Wellness, he leads a multidisciplinary team that includes sleep physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and a psychologist, allowing the organization to treat a wide range of sleep conditions. He is the author of the fictional sleep mystery Goodbye, Good Night, a Fellow of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), and a Diplomate of the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine (ABDSM).

Max Kerr, DDS, D-ABDSM, is a dental entrepreneur, Professional EOS Implementer, and owner of Sleep Better Austin, a dental sleep medicine practice with five locations across multiple states. After graduating from UTHSCSA in 2007, he built and later sold a multimillion-dollar dental practice. He now helps business owners grow and reach their full potential.