We will foster excellence in service and patient outcomes. Our CTS teams priority is being responsive to our partner locations. We will thoughtfully execute our strategic plan; driving successful growth for our partners. We will own our mistakes and resolve issues quickly.
We will create a culture of open-mindedness and responsiveness to the changing market. We choose innovation over imitation. We seek to go beyond simply delivering what works we choose to discover what delights.
We are committed to a daily focus on doing the best thing for our stakeholders. We value honesty and transparency. We openly collaborate in pursuit of the truth. We will build our reputation by standing for what is just and right.
We believe all roles are important, and we win and lose as a team. We are made up of amazing individuals, but its only through teamwork that we achieve greatness. We are committed to working together with equal parts humility, empathy, and ambition.
As CEO, John is responsible for implementing and leading SOPs strategic growth plan while creating a people-1st servant culture that is always focused on our partners employees and the great people they treat.
John was previously the COO of Results Physiotherapy, a Nashville, TN-based physical therapy network, where he helped the company implement acquisition and de novo growth opportunities. Under Johns leadership the company grew to over 160 sites across the southeast. While COO, John was responsible for long-term strategic planning, managing the sales and business development teams, and promoting a culture of performance and continuous improvement. As he has transitioned to the Orthodontic industry, Johns background as a physical therapist has been of immense benefit in understanding the doctors, the challenges of patient care and how to best meet the consumer.
John received his Physiotherapy degree from the University of South Australia. He lives in Nashville with his wife Jennifer and their 3 kids: Adelaide, Jameson and Charlie, along with their boxer Lady James. Travel, golf, cooking and great wine are a few of the things youll find John enjoying with his family and friends.
Prior to joining the Company, Will worked in the Special Assets Group of HCA Healthcare, where he led venture investment, joint venture and acquisition transactions across several HCA business units. Before HCA, Will was a member of the Corporate & Securities practice group at Bass, Berry & Sims, where he represented public and private companies on mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance transactions and general corporate matters. Prior to law school, Will worked for two years as a middle market investment banking analyst.
Will earned a B.A. in Finance and Master of Accountancy from Belmont University, where he was a member and captain of the mens basketball team, and his J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School. Will lives in Brentwood with his wife and three daughters and enjoys golf and cooking
Prior to joining the Company, Emily was the Chief Human Resources Officer at ChanceLight Behavioral Health, Therapy & Education where she led the Human Resources function for a 2,500+ employee organization. Before ChanceLight, Emily served as the Chief Talent Officer for Ampersand Health, SVP of Human Resources at e+CancerCare and helped found LifeBridge, a conflict management firm focused on family and civil mediation.
A native of Atlanta, Emily earned her undergraduate degree in Sociology from Furman University in Greenville, SC and her Masters degree in Counseling from Trevecca Nazarene University. She is married to John, a lifelong educator and military officer. They have two college-aged children Adelaide and Sam.
Prior to joining Southern Orthodontic Partners, Jeremy was Vice President of Acquisitions and Development for Surgery Partners, SGRY (NASDAQ)where he was responsible for executing an aggressive growth strategy in partnering in physician owned outpatient surgical centers. Jeremy has held similar M&A roles with Community Health Systems and Covenant Surgical Partners.
Jeremy is a former Lieutenant Commander in the United States Navy and a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. He earned his MBA from the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University. Jeremy earned his Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Naval Academy where he was team captain of the mens varsity golf team. He lives in Nashville with his wife Sara and their two daughters Hennen and Crosby. He enjoys golf, hunting, and watching Navy football.
As Chief Operating Officer, Derek oversees the design and implementation of business operations across SOP. He plays a critical role in SOPs ability to deliver next-level support and operational efficiency to our partner practice locations.
Derek comes to SOP with over a decade of experience in multisite healthcare leadership. He previously served as COO & President of Chance Light Behavioral Health, leading operations for 35+ outpatient ABA therapy centers in six states. Outside of healthcare, Derek has had extensive leadership experience in the United States Army as a Patriot Battery Commander.
Derek is originally from San Antonio, Texas and received his Bachelors degree at The University of Texas (Austin). Outside the office, Derek enjoys photography, videography, and improving his ping-pong skills. Derek and his wife of over 15 years, Michelle, have two daughters, Cadence (14 years old) and Kennedy (11 years old).
Ross has 3 key areas of responsibility at SOP: 1) to lead and oversee the Integration of new Partnerships, ensuring a smooth and coordinated transition; 2) to co-develop financial planning capabilities for partners through the creation of forecasting and reporting tools; and 3) to provide leadership and organization in implementing the companys 5 year strategic plan.
Prior to joining SOP, Ross worked at the Home Depot in Atlanta as part of the Merchandising Finance group where he led forecasting, planning, and P&L management for three dotcom portfolios. Before the Home Depot, Ross served as an analyst at J.P. Morgan where he advised clients on asset management strategy, including investment, credit, and fiduciary matters. A native of Charleston, Ross earned a B.S. in Finance from Wake Forest University and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Ben is responsible for heading SOPs marketing department, building and implementing a comprehensive marketing plan for the company and all partners inclusive of all things digital, paid campaigns, SEO, website templates, B2B strategies and B2C campaigns. He is charged with ensuring SOP is the leading orthodontic platform in engaging and winning in the rapidly changing consumer landscape.
Shannon has over 26 years in the industry with extensive knowledge of the business of orthodontics and operations, visiting over 1,700 orthodontic locations worldwide. She has helped hundreds of practices bring order to chaos with strategic planning and follow through. Shannon has spent a majority of her career at impact360 & Gaidge as a Consultant, Analyst & Implementation Specialist. She has experience in building out a variety of functional departments including compliance, finance, and HR.
In his role as Vice President of Operations, Jeremys responsibilities include collaborating with doctors and teams to take our operational capabilities to the next level by implementing strategic initiatives, establishing objectives at each practice he serves, and driving overall performance.
Jeremy has over 10 years of experience in healthcare operations focused on growth strategies, business development, and relationship building. Prior to SOP, Jeremy worked for Results Physiotherapy and most recently served as Regional Vice President. During his time there, Jeremy was responsible for overseeing the daily operations of 59 outpatient clinics in Middle, TN comprising five markets.
Jeremy graduated from Middle Tennessee State University with a B.S. in Exercise Science and received his Doctor of Physical Therapy from Tennessee State University. He is Nashville native and spends his free time finish, hunting, and coaching youth sports. Jeremy and his wife, Arwen, have two sons Jack (7 years old) and Beau (6 years old).
As Vice President of Finance, Will supports accounting and finance functions across the platform. He serves as an active member of our leadership team, implementing and improving financial processes to better support partner growth and performance. His responsibilities include creating and managing processes and policies in a variety of functions including finance, accounting, insurance, systems, partner onboarding, internal controls, taxes. and auditing.
Will received his Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Finance from the University of Alabama and is a loyal fan of the Crimson Tide. In his spare time, he also enjoys all things outdoors specifically visiting the beach with his family, running, and hunting. He calls Memphis, Tennessee home, but currently resides in Nashville with his wife, Nolen, and his son, Brooks, who is eight months old.
Kevin is responsible for the companys new partner affiliation efforts, including sourcing, evaluating, performing due diligence, and executing new partnership affiliation opportunities. Kevin also works with the management team and doctor partners to implement operational and growth strategies focused on building SOP into the preeminent orthodontic partnership platform.
Kevin graduated with honors from the University of Tennessee with a B.S. in Accounting and Finance. He lives in Nashville with his wife Gray and enjoys golf, skiing, fly-fishing and traveling. Kevin is active in Leadership Healthcare and the First Tee of Middle TN.
Conrad is responsible for helping SOP find excellent new partners throughout the Southern United States, as he assists the Business Development team in developing a strong pipeline of potential practice partnerships. He will serve a key role in understanding future partners needs and creating comprehensive business plans for platform growth and success.
Conrad, originally from Baton Rouge, received his Bachelors degree from University of Mississippi and completed his Master of Business Administration degree from Auburn Universitys Raymond J. Harbert College of Business. He has over nine years of experience in a variety of roles in healthcare, including involvement in strategy and growth projects, business development, data analytics and reporting, and process improvement initiatives. Most recently, he served as a Director at HCA Healthcare.
Conrad and his wife, Ann Whitten, moved to Nashville in 2011 and have two young sons Teddy and Mayfield. Conrad enjoys live music, playing golf, spending time with his boys, and watching college football.
As Regional Director of Operations, Adrians focus is to provide operational leadership, direction and administration to SOP practices in Dallas/Fort Worth & Austin, Texas. Adrian is responsible for collaborating with doctors and teams to implement operational initiatives, enhance overall performance, and establish goals at each practice he serves.
Adrian has over twelve years of dental experience ranging from practice level to multi-practice management. Before joining the SOP team, Adrian served as Regional Manager for SOHDental, where he was responsible for providing strategic oversight and guidance for 10 dental practices in 4 states a total of over 85 employees.
Ashlies unique role within SOP is to be a collaborative resource to our practices, leading with culture, and providing strategic guidance to help grow our people and practices. Ashlie focuses her efforts on providing direction and operational insight to our partners and their teams.
She has former experience in the financial services industry as an Executive Director, leading Financial Advisors and Marketing. She transitioned to operational development, which prepared her for the art of this role supporting others and evaluating opportunities within a business. She is passionate about leadership and personal/professional growth for herself and those within her realm of influence.
Ashlie is a graduate of theUniversity of Missouri with dual degrees in Finance & Banking and Real Estate. Ashlies favorite thing to do is spend time with her family her husband Ethan and her two kids Ryker (10) and Harper (7). She frequently uses her free time to travel, garden and cheer on the Kansas City Chiefs!
As Director of Integration, Caroline will be the key relationship manager and go-to point of contact for new partners during their first 100 days. Engaging with doctors and other practice leaders, Caroline will serve to understand each individual practices unique team dynamic by investigating practice operations and understanding teams ways of working.
Prior to Southern Orthodontic Partners, Caroline worked at eviCore Healthcare, a subsidiary of Cigna, as a project manager for their implementations team. In this role, she managed the successful implementation of a new pilot product evaluating medical necessity for the site of care. Before joining the implementations team, Caroline worked for eviCores Operating Effectiveness team and managed multiple clinical efficiency and cost savings initiatives.
Caroline graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 2016 with a double major in Science-Business and Spanish. She grew up in Summit, New Jersey with her older brother, Ryan, and younger sister, Lexi. Caroline is an active member of Junior League of Nashville and frequently volunteers at the Nashville Rescue Mission. In her free time, she loves to bake, exercise, and practice her new golf hobby.
Tara supports local marketing for our partners and help drive key marketing initiatives across the platform. Her role provides guidance for our partners on how they can best work with dentists, communities, schools, and sponsorships. Additionally, Tara helps the platform to formulate a plan around collecting our partners best practices so we can create the most effective playbook for growth. She enhances our digital marketing by helping us to perfect consistent areas of focus, processes and support across all practices.
Tara has over 20 years of progressive marketing experience in the automotive, HVAC and electrical, healthcare, non-profit, and media industries. She has worked organizations of various sizes with small one-person marketing departments, to fortune 500 organizations with a team of over 500 marketing team members.
Tara is originally from Coal Valley, IL, but now lives in Mt. Juliet, just outside of Nashville, with her husband, Kevin. She has two children, Daryn (21) & Brett (17) and two bonus children Logan (14) & Caitlyn (12). In her spare time, you can often find Tara running, working out, spending time with family and friends, and cheering on her children at their various sporting events.
With a mission to support team member growth and development, Andrew delivers a catered HR approach for our partners collaborating with individual teams, analyzing key HR performance metrics, and advising on employee oriented strategic direction. Andrew helps enhance our doctor recruiting process and onboarding plan for newly hired doctors. Additionally, he steers projects and policies for SOPs HR department, including new team member orientation programs and practice management guidance (i.e. coaching and career development).
Andrew is originally from Dayton, Ohio and completed his undergraduate degree from University of Cincinnati, graduating with dual Bachelors degrees in Psychology and Organizational Leadership Human Resources. Prior to SOP, Andrew worked for Upperline Health, a Podiatry and Lower Extremity Care Management Company, as the HR Director. As the first HR employee at Upperline, Andrew laid the groundwork for HR infrastructure as the company grew from 150 employees to 850+. Andrew launched his career in the field working for Valeo Automotive and Kelloggs, with responsibilities ranging from talent to employee relations.
Dr. Blackman is the owner and founder of Reflections Orthodontics, a two-location practice based in Clarksville, TN. Since 2010, Dr. Blackman has worked extensively with the Ritz Carlton Leadership Center to create and develop a culture of leadership and service, and has developed systems for delivery and execution of a unique patient experience. Dr. Blackmans professional leadership and clinical expertise enable him to share best practices for growing and operating the Southern Orthodontic Partners affiliation network.
Dr. Blackman received his undergraduate education at the University of Tennessee, in Knoxville, and continued his dental education at the U.T Center for Health Sciences in Memphis. He graduated from the University of Tennessee department of Orthodontics in 1997. Dr. Blackman has been recognized for his platform for patient experience, and as a leader in the orthodontics industry.
Dr. Blackman is a fellow of the International College of Dentists, and has served as an officer in the Tennessee Dental Association. He is a member of the American Dental Association, the American Association of Orthodontists, the Tennessee Dental Association, Southern Association of Orthodontics, Tennessee Association of Orthodontics and the Eighth District Dental Society.
Dr. Blackman has been married to his wife, Jennifer since 1995, and has three boys, Connor, Griffin and Brennan. Outside of his family and career, he loves all things outdoors, including running and cycling, and has been a competitive triathlete since 2000.
Dr. Barbieri is the lead orthodontist at Barbieri Orthodontics, a practice with two locations in the Nashville area. Dr. Barbieris professional leadership, clinical expertise, and progressiveness enable him to share best practices for growing and operating the Southern Orthodontic Partners affiliation network.
Dr. Barbieri has built an industry-leading practice around a unique blend of customer experience, professionalism, and fun. Voted by dentists as one of the top orthodontists in Middle Tennessee for 9 years running, he strives to exceed expectations for his patients and team on a daily basis. In a rapidly changing world, Dr. Barbieri believes that developing consumer-driven treatment modalities while investing in whats special about the orthodontic profession will lead to its preservation and enhancement.
Born in Moscow, Russia, Dr. Tabakman moved to Houston along with his parents in 1991. Always having a passion for taking care of people and having an impact on their lives, Dr.Tabakman knew from a young age that he wanted to be a doctor. While earning his undergrad degree at the University of Houston, Dr. Tabakman decided to pursue dentistry but wanted to discover which area to specialize in. He obtained his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio before heading to the University of Detroit Mercy in Michigan to simultaneously earn his masters degree in orthodontics while completing his two-year orthodontic residency.
Dr. Tabakman is the owner and founder of Houston Orthodontic Specialists with locations in in Houston and Bellaire, Texas.His mission is to use personalized care to change lives through orthodontic treatment by giving people a smile they will be confident with.Dr. Tabakman is an award-winning orthodontist, specializing in his cutting-edge treatments with Invisalign.He is a member of the American Association of Orthodontists, American Dental Association, World Federation of Orthodontics, Southwestern Society of Orthodontists, Texas Dental Association and Greater Houston Dental Society.
Dr. Tabakman and his wife Yana have been married since 2005.They have a daughter Mila and son Sasha.Outside of Orthodontics, Dr. Tabakman loves to fulfill his passion for travel with his wife and children.
Dr. Schreiner is a Missouri native, but was raised in Cape Girardeau. She partnered with Dr. Jeff Mastroianni in 2017 through three acquisitions, they created a practice group of seven locations and three brands including Amazing Smiles Orthodontics, Alizadeh & Schreiner Orthodontics, and Unger Orthodontics. Dr. Schreiner practices specifically at Alizadeh & Schreiner Orthodontics, a single location practice in Chesterfield, MO.
Dr. Schreiner is a member of American Association of Orthodontists, American Dental Association, Midwestern Society of Orthodontists, Missouri Society of Orthodontists, Missouri Dental Association, Greater St. Louis Dental Society, and Henry Schein Inner Circle Advisors.
Dr. Hess created Hess Orthodontics seventeen years ago with a passion for creating beautiful smiles and a commitment to achieving the highest level of quality for patients. Hess Orthodontics is one of the largest and most impressive practices in the South with unbelievable growth in recent years.
Dr. Hess is an active member of the American Dental Association, the Florida Dental Association, The West Coast Dental Association, The American Association of Orthodontics, The Southern Association of Orthodontics, and The Florida Association of Orthodontics, as well as other local and regional dental societies.
He attended the University of Florida College of Dentistry where he received his Doctorate of Dental Medicine and graduated as the valedictorian of his class. He earned his masters degree in Orthodontics from the University of Michigan.
