As CEO, John is responsible for implementing and leading SOP’s 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 John’s 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, John’s 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 also was a founding partner at the Institute of Advanced Musculoskeletal Treatments, one of nations’ leaders in physical therapy education and training programs.

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 you’ll find John enjoying with his family and friends.

As Chief People Officer, Emily is responsible for developing and leading SOP’s human capital strategy.

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 Master’s 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.

As the Chief Development Officer, Jeremy is responsible for leading all business development efforts for Southern Orthodontic Partners.  

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 men’s varsity golf team.  He lives in Nashville with his wife Sara and their three daughters.  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 SOP’s 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).

As Chief Financial Officer, Mike is responsible for implementing and leading SOP’s finance and accounting functions and supporting business development and strategic initiatives across the company. Mike has more than 20 years of experience in healthcare financial and operations management. He brings a unique combination of finance and operations expertise in large entities, private equity backed growth companies, and emerging start ups to SOP.

Mike earned his Bachelor of Applied Science in Accounting at Baldwin Wallace University. Most recently, Mike served as CFO at QualDerm Partners, a healthcare services organization providing strategic leadership and practice management in the dermatology market. Prior to QualDerm Partners, Mike served as CFO for Powered Health, an angel portfolio of fast-growing healthcare technology start-ups. Mike was part of a team that provided all back-office services for the portfolio companies.

Mike currently lives in Brentwood, TN with his wife Dawn and has three daughters: Stephanie, Sophia and Victoria. Outside the office, he enjoys family time, traveling to new destinations, golfing, and exercising.

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 company’s 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. 

Ross lives in Nashville with his wife, Elissa, and enjoys golf, wedding singing, and exploring the outdoors in his spare time.

Ben is responsible for heading SOP’s 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.

A native to Nashville, Ben earned his Bachelors degree in Marketing & Management from Lipscomb University. Prior to joining SOP, Ben led the marketing efforts at a $300 million urgent care platform. He also previously managed a similar sized sector in surgery centers and a 300-location business sector for Pizza Hut. His background in both multi-site healthcare and highly competitive consumer sectors prepares him to lead this department at SOP.

Outside of his professional career, Ben lives in Nashville with his wife, Brittany, and three daughters, Blake, Andi, and Emmy. In his free time, he enjoys cooking, skiing and being outdoors.

Shannon’s role as Vice President of Operations enhances our network by providing next level support and increased engagement for our partners.

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.

Shannon is originally from Suwanee, Georgia and enjoys spending her free time cooking, traveling, and finding adventure outdoors with her two daughters.

Jeremy’s 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 fishing, hunting, and coaching youth sports. Jeremy and his wife, Arwen, have two sons – Jack (7 years old) and Beau (6 years old).

In her role as Vice President of Operations, Elizabeth provides key support to the rest of the field Operations team by accelerating the thoughtful development and implementation of key initiatives. Elizabeth’s 22 years of experience in Orthodontics – at the practice leadership level, as an Align faculty educator, and most recently in management consulting roles at Hummingbird and Conforti Consulting, LLC – will meaningfully enhance SOP’s operating capabilities.

Elizabeth graduated from Cardinal Stritch University with a Bachelors in Business Management and received her Human Resource Professional Certification. She has been married to her husband, Fred, for 23 years and have three children – Caroline (21), Luca (19), and Marco (17). They also have a dog named Sunny! Elizabeth spends her free time on the golf course, enjoying a good book, drinking her favorite wine, or traveling to a new place!

As Vice President of Information Technology, Barry helps us bring next-level IT support to our partners and has helped us transform the platform’s IT capabilities into a position of strength. Barry comes to us from Vision Source, a premier network of 3,300 private optometry practices across North America, where he spent 10 years building a first-class IT function from the ground up. Prior to Vision Source, Barry co-built and sold multiple software companies.

Barry is originally from Lubbock, Texas, but now resides in Nashville, Tennessee. He has two children – a daughter, Brianna, and a son, Blake. Outside the office, Barry loves to fish, hunt, and do just about anything outdoors! He is a die hard college sports fan – especially football and basketball.

As Director of Business Development, Alex serves a key role in helping SOP partner with outstanding orthodontists and understanding the needs of future partners. He is responsible for creating comprehensive business plans for platform growth and success and ensuring the Business Development team has a strong pipeline of potential practice partnerships.

Originally from Potomac, MD, Alex received his Bachelor’s Degree from Marquette University and completed his MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. Alex has over 13 years of experience in the orthodontic industry in a variety of roles including commercial growth strategy and implementation, marketing, product management, and continuous process improvement measures.

Alex lives in Nashville with his wife Annie. He enjoys skiing, golfing, reading, and watching college basketball.

Luke 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 serves a key role in understanding future partner’s needs and creating comprehensive business plans for platform growth and success.

Luke, originally from Nashville, TN, received his Bachelor’s degree in Finance from Southern Methodist University’s Cox School of Business, and he is currently completing his MBA from SMU’s Cox School of Business. He has over six years of experience in a variety of healthcare roles, including transaction advisory work, business development, data analytics, and strategy and operations. Most recently, he served as a Senior Associate at naviHealth managing their portfolio of health system clients.

Luke lives in Nashville, and he is getting married to his fiancé, Grace, later this year. He enjoys traveling, golfing, and live sporting events.

Ashlie’s 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 the University of Missouri with dual degrees in Finance & Banking and Real Estate.  Ashlie’s 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!

Amy’s role as Regional Director of Operations provides strategic support and guidance to enhance both culture and performance for nine of our SOP partner locations.

Amy brings over 17 years of dental and orthodontic practice leadership experience to the table and has a strong track record of leading through growth and change. Her experience includes – shifting a single doctor practice into a multi-specialty practice, several successful iterations of associate onboarding and ramp, successfully navigating the transition from single doctor practice to multi-doctor platform, and facility moves/upgrades.

Amy earned her B.A. in Sociology from George Mason University.  In her free time, Amy enjoys spending time with her husband and two rescue pups.  She enjoys exercise, hiking, wineries, breweries and food!  You can find her on the water when the weather is nice!

Kristen serves as a Regional Director of Operations for the Tampa, Florida area, where she provides operational direction for her group of practices. She is responsible for enhancing overall performance, building strong relationships with key stakeholders, and executing operational initiatives.

Before being promoted to her position as RDO, Kristen was the Practice Manager for Hess Orthodontics in Tampa, FL for the last 5 years and is a veteran in the orthodontics industry, having served over 15 years in both clinical and administrative capacities.

Kristen is originally from Saint Albans, West Virginia, but currently resides in Tampa, Florida with her husband, Charlie, and their two daughters – Cambri and Cylie. She has a passion for traveling and enjoying all the perks that Florida’s Gulf Coast has to offer!

In her role as Regional Director of Operations, Lili is responsible for the performance, culture, support and development of seven SOP partner locations. Lili spent the first 6 years of her professional career in optometry retail management for Luxottica, leading multiple locations across her hometown of Chicago. In 2008, she found the field of Orthodontics and hasn’t looked back! She has been devoted to learning all aspects of running an orthodontic practice – spending time as a Practice Manager, Surgical Craniofacial Case Coordinator and Lead Proprietary PMS Creator for Jacobson & Tsou Orthodontics.

Lili’s journey has most recently brought her to Houston, TX and she has had the pleasure of leading the team at Houston Orthodontic Specialists (HOS) for the last 3 years. In that time, she has had the opportunity to develop her team, improve processes, and grow HOS into one of the most exciting practices in the SOP network.

Lili enjoys spending time with her family and friends across Houston, Dallas, Santa Fe and Chicago and especially her cuddly bunny, “Lunar”.  Any opportunity she gets, you will see her on a trip to the beach enjoying the peaceful vibes, cooking, baking, or exploring some good eats!

As a Regional Director of Operations, Brooks is committed to implementing successful programs that focus on cultural and operational excellence. Brooks maintains a relentless pursuit to foster loyal relationships with his team that leverages operational initiatives.

Brooks has over thirteen years of experience in the healthcare industry. He has worked in a variety of healthcare settings gaining extensive knowledge in areas of multi-site operational leadership, orthopedics, and medical device sales. Brooks graduated from Elon University with a B.S. in Exercise Sports Science and received his Doctor of Physical Therapy from Franklin Pierce University. Brooks is currently enrolled in Cornell University Healthcare Leadership Didactic studies.

When Brooks is not working, you will find him enjoying the water, the outdoors, learning to golf, and spending quality time with his wife, three children and three dogs. He also enjoys being an active member and group leader at First Baptist Concord in Knoxville, TN.

As Regional Director of Operations, Sharee is dedicated to the success of our partners in north Texas for Southern Orthodontic Partners. Sharee focuses on combining high standards and strategic habits to yield incredible results.   

Prior to joining SOP, Sharee has experience in nearly every aspect of an orthodontic practice starting in 2008; from clinical assisting and treatment coordinating to upper management, she has done it all. She considers working in the orthodontic profession her true passion and enjoys coaching others with a smile!   

Sharee is from the Pacific Northwest and graduated Summa Cum Laude from Boise State University with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Management. Sharee loves spending time with her amazing husband, Patrick, and three busy children, Austin, Kyler, and Loretta during all their activities, travels, church, and sports! 

As Director of Strategic Finance, Parker is responsible for driving strategic platform initiatives alongside the finance and business intelligence functions with a mission to support our partners.

Parker, originally from Detroit, MI, received his Bachelor in Business Administration from Belmont University’s Jack C. Massey College of Business and Master of Accountancy from the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University. Prior to joining SOP, he worked with Deloitte in a variety of roles, including audit & assurance services and healthcare transaction advisory. Parker serves on the board of Sister Cities of Nashville.

Parker lives in Nashville with his wife, Ashley, and enjoys traveling, SCUBA diving, and live music.

As Director of Integration, Caroline is 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 serves to understand each individual practice’s 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 eviCore’s 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.

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 SOP’s 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 Bachelor’s 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.

As Director of Procurement, Walter is responsible for leading the SOP procurement team that is tasked with providing the best value for the supplies and equipment needed to support patient care. Our goal is to develop efficient systems and scalable purchasing processes to better serve the orthodontic teams under the SOP umbrella.

Walter received his Bachelor’s degree in Operations Management from Auburn University and completed his MBA from the University of Mississippi. He has over 25 years of supply chain experience in the book publishing sector and most recently ran the procurement and facilities management for a large multi-site healthcare company.

When away from the office, you will find him enjoying time on the lake with family or out on the town listening to live music. Walter resides in Nashville, TN with his wife and 3 children.

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.

As Director of Doctor Recruiting, Kasey serves as a dedicated resource for selecting and onboarding top doctor talent for our partners. One of SOP’s key strategies is the development of the next generation of doctors – and this starts with finding great doctors to join the platform.

For the past decade, Kasey has had experience in filling nuanced doctor roles for other healthcare organizations. In 2014, she transitioned to a physician recruiter role with Floyd Medical. As a physician recruiter, she was responsible for recruiting emergency, family, internal medicine physicians, as well as psychiatrists, neurologists, and traumatologists.

Kasey grew up in Rome, Georgia, and attended the University of Georgia for her undergraduate degree. She then went on to graduate with her Masters in Management & Leadership from Western Governors University. Kasey and her husband, Josh, got married in Hawaii nearly six years ago. They have one rescue dog named Leo!