Meet The Staff

Emily — Emily is our Office Manager and a LDA at Tonka Smiles. She graduated from Minnesota School of Business in 2001 as a Licensed Dental Assistant and has been in the dental field ever since. She is very passionate about educating patients on their oral health needs and addressing any concerns they may have. Emily enjoys being outdoors, gardening, kayaking, and spending time with her family and friends.

Carol — Carol recently joined Tonka Smiles as a Patient Coordinator. She has experience as a front desk team member for over 5 years. Carol grew up in Michigan and has been married to her husband, Paul, for 39 years. They have 6 grown children and two adorable grandchildren. Her favorite things to do are organizing, reading, gardening, and more organizing!

Katie — Katie is one of our patient coordinators. She grew up in Cottage Grove, MN. Katie graduated from Century College in 2004 as a Licensed Dental Assistant. After assisting for many years, she found a passion for the front desk. She enjoys getting to know the patients and helping them with their dental care. Outside of work, Katie loves spending time with her friends, enjoying the outdoors, fishing, camping, and going for long walks.

Alina — Alina is new to Tonka Smiles as a patient coordinator. She grew up in Moldova, Europe. In 2008 she moved to the United States. On her days off she enjoys spending time with her husband cooking, fishing, ice skating and traveling. She looks forward to meeting you and helping you with your dental needs.

Julie — Julie graduated from the U of M in 1981. She joined our team in 1996 having previously worked in a specialty perio practice for 15 years. She loves coming to work each day and providing quality care for her patients alongside an awesome team.

In her spare time Julie enjoys hiking, biking, curling, and reading. Her favorite things is spending time with her family and friends. She and her husband Doug live in Minnetonka and they have three grown children; Megan (JD), Kylie, and Kevin and two grandchildren, Amelie and Levi.

Lali — Lali Vang is from Charlotte, North Carolina and has lived in MN for the last 11 years. She started her career as a dental assistant and worked for her uncle in North Carolina. When she moved to Minnesota, she decided she wanted to expand her growth of knowledge and knew that she wanted to become a dental hygienist one day. She attended Normandale Community College and received her Associate Degree in Dental Hygiene. While in dental hygiene school, Lali was the President of the Student American Dental Hygienists’ Association (SADHA) to help serve and empower future dental hygienists. Lali enjoys spending time educating her patients on the importance of taking care of their oral and overall health. She also finds passion in staying up-to-date on the latest innovations and culture in the dental hygiene world. Outside of work, she enjoys giving back to her community by volunteering her time at Hope Dental Clinic. Lali also enjoys spending time with her family and friends, being outdoors, and she loves all things that glitter.

 

 

Rachel – Rachel graduated with her Bachelor of Science in dental hygiene in 2023. She is originally from Little Falls, MN, and looks forward to providing quality dental care to patients and their families!

In her spare time, Rachel enjoys spending time with friends and family, going to the gym, and spending time outdoors; whether that’s hiking, going on walks, golfing, or snowboarding! She hopes to get more traveling in and eventually get a dog of her own.

Amy — Amy graduated from Lakeland Medical/Dental Academy in 1980. She started working for Dr. Ronald Axel and Dr. Tim Bergstedt over 30 years ago. She has continued to work at this practice until it evolved into Tonka Smiles. Amy enjoys working with a terrific staff as well as having fun with patients and building lasting relationships with them.

Outside of work, Amy’s interests include: playing volleyball, biking, baking, spending time with her nieces and nephews and traveling with her husband. Amy resides in Eden Prairie with her husband Jim.

Mai — Mai graduated from Hennepin Technical College in 2022 as a Certified and Licensed Dental Assistant. She joined Tonka Smiles in Sept 2022 and she enjoys educating patients on oral health care.

When she is not working, she enjoys exploring nature, going shopping, traveling as much as she can and going to street food markets.

Kara — Kara graduated from St. Cloud Technical and Community College in 2017 as a Certified & Licensed Dental Assistant. She joined Tonka Smiles in May 2019.

Outside of dental assisting, she and her husband enjoy hunting, fishing, trapping, traveling and mountain biking.

 

Chrissy – Chrissy graduated in 2013 from Hennepin Technical College as a licensed dental assistant. She joined Tonka Smiles in 2016. Chrissy strongly believes in the importance of patient care and enjoys working with and educating patients on their dental needs. Chrissy enjoys performing cosmetic dental procedures and enhancing patients’ smiles.

Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her loved ones, cooking, crafting, going to the lake, and gardening.