Meet Our Team

Karen

Karen graduated from the Mt. Hood Community College dental hygiene program in 2006. She is a native Oregonian who relocated to Kirkland, Washington. Karen enjoys helping her patients manage and control gum disease through education and awareness and is a strong advocate for increasing access to quality oral health care in the community. She also volunteers for the ODA’s Annual Mission of Mercy outreach event providing free dental care to the public. Karen is kind, gentle, thorough, and loves working as a hygienist. Her hobbies outside of work include travel, cooking and small projects around the house.

Colleen

Colleen graduated from the Pierce College Dental Hygiene program in 1998. She loves building relationships with each patient and helping them maintain their oral health. When not at work, Colleen enjoys hiking with her bernese mountain dog and spending time with her family. Growing up, Colleen’s dad was in the military and she was born in Japan. She has also lived in Guam and California. Colleen currently lives in Kirkland with her husband and has a son in college.

Zosia

Zosia moved to Washington from Zimbabwe in the early 2000s. Since then she has become a through and through PNW native, enjoying all the outdoor motorized and non-motorized activities our great state has to offer. Work and travel are her two greatest passions. Having worked in dentistry for over seven years, she finally joined the Cooley team in 2022!

Charel

Charel has been in the dental field since 2002. Her great experience with her childhood dental office helped her to know that she always wanted to be in the field. She was educated at Whatcom Community College, Bellingham Technical College and received her dental hygiene degree in 2007 from Lake Washington Technical College. Charel has focused much of her career on helping patients overcome dental fears and sensitivity and wants your dental experience to be a good experience.

Outside the office she enjoys spending time with her husband and two children, snow sports, watersports, and running.

Amy

Amy graduated from Lake Washington Institute of Technology in 2024 with a Bachelor's of Applied Science in Dental Hygiene. Born in Vietnam, she lived there for 17 years before moving to the United States in 2015. Drawn to the natural beauty of Washington, Amy decided to make it her home. In her dental career, her goal is to create comfortable experiences for patients and to educate them on improving their oral health. Outside of the office, she enjoys hiking, traveling, and exploring new places with family and friends. A true foodie, Amy loves cooking and discovering new cuisines.

Miranda

Miranda is from Stanwood, a small town in Washington. She has been assisting since 2014. Miranda takes pride in making dental visits a positive experience and loves being able to help create beautiful smiles! Miranda enjoys spending time with her friends, family, and Fiancé. She also loves spending time outdoors, hiking, camping, and spending time in the sunshine!

Karla

Karla was born in Mexico. She lived in Texas for a couple of years and moved to Washington when she was 16 years old. She graduated from school as Dental Assistant in 2018. She loves helping patients achieve their dental needs. She also enjoys building relationships with patients and being a part of their overall care. In her free time, Karla loves spending time with her friends and family, and traveling at least twice a year.

Madison

With over five years of experience in dentistry, I find immense joy in connecting with patients, ensuring their comfort, and fostering positive dental experiences. Beyond the dental chair, I share my life with Finn, a mischievous yet adorable corgi who keeps me on my toes. When not tending to smiles, you'll likely find me exploring nature through hiking trails or challenging myself in races, from marathons to half-marathons. And in quieter moments, I indulge my passion for gaming, diving deep into the world of PC gaming and embracing my inner nerd.

Ashley

Bio coming soon!

Ruthie

Ruthie was born in Mt. Vernon and raised in Spokane. She attended Spokane Community College for Dental Assisting and moved to Seattle in the fall of 2000 to pursue her career in the dental field. She became a DANB certified dental assistant in 2005. After 12 years in the field, she took a break from private practice to work in the dental clinic at Seattle Children’s Hospital. During her time there, she further specialized her skills in treating children with special needs, working alongside world-renowned specialists in the dental and medical fields. In 2013, she returned to private practice. Out of her 24 years of dental assisting, 17 have been spent with dental offices in Kenmore, WA. She is excited to be back in Kenmore, working with Cooley Smiles. Her personal mission as a dental assistant is not only to assist the dentist she works with but also to make patients as comfortable as possible while in the chair.

Ruthie is one of five siblings and loves spending quality time with her nieces, nephews, family, and close friends. She enjoys walking and hiking around Seattle, taking small group training classes at Harbor Square Athletic Club, cooking, baking, photography, painting with acrylics on canvas, listening to live local music, and taking cruises to Alaska. She owns two purebred Ragdoll cats, siblings named Sophia and Prince Pa'ploo.

Julie

Julie is the COO for Cooley Smiles! Julie joined Cooley Smiles as part of our Everett front office team in 2018; she has over 15 years of dental experience split between the clinical and front office. She is also a Registered Dental Assistant, making her well versed in both clinical and administrative. She loves being a part of the Cooley Smiles team and helping oversee the Bellevue, Kenmore and Everett practice. Julie really enjoys the interactions with patients and making them feel right at home. She also enjoys helping patients navigate the complexity of their insurances, answering tough questions to ensure they feel comfortable and confident going forward with their next steps in treatment.

On her off time you will find her playing with her children, Haliey and Lucas, or enjoying a round of golf with her husband, Alex!

Amy

Amy joined the Cooley Smiles team in 2022 and is thrilled to be working in the Kenmore location. She’s a Northwest Native, Portland State Graduate, and has over 5 years of dental administrative experience in everything from scheduling appointments to navigating insurance plans. Amy currently works as our Lead Treatment Coordinator and loves helping patients navigate complex treatment plans through education and understanding.

In her free time, Amy enjoys going to the opera, bicycling around Seattle, and studying European history.

Nonna

Nonna was born and raised in Ukraine, she moved to the United States in 1996, and resided in WA state ever since.

She started administrative work back in 2010, then transitioned to the dental field in 2018. Her strong passion is to provide exceptional customer service and make patients’ day brighter.

Outside of work she enjoys the outdoors, hiking, biking, loves traveling and spending time with her family and friends.

Alyssa

Alyssa is our Patient Care Coordinator and one of the first faces you’ll see as you enter our office!

She has worked in customer service for over 12+ years and strives to make the patient experience as pleasant as possible. Alyssa is warm and inviting and will make you feel at ease before you even go back to the chair.

Alyssa is a NW native and lives in Everett with her husband and daughter. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her family whether it’s hiking, exploring, or just enjoying the great Pacific NW weather!