California Dental Association

Greg Alterton is a Policy Analyst with the Public Policy Division of CDA, specializing in third-party payer issues. He is also a Practice Analyst with CDA’s Practice Support Center, assisting members on issues pertaining to dental benefits.  

Greg has worked extensively in government relations, including as legislative analyst for Blue Shield of California, and as Policy Director for HealthNet. In addition, Greg is a presenter for CDA on dental benefit issues in workshops presented through local dental societies, and at “CDA Presents” continuing education conferences.

Email Greg Alterton

I am a Practice Analyst with the Practice Support Center. Since I am going to be offering information related to Employment Practices, you might want to know my background.

Before coming to CDA 14 years ago, I worked as an RDA for 11 years.  When I came to CDA, I was in the Membership division working in Recruitment and Retention. After many years, I transferred to TDIC where I served as a Risk Management Analyst for 8 years. In that role, I talked to members daily about patient concerns as well as employment related issues.

In 2007, I transferred back to the CDA Membership Programs Department under the new area referred to as The Practice Support Center. This new member benefit will provide our members with information related to various areas of running a practice. I will focus on Employment Practices and some areas of Practice Management.

Personally: I have lived in Dixon for 20 years with my husband and 3 children. My oldest son is 19, our middle son is 17, and our daughter is 13. In our free time, we can be found in a gym, on a ball field, or near some water.

Email Robyn Thomason

I’ve been with CDA since 1995, after several years working for not-for-profit business associations and a local chamber of commerce. 

With previous employers I learned about small business issues and the laws that impact businesses, and how local government works. I brought that knowledge and experience to CDA where I’ve worked primarily on issues such as occupational and environmental safety and health, waste management, wastewater, licensure, and dental materials regulation. I’ve testified at federal, state, and local hearings on regulations affecting dentistry, and I’ve developed many of the regulatory compliance resources you find on the CDA Compass. 

My goal with this blog is to have a discussion on the practical aspects of regulatory compliance, and to provide a little insight on how and why certain laws exist. 

On the personal side, I’m a USC grad married to another USC grad, and together we are the proud parents of four active children. Family activities, picnics with friends, long walks, good movies and novels are my favorite ways to relax.

Email Teresa Pichay

I am a practice analyst with the CDA Practice Support Center. Each of the analysts within the Practice Support Center has areas in which we specialize. My area of emphasis is practice management.

I began my career in dentistry nearly ten years ago with CDA in Member Programs. I focused on recruitment and retention, as well as management of the membership team and the Council on Membership.

In 2006, my husband and I moved away from Sacramento. Although I was sad to leave CDA, the move opened the door for me to become a consultant for a nationally-recognized practice management and marketing company. As a practice management consultant, I worked with hundreds of dentists and their dental teams to establish management and marketing systems for all areas of the practice.

In 2009, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to again work with CDA to help build the Practice Support Center and Compass website. I am thrilled to have re-joined the Member Programs team.

Personally: I currently live in Orange County with my husband and two sons, ages 3 and 1. Although I am a native to Sacramento and have fond memories of Northern California, we love living close to the beach and have adapted nicely to the SoCal lifestyle.

Email Katie Fornelli

From time to time the CDA Practice Support Center will present guest bloggers who are either experts in one of the four primary areas or individuals whose personal experiences may be of interest to our readers.

These guest bloggers will oftentimes be your colleagues sharing their experiences and challenges as they seek to establish successful practices.

The opinions expressed by the guest bloggers are their own and do not represent the opinions or positions of the California Dental Association.