Jerald H Simmons, MD, is the Founding Director of The Sleep Education Consortium (SEC) and Comprehensive Sleep Medicine Associates, PA (CSMA), he is Triple Board-Certified by the American Board of: Psychiatry and Neurology, Sleep Medicine and Clinical Neurophysiology. He graduated from medical school at Ohio State University, then trained in Neurology at Washington University, afterwards training in Sleep Medicine at Stanford University, and then Epilepsy at the University of California. Beginning his professional career as Assistant Professor of Neurology at University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) while codirecting the UCLA Sleep Disorders Center and directing the Clinical Neurophysiology Lab at Olive View UCLA. In 1999, he relocated to Texas, establishing the Sadler Clinic Sleep Disorders Center, in 2001 he founded REST Technologies, Inc., and in 2006 he founded Comprehensive Sleep Medicine Associates, PA which has four Texas locations.

With his academic mindset, research has always been part of his professional activities. Recent research involves new technologies to monitor patients during sleep remotely; using simplified, wearable devices to enhance patient management. He was awarded a grant from the National Institute of Health (NIH), as principal investigator, on a study monitoring pregnant women throughout gestation, capturing the onset of obstructive sleep apnea using wearable technology. He is also the chairman of a task force sanctioned by the American Dental Association (ADA), Children's Airway Screen Taskforce (CAST), directed to develop a new protocol for screening young children for sleep-related breathing disturbances, Children's General Airway Screen Protocol (CGASP), for the detection of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) allowing for early intervention in young children, focusing on reducing the burden of obstructive sleep apnea in future generations.

He trained under the mentorship of the “father of sleep” William Dement, MD, PhD and sleep medicine pioneer who discovered the Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome, Christian Guilleminault, MD, while at Stanford University. Dr. Simmons is an early pioneer in the study and education of enhancing awareness of the important relationship between—clenching/sleep bruxism/TMJ disorder with OSA, as well as the relationship between ADHD and disturbances of sleep, having lectured to the healthcare community on these topics for approximately 30-years.

Also, education is an important aspect of his career, by training medical students, residents, and fellows in sleep medicine. Then establishing the SEC as an outreach to educate the healthcare community. He was instrumental in guiding the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners, leading to the new rules requiring dentists to obtain specific education in sleep medicine to provide appliance therapy to patients with OSA.

Collaboration has been a central theme for Doctor Simmons throughout the years, having worked closely with dentists since the mid-1990s and other types of healthcare professions, and he sits on the board of many organizations, including the American Academy of Physiologic Medicine and Dentistry, which promotes an annual Collaboration Cures conference.

Rob W. Veis, DDS is the President and CEO of Space Maintainers Laboratories. He served as a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Southern California for more than a decade, he lectures internationally on topics ranging from the application of appliance therapy dental techniques to dental economics and practice building.

He is the co-author of the Manual of Appliance Therapy for Adults and Children, author of The Practice Building Bulletin, and the co-author of the Treatment of Snoring and Sleep Apnea for the General Dentist. He is a member of the American Dental Association, the Academy of General Dentistry, the Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine, the American Academy of Gnathologic Orthodontics, and the Academy of Sports Dentistry.

He currently maintains a private practice in Los Angeles.

Ronald S. Prehn, ThM, D.D.S. is a third generation Dentist who focuses his practice on complex medical management of Facial Pain conditions (TMD and Headache) and Sleep Disordered Breathing. He received his degree at Marquette School of Dentistry in 1981 and post-graduate education at the Parker Mahan Facial Pain Center at the University of Florida and the LD Pankey Institute in the years to follow. He is a Board-Certified Diplomat of both the American Board of Orofacial Pain and the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine, of which he is President.

While an adjunct professor at the University of Texas Dental School in Houston, he is published in several journals on the subject of combination therapy for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea. He is a sought-after speaker on this subject at the national level.

He currently limits his practice to the management of complex sleep breathing disorders as well as TMJ/Facial Pain at the Szmanda Dental Center in Wausau, Wisconsin, while enjoying with his wife Linda, the outdoor lifestyle and people of North Central Wisconsin.

Dr. Kevin Boyd is a board-certified Pediatric Dentist in Chicago who holds an M.Sc. degree in Human Nutrition and Dietetics. He teaches in the Pediatric Dentistry residency training program at Lurie Children’s Hospital and also serves as a dental consultant to the Lurie Sleep Medicine service.

Dr. Boyd is an adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Arkansas mentoring PhD research, and also serves as a Visiting Consulting Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania’s Museum of Archeology and Anthropology where he is collaboratively exploring a hypothetical relationship between changed dietary practices since the Industrial Revolution and diminished human dentofacial development.

He lectures worldwide on the topics of Early Childhood Malocclusion (under age 72 months), pediatric sleep-breathing hygiene, and Evolutionary Oral Medicine/Darwinian Dentistry.

Dr. David Alfi is a board-certified, dual-degree oral and maxillofacial surgeon who specializes in craniofacial and orthognathic surgery and rehabilitation. Originally from Los Angeles, CA, he attended Columbia University dental school, where there is a heavy emphasis on the academics of oral surgery. While earning his dental degree, in addition to oral surgery, he took a special interest in radiology, anesthesia, and medical management.

Following residency, Dr. Alfi joined Houston Methodist and Texas Children’s Hospital, working as an academic professor and full-scope surgeon. He then wanted to expand beyond the basics and became involved with researching innovative surgical techniques, improving patient care, and educating future surgeons.

More recently, Dr. Alfi has started his own private practice with the vision to excel in surgical outcomes and advance the field with research and development of surgical techniques. He takes pride in making his patients feel calmer and more comfortable by them knowing that the care they are receiving is without compromise. To do this, he remains at the forefront of new techniques and technology. Dr. Alfi is grateful for every opportunity to help someone achieve happiness through better health.

Brian Dickerson is one of the proud founders of Dental 2 Medical Billing LLC. Dental 2 Medical is a billing solution for practices that are looking to outsource dental and medical billing administration.

Brian leads the medical billing department at Dental 2 Medical and specializes in crossing the bridge between dental and medical sleep. As the department leader, he has helped practices navigate complex insurance plans including PPO’s, HMO’s, Medicare, and Tricare to increase office production and profitability.

His expertise in negotiating with these insurances for high reimbursement has been an exciting achievement for doctors. With his leadership, offices can set a system in place for doctors to thrive by getting more money in their pocket and succeeding in the medical world!

Dr. Evans is the founder of Infinity Dental Specialists, an interdisciplinary practice focusing on orofacial development, periodontal, and airway health. She received her DMD and specialty training at the University of Pennsylvania. To serve her patients better she joined the University of Pennsylvania Sleep Surgery Department. Dr. Evans divides her time between her busy practice, teaching, and conducting research on the relationship between oral and systemic health.

Kristie graduated from the University of Houston with a Master of Arts in Communication Disorders. Over the last 20 years, Kristie has had the pleasure of working in multiple facilities in various capacities. She has performed diagnosis and treatment of disorders related to orofacial myology, pediatric (toddler/child) feeding aversion, apraxia, disorders related to cleft lip and palate, language disorders, aural rehabilitation, dysphasia, and pragmatic language disorders in infants, preschool children, school-aged children, and adults. For the past fifteen years, Kristie has focused her clinical skills on treating patients of all ages with issues in feeding, dysphagia, deglutition, oral sensory aversion, orofacial myology, swallowing, and sleep-related breathing disorders.

Kristie was the first Certified Orofacial Myologist (COM®) in the city of Houston. She is the author of three books Understanding the Orofacial Complex: The Evolution of Dysfunction (Outskirts Press, 2016), Understanding the Orofacial Complex – Muscle Manual (Outskirts Press, 2014), and Sam the Super Chewer, Eats (Mindstir Media, 2016). She is the owner and a treating clinician with The Speech and Language Connection in Houston, as well as an instructor for the International Association of Orofacial Myology and an international lecturer on Orofacial Myology and oral phase swallowing dysfunction. In 2018, she was the invited myofunctional representative at the first American Dental Association’s Children’s Airway Health Conference and Roundtable discussions.

She is a member of the International Association of Orofacial Myology (IAOM) and the immediate Past President of the association, is a member-at-large of the Board of Directors for the American Academy of Private Practitioners in Speech Pathology and Audiology, holds her Certificate of Clinical Competence with the American Speech, Language, and Hearing Association (ASHA), is a member of the Texas Speech, Language, and Hearing Association (TSHA). and previously served on the Community Advisory Board for the University of Houston, eligibility for school-aged students for Cypress-Fairbanks ISD, as Vice President of Membership in the Houston Association for Communication Disorders (HACD), and worked for the Alzheimer’s Association/Greater Houston Chapter, and The Parish School.

Maggie Lavender is a Board-Certified Family Nurse Practitioner licensed in Texas with specialization in Sleep Disorders Medicine and Neurology. She attended Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, where she received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing. She began her career working in a pediatric intensive care and burn unit. She later moved to Houston, Texas and continued her career in a neuroscience intensive care unit at a level one trauma center. She then completed her Master of Science in Nursing and Post-Master’s Emergency Nurse Practitioner Certificate simultaneously at the University of Texas Health Science Center. Her Nurse Practitioner career began in Houston, Texas at Comprehensive Sleep Medicine Associates (CSMA) alongside Dr. Jerald Simmons, beginning in 2012. Maggie has evolved to be a recognized Nurse Practitioner specialist on a national level, and currently functions as a consultant and lecturer on the management of narcolepsy patients.

She is currently practicing again at CSMA and is specializing in comprehensive sleep disorders, neurology, and epilepsy.

Maggie’s passion for nursing and caring for people began in early childhood. She has always been driven to provide exceptional care to every one of her patients, not only treating symptoms, but also by educating and providing preventative medical care to promote healthy lifestyles. Maggie is forever grateful for the blessing and opportunity to care for and help individuals regain their happiness in life.

Maggie and her husband reside in Montgomery, Texas with their daughter and son. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, gardening, and spending quality time with her family.

Dr. Maxwell is a Board Certified Pediatric Cardiologist and Pediatrician. He received his medical degree from Johns Hopkins Medical School followed by a Residency in Pediatrics at The University of California at San Francisco and Fellowships in Pediatric Cardiology at Lucile Packard Children’s and Stanford Hospitals and in Thoracic Organ Transplantation at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

He established his own private practice, Heart of the Valley Pediatric Cardiology, in 2001. His research interests include the study of endothelial control of vasomotor tone, nitric oxide, pulmonary hypotension, sports cardiology, dysautonomia, Ehlers-Danlos, and Mast Cell Activation Syndromes. For this work, he received an American Heart Association Bugher Award for Research in Molecular Biology and was an American College of Cardiology Young Investigator Award finalist.

He has published many articles and book chapters and gives national and international presentations on these subjects.

Dr. Dave McCarty is a board-certified specialist in Sleep Medicine and a pioneer in the practice of patient-centered care for those who suffer from sleep disorders. An award-winning educator, he is passionate about empowering individuals with knowledge that restores confidence and personal agency, as each patient navigates the landscape of disease and wellness, within an increasingly fragmented healthcare system. He is the co-creator of Empowered Sleep Apnea (more info at www.EmpoweredSleepApnea.com), an innovative cross-platform educational project combining storytelling, cartooning, scientific rigor, and quite a bit of fun, all in the name of helping individuals (and providers) navigate the fascinating but complex disorder known as “Sleep Apnea.” In 2023, the project comprises a website, a book (Empowered Sleep Apnea: A Handbook for Patients and the People Who Care About Them, co-authored with Ellen Stothard, PhD), a blog (Dave’s Notes) and a
podcast (Empowered Sleep Apnea: THE PODCAST).

Dr. William G. Ondo is the director of the Movement Disorders Clinic at the Houston Methodist Neurological Institute. Dr. Ondo has been in practice for nearly 20 years and specializes in diagnosis, treatment and research of Parkinson’s disease, essential tremors, the use of botulinum toxins in treating movement disorders, and restless legs syndrome.

Dr. Ondo earned his medical degree from the Medical College of Virginia before completing an internship at the University of North Carolina Hospital, a neurology residency at Duke University, and a movement disorders fellowship at the Baylor College of Medicine. He is board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in adult neurology and sleep medicine. He has authored more than 250 original articles and book chapters as well as edited two books on movement disorders. He currently serves as the president of the Tremor Research Group.

A native Houstonian, Dr. Cheng-huai Ruan graduated from Texas A&M University in College Station and received his medical degree from Ross University School of Medicine in Dominica, West Indies. He completed his residency in internal medicine at New York-Presbyterian/Queens Hospital where he served as chief resident and was named physician mentor of the year by his peers.

Board-certified in internal medicine, Dr. Ruan specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of a broad spectrum of chronic illnesses to emergent medical care for patients 13 years and older. His clinical interests include internal medicine and diabetes. He has created a diabetes reversal program that uses food as medicine.

Fluent in Mandarin, Dr. Ruan stresses the importance of knowledge and education. He is passionate about empowering his patients to optimize their health and lower their risk of disease. A strong advocate of open patient-physician communication, Dr. Ruan is accessible through many avenues,including social media.

Dr. Ruan and his wife live in Bellaire with their two daughters. In his spare time, he enjoys basketball and football.

Dr. Scheyer attended dental school at The Medical College of Virginia at Virginia Commonwealth University from which he graduated Magna Cum Laude earning clinical and research awards. Dr Scheyer received his Certificate in Periodontics, Conscious Sedation and a Masters Degree from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and School of Biomedical Science, clinically focusing on Perio-Prosthetic Regeneration. Dr. Scheyer was awarded the John F. Prichard Award for graduate research in February 2001. Dr. Scheyer was awarded both the AAP “Clinical Research Award” and the “Robinson Regeneration Award” in 2010 and 2017. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology.

Dr. Scheyer has and currently serves as an officer and committee member for many outstanding dental organizations. He has served as Senior District 5 Trustee for the American Academy of Periodontology and is Past President of the Southwest Society of Periodontists, the Texas Society of Periodontists and the Houston Society of Periodontists. He is in private practice limited to Periodontics and Implant Reconstructive Dentistry in Houston, Texas.

Dr. Scheyer is a Clinical Assistant Instructor at the University of Texas Dental Branch-Houston and Guest Lecturer for the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. He is now actively involved with research (including AI, digital dentistry, tissue engineering and interdisciplinary therapy with an airway focus), advocacy for safe dentistry and is a leader in his specialty, as well as, in the broader field of dentistry.

Dr. Christopher M. Tran is a Southern California native who achieved a degree in Psychology at the University of Southern California, followed by a medical degree from Meharry Medical College in Nashville. He then completed his otolaryngology (ENT) residency at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans and is board-certified by the American Board of Otolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery. He finally settled down with his wife in Houston Texas, where they love to enjoy the city’s diverse food offerings. In his “free time,” he likes to spend time with his wife and sons.

Dr. Tran has a comprehensive ENT practice with particular interests in breathing-related surgery and in-office procedures. He enjoys collaborating with local healthcare providers to optimize patient outcomes and has a strong passion for educating and empowering students and patients.

Dr. Yousefian graduated from Washington University with, post-graduate training in orthodontics, dual Masters of Science Degree in biology, and physical anthropology at Ohio State University. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine and Orthodontics and is in private practice in Bellevue Washington.

He has collaborated with several NIH-funded clinical trials in airway, open bite, and TMJ disorders. He has served as a Clinical Assistant Professor at the Ohio State University and the University of Washington, and is a guest lecturer at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He is a lecturer nationally-internationally. He has contributed thirty publications in peer-reviewed journals and twelve textbooks.