Flossed Dental Board Members

Allison Seaman joins the team of the FLOSSED organization and offers her knowledge and experience forming the first K-12 not-for-profit private school serving special needs children and their families. New Horizon Academy for Exceptional Students, Inc. was formed in l999 in Ocala, Florida and continues serving children with autism spectrum disorder who present with significant communication, social, and behavioral challenges. During this time from 1992 until 2000, she also served on the Board of Directors for the Autism Society of Marion County and served as its acting President from 2000 to 2002. The mission of the Marion Autism Council and the Autism Society of Marion County was to raise awareness regarding scientific, therapeutic and educational strategies relating to autism spectrum disorders and offer informational, emotional, and community service support for newly diagnosed children and their families. 

In 2020, she accepted a position as paralegal with the Department of Children and Families, Children’s Legal Services, and worked tirelessly to strengthen families and advocate on behalf of sheltered children who are abused, abandoned, or neglected. In 2024, she accepted a position and is currently employed as a paraprofessional with Hillcrest School, the only K-12 school in Marion County devoted entirely to the education, enrichment, and therapeutic services of students with physical, intellectual, and developmental disabilities. Her entire professional career has been devoted to the education, advocacy, and service of children and families who strive for the best outcomes for their families. It must be noted that she is also the mother of four grown children, one of whom is a 31-year-old son, Matthew, who is living with autism spectrum disorder and other associated disorders. She is excited and highly motivated to join FLOSSED to support individuals like her son who struggle to find quality, effective dental care.

Dr. Alexandra Jensen grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She attended Grove City College where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry. She continued her education at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine where she was a recipient of the Dean’s Scholarship for the Class of 2013 and graduated as a member of Omicron Kappa Upsilon, the honor dental society, having won the Dr. William S. Kramer Award of Excellence. 

During her time in dental school, Dr. Jensen was active in the Department of Pediatric Dentistry and the Center for Patients with Special Needs. She completed the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship and in so doing provided dental health education and counseling to parents and caregivers of individuals with special needs. Additionally, as a dental student, Dr. Jensen received the AAWD Eleanor J. Bushee Award and Robert Rath Award of Distinction for Pediatric Dentistry in addition to other distinctions. Dr. Jensen completed her training in Pediatric Dentistry through the University of Florida – Naples where she was the Chief resident of her resident class. She lives in Clermont, Florida where she is a partner at Clermont Pediatric Dentistry. In her free time, Dr. Jensen enjoys spending time with family (including her two fur babies, Penelope and Winston!) and friends. She is active in her local church and community and has fun baking. Dr. Jensen loves staying active to make the most out of life - most recently she has added pickleball and fun 5Ks to her repertoire - and is always looking for a recommendation for a good read or podcast. 

Colonel (retired) Erik Weitzel MD functions as a strategic surgical leader for the FLOSSED organization. He brings substantial bureaucratic and regulatory experience to the FLOSSED Board from leading large Department of Defense medical and research organizations. Col Weitzel has a proven track record as an ENT surgeon and laboratory director, having been principal investigator on over $34M in Federal research grants. He is excited to join FLOSSED to support individuals like his brother and son who both have special needs.

Prior to joining FLOSSED in 2024 Col(ret) Weitzel served in a variety of roles to include the Human Protections Director for Air Force Research Laboratory, SAUSHEC Otolaryngology Program Director, US Army Institute of Surgical Research Deputy Commander, and Chief of Operational Medicine (SGO) 59th MDW. In addition to these roles, Col Weitzel was the Director of the 59MDW/ST RESTOR Regenerative Medicine Laboratory and a Professor of Surgery for USUHS while maintaining a busy tertiary Rhinology clinical practice. 

Jeremy S. Melker, M.D. functions as a strategic surgical leader for the FLOSSED organization. He is a board-certified ENT physician/surgeon with 17 years of experience and expertise in all aspects of the ENT market. As an accomplished executive, he founded a solo practice that combined cutting-edge care with compassionate, multigenerational hometown medicine and grew it to the point of solicitation and merger with one of the nation's largest independent multi-specialty surgical groups. Since residency, he has worked with research and development teams of medical device companies, including Medtronic and those acquired by Smith & Nephew and Philips Healthcare, and has three issued U.S. patents.

Dr. Melker is the proud father of an adult son with autism. He is an active advocate for those on the spectrum and serves as a Strategic Advisor to the CEO and Board Member of the JoyDew Foundation, a Founding Steering Committee Member of the University of Florida Health Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment (UF Health CAN), and a Founding Advisory Board Member of the Santa Fe College Spectrum of Success Program (SOS). 

Kent Weitzel, DMD, MSEE functions as Vice President of the Board of Directors for the FLOSSED organization. Dr. Weitzel has had multiple careers. Prior to dentistry, Dr. Weitzel was an electrical engineer with Westinghouse Electric Corporation in the utility business for eight years. After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh, School of Dental Medicine, he

completed an internship in Florida. Dr. Weitzel has been a general dentist in private practice in

Florida for over 40 years, operating dental practices in Gainesville, McIntosh and Ocala.  All

practices integrated patients with intellectual and developmental disabilities with the general population. He is the father of a special needs patient who had profound brain injury. Kent is looking forward to serving on the FLOSSED Board of Directors with the goal of providing quality dentistry for all special needs patients in Florida. We must be successful in our mission to deliver access to dental care to this unserved population. 

Dr. Lynne Taiclet is an assistant professor at the Univ of Pittsburgh, School of Dental Medicine (PDM), serving as the Director of the Center for Patients with Special Needs (CPSN) until the summer of 2024. As Director of the CPSN she was responsible for all the pre-doctoral curriculum, both didactic & clinical, as well as all the clinical & administrative activities in the Center. Dr. Taiclet joined PDM as clinical faculty for the CPSN in 2009; from 2010-2024 she functioned as the Director of the CPSN. Currently she continues her role as course director for the dental and dental hygiene courses related to the CPSN. Throughout her academic career, her primary focus has been on curriculum development for dental/ dental hygiene students, focusing on care for individuals with Special Health Care Needs (SHCN). Required curriculum incorporates both didactic & clinical components, enabling all dental graduates to obtain competency in assessing & managing patients with SHCN. During clinical rotations in the CPSN students participate in directly supervised, hands-on treatment utilizing a variety of modalities: protective stabilization, behavioral guidance & pharmacological management. In 2018, the CPSN received the ADEA’s William J. Gies Award in the area of Innovation, & category of Academic Dental Institution; Dr. Taiclet was honored to accept the award.

Dr. Taiclet is an active member of both the Special Care Dentistry Association (SCDA) and the American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry (previous executive committee/ Member at Large). She also functions as the advisor to the PDM’s student chapter of the AADMD. She is also a member of an Ad-hoc committee of the Academy of Dentistry for Persons with Disabilities, an academy of the SCDA. During the 2022 annual meeting of the SCDA, Dr. Taiclet was honored to receive the Education Award, recognizing those who educate the upcoming generations of oral health providers in the area of special care dentistry.

Shari Mao is a partner at Jackson Walker LLP. She represents entrepreneurs, privately held clients, and governmental agencies in a variety of corporate matters.  

Shari advises her private sector clients throughout the corporate life cycle ranging from entity formation and corporate governance to financing and divestitures. Leveraging her demonstrated experience as a former business owner, Shari represents clients in negotiating corporate terms and conditions, technology and operations contracts, financing agreements and purchase and sale contracts with a comprehensive understanding of each client's individualized corporate needs and a focus on achieving their business goals. Additionally, Shari has experience in assisting government agencies with information technology outsourcing procurement projects.

As one of the only Mandarin speaking attorneys in the city of San Antonio, Shari regularly serves as counsel in mergers and acquisitions, business formation and corporate structuring, restructuring, financing options and succession planning and consult her clients on governance matters and cross-border transactions. Shari takes pride in offering her clients actionable advice in starting a business, growing the business through funding and acquisitions, and divesting the business in whole or in part.

As part of her practice, she advises family offices in planning and restructuring entities for asset protection, tax planning, and investment and estate planning strategies.  

Prior to law school, Shari was vice president of a flooring company, where she managed the North American operations and collaborated with factories in China and Taiwan. She was a Risk Manager on the Pulp and Paper Desk at Enron and was retained after the mass termination to unwind and liquidate trades. Additionally, Ms. Mao was an associate at J.P. Morgan & Co., where she managed projects and implemented trade processing solutions in New York, London, and Tokyo. During law school, Shari interned for Chief Judge Fred Biery of the United States District for the Western District of Texas, where she researched and wrote memos for the court. She also worked as a student attorney at St. Mary's Center for Legal and Social Justice.

Suzanne Weitzel, PT, DPT, MBA functions as President of the Board of Directors for the FLOSSED organization. Suzanne’s broad career as a physical therapist has included all aspects of the profession including teaching hospitals, industrial medicine, and the owner of a private practice specializing in rheumatology.

As Administrator for Weitzel and Associates, Inc., she managed two general dental practices that incorporated persons with special needs. Her youngest son, Joshua, was born with a profound birth defect of the brain. His amazing life inspired her family to become advocates for all persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities. 

Suzanne is excited to be a member of the Board of Directors of

FLOSSED and looks forward to fulfilling the mission to advance compassionate

comprehensive dental care for adults with special needs in Florida.

Michael is a dedicated dentist anesthesiologist with over 12 years of experience in providing exceptional care to patients, particularly those with special needs. He is the founder of a successful private practice where he prioritizes patient safety and delivers high-quality anesthesia services. As an esteemed lecturer, he shares his expertise worldwide, inspiring others in the field. In addition to his clinical work, Michael serves as a sedation inspector for the Florida Department of Health, ensuring the highest standards of safety in dental anesthesia. Fluent in both Portuguese and Spanish, he is committed to breaking language barriers and enhancing patient experiences. Michael's passion for patient care drives him to

continuously improve and advocate for the needs of all his patients. To this end

Michael has joined the FLOSSED organization as an anesthesia design and

implementation specialist.