Meet the Team

Co-Founders and Directors of NC Dental U

Tammy Hughes;
DAII

Tammy Hughes, founding Partner of NC Dental U, and celebrates her 26th year in the dental field this year. She has worked in the capacity of DAII, Front Desk Receptionist, Manager and Consultant. Her expertise is in New Practice and Team Development. She is a motivated leader that instinctively understands the business of dentistry. Tammy has successfully built staffed and coached new dental offices throughout North Carolina. With extensive knowledge in all aspects of dental care, she has the business savvy and technical skill to lead any team to success!

Professional Memberships:
NCADOM
AADOM
ADMC

A NC native, she resides in Wake County with her husband and three sons.

Robyn Klose;
RDH

Robyn is a founding partner of NC Dental U. She is celebrating over 28 years in the dental field this year. Robyn has worked as a Dental Assistant, Dental Receptionist and Clinic Coordinator in New York and Washington State before graduating in 1999 as an RDH. She is licensed in both North Carolina and New York. She has been practicing Dental Hygiene for over 22 years and has been directly involved in practice management the past sixteen years. She has traveled nationwide to further her dental education with Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies as well as Genr8tion Next and ACE. She is a proud member of the American Dental Hygiene Association. Robyn is always working to advance her knowledge in new science, research and technology training.

Robyn has combined all this acquired knowledge and personal experience to help create an inspired, effective, and motivational curriculum that refines the systems surrounding the patients total experience with a dental practice.

Professional Memberships:
NCADOM
AADOM
ADMC

Her extensive exposure to most forms of practice management and dental systems, as well as her strong focus on patient satisfaction, makes her a specialist in her field. She resides in Wake County with her husband and two sons.

Nicole Liles;
Assistant Director of Education and Instructor

Nicole (Nikki) Liles is a former graduate of NC Dental U. She completed the program in 2009 and joined the NC Dental U family in the summer of 2013. One of her primary goals is to have the students feel as confident and comfortable as possible going into the dental field. Her most recent abilities were utilized at a corporate dental office as a dental assistant, rock-star dental hygiene coordinator, and then mastering the front desk with all the office duties it entails. After much soul searching she made the decision to follow her passion and focus her career in a new direction as the new NC Dental U Assistant Director of Education and instructor. Her love for people is a driving force for her superb instruction skills. Her reward for all her hard work and dedication is the joy she feels as her students become excited as they travel from dental illiteracy to dental fluency thereby opening the doors to their new dental career.

Tiffany Anderson;
Student Services Representative

Tiffany Anderson is a bright and talented Student Services Representative. She joined NC Dental U in 2021 and loves being able to help students stay on top of their academic needs. A proud mother of one, she’s eager to provide guidance to her NC Dental U students and help them reach their educational goals. Tiffany believes that it’s never too late to jump-start a new career!

When she’s not busy helping students achieve their goals, Tiffany loves spending time with her family and traveling through the Caribbean to soak up the sun.

Tina Casper;
RDH

Tina Casper joined our NC Dental U team in 2014 and has brought smiles and laughter to the school ever since! Her love for teaching combined with her outgoing personality helps students to feel comfortable and calm. Tina’s dental career started in California as a Registered Dental Assistant in 1990. After discovering her love for dentistry and for others, she decided to continue her career as a dental hygienist in 2008. Currently she works full time as a hygienist, and is one of our valued Saturday instructors. She currently resides in Rocky Mt. with her three children.

Katie Graham;

DA II

Katie has been in the Dental field since the early 2000’s. She moved to North Carolina in December 2018 after starting her career in New Jersey. Katie joined NC Dental U as an Instructor January 2019. While working as a receptionist, Katie was fascinated by what was happening in the clinic. She took full advantage of any opportunity to observe the Dentist and Assistants working on patients. Katie knew she wanted to be a Dental Assistant. She began her training chairside and later went on to become DAMB certified in dental radiology. Katie later became the lead dental assistant and worked her way into clinical management. She currently leads an awesome team of Dental Professionals as a Clinic Coordinator in Greenville. She has a passion for her craft and loves teaching it to both patient and students. Katie uses her knowledge of the dental field to help patients understand the importance of their dental health.

Karen Haldeman;

RDH- Charlotte Campus

Karen is currently a coronal polishing instructor at our Charlotte campus. She graduated from the University of South Carolina and received her Hygiene degree from York Technical College in 2002. She has experience in general dentistry as well as pediatrics.

When she is not working, you will find her running with my dog or being a mom to a teen daughter.

As an instructor, she enjoys connecting with her students and giving them the confidence to begin coronal polishing in their dental assisting career.

Monique Hollis;

RDH NCDU – Greenville

Monique Hollis is a North Carolina native. After becoming a DAII, Monique wanted to expand in the dental field. While getting her medical assistant degree, she applied for dental hygiene. Monique didn’t get in her first year. But on the second try she was accepted into a dental hygiene program. Being a single mom, it was very hard road, but she got through it. While in hygiene school she worked at The Dental Care Center where they worked around her school schedule and later employed her as a Dental Hygienist. She later returned to school and got her Bachelor of Arts in Healthcare Administration.

Cheryl Klein;
Registrar and Student Support

Cheryl has worked in the Business Management field for over 20 years. She joined Evolve Dental Management in 2012 as Registrar for NC Dental U and The Dental Assistant Academy of Charlotte. Cheryl is committed to assisting new students with the enrollment process, and helping all of our students get started down their new career path. In addition to her Business Management expertise, Cheryl is also an accomplished chef, wife and proud mother of 4.

She resides in Lockport, NY.

Nikki Mele;

CDA – Charlotte Campus

Nikki moved from NY in 2008 and started as a dental assistant in 2013. She joined NC Dental U as an instructor in 2019 at our Charlotte campus. She has experience in multiple areas of dental practice including pediatrics, emergency dentistry, and volunteering at community and military dental events. She enjoys sharing her experience with her students to prepare them for real dental office settings.

Sharma Rains;

Franchise Owner/ Director- Smithfield Campus

Sharma has served in several facets of dentistry in her 29 years in the dental field, she has worked in the capacity of chairside assistant, clinic coordinator, front desk receptionist, and dental office management.

Sharma has instructed with NC Dental U for several years at our Wake Forest campus. In 2020, Sharma was our first Franchise expansion and started our Smithfield campus! She loves sharing her passion for dentistry with individuals that want to start a new career. Her goal is to share her knowledge & experiences in the dental field to her students and they will share their knowledge that will lead to healthy smiles that will last a life time.

She resides in Goldsboro NC with her husband & 2 sons.

Kim Venable;

Charlotte Campus Manager/Instructor

Kim started her career in the dental practice in 1988 in her home city of Ft. Lauderdale, FL. before moving to NC in 2002. As a seasoned chairside dental assistant she has had many roles in the dental practice ranging from receptionist to practice manager.

Kim joined NC Dental U as an instructor in 2018 and became the Charlotte Campus Leader in 2020.

Both NC Dental U and Kim’s students recognize her passion to empower young adults with the skills they need to go beyond the entry-level dental position, just as she did.

Kim has two sons Brett and Nick