Speaker: Merrillee Kranickolas
Addressing the multi-faceted responsibilities as the Owner
Managing patient flow and education
Empowering employees
Influencing patients
Merrillee Karanickolas, Certified Professional Behavioral & Values Analyst, earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science from California State University Fullerton, in the middle of a life-long love affair with the dental industry. Merrillee learned from early mentors to believe in herself and to be passionate about her dreams. Merrillee’s career has embraced every facet of dentistry, from registered dental assistant and administrative manager for general dentists, orthodontists, periodontists and oral surgeons, to sales for Healthco Dental Supply, marketing manager for J B Dental Supply, and wholesale representative for Hu-Friedy, world’s leading manufacturer of dental instruments.
As a confident, disciplined, energetic, enthusiastic, independent, inventive, inspiring, organized, optimistic and polished individual, it’s no surprise that the next step in Merrillee’s career would be to join Straine in 2007. Merrillee says she found her final professional home, and has emerged as one of the most sought after consultants in the organization. Merrillee’s inspirational approach to consulting is noteworthy, filled with good intentions, brimming with enthusiasm, and focused ... becoming the catalyst for positive change in every practice for which she passionately serves.
When asked what drives her, Merrillee says “Quality is never an accident … it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution, the wise choice of many alternatives.”
As a people watcher “extraordinaire,” Merrillee has exceptional insight into the human condition, and shares her January 25 birthday with Robert Burns, best known for the sentimental song Auld Lang Syne. But it’s the beautiful lines Burns penned in Tam o’ Shanter that best reflect Merrillee’s philosophy: “But pleasures are like poppies spread, You seize the flower, its bloom is shed; Or like the snow falls in the river, A moment white – then melts forever.”
When Merrillee takes rare time for herself, you’ll find her on a golf course or cooking a gourmet meal for her many friends and family in one of many cities she calls “home,” all across the country.