Meet the Staff - Florida Prosthodontics

Barbara Director of Finance and Administration

Barbara is Florida Prosthodontics’s Director of Finance and Administration with over 44 years of experience in the dental field. She originates from Cleveland, Ohio and began her career as a Certified Dental Assistant in 1974. She relocated to Merritt Island in 1981 and joined Dr. Raj Rawal in 1983. Over the years, Barbara has become knowledgeable both in terms of the changing dental environment with new innovations and also the value of patient relationships where compassion, trust and caring are integral to taking care of each patient’s needs. She has thus built priceless relationships with the patients at Florida Prosthodontics over the past 35 years in this practice. Barbara takes great pride in relating to each Doctor’s sense of perfection and enthusiasm in serving patients.

Barbara resides in Merritt Island with her husband, Paul, and has two sons Matthew and Ryan. Matthew resides in Orlando and Ryan in California. She enjoys animals, especially her dog Riley and a Blue-fronted Amazon parrot. She also enjoys sports, especially watching football and the Orlando Magic basketball team. Her favorite hobby is gardening and working outdoors in her flower gardens.

Cathy Director of Operations and Resources

After interning with Dr. Raj Rawal for six weeks as a participant of the Brevard Community College Dental Program, Cathy joined Florida Prosthodontics’ winning team in 1998 on a full-time basis. She loves working together, providing excellent service to our patients. Over the years Cathy has not only grown as a caregiver, she has also learned to give service with great understanding and empathy for all patients.

In 2013 Cathy graduated with honors with a master’s degree in business from Kaplan University. In 2015 she transitioned from dental assisting to the front office position of appointment coordinator. This furthered her ability to offer the best patient care possible allowing her to utilize her knowledge from the clinical side to help answer any questions or concerns patients may have when scheduling treatment.

In 2018 Cathy became the director of operations for Florida Prosthodontics. Today Cathy oversees the daily operations of the office as well as managing and coordinating patient scheduling. In addition, she manages marketing efforts to educate the community on the opportunities Florida Prosthodontics can give for those wanting to “Get back their smile- Get back their life”

Cathy moved to Florida from Kentucky in 1985. She lives in Port St. John with her husband Tommy, her beautiful Siberian Husky named Malakai and two adorable funny cats named Kiah and Sage. She has two sons, Boo (Thomas) who lives and works in West Palm Beach and Brandon who attended film school at NYU in New York City and now lives in Titusville, FL.
In her free time Cathy enjoys decorating, crafting, photography, playing musical instruments and anything else that challenges her to be creative. She also enjoys running with her dog, bike riding, and long walks as well.

Renee Registered Dental Hygienist

Renee was born in a little town in South Florida called Lantana. She attended Lake Worth High School where she met her husband Robert. Together they moved to Brevard County in 1986, and Renee then attended Valencia where she received her degree in dental hygiene, with honors in 1990.

Renee has a daughter named Penny, who has a degree in dance education. She works as a director of a dance program at a local magnet school.

Renee has been caring for patients and their hygiene needs for the past 28 years and she is proud to be a part of the Florida Prosthodontic team. Outside the office she enjoys being in nature and walking her dog Gracie.

Heather Appointment Coordinator

Heather’s first interest in working in the dental field was while in high school. She had the opportunity to shadow with the team at Florida Prosthodontics and through this “On the Job Training” experience she was able to see firsthand what a dental assistant does on a daily basis.

Following high school, she attended Brevard Community College and attained her postsecondary certificate in phlebotomy in 2012. However, Heather then soon realized that her true passion and interest still remained with the dental field.

In 2013 Heather was given the opportunity to join Florida Prosthodontics. While continuing to work, she then went to Brevard Community College and attained her dental assisting degree in 2017. Heather feels that the opportunity she was given has been a tremendous learning experience and has given her a solid foundation with which to offer the best patient care possible. Getting to know all the patients on a personal level and helping them achieve the smile they deserve is one of the most rewarding aspects that Heather enjoys everyday.

In her personal life, Heather is a true Floridian. She loves spending her free time with her friends and family, cooking, going shopping, and finding different ideas in Pinterest to re-create.

Pennie Dental Assistant

Pennie was born and raised in Gaithersburg, Maryland. She graduated from Magruder High School in 2002. Before deciding to enter the dental field as a dental assistant, Pennie worked in marketing for five years. She feels that becoming a dental assistant eight years ago was the best decision she has ever made because Pennie enjoys helping people in the community. Most of all Pennie enjoys coming to work at Florida Prosthodontics so much that she does not consider it a job.

For Pennie, her beautiful three-year-old daughter Sophia is the highlight of her life. Sophia keeps Pennie on her toes as she is super smart and very witty for someone her age.

Pennie decided to move to Florida in January 2017 with her daughter and grandparents. She attended Dental Assisting Institute in Pinellas Park, Florida to obtain her certificate in dental assisting and radiography. She joined the team at Florida Prosthodontics’ in October 2017.
In her spare time, Pennie is attending Valencia College studying to obtain her associates in science degree for Dental Hygiene and hopes to graduate in 2021.