Meet The Instructors

Dr. Thad Gillespie has been practicing general dentistry in the Austin, Texas area for over 37 years. Liberty Hill Dental is now housed in a brand new building with state of the art equipment in the field of dentistry and imaging.  He founded the Dental Genius Assisting School in 2007. Dr. Gillespie is a graduate of the Kois Center. He has extensive experience lecturing on clinical and aesthetic dentistry for The Hornbrook Group.  He has trained dentists in cities all over the country on how to improve their cosmetic clinical skills.   He is the volunteer Dental Director for Samaritan Health Ministries in Cedar Park, Texas.  He has served as the “Official Dentist” for  both the  Austin Toros Basketball Team and the Texas Stars Hockey Team and Texas Stars Ice Girls.  He is very passionate about giving back to the community and does this by educating people interested in their own personal dental health and for students interested in pursuing careers in dental health.  He is extremely involved with the curriculum for the school and is an active instructor on most Saturdays!

Traci is the director of the Dental Genius Assisting School. She has over 20 years experience working in the clinical field. She has extensive knowledge of medical and dental insurance. From insurance processes with authorizations, claims and coordination of benefits to understanding the ins and outs of how benefits work and what to expect. When she’s not working, she enjoys being outside, spending time on the lake, fishing with her husband and daughter, traveling and spending time with family and friends.

Lisa joined the DGAS team in 2010.  She graduated from Computer, Business and Medical Vocational School with a certificate in dental assisting.  She is currently employed with Marble Falls at Ritchie Dental Group. She has been with the Ritchie Dental Group for 18 years. She has been an instructor for dental assisting for 6 years, graduating over 300 students.  She has always had a passion for dentistry and the general well being, comfort and health of her patients. She has a son and daughter-in-law who live with her three grandsons in Burnet. She also has a daughter and son-in-law, who reside in Marble Falls.

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She likes riding motorcycles, boating, etching glass, being on the lake, dancing, listening to live music and being with family and friends. She recently learned to snow ski where her dental skills became more valuable as she tried to, inadvertently, do an extraction on herself with her ski pole in an unfortunate fall on a ski slope in Santa Fe.

Ana joined the DGAS team in 2018.  She graduated from Dental Genius Assisting School in September 2018.  Ana was hired by Dr. Gillespie to work as a dental assistant for Liberty Hill Dental immediately upon her graduation. Because she knows how to process x-rays and operate sterilization so well, she was recruiting to be an instructor’s aide for the school only 3 months later!  Ana brings a welcoming smile with every student and patient she meets.  When she is not at work, Ana enjoys working out, visiting friends and taking her dog, Bella, to the dog park.

Mackenzie “Kenzie” joined our team in August of 2020 just after graduating with honors from Dental Genius Assisting School. She was hired by Dr. Gillespie to work as a dental assistant before her first day of class. Getting to work hands on with experienced dental assistants and the dentists, gave her the experience that helped her hone her skills for the dental field. She enjoys all of the hard work that goes into caring for all of our patients. Outside of work she enjoys spending time outside with friends and family and her puppy Charlie. Kenzie is looking forward to becoming more knowledgeable and helping others grow in their careers as a dental assistant.

Whitney grew up in Liberty Hill and joined the Liberty Hill Dental team in March 2022 after graduating from the Dental Genius Assisting School. She joined the Dental Genius Assisting School as an Instructor's Aide in 2023. Whitney enjoys being in the dental field because it allows her to meet new people everyday and gives her the opportunity to create long-lasting patient relationships. When she is not working, she enjoys spending quality time with family and friends, playing with her five dogs, and long walks on the beach.

Bio Coming Soon

Bio Coming Soon