Christiana Whitcomb holds a Master’s in City and Regional Planning from the University of California, Berkeley with a Graduate Certificate in Real Estate, and a Bachelor’s in Government and Legal Studies and Visual Arts from Bowdoin College. She is currently a Senior Analyst at HR&A, a consulting firm specializing in policy and implementation strategies in economic development, affordable housing, and real estate.

At age 14, Christiana first volunteered with Simply Smiles in Mexico. She later interned with Simply Smiles on the Reservation for many years and was also employed as Summer Camp Director for the 2016 season. Recently, Christiana was instrumental in helping Simply Smiles to secure funding and partnership from the South Dakota Housing Authority.

Sarah Westby holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Delaware and a J.D. from Brooklyn Law School. While in law school, Sarah held internships at Connecticut Legal Services and the United States Department of Justice – Civil Rights Division. She previously worked as an attorney in Manhattan, concentrating her practice in the field of pharmaceutical antitrust law. Currently, she is a member of the Employer Defense and Labor Relations practice group at Shipman & Goodwin, LLP in Hartford, CT.

Sarah became involved with Simply Smiles through volunteering on the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Reservation and brings her energy, enthusiasm and experience to advance the organization's work.

Nakia Letang has a B.A. from Post University (CT) and has worked in the field of college admissions for over 14 years. She currently serves as Associate Director for Undergraduate Admission at Fairfield University, where she oversees diversity efforts in recruitment and enrollment.

Nakia has gained experience in recruitment and territory management in the southeast region, southwest region, mid-Atlantic region, New England region and parts of Latin America. She has presented at a number of regional and national conferences, including the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) Critical Components Conference, the New England Association for College Admission Counseling (NEACAC) Annual Meeting & Conference on “Leaning In” as a woman pursuing a career and family, and has served as a facilitator for the Multicultural Symposium in Dallas, TX and Costa Mesa, CA for the past seven years. She has worked in collaboration on many of the institutions successful efforts to increase diversity, having served as a member of the President's Institutional Diversity Council and Strategic Vision Task Force at Fairfield University. She has served as the Communications Chair for the New England Association for College Admission Counseling (NEACAC) for three years and as the Vice President of the Northeast Consortium of Counselors Bridging Access to College (NECBAC), focusing on access and advocacy for underrepresented populations.

In addition, Nakia has worked with the Bridgeport Board of Education, serving on the former Bridgeport Higher Education Alliance and the Complete Fairfield County Initiative, examining ways to increase college degree completion in Fairfield County.

Outside of the admissions field, Nakia works diligently in her church community, serving as the youth coordinator and on the pastoral executive council. Through these roles, she has been able to host a number of workshops for the local community and served on the Advisory Board for the Women Moving Forward Organization. She has been featured in the New York Times (July 2015) and in the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) Member Spotlight (March 2016) for her work and commitment to college access. Nakia is also the recipient of the NEACAC William S. Neal Rising Star Award (2010) and NEACAC IDEAL Award (2018).

Bella Lopez-Silva (Kitse Cha'tnio / Chatino) is a non-profit professional, currently serving as the Development Manager for Bridgeport-based CT Students for a Dream, a youth-led statewide network fighting for the rights of undocumented youth and their families.

Bella previously worked for Simply Smiles as our program assistant, where she managed the donor database, researched and identified grant funding opportunities, supported staff members, and played a key role in every program initiative every step of the way. She previously served as Simply Smiles intern in Fall 2018 as an undergraduate at Fairfield University.

Bella holds a B.A. from Fairfield in Spanish and History and a double minor in educational studies and Latin American & Caribbean Studies. She is from Oaxaca, Mexico.

Peter Van Loon joins the Simply Smiles board of directors after overseeing corporate strategy, logistics, and operational plan creation for Fortune 500 companies and startups alike. He retired as a Captain from the United States Navy after serving in Afghanistan, Africa and on most of the world’s oceans.

Peter owns Pandion, LLC, which provides finance, operations and information technology management to health care service and technology companies. He previously served as the Chief Operating Officer of health insurance exchange platform, Access Health CT.

He holds an MBA in finance from the Wharton School, a B.S. in Biology from Trinity College and an A.A. in mathematics from Tunxis Community College.

Peter and his wife, Betsy, are long-time supporters of Simply Smiles and multi-serving volunteers to our program locations. They reside in Simsbury, CT.

Bryan Nurnberger founded Simply Smiles, Inc. in 2003.

Bryan graduated from the University of Colorado in 1999 with a B.A. in history. In the few years after college and before founding Simply Smiles, Bryan worked as a mountain climbing guide, hiked the entire Appalachian Trail, lived with monks in Greece, and worked with sugar cane cutters in the Dominican Republic.

In 2013, he was given the Lakota name Cante Waste Wicasa, meaning "Kind-Hearted Man," as part of a formal naming ceremony.

Bryan lives with his wife, Kristen, in Southport, CT.

As we continue to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Simply Smiles, we are also mourning the loss of the organization's first chairman of the board. I remember the first board meeting. Mr. Dooling called the meeting to order and established that we had a quorum. As a 24-year-old founder with far more ambition than experience, I was unfamiliar with "Robert's Rules of Order". But, as Mr. Dooling called for "motions" and "seconds" at that inaugural meeting, he set the tone for the creation of a professional and efficient organization.

Mr. Dooling was a friend, a mentor, and a proud supporter of Simply Smiles. I'm grateful for all he did to help create Simply Smiles, and I hope that his family feels as I do: every smile we create is part of Edward J. Dooling's legacy.

Thank you, Mr. Dooling,

Bryan