At People + Practice, your marketing is led by a team of seasoned professionals with deep expertise in both healthcare and strategy. We bring together clinical insight and marketing know-how, so there is no need to spend time bringing us up to speed. We already speak your language.
Our team is multi-disciplinary and collaborative. With diverse backgrounds and a shared commitment to growth, we bring fresh, innovative ideas that align with your practice’s goals.
When you work with us, your marketing is in expert hands. It’s thoughtfully managed, strategically executed, and focused on real results. You stay focused on patient care. We take care of the rest.
Leon brings clarity, foresight, and hard-earned perspective to the business of orthodontics. After decades operating two thriving private practices, he understands the real-world challenges of running and growing a practice in a changing healthcare environment.
As CEO of People + Practice, Leon leads with a consultative mindset. He helps orthodontists make confident, well-informed decisions by combining deep clinical knowledge with a strategic understanding of marketing, operations, and patient behavior. His advice is practical, relevant, and shaped by years of experience on both sides of the profession.
Leon remains actively involved in education and leadership. He serves as Director of Orthodontics at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York and teaches part-time at both the Harvard School of Dental Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center. His work across clinical care, academic instruction, and practice growth gives him a unique vantage point that benefits every client.
Leon Klempner, DDS
Co-Founder and CEO
Amy Epstein, MBA
Co-Founder and COO
Amy brings more than twenty years of strategic marketing and leadership experience to her work helping healthcare practices grow. As a founding partner and COO of People + Practice, she combines big-picture thinking with hands-on execution, guiding practices through the complex landscape of modern patient acquisition and brand development.
With a background in agency leadership and global brand marketing, Amy understands how to align strategy with results. Her approach is grounded in data, shaped by experience, and built to help doctors make confident decisions about growth. She is especially skilled at helping practices adopt new technologies and digital workflows that support long-term profitability.
Amy is also the co-host of The Golden Age of Orthodontics podcast, where she explores forward-thinking strategies and technologies with industry leaders. In addition to her consulting work, she lectures at universities and conferences nationwide, helping shape the next generation of healthcare marketers.
The next generation of healthcare marketers blends data, technology, and human empathy to drive measurable growth.
Jessie Pressman
Head of Consulting
Jessie Pressman leads the Growth Consulting team at People + Practice, where she sets the strategic vision and supports execution across every client engagement. She has been with the company since 2014 and has played a central role in shaping its evolution and success.
With 20 years of experience in marketing, operations, and small business leadership, Jessie brings a sharp, practical perspective to the challenges healthcare providers face in today’s marketplace. She oversees all of our Growth Consultants, ensuring that each practice benefits from tailored, results-driven strategy.
Jessie is known for her ability to identify opportunities quickly, streamline execution, and empower teams to implement meaningful change. Her leadership is grounded in a passion for helping doctors and their staff build strong, sustainable practices — always with a focus on clarity, efficiency, and growth.
Lacie Ellis
Senior Growth Consultant
Lacie Ellis brings a rare combination of creative talent and real-world practice experience to her role as Senior Growth Consultant. With more than two decades in orthodontics, she understands the daily operations of a practice from the inside out — from chairside assisting and treatment coordination to marketing and leadership.
Since joining People + Practice in 2020, Lacie has helped dozens of practices align their marketing strategies with their business goals. She blends her skills as a professional graphic designer with deep operational insight, creating solutions that are both visually compelling and strategically sound.
Lacie is known for her practical mindset, collaborative approach, and ability to bridge the gap between team dynamics, brand communication, and growth. Her experience and empathy make her a trusted advisor to doctors and staff alike.
Maggie-Jean Hanley
Senior Graphic Designer
Maggie-Jean Hanley brings both creative expertise and real-world practice insight to her role as Graphic Designer at People + Practice. As a founding team member who joined in 2011, she has spent over a decade supporting orthodontic practices through marketing communication strategy and design that is thoughtful, brand-aligned, and results-oriented.
Before People + Practice Maggie served as a patient concierge and marketing manager inside a busy orthodontic practice. That frontline experience gives her a unique understanding of how practices operate, and what patients respond to.
Maggie’s design work is grounded in strategy. She combines creativity with a deep awareness of the patient journey, helping practices communicate their unique value in the communities they serve.
Abby FaQuin
Head of Strategy
Abby FaQuin is a healthcare business strategist with more than 15 years of experience in healthcare operations, technology implementation, and growth strategy. As Head of Strategy for People + Practice, she leads the organization’s growth, data, technology, go-to-market, and service improvement initiatives all to support client success.
Her experience includes leadership roles in healthcare technology companies, telehealth platforms, and healthcare consulting organizations. Abby has advised providers and healthcare businesses on the implementation of digital systems that support patient access, operational performance, and data driven decision making.
Her work focuses on the intersection of healthcare operations, digital strategy, and emerging technologies that influence how patients access and evaluate healthcare services.
Arash Shoustari, MBA
Digital Advertising Director
Arash Shoushtari leads the Digital Advertising division at People + Practice, where he is responsible for introducing your practice to new prospective patients through targeted, strategic campaigns. Since joining the firm in 2016, he has helped practices grow by connecting them with the right patients in the right places.
With over a decade of experience in digital marketing, Arash specializes in helping local businesses build authentic connections within their communities. He combines data-driven strategy with creative insight to ensure that every campaign supports both visibility and practice growth.
Arash’s background includes an MBA in Marketing and a BFA in Design, giving him a rare blend of analytical thinking and creative execution. Before joining People + Practice, he worked with several startups focused on small business and proximity marketing, bringing new products and tools to market.
Jana Moncrief-Manu
Social Media Director
Jana brings deep expertise in digital marketing and social media strategy, with a strong track record of helping organizations grow through compelling content and community engagement. Since joining People + Practice in 2018, she has helped shape the digital presence of client practices across major platforms.
Jana has led initiatives for several successful organizations, overseeing content strategy, editorial development, and social media programs. Her work includes campaign planning, content creation, publishing, and performance analysis, all designed to increase visibility and drive meaningful connections with patients.
With a clear understanding of what makes digital content effective, Jana helps practices build authentic relationships and stand out in a crowded online landscape.
Brandi Lafreniere
Marketing Coordinator
Brandi Lafreniere brings more than 23 years of in-office orthodontic experience to her role as Marketing Coordinator at People + Practice. Since joining the team in 2022, she has applied her deep understanding of daily practice operations to support marketing strategies that are both effective and grounded in real-world insight.
Throughout her career, Brandi has held a range of roles including chairside assistant and laboratory manager. She managed an in-house lab supporting four high-volume practice locations and created custom appliances to meet specific patient needs. Her firsthand knowledge of clinical workflows and team dynamics gives her a unique perspective on what it takes for a practice to thrive.
Brandi’s background ensures that every marketing initiative she supports is grounded in the realities of practice life and designed to produce meaningful results.
Jen Peck
Senior Growth Consultant
Jen brings a rare combination of data fluency and creative instinct to every project. With a background that spans clinical research, international eLearning, start-ups and growth marketing, Jen’s holistic perspective has her consistently looking beyond the metrics to understand the full customer journey. She has managed growth strategy across health, wellness, and education verticals, with a consistent focus on translating campaign data into clear, actionable insights. Jen is passionate about helping doctors grow their businesses with authenticity, and is known for building long-term client relationships grounded in trust and results.
Lon Cohen
Marketing Manager
Lon Cohen brings more than 30 years of experience in marketing, communications, and publishing to his role as Marketing Manager at People + Practice. His career began at Hearst Magazines in New York City before moving into journalism, where he launched and edited Port Jefferson Patch.
A creative strategist and storyteller, he has also held leadership roles as Director of Marketing for a commercial real estate finance company and Director of Communications for the ALS Association Greater New York Chapter, where he received an award for social media innovation and supported the non-profit’s marketing during the viral ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.
At People + Practice, Lon oversees content strategy, PR, email marketing, and digital campaigns, while also helping produce the firm’s podcasts and webinars. His focus is on building visibility for the agency, strengthening its brand presence, and supporting business growth through clear, consistent communication across platforms for the agency and its media partners.
Nicole Garris
Senior Growth Consultant
Nicole has spent more than a decade helping organizations develop strategic marketing programs that strengthen their brand and drive growth. With experience across healthcare, B2B, and professional services, she specializes in building integrated campaigns that connect brand, digital, and content strategy to business goals. She enjoys turning complex ideas into clear, engaging marketing initiatives.
5/5 Star Rating
Trusted by Orthodontics & Healthcare Industry
“What a wonderful group to work with! They have moved us into the digital marketing arena with great skill, knowledge and patience. Thanks for all the great work!“
Dr. Sal Cabassa
Woodfin & Cabassa Orthodontics
