Jessica Birrell, CDT, FACE: Passionate About Education and Philanthropy

Confident and passionate, Jessica Birrell believes there's no limit to what she can accomplish in the dental technology field. Since starting her laboratory three years ago, she's developed a successful niche for high-end smile design cases and now she's eager to branch out as an educator and share her knowledge.

Her educational philosophy is that it's critical to understand the foundations of a material in order to successfully use that material. She's just started lecturing for Ivoclar Vivadent and, for her presentations, has created an e.max "Playbook" that explains the material makeup, uses and layering techniques for the different e.max ingots.

"I'm teaching my courses like an art class. Technicians learn about the different mediums and build on that foundation by working with them to get a hands-on feel for the different techniques and uses. Once you understand the foundation, then you are free to play," says Birrell, who is publishing her first technical article...