Leah Lazzarini
Before Katie jumped at the opportunity to become the Manager of Service Operations for Tekagogo, she was embracing life to the fullest—skiing every chance she got, trail running through beautiful Utah, and raising two incredible kids: Jack (14) and Lily (10).
She’s always lived with passion—whether she’s dancing to any kind of music (even the undanceable!), blasting Johnny Cash or Bob Marley, or soaking in the beauty of Salt Lake City’s vast and awe-inspiring landscape.
Professionally, her background is rooted in the dental industry, where she has spent over 25 years growing from a young dental assistant into leadership and management roles across nearly every dental specialty.
One of the most defining chapters of her career was serving as District Service Manager for a Utah Dental Service Team. That role gave her the chance to combine Katie’s passion for customer care with operational excellence—supporting practices across the region alongside a dedicated team that truly became like family. Tekagogo is a continuation of that same passion: helping people, building strong relationships, and delivering real value through great service.
If Katie could be any animal, she’d be a Hummingbird because “beauty comes in small packages; sometimes they’re really hard to find or see but when you get to see them up close they are so beautiful plus they fly to Mexico every winter.. “
Jen is our Numbers Ninja here at TEKagogo. A true local, having been born and raised in Livermore. She majored in English at St. Mary’s College, but her background is in HR, accounting, and office administration. When asked what excites her about Tekagogo she said “I love the family feel, relaxed environment and being a part of a small close-knit company. Plus, I think the service Tekagogo offers is genius!” Jen also loves spending time with her family, but she and her husband recently became empty nesters. So, new hobbies will surely be occupying her time soon. What is not new, though, is her love of coffee and watching True Crime. When it comes to music, Journey and anything 80’s (surprise, surprise…) is what gets her dancing. If Jen were an animal she would be “a golden retriever because they are adorable, silly and forever loyal.”
Heather B is part of the Strategic Marketing team. Heather B is our Chaos Coordinator, organizer of all things, like a ninja of keeping things moving along! As a Strategic Marketing Warrior, her goal is to facilitate a fun environment and show the world this exciting company that is passionate about its people and its fun, smart product, and service. In her previous life she was a recruiter in Michigan for the Big 3 Automotive Companies before retiring to become a full-time mama, who aspired to be a Middle School Science teacher someday. After a move to California in 2004, and 3 children later, she took on the role of domestic engineer full time. While substitute teaching for the last 4 years, Heather decided it was time for a career change and to polish her skills again. “I am a connector who loves to bring people together, and Marketing is right up my ally!” Her greatest passion, though, is her family, and her 3 teenagers. She also enjoys hiking with her Weimaraner’s and riding on her Peloton. When it comes to music, Heather loves 90’s rap, INXS, Heart, Boyz II Men, and anything country! Though, the 80’s are definitely a favorite too. If Heather could be any animal, she will tell you she wants to be “a Jellyfish: of course, one that does not sting but they float freely in the ocean and that’s my favorite place on earth. Jellies are mesmerizing to watch and wonder what are they thinking about? A group of fish is called a school, but a group of jellies is called a smack—that is funny! Jellies can revert back to a childhood state and that sounds fun to be young again!” Fun fact, when she was younger, while attending Virginia Tech, she enjoyed crowd surfing at football games—she really loves sports!
Tiffany is the Voice of Reason here at TEKagogo. A former Human Resources professional, she took a timeout from the workforce to be a stay-at-home supermom to her two boys. She’s also a volunteer extraordinaire. Enticed back to work by the opportunity to help create something from the ground up and surround herself with great energy and passion in this not so “corporate” environment. She loves to travel, learn new languages, learn about different cultures and get real life experiences! During college she spent a semester abroad called Semester at Sea, where she lived on a ship for 100 days, immersing herself in different courses and cultures specific to the country she was in—visiting 10 countries in total. Fun facts, Tiffany loves pedicures and wearing flip-flops. When asked what music gets her dancing she’ll tell you, “I love to dance in general, but Coldplay and U2 are my favorite bands.” We’d love to see how she dances to those. If Tiffany could be any animal she’d be a Panda because “Pandas solve problems with peace and see both sides of a person or situation. They symbolize peace and harmony and stay calm and determined in problem situations. I think that is very true of how I live my life and how I operate as a HR professional.”
Mike is TEKagogo’s Master of Field Operations. Really, he’s our jack-of-all-trades. Previously working as a Equipment Service Technician for a big box distributor with a background in software development as a project manager. He’s our go-to guy for all things TEK-related. When Mike isn’t at the office sharing his wisdom and exuding his excitement of “being at the forefront of a revolutionary and disruptive service that will change the way the industry behaves benefiting both clinicians and technicians,” you’ll find him spending time with his family in the mountains, riding horses, motorcycles and bicycles. If you’re looking for funny stories or dirt on him, though, you’ll have to talk to his daughter Stacey for the good stuff. He’s a lover of country music, but you probably won’t catch Mike doing more than a toe tap out on the dance floor (we like hiring toe-tappers). If he could be any animal he’d probably be an elephant because “they are strong, yet gentle, they are social, they communicate by touch, sight, smell, and sound, are intelligent, have self-awareness and empathy towards family members.”
Brenda is one of our Strategic Marketing Warriors. Some of her prior experiences include managing a Bay Area boutique and working for Stitch Fix as a Remote Stylist before deciding to take some time off to be a stay-at-home mom to her son. She’s excited to return to a start-up like TEkagogo with its ability to change the future of the dental industry all while doing good for the people we partner with. Outside of TEKagogo, Brenda loves doing elementary-level crafts and finds mindless tasks like folding laundry, doing kitchen prep-work or painting pre-done pottery pieces to be extremely enjoyable and relaxing. When it comes to music, she is a lover of all genres, but indie and country are always at the top of her list. Though rap, hip-hop, and an alcoholic beverage are what get her dancing. If she could be any type of animal she’d be “a house cat, for sure. I love to leisurely lounge around the house, day napping (though day napping is a distant memory these days), I like to get praise & attention on my terms & I shed a lot.”
Ditter is our money man. With ten years of experience in Finance and Banking Regulations, he handles all of TEKagogo’s financials. Having moved to the U.S. two years ago from Mexico to pursue his Master’s degree he spends his weekdays with us, and his weekends as a student. His friends call him Dit or Ditter, but he legally has four first names. Funny story, when he decided to move here permanently he returned to Mexico for his pup, she made it through customs without any hassle but he had to go through twice—the four first names must’ve raised a few red flags. When he isn’t at work or school, Ditter loves hitting the gym, watching movies, going to parties and sipping on whiskey—he really loves a good whiskey! When asked what his music of choice is or what genres get him dancing he’ll tell you that he “loves Maroon 5” and his “top five genres are Pop, R&B, Jazz, Hip Hop, and Electronic.” Basically, he’s a big fan of music and dancing. If Ditter could be any animal he’d be a whale. Interestingly enough, whales are thought to encourage personal growth and continued emotional, social or financial progress. All of which suits Ditter, but he mostly appreciates that whales can “travel through the ocean.”
Heather is one of our Strategic Marketing Warriors. She’s no stranger to sales, having previously worked as a retail buyer for a Bay Area company for more than a decade. She currently splits her time between TEKagogo, merchandising for a local brewery and doing pop-ups for her online clothing boutique. What fuels her to achieve all of this? Cheese, of course! It’s her favorite snack, and she can’t think of one type of cheese she doesn’t like. She said “it’s always one of her top cravings and she’s also a cheese head (Go Green Bay Packers) with a piece of the stock to prove it! When asked what her favorite music is she’ll tell you Indie. Mr. Little Jeans and Two Door Cinema Club are her most played stations on Alexa at the moment, but she’s also into the classics. “Tom Petty is always a crowd pleaser.” As for dancing, she, like Mike, is known for her toe tapping. Though, the right amount of booze can coax her into tearing up a rug on the dance floor every now and then. If she were an animal, she’d be a Fox because “they are strategic and smart. They like to stay up late and keep busy while loving to explore and keep a neat and tidy home.”
Eric is referred to, lovingly, as our Chief Troublemaker. Once you meet him, this will immediately make sense. With more than two decades of sales experience and over 17 years in the dental industry, one might say he has a rather spirited background. Eric has always been interested in everything and anything. He doesn’t take notice of difficulty and has always loved to make plans that inspire change! Excited by the “disruptive nature” of our company and “its TekCentric focus that will elevate the lives of both the Teks themselves and the Clinicians they touch, and the opportunity for future innovation within the platform that will significantly alter the way the business of clinicians and technicians operate.” Eric finds inspiration and motivation from the music of the 1980s and believes it’s the music of the greatest decade in the history of the world. So, it’s no surprise that 80’s music is what gets him dancing. When asked what animal he’s most like, he chose a fox because “they’re very calculated, agile and risk-averse….and they look like you can pet them will all their fur!”