Danae Russo

Danae Russo is an accomplished dental practice leader with nearly 30 years of experience spanning chairside clinical care, dental education support, and large‑scale practice management. Danae currently serves as a Practice Manager at Brown Health, where she leads multidisciplinary teams, streamlines clinical workflows, and strengthens patient-centered care across a busy dental practice.

Danae’s career began in 1997 as a Certified Dental Assistant, where she built extensive hands-on expertise in restorative dentistry, radiology, surgical support, infection control, and patient education. She spent more than two decades at Lifespan, now Brown University Health—advancing to CDA Clinical Supervisor—overseeing clinical operations, dental assisting teams, student rotations, regulatory compliance, and Joint Commission standards for dental environments. 

Known for her ability to build cohesive teams, enhance clinical efficiency, and champion best practices in infection prevention and patient safety, Danae brings a deep, practical understanding of what it takes to run high-performing dental environments.

Heidi Mikkelsen-McCabe, RN, BSN, CIC

My name is Heidi Mikkelsen‑McCabe, and I’m a Registered Nurse & Certified Infection Preventionist with over 13 years of experience supporting safe practices across both hospital and ambulatory settings, including dental and oral‑surgery environments. In my role within the Brown University Health system, I work closely with the dental team to strengthen compliance with CDC dental guidelines, AAMI/ST79, waterline safety, and best practices in instrument reprocessing and environmental infection control.

I’m an active member of Association of Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) and much of my work focuses on translating regulatory requirements into practical, efficient workflows—especially in our busy, high‑turnover dental setting where space and resources can be limited. I’m passionate about helping build consistent, sustainable processes that protect both patients and staff.