Stephanie grew up in Cotton, about a half an hour North of Duluth. She started working at another local Duluth dental office in 1995 and has worked in the dental field ever since. She moved to Pike Lake Dental Center to work for Carter Johnson, DDS in 1998 and helped convince her then boyfriend, now husband, to buy Carter’s dental practice. Since then, Dr. Matt and Stephanie have been working together at Pike Lake Dental.
They have lived in the heart of Hermantown for nearly 20 years and have three children they are extremely proud of, Campbell (20) a first year dental student at the University of Minnesota, Jack (18) a sophomore at the University of St. Thomas, and Katie (17) a senior at Duluth Marshall. They also have two dogs, Ollie, a British lab, and Alvin, a rescued Chihuahua/terrier mix.
Stephanie prefers to be behind the scenes at Pike Lake Dental and takes care of the office accounting, payroll and other administrative jobs. In her free time, she enjoys anything with open water, so boating and beach time are some of her favorite outdoor pastimes. She also enjoys their cabin on a small lake on the Iron Range. “I love road trips! The planning is almost as much fun for me as the trips themselves,” she says. “Last summer we went back to Yellowstone National Park. It was such an amazing trip.” Additionally, she is an avid reader and sets a yearly goal for herself of a minimum of 100 books to read or listen to. Last year she read 107 books. She also loves all plants (indoor and outdoor) and tinkers with gardening in the summer months.
Stephanie’s favorite part about working at Pike Lake Dental is the relationships she has formed with both the staff and patients. “It’s amazing how fast our coworkers and patients become friends,” she shares. “I love seeing a name in the schedule and remembering how far back our relationship goes – sometimes back to my kids’ elementary school years and sometimes back that far for myself, too!”
If you see Stephanie around the office, say hello! She’s happy to sneak out into the waiting room for a hug or quick conversation with you.