Our mission
At Sequoia DAS we equip and empower women to live, work, and thrive in the victory and wholeness of Jesus while utilizing opportunities in the dental field to educate and train for career placement.
What we do
At Sequoia DAS we are on a mission to spread the life-changing Gospel of Jesus while we empower women to become self-sufficient through dentistry and lead Christ-centered lives.
Commitment to our Students
SDAS will utilize our God-given gifts and abilities to lift women out of poverty, spread the love and joy of the Gospel and change lives.
Commitment to our Donors
We will maintain financial transparency and integrity at all times.
Our story
Here is a little bit about who we are from Dr. Leigh Bennett herself.
“I knew in High School I wanted to be a dentist. But, I always knew I wanted to connect dentistry and ministry. I just didn’t know what that would look like. I opened up my own dental practice in 2015 and that’s where the vision for Sequoia started to come together.
While still trying to open my practice, get applicants, employees, etc. I met a couple in my small group that were house parents for teen moms. Fast forward to looking at applicants for dental assistants, I found this one applicant who was also a teen mom. Her mother encouraged her to get a skill and trade to continue to provide for her family. After hearing all of this, I had a lightbulb moment that made me ask how can we connect the two fields. I realized that we can marry the two together in a 10 week business model apprenticeship. As the bits came together, we began to plan and strategize what this ministry would and could look like.” In 2021, after three years of prayer, planning, and fundraising SDAS hosted its inaugural class of women who have graduated and obtained local job placement.
Meet our team
Dr. Leigh Bennett
Founder
Dr. Bennett earned her Doctorate of Dental Medicine from the Medical College of Georgia School of Dental Medicine in 2012 and opened her own practice, Hartley Bridge Family Dentistry, in 2015. From early on in her career, Dr. Bennett has been intentional and passionate about using her capabilities and reach to create opportunities of empowerment to those around her in order to advance the Gospel from a unique platform.
Kylee Daniels
Program Director
Kylee has a degree in social work and a heart for ministry. From Sequoia’s inception in 2018, Kylee has been involved in and a part of the SDAS team. Her favorite part of running Sequoia is the time she gets to spend ministering to and contributing to the generational life change of students that go through the program.
Sheila Watruba
CDA Instructor
Sheila graduated from The Atlanta College of Dental Assisting in 1980 and has worked for several dentists in Macon. The most recent being Dr. Leigh Bennett where she was asked to join the Sequoia team. Making a difference in the lives of young women is her passion, as she has walked in the shoes of the very women she is instructing now.