ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 28, 2026--
The Georgia School of Orthodontics (GSO) today announced that co-founder Christopher M. Lazzara has been named president of the school, effective August 1, 2026. Lazzara succeeds Dr. Randy Kluender, who has helped guide the school since before it enrolled its first class and will remain on the board of trustees as senior advisor to the president.
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Lazzara and his father, Dr. Gasper Lazzara, an orthodontist, formed GSO in 2014 and welcomed its inaugural class of 18 residents in 2016. Lazzara has served on the board of trustees since inception, including on its executive committee and as chair of its finance and facilities committees. In the decade since, GSO has grown into the largest orthodontic residency program in the world, admitting its largest class of 50 residents in 2025, through successive class-size approvals from the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) – most recently in February 2026, when CODA approved a total program capacity of 150 residents.
Lazzara is also the founder and chief executive officer of MountainStar Partners, the investment firm he established in 2013, and brings more than a decade of executive leadership to the role. At MountainStar he leads the investment committee with a focus on healthcare and real estate. He has served as a governor-appointed trustee of the University of North Florida since 2020 and was reappointed to a second term in January 2026. He is a graduate of the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University.
“Chris has been part of every major decision this school has made since before we opened our doors,” said Dr. Randy Kluender, senior advisor to the president and member of the board of trustees. “He knows our faculty, our residents, our GSO team and the communities we serve. Since our founding, he has had the vision to see what GSO could become and the discipline to turn that vision into measurable results: more residents trained, more families served and more scholarships awarded every year. I could not be more confident in his leadership as GSO enters its second decade, and I look forward to supporting him in my new role.”
As president, Lazzara will lead GSO into its second decade with a focus on expanding access to affordable care, advancing education and strengthening Georgia’s healthcare workforce. By training specialists while providing affordable care in its community-based clinics, GSO has built a model Lazzara believes other communities can follow, and his priority is to strengthen it and share it.
“It is humbling to take on this role at a school my father and I opened ten years ago with 18 residents and a belief that Georgia families deserved greater access to affordable care,” said Lazzara. “The credit for what GSO has become belongs to our faculty, our residents, our staff and the patients we have had the privilege to serve. I am deeply grateful to Dr. Kluender for his leadership and thankful he will remain at my side as an advisor. As we enter our second decade, our mission has not changed: education, service and expanding access to care. GSO is a blueprint for how a community can train its own specialists while caring for the families who need it most, and our job now is to make it stronger and share it.”
Since its founding in 2016, GSO has treated more than 15,700 patients and saved metro Atlanta families an estimated $50.4 million in treatment costs.* The school has awarded $6 million in scholarships to residents; provided complimentary care through Gift of a Smile Heroes and Purple Heart Smiles programs, the last of which was expanded this year to serve Purple Heart recipients themselves as well as their families across Georgia; and pledged $8.5 million over 12 years in partnership with the John and Lillian Miles Lewis Foundation to expand access to orthodontic education. GSO residents have achieved a 99% pass rate on the American Board of Orthodontics Written Examination over the past five years. Earlier this year, both chambers of the Georgia General Assembly adopted resolutions recognizing GSO’s 10th anniversary, and Governor Brian P. Kemp issued a proclamation commemorating the milestone.
“I have known Chris for more than a decade, first through his family’s work with the University of North Florida and now on this board,” said Dr. Mauricio Gonzalez, chairman of the board of trustees. “He built this institution alongside his father, he knows every part of it, and he has spent ten years keeping it financially sound and true to its mission. He brings a rare combination of business discipline and a real commitment to expanding access to education and patient care. As GSO begins its next chapter, the trustees wanted a leader who could build on what has made this school successful while growing its impact. Chris was the clear choice.”
*Savings are estimated against median treatment costs reported in the Journal of Clinical Orthodontics’ 2023 Orthodontic Practice Study.
About the Georgia School of Orthodontics
Atlanta-based Georgia School of Orthodontics offers an advanced specialty education program in orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics. The 36-month residency program is structured to provide collaborative and evidence-based learning for residents, while providing quality orthodontic care to patients in the school’s two clinics in Atlanta and Duluth. GSO’s mission is to educate outstanding dentists to be proficient in the clinical specialty of orthodontics, while providing Georgians with the highest level of patient care available. GSO faculty and staff are dedicated to excellence in education, research and patient-centered care. For more information about GSO’s residency program, visit GSOrthodontics.org. To schedule a complimentary consultation to see if you are a candidate for orthodontic treatment, visit BracesToday.com or call 770.351.7737.
Christopher M. Lazzara, President and Co-Founder, Georgia School of Orthodontics
