ACD REGENCY 8
ACD Regency 8 Newsletter
Communication for the excellent Sections that make up Regency 8 of the American College of Dentists
Model Section Designation Awards
Robin J. Henderson, DDS
ACD Regent | Regency 8
Private Practice, Owner | Doctor
Affiliate Faculty | University of Washington School of Dentistry
Department of Restorative Dentistry
robin@robinhendersondds.com
Cell: 509.254.1500
Two of the three Sections recognized for the Model Section Award during the 2024 Annual Meeting Convocation Luncheon in New Orleans were from Regency 8. The purpose of the Model Section Designation is to encourage Section improvement by recognizing Sections that meet performance standards in membership growth, Section support of the ACD Foundation, Section
projects, and Section communication and commitment.
Congratulations to the Colorado and Washington Sections.
Below: Colorado Section Past Chair, Paul Bottone and Washington Section Chair, Darcie Morris, accept the award from Terry Norris, ACD President elect, and Krista Jones, ACD Sections Committee Chair.
REGENCY 8 BREAKOUT AT ANNUAL MEETING
The Regency Breakout Sessions were held at the conclusion of the first day of the annual meeting in New Orleans. Fellows and Candidates gathered with their respective regencies and Regent Robin Henderson of Regency 8 congratulated new Fellows, thanked sponsors for their work to grow the College through nomination of colleagues, and welcomed all who met to engage with their Fellowship community. Also in attendance was Lance Rucker, Immediate Past Regent of Regency 8.
Regency 8 is comprised of the Washington Section (which includes Alaska), the British Columbia Section, the Colorado Section (which includes Wyoming), the Montana Section, the Oregon Section (which includes Idaho), the Utah Section, the Western Canada Section (which includes Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan), and the International Section (excluding Europe).
Fellows and Candidates began with self-introductions and then Regent Henderson highlighted that the College had completed a Strategic Plan in 2023 that is now being operationalized with the initial focus of the plan being to support the Sections and the Student Professionalism and Ethics Association (SPEA).
Breakout Session participants separated into four groups, with each group considering a different aspect of the strategic plan. Specifically, groups were asked to review, discuss, and analyze a given strategy through the lens of a Section of the College. Later, all Fellows came back together and each of the four groups presented their discussions.
Group one was tasked with discussion around the commitment in the Strategic Plan for the ACD to uphold its leadership position as an expert on ethics and professionalism . The work plan goal around this is to enhance the College’s sense of community and
build excitement and engagement among our Fellows resulting in increased attendance at Section and national events, as well as increased nominations.
Group two was to consider strategy two of the Strategic Plan which is to recognize and engage the most talented and diverse emerging leaders in dentistry. The work plan goal around this is to initiate a campaign to develop a strong strategic partnership with SPEA students.
The Fellows randomly assigned to group three considered the Strategic Plan strategy to invest in the continuous creation of ACDbranded professional development courses and materials on ethics and, separately, leadership best practices with a work plan goal to continue to develop and expand leadership programing and opportunities.
Finally, group four considered the Strategic Plan strategy to expand and enhance communications to advance the ACD pillars –excellence, ethics, professionalism, and leadership with a work plan goal to leverage the new Ethics Handbook for Dentistry and social media to elevate the ACD’s presence.
As Fellows engaged with each other in discussions around these four components of the ACD Strategic Plan, they speci fi cally considered what they were already doing to support the speci fi strategy, what they could be doing, and what they might aspire to do.
In closing, each of the four groups presented their discussions and ideas to all Regency Breakout Session attendees.
If you have ideas how your Section leaders, the Board of Regents, or the ACD staff can support the College in these strategies, please reach out to your Section officer team.
Immediate Past Regent of Regency 8, Lance Rucker, and Current Regent, Robin Henderson, were delighted when Fellows accepted the invitation to
join together for a Regency 8 dinner at the Bourbon House restaurant on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. Several ACD officers also joined us as we enjoyed a very
fun and festive evening featuring New Orleans cuisine and much friendship and Fellowship.
We look forward to this being an annual tradition!
Robin Henderson and Lance Rucker
Focus on Fellowship
It was such a pleasure to see Fellows from Regency 8 so active and engaged during the Annual Meeting in New Orleans, October 1617, 2024.
One of our greatest privileges of Fellowship in ACD is looking around and nominating worthy colleagues. The growth of an organization committed to the ideals of the College excellence, ethics, leadership, and professionalism in dentistry is one of the most worthy causes that I know of. I am proud of our Regency’s commitment to identifying and celebrating others through nominations. Nearly all of our eight Sections British Columbia, Colorado, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Western Canada, and International included more convocates for Fellowship in 2024 than they did in 2023. Let’s keep that up!
I love the opportunity to get to know such esteemed dentists and I look forward to meeting your next nominee.
and
Pre-convocation events
preparation by the BC Section Above: Dwayne Karateew, Ryan Lauwers, | Above: Dwayne Karateew and Ben Balevi Michelle Lauwers, and Mark Forgie
Regency 8 Section Leadership Taking Part in the Convocation
Jocelyn Johnston, David Prince Noel Larson, Oregon Section Editor BC Section Chair-elect Utah Section Chair and Regent, Robin Henderson
Western Canada Section Convocates
Front: Aaron Kim
Second: Sheri McKinstry
Above: Washington Section New Fellows, Lilo Black, Melissa Ramsey, and Stephen Rupert preparing for the convocation line-up.
Above: Colorado Section New Fellow Rachel Barone has just exited the stage after being recognized as a Fellow of the ACD.
Above: Oregon Section New Fellows, (font) Josephine Stokes and (back) Jeremy Suess, filing into the convocation ceremony to be recognized.
Above: Utah Section Fellow, Ruedi Tillmann, is congratulated on stage by ACD President, Terri Dolan, during the convocation ceremony.
Powerhouse of National SPEA Leadership from ACD Regency 8
The geographic regency make-up of the Student Professionalism and Ethics Association in Dentistry (SPEA) differs from the geographic regencies of the ACD. Hence, ACD Regency 8, has two SPEA Regents within it’s borders as Annalise Kress, from the University of Washington School of Dentistry in Seattle serves in this capacity for the west coast dental school SPEA chapters, while James “Boomer” Stamps from the University of Colorado in Denver serves the midwest SPEA chapters.
Recognition of New Fellows Extends Beyond the Convocation Ceremony
New Fellows are encouraged to participate in Section activities and use their talents to engage with the College. If there is a specific way that you believe you can support the mission of the ACD, please reach out to your Section leadership or Regent. A recent success was in the Utah Section where SPEA was reorganized at Roseman University College of Dental Medicine as the chapter had not functioned over the last couple of years when newly inducted fellow, Dr. Val Cheever, stepped up to serve as the new advisor to the Roseman SPEA chapter and they are already providing great opportunities for students.
Utah Section meeting was held in February and Chair, Dr. David Prince ( right ) , presents new fellow, David Julian, with a college rosette
As Regents, they also serve on the SPEA National Board alongside other students from the University of Colorado including Nicholas Seago, serving as SPEA Executive Chair, Josh Crane, SPEA Vice Chair, Fallen Freije, SPEA Vice Chair, and Andrew Snow, SPEA Chief Information Officer.
Recent University of Colorado graduates, Drs. Danny Carney and Kjeld Nelson, have been instrumental in promoting SPEA leadership and Dr. Carney serves as the SPEA Liaison to the ACD Board of Regents and Dr. Nelson is the SPEA Co-Director.
Fundraising in 2024 for the ACD Foundation ( ACDF exceeded giving goals and totaled over $202,000, which was 11% greater than 2023 levels. This was due, in large part, to a successful end-ofyear giving campaign adopted by the ACDF which was kicked off on Giving Tuesday, or December 3, 2024. The other main source of giving to ACDF is through donations on the dues statement, which accounted for approximately $65,000.
Deep appreciation to Section leaders that worked with the ACDF President, Dr. Terri Dolan, and ACD Executive Director, Mr. Mike Graham, to accomplish these giving levels. Thank you to the Fellows that answered the call to donate to support the mission - based work of the College. The Washington Section was among the Sections with the highest percentage of donors!
Giving Tuesday is going to happen again for the ACDF in 2025. Giving goals in 2025 remain the same in terms of a 5-10% increase in donations ($204,500$214,000) but this year that goal will be coupled with a Fellow-participation goal of 12% of Fellows giving (it was 10% in 2024).
OUR AWESOME REGENCY 8
Our Regency is so vast. We are by far the largest geographic ACD Section from a landmass perspective, and that is even before you consider that we also include the International Section (excluding Europe).
Regent, Regency 8, Robin Henderson, and Fellow, Joy Pickstock, from Bermuda during the Regency 8 Breakout Session in New Orleans Annual Meeting
With this in mind, I should not be surprised to have had the opportunity to meet a Fellow from Bermuda during our Regency Breakout Session at the Annual Meeting.
Originally from the Bahamas, Dr. Joy Pickstock graduated from the Meharry Medical College, School of Dentistry in Nashville, Tennessee as the first Bahamian female dentist.
Since retiring as the Dental Public Health Consultant with the Bahamas Ministry of Health, Dr. Pickstock has been appointed Chief Dental Officer, by the Government of Bermuda.
Regency Breakout Sessions are always something I look forward to; connecting with old friends and making new friends is a treasure.
Join Us in Seattle!
Mike Graham, ACD Executive Director, will share his opening remarks on the College and the important tenet of leadership to the mission of the ACD. Register now with the QR code for this day of leadership study sponsored by the Washington Section.
SECTION LEADERSHIP INITIATIVE
The ACD leadership is committed to mission-based work around the 2024-2029 Strategic Plan with one of the goals being to create exceptional value for committed future leaders. With this in mind, a Spring Leadership Continuing Education Conference is scheduled to take place May 8-10, 2025 at the La Cantera Resort in San Antonio, Texas. This is part of the Section Leadership Initiative (SLI) which is a 5year program to build leadership capacity and encourage improvement at the Section level of the College. While Section leaders will have opportunities to enhance their personal leadership capacity, they will also identify and mentor emerging Section leaders and expand their understanding of the College’s mission and how to apply it when making decisions for their Section with the overarching goal to be to empower Sections to develop successive generations of leaders in order to carry out the mission with consistency and excellence through the lens of the strategic plan.
The Newest Dental School in the Pacific Northwest is Set to Open
History was made on September 28, 2024 as ACD Fellow and Founding Dean, Fotinos Panagakos, invited all to celebrate the ribbon-cutting ceremony of Washington State’s second dental school, Pacific N orthwest University School of Dental Medicine, in Yakima, WA. The first class is set to matriculate Fall 2025. Fellow and then ADA President, Linda Edgar, participated in the ceremony as did Fellow and Washington State Dental Association President, Chris Dorow. ACD Regent of Regency 8, Robin Henderson, was also in attendance. Dean Panagakos commemorated the ceremony with a gift of engraved shears for those present. The celebration included tours of the facility simulation lab, which contains forty-eight ADEC Dental Simulators, a virtual reality lab with six SimToCare VR trainers, a wet lab, and a digital lab which will contain 3D printing equipment, digital scanning, and CAD-CAM.
News From the College During the New Orleans Annual Meeting
President Dolan Opens the 2024 Annual Business
Terri Dolan, President of the American College of Dentists, opened the annual meeting recognizing and appreciating the o regents, and staff of the College. The meeting took place in the beautiful Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana.
President Dolan shared that the College has already bene the experience and leadership of recently appointed Executive Director, Mike Graham. She thanked the Executive Director Search Committee, chaired by Bob Faiella, and including Joe Crowley, Pam Alston, Cecile Feldman, Robert Lamb and Steve Chan, for their work in identifying and securing Mr. Graham.
Dr. Dolan shared other activities of the year, including a published Strategic Plan, that is complete with a work plan in order to implement and measure success of the overall plan. She eluded that during the Annual Meeting Regency Breakout Sessions, Fellows will have an opportunity to contribute their ideas to the work plan from the perspective of Sections and Regencies.
President Dolan shared that our College planned and hosted an Ethics Summit, Breaking Down the Silos: Dentistry’s Ethical Responsibility as a Partner in , which was held in September 2024 in Rockville, MD near our College headquarters. There were participants from allied dental organizations meeting to work on the subject of medical/dental integration through an ethical lens. The chairs of the summit were Toni Roucka and Scott Tomar, along with team members Lisa Simon, Jane Barrow and John Kerns, who led discussions around the dental professional’s responsibilities in improving whole
As President Dolan shared we will be welcoming 283 new Fellows into the College during the convocation ceremony, she also introduced a welcome video with information about the ACD that can be viewed from the link at right.
Outgoing Treasurer, Carole Hanes
The Treasurer of our College, and also of our Foundation, has tremendous responsibility regarding stewardship of our Fellows’ assets and Dr. Carole Hanes has been exemplary. She shared that the College continues to carefully plan and evaluate programs, revenues, and expenses to be sure they are mission-based and consistent with the strategic plan of the organization. She also shared that the College and Foundation are audited annually by an independent accounting firm. The College has adopted an Audit Task Force as a standing Committee of the Board of Regents to oversee the annual independent audit. Members of this committee are not currently serving on the Board of Regents, to ensure transparency at the Committee level. Dr. Hanes has worked closely with the Finance Committee to ensure transparency, clarity, and oversight of financial operations. Dr. Hanes is Associate Dean and Professor Emeritus at the Dental College of Georgia-Augusta University and her 2-year term as treasurer saw her leaving the College better than she found it. Thank you, Dr. Hanes!
Carole Hanes, ACD Treasurer, gives her report at the Annual Meeting
Bob Faiella Delivers the President-Elect’s Address in New Orleans
As a point of opportunity, artificial intelligence has the potential to help in medical and dental fi cally with clinicians contributing to the emotional intelligence factor.
Dr. Faiella reminded us that a foundation based on trust is why ethical leadership is vital to our profession. In fact, he says, ethical leadership is the basis of that trust.
He touched on the importance of mentorship in that mentorship isn’t simply sharing guidance and information, but it is, very importantly and additionally, . I found this an exciting and powerful realization.
Dr. Bob Faiella addresses Fellows, guests, and candidates as the incumbent President-elect, prior to being sworn in as our 2024-2025 President of the American College of Dentists.
Dr. Faiella brought to light the followership, wherein there is active and engaged participation of critical thinkers. He enlightened us that is where there is value in a team and where innovation thrives. Moreover, these integrative nd hidden solutions; solutions that elevate trust.
the American Dental Association. He currently serves as Director and Immediate Past President of the American Board of Periodontology. He is Chair of the ADA Standards Committee on Dental Informatics on Artificial and Augmented Intelligence and the lead Designated Expert for the US ADA delegation to ISO Technical Committee on Artificial Intelligence. He is Chair of the Harvard School of Dental Medicine Board of Fellows. In addition to his graduate training in periodontology at Harvard, he also earned a Master of Medical Science from Harvard Medical School and an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management. He previously served as the Chief Dental Officer for Overjet AI. As busy as he is, he most enjoys his four days each week in private practice of regenerative periodontal and dental implant surgery in Duxbury and Osterville, Massachusetts.
Dr. Faiella’s term as President began at the annual meeting in New Orleans and extends through next year’s annual meeting in Washington D.C.. that transformation in health care brings challenges, yet in these challenges is opportunity.
Dr. Faiella is a Co-Founder and Chief Dental Officer for 32Health, Inc. and he is a Past President of
IRobin Henderson ACD Regent, Regency 8 Regent Report
am so inspired by this College.
Having just returned from the American College of Dentists Annual Meeting in New Orleans, LA, where I had the opportunity to gather with Fellows and to celebrate new Fellows, I am inspired by the energy and talents brought to our organization where we focus
on the very important elements of ethics, professionalism, leadership, and excellence in dentistry. This year’s convocation included 283 new Fellows. This is the largest class since the COVID-19 pandemic and the College has a vision to continue
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the growth of not only new Fellows but to also work to identify Fellows earlier in their professional lives.We do not want Fellowship in the ACD to be that of a demonstration of one’s life’s work, where one is recognized at the end of a career. Instead, we hope to identify talented and diverse Fellows earlier, when they have shown themselves to align with the mission of the College and they still have much opportunity for contributions within the College.
During our Annual Meeting, Fellows were able to engage with our new Executive Director, Mike Graham. Mr. Graham is an Honorary Fellow in the College and, as such, he has a deep appreciation for what the College means to our profession. He spent over 30 years working for the ADA and directly with dentists in his position as Senior Vice President of Government and Public Affairs. He has embraced the recent Strategic Plan of the College and has set about a work plan to achieve the goals of the Strategic Plan. One area of immediate attention is to how the College can best support its Sections. Annual Meeting attendees of the Regency 8 Breakout Session were asked for insight around Strategic Plan implementation, including best
Annalise Kress, SPEA Regent, Regency 7
UWSOD DDS Candidate, Class of 2026
Elections for National officers of the Student Professionalism and in Dentistry were held at the SPEA Annual Session in New Orleans where UWSOD student, Annalise C. Kress was elected as SPEA Regent of Regency 7, the West Coast Regency. This is a oneyear term where Ms. Kress will serve as a national SPEA board member representing the constituents of her regency (shown in green on the above map) while serving as the primary communication contact between SPEA Chapters
Following are Regent Kress’ words from her experience at the SPEA Annual Meeting:
SPEA Annual Meeting Reflection
Attending the 2024 SPEA conference in New Orleans was an incredible experience that deeply impacted my personal and professional development. Over the course of two days, I gained invaluable insights into leadership, ethics, and the power of organized dentistry. From engaging with key figures like Dr. Brett Kessler, who emphasized the future of dental professionalism, to participating in meaningful discussions about imposter syndrome and chapter growth, the conference provided both inspiration and practical knowledge.
One of the most profound takeaways was the consistent emphasis on leadership.By the end of the weekend, I felt an
The College has very recently updated bylaws for both the ACD as well as the ACD Foundation. These updates reflect contemporary best practices for our respective organizations. With one of the College’s pillars being leadership, we are continuing to train leaders with the Shaping the Future (SHIFT) leadership development workshop series. We were treated to the Fellows Forum during the Annual Meeting being moderated by Sree Koka. Dr. Koka is the co-founder of the SHIFT workshop series.
Another recent happening within the College was the September Ethics Summit, Breaking Down the Silos: Dentistry’s Ethical Responsibility as a Partner in Healthcare. Finally, a highlight of the Annual Session was engaging with members of SPEA.
In Warm Fellowship,
overwhelming sense of pride and responsibility, knowing that all of us in attendance embody leadership within our own communities. This was reinforced through networking with students from across the country, sharing our dental school experiences, and learning from each other’s challenges and successes.
Notably, I was inspired by the keynote and panel discussions, such as Dr. Sreenivas Koka’s session on "What Really Matters in Life," which provided a holistic perspective on balancing professional and personal priorities. The case presentations and group discussions sharpened my understanding of ethical challenges and collaborative problemsolving, while sessions like Dr. Pamela Zarkowski’s “Beware & Be Aware” highlighted the importance of maintaining ethical vigilance in practice.
A significant highlight was my election to the national board as Regent 7, now becoming the main contact for SPEA chapters across the West Coast. I hope to leverage this opportunity to further contribute to SPEA’s mission.
Bringing this experience back to our UW SPEA Chapter, I plan to implement key insights gained from the conference, such as chapter growth and fundraising. We learned about various effective fundraising opportunities, and I intend to incorporate these strategies to strengthen our chapter’s resources and outreach. Additionally, I am committed to growing the chapter at UW and emphasizing to students the significant role SPEA plays in shaping our professional journeys.
This experience was transformative, leaving me with an expanded network, heightened confidence, and a stronger commitment to fostering an ethical, inclusive, and proactive dental community.