Summer 2026
ACD NEWS American College of Dentists | Washington Section
Fellowship Nominations for 2027 ACD Convocation
Can’t Wait to be Together in Santa Barbara
Deadline for nominations February 1, 2027 ACD 106th Birthday Fundraising Campaign August 2026 ACD WA Section Study Club September 14, 2026 December 7, 2026 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Virtual SPEA x ACD Mentorship Program October 2, 2026 | 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. The Husky Union Building (HUB) Billiards Room, UW Campus ACD Annual Meeting October 23-24, 2026 Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Tri-College Day Educational Continuum 2027 Reimagining the Role of Dentistry in Caring for the Whole Person March 19, 2027 | 8:30 - 3:30 Washington Athletic Club Seattle, WA Washington Section Annual Dinner Meeting 2027 March 19, 2027 | 5:00 p.m. Washington Athletic Club Seattle, WA after Tri-College Day ACD Annual Meeting 2027 October 1-2, 2027 San Antonio,TX
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he American College of Dentists welcomes new Fellows into the College with a ceremony steeped in a century-old tradition where Fellows learn about the ideals of the College. Never before has this 106year old convocation been so fresh. This year, the Santa Barbara beach location has already garnered much excitement with a record number of attendee reservations already in place. The beautiful and inspiring Santa Barbara coast is befitting of an organization that stands for the best attributes of our profession; where one can experience both the magnitude of the Pacific Ocean and the impact the profession of dentistry can have when the mission is focused on ethics, leadership, professionalism, and excellence.
American College of Dentists
Washington Section
It is not uncommon that as candidates are experiencing the ACD Annual Meeting and Convocation, they are also realizing that there is a closely-felt common thread amongst attendees. The College’s nomination process is intentionally rigorous. It is designed to identify dentists who have chosen to live the College pillars of ethics, leadership, professionalism, and excellence in their personal and professional lives. The hope is that these nominees will not only further these attributes during their lifetime, but they will also engage with the ACD after the convocation in Santa Barbara. Our Washington (Alaska) Section is very active and we encourage all Fellows to connect and to use their unique abilities to strengthen our Section and grow the impact of ethical leadership in our profession.
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ACD Washington Section Board Chair — Darcie Morris, DDS darciemorris@gmail.com Secretary — Lauren Hagel, DDS, MSD Treasurer — Dat Giap, DMD Past Chair — Susan Adams, DDS Editor — Robin J. Henderson, DDS robin@robinhendersondds.com At Large — Larry Garetto, PhD At Large — Erin Welter, DDS SPEA Advisor UWSOD — Kerry Streiff, DDS
Join Section Leadership! If you are interested in having a role on our leadership team we would love to talk to you about where you would most enjoy using your talents on behalf of our Section. Please reach out to any of the Section leaders to learn more about advancing the mission of ethics, professionalism, leadership, and excellence in oral healthcare.
While every effort is made by the Editor to see that no inaccurate or misleading opinions or statements appear in this Newsletter, the opinions expressed herein are the responsibility of the contributor. Accordingly, the Section board members accept no liability whatsoever for the consequences of any such inaccurate or misleading opinions or statements.
Washington Section Annual Meeting The American College of Dentists Washington Section held their Annual Meeting on May 30th at the Hotel Theodore in Seattle. Darcie Morris, Section Chair, led the dinner meeting. We were fortunate to include a visit from ACD President, Terry Norris, who shared updates on the current work and priorities of the College. In addition, Dr. Norris and Washington Section Honorary Fellow, Dr. Larry Garetto, presented a Terry Norris presents rosette pin to new Fellowship rosette to Honorary Fellow, Cheryl Cameron Cheryl Cameron. Honorary Fellowship is bestowed on very few. It is reserved for individuals who are not dentists, yet have greatly impacted the profession in ways that support the mission of the College to promote ethics, professionalism, leadership, and excellence in oral healthcare. The rosette pin carries all of the meaning of the gold Fellowship pin with the o cial seal and it can be worn as an alternative to the gold pin. We had the distinct privilege of learning about current happenings at both the University of Washington School of Dentistry as well as Paci c Northwest University School of Dental UWSOD Dean, Medicine by André Ritter their respective
Deans, André Ritter and Foti Panagakos. Engagement like this in Section activities by Dr.’s Ritter and Panagakos strengthens our Section and helps us to build community and broaden our impact as they bring awareness to what the future of our PNWU-SDM Dean, profession holds. Foti Panagakos Speaking of the future of our profession, we are always excited to host our Section’s student award recipients during our annual meeting. It is encouraging and inspiring to talk to these students.
Section Award Recipients: Jun Do, Andrew Pak, and Annalise Kress pictured with Dean Ritter and Darcie Morris
Students held the stage as the UWSOD Student Professionalism and Ethics Association (SPEA) leaders, Andrew Pak and Annalise Kress informed Fellows about the events SPEA has recently held. They were joined by Fellow, Erin Welter, as they shared about an upcoming opportunity for Fellows to participate in the SPEA-ACD Mentee-Mentor Mixer. continued on next page
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Washington Section Annual Meeting continued from previous page
SPEA is a national studentdriven association that was established to promote and support students’ lifelong commitment to ethical behavior in order to bene t the patients they serve and to further the dental profession. The objectives of SPEA are to act as a support system for students in strengthening their personal and professional ethics values and their collaboration with ACD has been natural for both SPEA Leaders, Andrew organizations. Students highly Pak and Annalise Kress, regard the opportunity to visit with Fellow Erin Welter with ACD dentists and your invite attendance at participation in the upcoming SPEA-ACD MenteeSPEA-ACD Mentee-Mentor Mentor Mixer Event Mixer on October 2nd would be greatly appreciated. After the student recognitions and presentations, ACD Regent of Regency 8, Robin Henderson, provided information about the College, speci cally around the pillar of leadership and how the College currently engages its missional work around leadership in oral healthcare. As Regent, Robin enjoys the opportunity to visit all of the annual meetings in Regency 8 and this year her own Section, the Washington Section, was the last of Robin Henderson, ACD Regent of Regency 8 those she visited and it was a meaningful end to her Section visits for the year. Terry Norris, ACD President, then joined Robin and invited Past ADA President, Linda Edgar, to the front. Dr. Norris presented Dr. Edgar with an ACD Coin. While oral healthcare will forever be impacted by Linda’s leadership, her personal touch in the lives of Fellows in her Section makes the opportunity to recognize and Robin Henderson, Linda celebrate her a joyful event. Edgar, and Terry Norris
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Our Section is very fortunate to have a great leadership team and Secretary, Dr. Lauren Hagel, is an impactful part of Section leadership. Lauren was inspired to start a Section Study Club and she shared with Fellows what she initially envisioned and how the quarterly study club has been functioning. In addition to Lauren, Drs. Kim Trieu and Kerry Strei have led a study club session. Dr. Hagel invited anyone who would be willing to Lauren Hagel, explore ethical considerations around a Secretary topic of their choice in a Zoom format to please let Section leaders know. While the study club is led by ACD Fellows, it is open to anyone to participate in and also to dental students. The dental students have been appreciative of the opportunity and inspired to see colleagues gathering around such topics to share conversations. Another Section event, Tri-College Day, was shared about by Scott Henderson. The ACD Washington Section will be awarded the Section Achievement Award during the annual meeting in Santa Scott Henderson Barbara this October for Tri-College Day. This award recognizes unique and highly effective Section event endeavors around the College’s mission. Mr. Henderson shared highlights from Tri-College Day 2026 and invited Fellows to invite others to attend the next event on March 19, 2027 with the topic of Reimagining the Role of Dentistry in Caring for the Whole Person. Our Section is fortunate for the meticulous work and longstanding commitment of our Treasurer, Dr. Dat Giap. Dat gave a very organized and efficient Treasurer’s report before our final item of business which was voting on the bylaws amendment Dat Giap, for our Section bylaws Treasurer that had been sent to Fellows thirty days prior to the annual meeting. Discussion and a vote ensued and the bylaws amendment is now pending approval by the ACD Board of Darcie Morris, Regents during their fall meeting. Chair
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ACD Spring Leadership Conference
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he American College of Dentists 2nd Annual Spring Leadership Conference (SLC) was held at the very quaint and historic Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. The meeting is intended to bring together Section leaders, and those interested in Section leadership, to learn more about the College, engage with the Board of Regents and other Section leaders, and to have time with our Executive Director, Mike Graham, and the amazing support team from our headquarters in Rockville, MD. Attendees from our Section included Chair, Darcie Morris; ACD Regent Intern, Bianca Zero; and ACD Regent, Robin Henderson.
Core Standards in Leadership in Oral Healthcare 1. Put the interest of others you serve rst 2. Act with purpose, setting aside bias or prejudice 3. Demonstrate humility, empathy, respect, integrity, openness, and accountability 4. Foster trust and con dence 5. Make sound, defensible decisions based on best clinical practices, best-available evidence, and the values of the patient. 6. Acknowledge and assess mistakes 7. Seek assistance early 8. Accept and respond to justi able criticism 9. Commit to lifelong learning 10. Maintain personal well-being and resilience— engage in re ection to sustain high-quality performance and ethical decision-making
This year, the overarching agenda including testing and getting feedback from Section leaders on the Standards in Leadership in Oral Healthcare. The ACD Task Force for the Standards in Leadership in Oral Healthcare presented their initial work during the Annual Meeting in Washington, DC. Members of the Task Force include Sir Nairn Wilson, Drs. Bob Faiella, Terri Dolan, Sree Koka, and Karl Haden. The SLC opening session, Unlocking Your Leadership Potential, was led by Karl Haden. He shared that for the virtuous leader, the Standards in Leadership live in the virtues, as virtues are found in the habits that one lives by. He described two sets of virtues: the intellectual virtues and the moral virtues. The intellectual virtues included curiosity, openmindedness, critical thinking, intellectual courage, selfre ection, and wisdom. The moral virtues included courage, justice, compassion, humility, honesty, and temperance. Karl generously gifted attendees a copy of his book, 31 Days with the Virtues. He speci cally tied the various virtues to the identi ed Standards in Leadership in Oral Healthcare. After the opening session, attendees engaged at a high level over the next couple of days as they participated in workshops to explore more about how the drafted Leadership Standards in Oral Healthcare played out in various scenarios. They also had valuable time to meet with the team from the main ACD o ce to learn more about how to be most e ective in leadership of their Section and also to learn ways that the College is there to support them in leading their Section.
The three different scenario workshops for testing the Standards were broken down into 1) Team Leadership Standards, led by Sree Koka and Julie Connolly 2) Local and Regional Leadership Standards, led by Terri Dolan and Robin Henderson, and 3) National Leadership Standards, led by Bob Faiella and Bill Calnon. Each of these workshops gave attendees the opportunity to role play given scenarios in which they also identified which of core standards they were leaning into in order to address the issue at hand. It was very impressive how immersive this experience was for attendees as they really committed to the role-play in order to gain real-life experience for each situation they were presented with. In the end, the small groups in each workshop came back together to debrief and to address considerations such as when was leadership most difficult, and why? The next steps will be to publish findings and to inform the profession of this resource across areas of oral healthcare. There has already been much enthusiasm and support from other organizations within dentistry. Watch for this publication in your next Journal of the American College of Dentists!
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Shaping the Future in Dentistry
ACD Spring Leadership Conference
ACD Regency 8 leaders gather for dinner during the Spring Leadership Conference at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. Front left is ACD Regent Intern, Bianca Zero and front right is Washington Section Chair, Darcie Morris
Join Us Next Year for the Spring Leadership Conference
The American College of Dentists has supported the weekend leadership program, SHIFT, an acronym for SHapIng the FuTure in dentistry, through its Foundation (ACDF). The Foundation was formed in 1972 to provide capital for ACD’s mission-based programs. While SHIFT programs are open to all ACD Fellows, some have a regional draw. SHIFT-10 was held in Vancouver, British Columbia May 8-10, 2026, giving many Washington Section Fellows the opportunity to more easily experience SHIFT. Those that attended SHIFT-10 from our Section were Drs. Susan Adams, Larry Garetto, Lauren Hagel, Robin Henderson, Amy Kim, Archna Sharma, Kerry Strei , and Bianca Zero. Every SHIFT has unique programming and the planners of this course were Lance Rucker (BC Section and Immediate Past Regent of Regency 8), Larry Garetto (WA Section), and Dick Jones (IN Section and Past ACD President). The emphasis for SHIFT-10 was leadership across international borders. Speakers included past Canadian Dental Association Presidents, Bruce Ward and Lynn Tomkins, as well as Past American Dental Association President and current ACD Foundation President, Bob Faiella. This was in addition to several others, including regular SHIFT faculty— educators and communication experts, Sree Koka and Elizabeth Carr. In addition to insights on leadership, one of the long-lasting impacts is the relationships both grown and forged during SHIFT. The opening session includes an ice-breaker where each attendee shares a themed photograph and brief selfintroduction. Attendees are also instructed to sit by someone they do not know during each day of the weekend. The attendees of SHIFT-10 connected quickly and continue to communicate after the program through a WhatsApp group message. SHIFT events also provide a memorable dinner together to continue learning from one another in an environment away from the “classroom.”
Save the Date: Make plans now to engage with other Section leaders and leaders within the ACD. Conference fees and most meals are underwritten by the ACD Foundation. You are responsible for your hotel and travel costs.
Those who have attended a SHIFT event in the past will have a special SHIFT alumni session to look forward to during the ACD annual meeting in Santa Barbara.
Marriott Annapolis Waterfront Annapolis, Maryland April 1 — 3, 2027
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Susan Adams (center) during the SHIFT certi cate ceremony with Lance Rucker (left) and ACD Vice President, Ned Nix (right)
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SPEA News from
ACD x SPEA = Mentorship Program
University of Washington When our organizations combine, our effects can multiply!
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tudents from the UWSOD Student Professionalism and Ethics Association in Dentistry (SPEA) Chapter are very excited for the momentum they are gaining in both their activities and the engagement of students and collaboration with other student organizations. The officers are in place and they are making plans for the 2026-2027 academic year. Several of the officers have already attended very impactful past SPEA Annual meeting(s), where students from all over the US and Canada gather to share in programming and the shared purpose of learning about the ethical practice of dentistry as they discuss ethical dilemmas they might face in their near future. Oftentimes, students who attend the SPEA Annual Session feel so inspired and encouraged by this like-minded community of student dentists who share similar interests, that they return, energized, to their Chapter to share this information or create events that model successful events they have learned about from other SPEA Chapters. If you have been following this column of our newsletter for some time, you might notice that student leadership in SPEA at UWSOD has grown nearly 3-fold in the past several years. Our ACD Section provides awards to several students each year for attendance at the SPEA Annual Meeting. The ACD Foundation also supports $500 towards our Section for one student’s expenses per year to attend. UWSOD SPEA LEADERSHIP TEAM SPEA Regent | Regency 7 | Kate Streck, UWSOD D3 Chapter President | Andrew Pak*, D4 Chapter Vice President | Sharon Jang*, D4 Chapter President Elect | Jane Soper*, D3 Chapter Vice President Elect | Kate Streck*, D3 Chapter Secretary | Thinh Do*, D3 Chapter Treasurer | Heejin Kang, D3 Chapter ACD Liaison | Grace Martin, D4 Chapter Director of Media Relations | Lucy Yan, D2
Students are especially seeking connections with early-career professionals as well as those in specialty practice, including military and community health. All who are inspired to contribute their valuable experiences are wholeheartedly encouraged to attend. Dinner and fun will be provided. Please email erinhwelter@gmail.com or darciemorris@gmail.com to register. October 2, 2026 | 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. The Husky Union Building (HUB) Billiards Room University of Washington Campus | Seattle, WA
André Ritter, Dean, UWSOD, Spends a Historic Month in Spokane with the RIDE Program Dean André Ritter, University of Washington School of Dentistry (UWSOD), along with his wife and dog, spent a month residing and working in Spokane, Washington, almost 300 miles away from where he normally works on the main campus in Seattle. Dean Ritter invested his month of April 2026 to support the Regional Initiatives in Dental Education (RIDE) program and to also speak to the Spokane community about the importance of oral health, in general.
Chapter Class Representatives: D4 | Sakshi Luthra and Korosh Akht D3 | Paolo Fichera* and Jolyn Fessenden* D2 | Devi Bharani* and Sewon Park * Indicates a SPEA leader supported by our Section to attend the SPEA Annual Meeting
American College of Dentists
PLEASE consider sharing your valuable experiences and connect with students during this casual after-work mixer that is planned for the evening of Friday, October 2, 2026 in the HUB Billiards Room on campus at the University of Washington.
The RIDE program began in 2008 as a partnership between the UWSOD and Eastern Washington University to train dentists specifically prepared to serve rural and underserved populations. Since its inception, 80% of RIDE graduates return to practice in these rural
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ACD Washington Section Student Awards
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Annalise Kress Outstanding Leadership Award
Andrew Pak Ferrier Memorial Prize
Jun Do F. Burns Guthrie Memorial
special component of our ACD Washington Section Annual meeting is the opportunity to interact with the student awardees for the three awards that we support. Historically, our awards support students at the University of Washington School of Dentistry and we are planning to eventually grow our awards to also support the new dental school in our Section, Paci c Northwest University School of Dental Medicine. The ACD Outstanding Leadership Award was presented to Annalise Kress. This award recognizes a graduating student who has personi ed the high ideals of the ACD through excellence in e ective and positive leadership for the dental school and the profession of dentistry. Annalise served her UWSOD SPEA Chapter with these ideals and she also served the SPEA National Board as a West Coast Regent— overseeing the dental schools in Nevada, Utah, California, Oregon, and Washington. We wish Annalise the very best as she transitions to her pediatric residency in Hawaii. A portion of this award is supported by the American College of Dentists Foundation. The Ferrier Memorial Prize was presented to Andrew Pak. This award is presented after the third year to a
dental student who possesses clinical excellence in single tooth restorative dentistry. The student must also have demonstrated an excellent ethical foundation. Andrew currently serves as the UWSOD SPEA Chapter President. Our Section awards the F. Burns Guthrie Memorial Scholarship after the D3 year to a student with outstanding knowledge and skills in general dentistry, that includes demonstrated excellence in diagnosis, endodontics, periodontics, oral surgery, and restorative dentistry. This years recipient is Jun Do.
University of Washington School of Dentistry Awards Ceremony ACD WA Section Awardees — Jun Do, Annalise Kress, and Andrew Pak — pictured with ACD Past Regent, Larry Lawton
Happenings at Paci c Northwest University School of Dental Medicine
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h e Pa c i f i c No r t h w e s t University School of Dental Medicine (PNWU-SDM) in Yakima, Washington welcomed it’s second year of students on campus July 27, 2026 as the inaugural class of 2029 dispersed to the three community clinics— SeaMar in Tacoma, Yakima Va l l e y Fa r m w o r ke r s C l i n i c i n Kennewick, and Yakima Neighborhood Health in Yakima— where they will spend the next three years of their dental education.
For the new class of 2030, there were 865 applicants for 40 positions and 70% of students are from rural and underserved areas. ACD Regent, Robin Henderson, was honored to spend the first day of dental school with the students and their faculty and staff and enjoy conversations and connections during lunch and i ce b r e a ke r e v e n t s a s we l l a s t h e opportunity to deliver a welcome address which focused on the pillars of the ACD —ethics, professionalism, leadership, and excellence in oral healthcare.
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André Ritter, Dean, UWSOD, Spends a Historic Month in Spokane with the RIDE Program continued om page 6
During his time in Spokane, Dean Ritter also connected impactfully with current RIDE students and program partners, as well as community leaders like the Spokane Mayor and Rotary Club. He was most interested in having conversations about oral health and workforce development as he sees there are further expansion opportunities to help with workforce shortages in neighboring states with no dental schools, much like the WWAMI structure for medical school. WWAMI, launched in 1971, supports the states of Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho —- neighboring states with no medical schools —- with the first two years of training at the University of Washington André Ritter was featured in many media outlets during his School of Medicine-Gonzaga University Health month-long stay in Spokane. The above image is from an Partnership building in Spokane. The RIDE April 18, 2026 interview televised on KHQ News in students and Spokane. WWAMI students and underserved communities. Dean “Visiting the RIDE facility and meeting the Dean made have foundational Ritter says it is “exciting to see the a lasting impression on me. What stood out most to courses, like work we are doing in Eastern me was how welcoming and approachable everyone anatomy, alongside was. It felt like a close-knit community that felt both Washington. We really have each other and familiar and supportive. I left feeling even more something special.” RIDE is becoming motivated to join the profession.” The Washington state Legislature — Ava Hasenoehrl a legacy program, recognizes RIDE is something like WWAMI, with special too. In 2024, they approved ever-broadening $2.5 million to expand the program impact. from 32 to 64 students as well as to expand the curriculum for students in Spokane from one year to two. Last fall RIDE moved facilities in the Spokane Health Peninsula into the University of Washington School of MedicineGonzaga University Health Partnership building and the expansion allowed for state-of-the-art facilities there, including a simulation lab to support the extended two years of training in Spokane. RIDE students spend their D3 year in Seattle and then provide care in rural and underserved areas in their D4 year. An aspiring dental school applicant, Ava Hasenoehrl, from the rural community of Clarkston, Washington, was impressed with her tour of the new facility as she said “Visiting the RIDE facility and meeting the Dean made a lasting impression on me. What stood out most to me was how welcoming and approachable everyone was. It felt like a close-knit community that felt both familiar and supportive. I left feeling even more motivated to join the profession.”
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Site visit to RIDE partner, Columbia Basin Health Association, a FQHC in Othello, WA with Larry Lawton, A liate Faculty and Associate Professor of Oral Medicine, and Mary Smith, RIDE Faculty.
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You won’t want to miss this!
Friday, March 19, 2027 8:30 a.m. — 3:30 p.m. Washington Athletic Club Seattle Incredible speaker lineup— Dr. Toni Roucka Dr. Brett Kessler Dr. Amy Doneen Dr. Jerry Hu Dr. Paul Slowey
| Editor, JACD | “Oral Health is Health” | Cardiovascular Disease Prevention | Dental Sleep Medicine | Salivary Diagnostics
Washington Section Annual Meeting 2027 Make plans now to attend our Section’s Annual Meeting. Please note that due to the date change of PNDC*, we will hold our ACD Washington Section Annual Dinner Meeting immediately following Tri-College Day Educational Continuum instead of after PNDC. Washington Section Annual Dinner Meeting Friday, March 19, 2027 Washington Athletic Club
See you there! *PNDC 2027 is the same dates as the ACD Spring Leadership Conference
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Please Follow the ACD Washington Section | Log into the Members section of acd.org & add or correct your info
Still time to register for the ACD Annual Meeting in Santa Barbara Plan to attend your Regency 8 Breakout Session October 23rd 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Candidate Registration Deadline — September 1, 2026 Fellows Registration Deadline — September 10, 2026
Register at ACD.org