Jean Connor, RDH, of Cambridge, Mass., was elected 2007-2008 president of the Chicago-based American Dental Hygienists' Association on June 26, 2007, at the association's 84th annual session held in New Orleans, La.
"This is an exciting time to lead the American Dental Hygienists' Association," Connor said. "I am honored to oversee the new branding initiative and welcome all dental hygienists as we continue to advance the profession, finding new, equitable solutions for expanding access to oral health care."
Connor has served in numerous positions within ADHA, including five years as District I trustee, director of the Oral Health Institute, ADHA delegate and student alternate delegate, as well as both the president-elect and vice president. She served four years as treasurer of the dental hygiene political action committee. Connor has also served as president for both the Massachusetts Dental Hygienists' Association (MDHA) and the Middlesex component.
Connor has served on a variety of educational, public health, and health-care committees, including the advisory boards of the Forsythe Dental Hygiene Program at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy & Health Science and the Middlesex Community College Dental Hygiene Program. Her contributions have led to her recognition as hygienist of the year by the Middlesex Component and MDHA, along with the Massachusetts Dental Society. Most recently, Connor was honored by her alma mater with the 2007 Outstanding Alumni Award.
Connor succeeds Margaret Lappan Green, RDH, MS, of Yorktown, Va., as president. Green remains an ADHA officer as immediate past president as well as the 2007-2008 chair of the ADHA Institute for Oral Health.
Additional ADHA officers installed at the annual session include: Diann Bomkamp, RDH, BSDH, CDHC, St. Louis, Mo., president-elect; Lynn M. Ramer, LDH, Logansport, Ind., vice president; and Hope Garza, RDH, BS, Houston, Texas, treasurer. Remaining in her position as Speaker of the House is Kimberly Hickman-Bowen, RDH, BSDH, MA, Middleton, Del.
The newly installed district trustees for 2007-2008 are as follows: Denise E. Bowers, RDH, MEd, Lima, Ohio, District V (Ind., Ky., Mich., Ohio); Bonnie Flanagan, RDH, Tulsa, Okla., District IX (N.M., Okla., Texas); and Catherine Kelly Draper, RDH, MS, San Jose, Calif., District XI (Ariz., Calif.).
Re-elected district trustees for 2007-2008 are as follows: Beverley C. Litchfield, RDH, BS, EdD, Scarborough, Maine, District I (Maine, Mass., N.H., R.I., Vt.); Pamela L. Quinones, RDH, BS, Rockville, Md., District III (Del., Washington, D.C., Md., Va., W.Va.); and Linda M. Jorgenson, RDH, BS, River Falls, Wis., District VII (Minn., N.D., S.D., Wis.).
District trustees continuing their term for 2007-2008 are as follows: Sherri L. Meyers, RDH, MS, Wind Gap, Pa., District II (Conn., N.J., N.Y., Pa.); Linda Swarts, RDH, BHS, Jacksonville, N.C., District IV (Fla., Ga., N.C., S.C.); Catherine Ellington, RDH, BS, Metairie, La., District VI (Ala., Ark., La., Miss., Tenn.); Mary C. Kelly, RDH, BS, Des Moines, Iowa, District VIII (Ill., Iowa, Kan., Mo., Neb.); Laurie K. Ghigleri, BS, RDH, Colorado Springs, Colo., District X (Colo. Mont., Utah, Wyo.); and Susan Savage, RDH, BSDH, Ellinsburg, Wash., District XII (Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Nev., Ore., Wash.).
ADHA is the largest national organization representing the professional interests of the more than 120,000 dental hygienists across the country. Dental hygienists are preventive oral health professionals, licensed in dental hygiene, who provide educational, clinical, and therapeutic services that support total health through the promotion of optimal oral health. For more information about ADHA, dental hygiene, or the link between oral health and general health, visit www.adha.org.
