ANNAPOLIS, MD—AUGUST 16, 2012—The Organization for Safety, Asepsis and Prevention (OSAP) has elected Dr. Leslie E. Grant to lead its executive board of directors for the 2012-13 fiscal year. Grant has accepted the chair position for the infection prevention advocate.
"Chairman Grant and the current board of directors are truly reflective of our unique community of members representing academia, clinicians, consultants, policy makers and the trade,” said Therese Long, OSAP executive director. "I am so excited to work with this team of committed leaders to advance OSAP's mission of the safe and infection-free delivery of oral healthcare for everyone.”
A member of the National Dental Association since 1986 including serving as President in 2006, Leslie Grant DDS MSPA owned a private practice in Baltimore City for more than twenty years, and provided school-based public services with the city's health department for eight years. She is a member of the American Dental Association and serves on the Give Kids a Smile Advisory Committee, as well as numerous other organizations, task forces and boards of directors. She is the recipient of many impressive accolades including being named one of the 100 Most Influential African Americans in 2006 in Ebony Magazine.
OSAP's executive board members are:
Tim Lorencovitz MBA, Marketing Manager, Sultan Healthcare, will serve as vice chair. He has 17 years of classic consumer marketing and business-to-business marketing experience. For eight years, he has focused on marketing infection prevention products to the dental consumer through distribution.
Anthony Angelini, Co-Founder/Co-Owner of AEGIS Communications, has been elected treasurer. Angelini's healthcare communication and education company serves the dental community with the publications Inside Dentistry and The Compendium. Angelini is the co-publisher of both publications. Prior to launching AEGIS, he was vice-president of sales and associate publisher at Dental Learning Systems. He has 21 years of experience as a dental media/marketing consultant working with dental manufacturers and distributors to develop comprehensive advertising/marketing solutions using both print and electronic assets.
Kathy Eklund RDH MPH, Director of Infection Control and Occupational Health, and Research Subject and Patient Safety Advocate at Forsyth Institute in Boston, serves as secretary. She is an adjunct associate professor at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Services and Forsyth School of Dental Hygiene, where she teaches senior level courses in oral health research. She is a past chair of OSAP and also served on the OSAP Foundation Board of Directors. She volunteers and works with a number of professional organizations, and serves as faculty for the New England AIDS Education and Training Center (NEAETC) and HIVdent.org.
Jeff Sherman, Director Corporate Brand Merchandise & Marketing North America, Henry Schein, served as OSAP chair for 2011-12. With 30 years of experience in the dental industry in both distribution and manufacturing, Sherman has been involved in infection control products and the promotion of safety in dental environments since 1988. He has been a member of OSAP since 1998 and is a graduate of the University of Michigan.
Carmen (Yolanda) Bonta DDS MS, Executive Director, Hispanic Dental Association, spent 18 years with Colgate-Palmolive Corporation as director of technology. Her responsibilities included managing global professional relationships and marketing activities, clinical research and development and introduction of new products. She has held numerous administrative and fellowship appointments; she serves on various editorial boards, academic and scientific committees; is the recipient of several professional awards and honors and has authored many research publications and journal books. She is a member of numerous professional and scientific societies and holds two patents.
Doug Braendle, US Product Manager for SciCan, is responsible for product training including internally and the training of their corporate selling partners. He works with leading industry clinicians and corporate sales partners, including Henry Schein Dental, Patterson Dental, Benco Dental, Burkhart Dental and Atlanta Dental. He is also in charge of all dental shows. He received his undergraduate degree from Indiana State University.
Leanne Keefer RDH MSM, General Manager and Director of Education, Crosstex International, served 16 years as adjunct faculty at Indiana University and as the director of Alumni Services at Indiana University/Purdue University at Fort Wayne. In 1998, she was named director of the dental hygiene program at Community College of Denver, holding the position until she joined DENTSPLY Professional in 2004. She also holds memberships with the American Dental Educators Association, Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, and Sigma Phi Alpha - Dental Hygiene Honor Society.
Jennifer Naylor, General Manager, IMS and Infection Control Strategic Business Unit, Hu-Friedy Manufacturing, oversees financial and management responsibility for the development and implementation of the global strategy for IMS and disposable product lines. She joined Hu-Friedy in 2001, and has held several marketing positions within the company. She has wide-ranging experience in strategic planning, creating education and training material, managing new product teams, launching new products and developing strategic alliance partnerships with key industry leaders. Ms. Naylor received her BS in Biology from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and her MBA from DePaul University.
John O'Keefe BDentSc MDentSc MBA, Director of Knowledge Networks, and editor-in-chief with the Canadian Dental Association. He is responsible for the content of the Journal of Canadian Dental Association and website. Both are published in English and French. In 2011, he took on the responsibility to develop the JCDA as a clinical decision support system for the dental office. He also is an ambassador for CDA. He has been chair of the communications committee of the FDI World Dental Federation and also president of the American Association of Dental Editors. He is currently a member of the board of AboutFace, an advocacy group for persons touched by facial difference. He has Honorary Fellowships with the Royal College of Dentists of Canada, the Academy of Dentistry International, the International College of Dentists, the American College of Dentists, the Pierre Fauchard Academy, the OKU Dental Honor Society, and the Finnish Dental Society.
Mike Smurr, Director of Marketing, Merchandise, Patterson Dental, began his dental career in 1982 as a territory manager, serving Ohio, Illinois and Wisconsin. After moving to marketing in 1986, Smurr worked in Germany with the international marketing team of Bayer Dental for two years. Returning to the U.S., he held positions of increasing responsibility, from key account manager to national sales manager. He moved to Patterson in 2000. In his current role, he is responsible for interactions between Patterson Dental and more than 800 manufacturers with whom Patterson works.
About OSAP
The Organization for Safety, Asepsis and Prevention is the world's leading membership association exclusively dedicated to preventing disease transmission and ensuring the safe delivery of oral healthcare for all. As a non-profit organization, OSAP helps dental practitioners close the gap between policy and practice. Its members include dental and other healthcare professionals, consultants, researchers and non-governmental organizations, manufacturing and distribution companies, policy makers and academia. For more information, visit www.OSAP.org.
