Caryn Loftis-Solie, RDH, of Sparks, Nev., was inaugurated as the 2010-2011 president of the Chicago-based American Dental Hygienists’ Association (ADHA) on June 29, 2010, at the association’s 87th Annual Session held in Las Vegas, Nev.
“Having the honor to serve as president of the American Dental Hygienists’ Association for the coming year should be both challenging and rewarding,” Solie said. “With the changing landscape of oral health care in America, coupled with recent health care reform, there has never been a better opportunity for dental hygienists to utilize their education and training to their fullest potential in providing care to the public. I look forward to the opportunity of helping guide the ADHA through this period of change.”
Solie has served in numerous positions within ADHA including as vice president, a delegate, district XII trustee, and as a member of the Councils on Education, Public Health, and Policy and Bylaws. Most recently she served as president-elect. She has served as president for the Nevada Dental Hygienists’ Association, a constituent of ADHA, as well as president of her local component.
Solie has practiced clinical dental hygiene for 38 years and has been an instructor of dental hygiene at Truckee Meadows Community College. Currently she provides dental hygiene services at Spanish Springs Family Dental. Solie is also employed as a consultant for WaterPik Corporation.
Her volunteer efforts include work with the St. Mary’s Take-Care-A-Van, as well as participation in many local health fairs and coaching alpine skiing with Special Olympics. Solie has contributed to both the state and local water fluoridation efforts, and in 2007, she was an ADHA delegate with the ADHA/People to People foundation that traveled to St. Petersburg, Russia and Warsaw, Poland to exchange oral health strategies, perspectives and educational information.
Solie earned her Associate of Science degree in dental hygiene from North Dakota State College of Science in Wahpeton, ND. While attending college, she was an officer in the Student Dental Hygiene Chapter. She graduated with several honors and in her senior year she was elected Student Body President—the first time a female ever received that distinction.
Her dedication to the profession of dental hygiene and to the excellence of patient care has earned her a number of awards and recognitions, including honorary membership in Sigma Phi Alpha, Northern Nevada Outstanding Dental Hygienist, and 2008 ADHA Distinguished Service Award sponsored by Discus Dental.
ADHA ANNOUNCES 2010-2011 LEADERSHIP CONTINUED
Solie succeeds Lynn Ramer, LDH, of Logansport, Ind., as president. Ramer remains an ADHA officer as immediate past president, as well as the 2010-2011 chair of ADHA Institute for Oral Health.
Additional ADHA officers installed at the annual session include: Pamela L. Quinones, RDH, BS, of Rockville, Md., president-elect, Susan Savage, RDH, BSDH, of Ellensburg, Wash., vice president, and Carol Jo “CJ” Inman, RDH, BS, PRP of Ashland, Ore., speaker of the house. Remaining in her position as treasurer is Hope Garza, RDH, BS, of Houston, Texas.
The newly installed district trustees for 2009-2010 are as follows: Megan Brightbill, RDH, BS, of Harrisburg, Penn., District II (Conn., N.J., N.Y., Pa.); Tonette Hollingsworth, RDH, of Butte, Mont., District X (Colo. Mont., Utah, Wyo.); and Kelli Swanson Jaecks, RDH, BSDH, MA, of Salem, Ore., District XII (Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Nev., Ore., Wash.).
Re-elected district trustees for 2009-2010 are as follows: Norine Ryan Dowd, RDH, BHSc, of Lake Placid, Fla., District IV (Fla., Ga., N.C., S.C.); Victoria E. Richards, RDH, BS, of Nashville, Tenn., District VI (Ala., Ark., La., Miss., Tenn.); Carole F. Danielson, RDH, MPH, of Worth, Ill., District VIII (Ill., Iowa, Kan., Mo., Neb.)
District trustees continuing their term for 2010-2011 are as follows: Diane S. Peterson, RDH, M.Ed, of Montpelier, Vt., District I (Maine, Mass., N.H., R.I., Vt.); Jill Grassmick, RDH, of Luray, Va., District III (Del., District of Columbia., Md., Va., W.Va.); : Denise E. Bowers, RDH, MSEd, of Lima, Ohio, District V (Ind., Ky., Mich., Ohio). LouAnn M. Goodnough, RDH, BSDH, of Burnsville, Minn., District VII (Minn., N.D., S.D., Wis.); Sandra L. Tesch, RDH, MSHP, of Austin, Texas, District IX (N.M., Okla., Texas); Sharon Zastrow, RDH, of Scottsdale, Ariz., District XI (Ariz., Calif.).
ADHA is the largest national organization representing the professional interests of the more than 150,000 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 http://www.adha.org.
