The American Dental Education Association (ADEA) hosted their annual session from March 8-11. This year, it was only a short trip from VCU School of Dentistry to National Harbor, Maryland. Oral health educators, students and professionals from around the country attended the event.

Over 30 VCU School of Dentistry faculty, staff and students represented their school well through multiple awards, poster sessions and overall involvement in the conference. Their efforts reflect the school’s commitment to not only serving its patients inside the walls of the dental school, but advancing the dental profession as a whole. A special thanks and congratulations goes out to everyone who participated and brought pride to VCU!

The following students and faculty from VCU School of Dentistry presented their work:

Faculty:

• Kimberly Lintag-Nguyen, Ed.D., M.S.D.H., RDH and Neda Maroof, M.S.D.H., RDH presented a CE course titled “Be the Future: Evolve Your Classroom Through Engagement Strategies”
• Carlos Smith, D.D.S., M.Div., participated in the ADEA chair of the board of directors symposium: The courage to inspire and empower. He also led a presentation titled: Teaching Ethics and Professionalism: ReImagination and Updates for 21st Century Practice and Collaborating and Empowering Change: Champions for Cultivating an Inclusive Environment

• Mary A. Baechle, D.D.S. and Daniela Mendonca, D.D.S., M.S., Ph.D. participated in a short talk titled “Teaching and Learning with Emerging Technologies and Informatics.”
• CE Course: Reframing to Empower Tomorrow
• Meredith B. Baines, M.Ed.
• Sarah Glass, D.D.S.
• Jeffrey T. Johnson, D.M.D.
• Ana Cristina Andrada, D.D.S., D.M.Sc.
• Sharon K. Lanning, D.D.S. 

The following faculty members transitioned into leadership roles at this session:

• Heather Tuthill, M.P.H, R.D.H, was nominated to serve on the Dental Hygiene Coordinators SIG as Secretary.
• VaCora Rainey, D.D.S., was named Chair of the Practice Management Section during the ADEA Annual Session!
• Harmeet Chiang, D.D.S., M.S., completed the ADEA Leadership Institute Fellowship class of 2024-2025.

Students:

• Ten student ADEA Academic Dental Career Fellowship Program (ADCFP) fellows represented VCU School of Dentistry. The fellows attended a reception on March 9 where they received their program completion certificates and then presented their posters at the ADCFP Student Poster Session on Monday, March 10, 2025.
• The following ADEA ADCFP 2024 - 2025 VCU SoD Fellows presented posters and received their certificates of completion at the annual meeting:
• Jared Bergman (mentored by Dr. Alexandra Glickman)
• Arman Ahmadiyar (mentored by Dr. Iya Ghassib)
• Garrison Higgins (Mentored by Dr. Daniela Mendonca)
• Ariana Cabrera (mentored by Dr. Ana Cristina Andrada)
• Nir Diskin (mentored by Dr. Oonagh Loughran)
• Matthew Tello (mentored by  Dr. Alexandra Glickman)
• Trey Norris (mentored by Dr. Alexandra Glickman)
• Maria Golinardo Espanol (mentored by Dr. Rafael Siqueira)
• Genesis Alvarado Jimeno (mentored by Dr. Luciano Andrada)
• Dental hygiene student Natasha Smith was awarded the Linda DeVore Scholarship.
• Dental hygiene student Sania Pullen represented her program at the ADEA Student Leaders for Social Change program.