5 Questions
ADEA membership is made up of a diverse group of professions that span all facets of dentistry and dental education. But we are more than just our professions.
In the feature 5 Questions With, we shine a spotlight on various ADEA members, asking them five questions (both professional and personal), giving us all a chance to get to know one another better.
2026
1. What’s the one piece of advice you would give to anyone in dental school?
Don't take yourself out of the running too early. Explore your interests but keep an open mind about others. You may not think you would enjoy a particular field/discipline, but you won't know for sure until you try/experience it. You will be surprised at what you might become passionate about, so just give things your best effort—always.
2. Tell us about one of your “big wins” recently?
I celebrate big and small wins equally, because I appreciate the amount of work and effort that my team members and I put in to bring about these outcomes. This past year has been a wonderful one for general practice residency (GPR) at University of Rochester Medical Center Eastman Institute for Oral Health. We have wonderful residents, great team members and inspiring leaders. We've had a successful recruitment cycle this year. We've improved our program, integrated technology and increased faculty. We have a lot of positive things coming up in the pipeline, as well, so there’s much to look forward to.
On a personal level, as an aspiring baker, I have finally and successfully—after multiple attempts—made a batch of macarons that taste and look like they should. It was very gratifying and encouraging to learn from my mistakes, make necessary adjustments and finally get the outcome right.
3. What’s the biggest challenge facing dental education today?
I believe the rising costs of education put significant financial pressure on our students. Most of our students carry debt from their undergraduate programs into their predoctoral and advanced education programs. I think this can affect future decisions our new dentists make. I hope that we, as a profession, can rise to the challenge, and we can create solutions that will help ease this pressure off everyone—our students, colleagues and dental schools—so that we can do what we do best, which is take excellent care of our patients.
4. Who is your go-to person when you need advice?
I have multiple go-to people, depending on the nature of advice I need. The key is to surround yourself with good people who will lift you up, give you sensible advice, tell you the honest truth, share with you generously and keep your best interests in mind to help you get unstuck. Of course, it's equally important to pay it forward, in the same measure, and be this "go-to" person for others, too.
5. What’s your favorite vacation spot—and why?
My favorite vacation spot is the Philippines. It's a beautiful country filled with hospitable people, amazing food and breathtaking sights. There are 7,641 islands in the Philippines, and I've been to only five of them, so there is always something new to discover!