Three up-and-coming stars in dentistry have been honored this year with prestigious awards from the ADA Foundation.
Brittaney Hill, D.D.S., and Sylvette Ramos-Diaz received the Dr. David Whiston Leadership Award, an annual award that recognizes promising individuals whose leadership and research excellence has made a substantial contribution to public oral health.
Dr. Hill, a graduate of Meharry Medical College School of Dentistry and clinical assistant professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago Department of Pediatric Dentistry, will receive $5,000 that will fund her participation in the ADA Institute for Diversity in Leadership. An integral part of the Institute is having participants put the leadership principles and training they receive to practical use. As such, Dr. Hill plans to create a program that introduces African American students in the Chicago Public Schools system to the dental profession by connecting them with African American dentists in their community who can serve as mentors and hosts of a series of events that show them “A Day in the Life of a Dentist.”
Ms. Ramos-Diaz, a dental student at the University of North Carolina Adams School of Dentistry, launched the Hispanic Oral Health Prevention and Education, or H.O.P.E. program, at the dental school, and she intends to use her $5,000 award and participation in the ADA Institute for Diversity in Leadership to enhance the program. She would like to expand to other Hispanic-serving dental outreach clinics, offer training to dental students on cultural sensitivity in health care, and educate and empower patients in their native language to improve health outcomes.
