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A 12-month leadership experience for program directors


A 12-month leadership experience for program directors to gain high-level leadership skills, program guidance and mentorship. Engage with an exclusive group through a year-long journey. If you are a new program director - here is your ticket to success. If you are a seasoned program director - here is how you can refine your craft to leave your legacy. If you are a retired or close to being a retired program director - this is your opportunity to mentor to collectively strengthen our own and our profession.  

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Schedule at a Glance

– 12 Sessions over 12 Months –

Sessions are the second Friday of the month, 10:00 am - 12:30 pm CT

Session 1

DIRECT Kickoff: Setting the Course for Your Leadership Journey


Facilitator: Vicki Pizanis RDH, MS, EdD
Date: January 10, 2025

Session 2

Beware and Be Aware: Legal Concepts Important for Dental Hygiene Program Directors


Speaker: Pamela Zarkowski, JD, MPH, BSDH
Date: February 14, 2025

Session 3

Making Accreditation an Annual Event


Speaker: Michele Carr, RDH, MA, EdD 
Date: March 14, 2025

Session 4

Financial Strategies for Innovative Program Leadership


Speaker: Elmer E. 
Gonzalez, MBA, PhD, RDH, CDA
Date: April 11, 2025

Session 5

Dental Hygiene Admissions: Approaches and Strategies


Speakers: Carrie Hanson, RDH, MA, EdD
Date: May 9, 2025

Session 6

Transcending Barriers to Students Success in Dental Hygiene Education


Speakers: Anna Matthews, RDH, MS & Sandra Stramoski, RDH, MSDH
Date: June 13, 2025

Session 7

Social Justice: Trading Finite for Framework in Allied Dental Education


Facilitator:Julie Sutton, RDH, MS
Date: July 11, 2025

Session 8

Creating Effective Program Goals, Competencies and Outcomes


Speaker: Tami J. Grzesikowski, RDH, MEd
Date: August 8, 2025

Session 9

Curriculum Management: Ideas for Planning and Implementation


Speaker: Rebecca Henderson, BSDH, MS
Date: September 12, 2025

Session 10

Faculty Mentoring, Coaching and Conflict Management: Vital Skills for Successful Leaders


Speaker: Rebecca Wilder, BSDH, MS, FADHA, ICF-ACC
Date: October 10, 2025

Session 11

Running a Practice While Running a Program


Speaker: Jennifer A. Boyce, DMD
Date: November 14, 2025

Session 12

Wellness for the Program Director


Speaker: Surprise :)
Date: December 12, 2025
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Detailed Session Information

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Meet Your Conference Facilitators

Pamela Zarkowski, JD, MPH, BSDH

Professor Pamela Zarkowski, JD, MPH, BSDH, is the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of Detroit Mercy. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene and a Master of Public Health in Dental Public Health, as well as a Teaching Certificate in Community Dentistry from the University of Michigan. She also holds a Juris Doctor degree from Wayne State University. Professor Zarkowski, an educator for more than 45 years, has held numerous administrative positions at the university level. She has played significant leadership roles in national dental and dental hygiene professional organizations, is a frequent lecturer, and published on professional, legal, and ethical topics. She is a past president of several professional organizations, including the American Dental Education Association, the Society for Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine, and the American Society for Dental Ethics. Professor Zarkowski is an Honorary Member of Sigma Phi Alpha, OKU, and an Honorary Fellow of the American College of Dentists and the American College of Legal Medicine. In 2011, she received the Distinguished Service Award from ADEA, the Gies Award for Achievement – Dental Educator in 2017, and in 2019, she was named one of Crain’s Notable Women in Education Leadership.

Michele Carr, RDH, MA, EdD

Michele Carr is faculty Emeritus and former Chair, Division of Dental Hygiene at The Ohio State University, College of Dentistry. She also served as the Director of Continuing Education at the College of Dentistry for three years while she was chair of her division. Along with her research interests in clinical practice and cultural diversity, Dr. Carr has dedicated much of her career to serving numerous years as both a CODA consultant and a CODA Dental Hygiene Review Committee member. Dr. Carr has been recognized nationally and locally serving on numerous professional committees such as the ADEA Council of Allied Dental Program Directors, ADEA Continuing Education Advisory Committee, ADHA Council on Policy and Bylaws, and Ohio Dental Hygienists’ Association Government Relations Committee. She has published over 20 articles in a variety of dental journals and serves as an Ask-the-Expert columnist for the journal Dimensions of Dental Hygiene. Michele is a member of the Ohio State Dental Board and serves as an examiner for CDCA-WREB-CITA. Additionally, Michele is an accreditation consultant for Educators Platform.

Elmer Gonzalez, PhD

Dr. Elmer E. González is a professor and dental professional with a distinguished career marked by extensive education and a deep commitment to clinical and academic excellence. He holds a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology (2018), an MBA in Business Administration (2016), an MA in Educational Psychology (2014), an MS in Dental Hygiene (2010), a BS in Dental Hygiene (2008), and a BA in Spanish with a minor in Psychology (2005), all from the University of New Mexico (UNM). Currently serving as the Chair of Dental Programs (Dental Assisting and Dental Hygiene) at New Mexico State University-Dona Ana Community College (NMSU-DACC), Dr. González has a robust background in both teaching and clinical practice. As a full-time faculty member at UNM from 2010 to 2016, he taught a variety of subjects, including Special Care in Dental Hygiene, Dental Materials, and Oral Pathology. Currently at NMSU-DACC, Dr. González has been instrumental in developing new initiatives to support students and patients by establishing external clinical sites aimed at improving access to preventive dental hygiene services while providing dental hygiene students opportunities for success and enhanced clinical practice. Dr. Gonzalez has secured substantial grant funding to support community outreach initiatives. His research interests focus on special care dentistry, feedback, and educational methodologies, and he continues to contribute to the field through teaching, research, and community engagement. Dr. Gonzalez also leads the international service-learning program established at NMSU-DACC Dental Hygiene in 2017. The international program has given students opportunities to enhance their cultural awareness, chairside skills, and ability to work with underserved communities around the globe in India, Costa Rica, and Vietnam.

Carrie Hanson, RDH, MA, EdD

Carrie Hanson, RDH, MA, EdD, is the Director of the Dental Hygiene Program at Johnson County Community College. Dr. Hanson has over 35 years of practice and teaching experience. Her teaching experience began at her alma mater, Northern Arizona University (1988 to 1992). After obtaining her master’s degree (NAU), she continued her teaching at the University of Missouri-Kansas City where she taught an array of didactic and clinical courses including community and preventive dentistry, nutrition for the dental hygienist, applied biochemistry, clinic coordination for clinic II, and clinical instructor in both junior and senior dental hygiene clinics. During her tenure at UMKC, she was appointed to administrative roles as Coordinator of the CE Department and Director of the Admission Enhancement Program. She obtained her Doctorate in 2014 from UMKC. Dr. Hanson has received several teaching awards and was honored as Alumni of the Year for Northern Arizona University in 1996. She has published in several peer-reviewed journals, presented at local and national meetings, authored a chapter in the Dental Hygiene Review textbook and served on institutional and national committees. Service on national committees include the ADEA CADPD Program Directors’ Conference Planning Committee (PDCPC), ADHA State Education Network (SEN), ADEA Council of Allied Program Directors’ board member, ADEA Competencies for Entry into the Allied Dental Profession Work Group and advisory board member of the Colgate Educators Network.

Anna Matthews RDH MS

Anna Matthews, RDH MS is a Professor and Chairperson of the Dental Hygiene program at the New York City College of Technology, of the City University of New York. She taught Oral Anatomy, Pharmacology, Principles of Dental Hygiene Care-II seminar, clinical dental hygiene, and served as one of the clinic coordinators prior to her service as the Chairperson. Her research interests include emerging issues in dentistry and dental hygiene, microbiology of the oral and systemic diseases, novel pharmacotherapeutics and their effects on general and oral health, as well as interdisciplinary education, educational innovations, and technology in the classroom.  

Sandra Stramoski, RDH, MSDH

Sandra Stramoski, RDH, MSDH is a faculty member at the University of Bridgeport, Fones School of Dental Hygiene, where she has taught Radiology, Pharmacology, Dental Hygiene Clinic and Research Methods. She was educated at the University of Bridgeport, where she received her degrees in dental hygiene and education. Professor Stramoski was a clinical dental hygienist for many years, practicing in several states across the country, and has been an educator for 18 years. She has published in the Journal of Dental Hygiene and Dimensions in Dental Hygiene, where she serves on their peer-review board, and has presented nationally and internationally. She is a past President of the Connecticut Dental Hygienists' Association, and received the Mabel C. McCarthy Award in 2013, the Centennial Year of Dental Hygiene.

Julie Sutton, RDH, MS

Julie Sutton is an Associate Professor at the UMKC School of Dentistry in the Division of Dental Hygiene. She has more than ten years of teaching experience, enjoys didactic and clinical teaching, and the application of learning through engagement. She has completed courses through the Association for Colleges and University Educators for effective instruction and inclusive teaching, and she found tremendous impact in the sessions she attended through the Faculty Scholars Program at UMKC. This led to her identification and reliance on her teaching philosophy in academia. Each learning opportunity can reflect philosophy and informs the learning culture. These can be the lasting impressions that result in teaching excellence. Professor Sutton is honored with three Distinguished Teaching Awards, and multiple lecturer of the year awards, and she served as the Faculty Fellow for Engaged Teaching and Learning to UMKC’s Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence. Her research interests include the scholarship of engagement in teaching and learning, access to care, social justice and humility in education- specifically the biologic sciences, epidemiology, and nicotine.

Tami J. Grzesikowski, RDH, M.Ed.

Tami Grzesikowski currently serves as an adjunct faculty member in the AS to MS dental hygiene program at University of Michigan’s School of Dentistry. She earned a B.S. from the University of North Carolina Chapel-Hill and her master’s degree from the University of South Florida. She worked at St. Petersburg College for over 35 years, beginning as a student intern and retiring as the Dean of the College of Health Sciences. Professor Grzesikowski served as the ADEA Senior Director for Allied Dental Education at ADEA for five years before returning to academics. She currently serves as a Chair for site visit teams for the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) and as the Commissioner for the Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations (JCNDE).  She serves as an advisory board member and reviewer for the Journal of Dental Hygiene. Additionally, Tami is an accreditation consultant for Educators Platform.

Rebecca Henderson, BSDH, MS

Rebecca Henderson is the Interim Chair & Associate Professor – Clinical at The Ohio State University, College of Dentistry.  Prof. Henderson began a full-time faculty appointment in 2016, but originally joined The College of Dentistry faculty part-time in 2006 as an Assistant Professor - Practice.   Additionally, she served as the MS DH graduate program director from 2022-2024.  From 2001-2016 she practiced clinical dental hygiene and facilitated the marketing and continuing education programs in a private specialty Periodontics and Dental Implant practice. Prof. Henderson undergraduate courses taught include: Intro to Periodontology, Periodontal Therapies, Integrated Sciences, Pain & Anxiety Management, Oral Anatomy, Oral Health & Disease Prevention and Dental Hygiene Senior Seminar as well as, Practice Management for the Periodontology graduate students, and Clinical/Laboratory Instruction & Administration for dental hygiene graduate students.  Prof. Henderson served as chair of the Division of Dental Hygiene’s curriculum committee from 2016-2024 and is also a committee member on the College of Dentistry predoctoral curriculum committee. Since 2017 she has served on the ADA’s National Board Dental Hygiene Exam - Test Construction Committee as a periodontal content expert for Cases and Part II. She served as the ADEA Allied Dental Educator Leadership Fellow in 2022 and served as a delegate for the Council of Allied Program Directors for the American Dental Education Association 2024 annual session.  Prof. Henderson’s scholarly interest is in faculty recruitment, development and retention as well as Interprofessional Education, and best practices in periodontal treatment procedures, local anesthesia and nitrous oxide techniques and outcomes, and the safety and effects of electronic cigarettes.

Rebecca S. Wilder, BSDH, MS, FADHA, ICF-ACC

Rebecca S. Wilder is the Adams Term Professor and the Associate Dean for Professional Development and Faculty Affairs at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Adams School of Dentistry. Previously she served as Director of the Master of Science Degree Program in Dental Hygiene Education and Director of Faculty Development. She served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Dental Hygiene from 2006-2020. Rebecca has published approximately 200 articles, abstracts, book chapters and editorials and speaks nationally and internationally in the areas of nonsurgical periodontal therapy and products, oral-systemic health, and leadership and communication strategies for team success. She is a recipient of the Colgate/International Association for Dental Research Oral Health Research Award for outstanding accomplishments in oral health research, the Pfizer/American Dental Hygienists’ Association Award for Excellence in Dental Hygiene, the Alumni Achievement Award from the University of Missouri -Kansas City and the inaugural UNC School of Dentistry Faculty Mentoring Award. She was a Fellow in the 2007-08 ADEA Leadership Institute though the American Dental Education Association. In 2012, she was inducted into Omicron Kappa Upsilon (OKU), the dental honorary society. In 2019, Rebecca completed the Georgetown University Executive Leadership Coaching Certificate Program and is an ACC certified coach through the International Coaching Federation. In addition to her administrative roles, she coaches and mentors academicians, healthcare providers and clients in corporate settings in the areas of executive presence, leading during change, communication as a tool to drive changes, new leader coaching, conflict dynamics and team facilitation.

Jennifer Boyce, DMD

Jennifer Boyce, DMD, earned a BS in Biology from the University of Scranton in 1986 and a DMD from the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine in 1990. She completed a General Practice Residency at Danbury Hospital in 1991 and served as an attending dentist there until 1997. Dr. Boyce has extensive experience in private practice, having worked as an associate dentist from 1991-1993, practice owner from 1993-2018, and associate again in 2019. She joined Fones School of Dental Hygiene at the University of Bridgeport as adjunct faculty/clinic dentist from 2015-2021 and is currently the Associate Director of Clinical Affairs. Recognized for her contributions to the field, Dr. Boyce received the 2020 ADHA Connecticut Gold Star Award and the 2022 Teledentistry Innovation in Education Award. She has presented at the ADEA National Convention in 2022 and 2023, and presented at the ADEA Allied Program Director’s Meeting in 2024. Additionally, she serves on the ADEA Compendium on Dental Assisting Competency Revision Committee for Dental Materials (2024-2026). As a CODA Allied Dentist Site Visitor (DA/DH) since 2021 and a member of the CODA Review Committee (DA) from 2023-2028, Dr. Boyce is dedicated to advancing dental education. She has served as principal for 11 grants totaling $950,000 for Fones School of Dental Hygiene since 2019, including funding from the American Rescue Plan for teledentistry innovation and from Delta Dental Foundation for the Senior Smiles program and Connecticut's first expanded function dental assisting program. Dr. Boyce has been involved in laser education for dental hygienists since 2019, training faculty to implement diode lasers into the curriculum at Fones, Cape Cod Community College, and Virginia Commonwealth University. She also led faculty local anesthesia certification and refresher courses at Fones from 2015-2022 and holds WCLI Laser Certification Level 1 and Level 2.

 Enrollment is OPEN!

Price for Comprehensive Leadership Experience

$997

Per individual registration

  • 12 sessions
  • 30 CEU
  • Exclusive access to Educators Platform Program Director Mentoring Community
  • Certificate of Completion in Program Director Leadership
  • Comprehensive Program Director Resource Package
  • Special Gift
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Special Institution Bundle

This bundle was created with institutions in mind and it contains multiple different offers and multiple accesses.

  • 1 attendee at DIRECT 2025
  • 15 Mastermind 2025 attendances 
  • 10 Educators Platform 2025 conference attendances (including RISE, LEAP, ADAPT and INSTRUCT)
  • Price: $4134 -» $3597 USD (Savings of $537.00)
Please send an email to [email protected] to get this package!

All sessions will be recorded and accessible following the live events