The American Dental Hygienists’ Association Announces New Leadership for 2024-2025

Newswise — CHICAGO, July 25, 2024 – On July 24, the 2024 ADHA Annual Conference kicked off at the Ernest Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, La. with the ceremonial installation of the new American Dental Hygienists’ Association (ADHA^®) Board of Directors, along with ADHA’s slate of new and re-elected leaders for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. President, Erin Haley-Hitz, RDH, BSDH, MS, FADHA, MAADH, who was officially installed at the ADHA’s virtual House of Delegates on June 30, 2024, spoke to the national and state leaders who attended the ceremony, calling for steadfast progress and reminding the group that elevating the profession is their common goal.

On July 24, the 2024 ADHA Annual Conference kicked off at the Ernest Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, La. with the ceremonial installation of the new American Dental Hygienists’ Association (ADHA^®) Board of Directors, along with ADHA’s slate of new and re-elected leaders for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. President, Erin Haley-Hitz, RDH, BSDH, MS, FADHA, MAADH, who was officially installed at the ADHA’s virtual House of Delegates on June 30, 2024, spoke to the national and state leaders who attended the ceremony, calling for steadfast progress and reminding the group that elevating the profession is their common goal.

Haley-Hitz, a Norfolk, Neb. native, has long served the ADHA in various capacities on the national, state and local levels. After earning her Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene from the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Dentistry, she worked in clinical practice in her home state. Committed to ongoing professional development, she earned a Master of Science in Health Promotion and Human Resource Management from Nebraska Methodist College. She continues to work towards certification in myofunctional therapy and lifestyle medicine at the Wellcoaches School of Coaching.

She currently works in general clinical practice and extends her expertise on elevating and empowering dental hygiene departments to other dental practices through her coaching and consulting service Pearly White Prevention. Haley-Hitz succeeds Becky Smith, CRDH, EdD, FADHA, as president. Smith will remain on the Board of Directors, serving as both the ADHA immediate past president and as the 2024-25 Chair of the ADHA Institute for Oral Health Foundation.

Additional ADHA officers installed at ADHA’s House of Delegates meeting include:

• Lancette VanGuilder, BS, RDH, PHEDH, CEAS, FADHA, of Reno, Nevada, as president-elect; and
• Jessica August, MSDH, CDA, RDH, FADHA, of Portland, Oregon, as vice president
• Valoree Althoff, MHA, BSDH, CPP-T PRP, FADHA, of Farmington, New Mexico, was re-elected for a second two-year term as the 2024-2026 Speaker of the House of Delegates.

Chante Miller, CRDH, CLLSGB, MBA, of Tampa, Florida, is returning for the second year of her two-year term as the as 2023-2025 Treasurer.

The newly installed district directors for 2024-25 are:

• Carrie Fowler, RDH, BHS, MSM, of Dennis, Mississippi, District VI (Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee)
• Laura Green, RDH, MEd, FADHA, of Sandy, Utah, District X (Colorado, Montana, Utah, Wyoming)

District directors returning in 2024-25, include:

• Carmen Negron-Dupee, BSFCS, RDH, of Shelburne, Vermont, District I (Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont)
• Carolynn Wahl, RDH, BSDH, PHDHP, FADHA, of Moosic, Pennsylvania, District II (Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania)
• Sheri Moore, RDH, BSHS, FADHA, of Palmyra, Virginia, District III (Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia)
• Renee Spencer, RDH, FADHA, of Fort Myers, Florida, District IV (Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina)
• Jerelyn Smith, RDH, FADHA, of Midland, Michigan, District V (Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio)
• Carissa Renae Regnerus, RDH, MA, FADHA, of Vermillion, South Dakota, District VII (Minnesota, South Dakota, Wisconsin)
• Christina Emmert, RDH, PRP, FADHA, of Rockford, IL, District VIII (Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska)
• Joanna Allaire, RDH, BSDH, MDH, FADHA, of The Woodlands, Texas, District IX (Oklahoma, New Mexico, Texas)
• Pamela Larrabee, RDH, BAS, MA, FADHA, of Phoenix, Arizona, District XI (Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Washington)

Learn more about ADHA leadership at www.adha.org/bod.

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About the American Dental Hygienists’ Association
The American Dental Hygienists’ Association (ADHA) is the only organization representing the professional interests of the more than 220,000 dental hygienists in the United States. 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. The Journal of Dental Hygiene (JDH), published bi-monthly, is ADHA’s scientific journal and flagship publication. To learn more about the ADHA, dental hygiene or the link between oral health and general health, visit www.adha.org.