After 25 exceptional years at the helm, Camille Kostelac-Cherry, Esq.,
our Chief Executive Officer, retired from PDA on June 15.
Camille, who was beloved by her staff and PDA
members from across our great commonwealth,
was recognized for her 25 years of service at
Pennsylvania’s Dental Meeting in April, shortly
after her retirement was announced.
“I am blessed to have been raised by parents who
instilled in me very strong family values: Faith,
honesty, integrity, and a hard-work ethic. All forged
and tempered with love and discipline. Those are
the values I brought to my PDA family in 1994
and those are the values that informed and defined
my service to PDA and its members over the past
25 years,” she said. “I am grateful to have been a
small part of PDA’s history.”
Camille believed strongly in community partnerships
and coalitions, always ensuring PDA had a seat at
the table and an influential voice with state agencies,
dental organizations and other professional and
community associations. Under Camille’s leadership,
PDA launched the Pennsylvania Prevent Abuse and
Neglect through Dental Awareness (PA P.A.N.D.A.)
coalition to assist dentists in preventing child
maltreatment. The coalition brought together PDA
and 10 other organizations to educate dental
professionals on identifying and reporting child abuse.
In 2002 she received the Governor’s Award for
Environmental Excellence for development of PDA’s
Waste Management Guidelines.
She was the lifeblood of our
In 2006 she was named an
association since taking the
Honorary Member of PDA
reins of the PDA Central Office
and in 2015 she was named
I am grateful to
in June 1994, when she was
an Honorary Fellow of
have
been
a
small
part
appointed executive director
the International College of
following a stint as Director
Dentists.
of PDA’s history.
of Committees and Sections
Camille was well-known for
at the Pennsylvania Bar
her proficiency at developing
Association. Prior to that she
exceptional curriculum for
was the Deputy Attorney General for the Bureau
continuing education programs and professional
of Consumer Protection.
seminars, in addition to being a highly-gifted speaker
“
”
Camille’s extraordinary leadership and dedication
guided PDA through many challenges, with her
vision and work ethic leading PDA to the front of
the pack among all the dental organizations in the
country. She undertook major initiatives immediately,
and early in her tenure oversaw the $2.5 million
construction and renovation of PDA’s Central Office
in 1996 and 1997. at countless events.
She was instrumental in the establishment of PDA’s
for-profit subsidiaries, Pennsylvania Dental Association
Insurance Services, Inc., (1999) and the former
DentalComp, Inc., (created in 1995, dissolved in 2005)
as well as the transition of PDAIS with the acquisition
of Bell. It might be easy to take for granted after so many
significant legislative victories, but it must be stated
again how instrumental Camille was in those
successes, and how her leadership fostered
organizational efficiency while she continually
championed fiscal accountability.
When Act 31 became law in 2014, Camille took the
lead and made a major impact statewide to assist
dental health care providers everywhere by creating
and developing a continuing education course on
recognizing and reporting child abuse. She presented
this highly sought after program in all corners of
our state.
There are so many ways in which she will be missed
by PDA.
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