Impressions
Seismic Changes by Dr. Stephen T. Radack III, Editor
The press release came out late in the afternoon on Saturday, February 8, announcing that ADA executive director( ED) Dr. Raymond Cohlmia had“ resigned,” effective immediately. Soon after, ADA social media channels released a video with the president, Dr. Brett Kessler, and president-elect, Dr. Richard Rosato, speaking to members about the sudden change in leadership. The next day we received another video with Dr. Rosato and the New Dentist trustee, Dr. James Wanamaker, discussing the departure and assuring us that Dr. Elizabeth Shapiro, the Chief of Governance and Strategic Management, would capably helm the ship and serve as the interim Executive Director. I am sure most of us who saw this announcement were somewhat surprised and shocked. I know PDA members who have had the chance to interact with Ray during his four years as the ED appreciate his candor and his vision for the future of the association.
Ray had a long history with organized dentistry and comes from a family of dentists. He was an ADA trustee a few years before being named ED and was the dean at Oklahoma College of Dentistry for many years. Ray came to Pennsylvania’ s Dental Meeting in 2023 and spoke to our members about the state of membership. He was definitely a change agent, and analyzing the ADA demographics, realized that membership had to be looked at in a different way going forward if we were to remain relevant. The statistics revealed a seismic shift in the practice modalities of our new colleagues. As I had written after the first time I heard Ray speak, he noted group practices and DSOs seemed to be the future. The ADA would have to find a way to embrace these new modalities and the dentists who practiced in them. There was also a legitimate concern about our faculty and how to get more of them to become members.
During his short time leading the ADA there was also change at our headquarters in Chicago. I was surprised to see two of the senior staff depart and move on to other positions in organized dentistry. No decision was bigger or more transformative than the sale of the headquarters building at 211 E. Chicago Ave. For those who have been there it is truly an awesome place to visit. Membership has spent a considerable amount of money over the years on asbestos abatement and remodeling the various 22 floors. With more and more of the floors being leased to the hospital next door and more of our staff able to work remotely, it made sense to capitalize on a willing buyer and a sale price of $ 100 million. It’ s funny how I recall asking ADA president-elect candidates in our caucus years ago if they would ever consider selling the headquarters building. I recall them saying that the headquarters building and our offices in Washington, DC were great investments – now both have been sold! The new headquarters will be a leased space at 401 N. Michigan Ave. I guess the“ glory days” of staying at the Ritz Carlton at Water Tower Place for an ADA meeting are gone. Everything changes. Don’ t we know it!
There are a few other highlights, I believe, from Ray’ s tenure that will leave a lasting impression.
• One is the shift to Strategic Forecasting. PDA decided to adopt this model as opposed to a Strategic Planning Committee to make our decisions.
• There is the change in governance that now leaves the budget in the hands of the Board of Trustees instead of the House of Delegates( HOD). PDA was a trailblazer in this regard, since we did this more than a decade ago, even before our governance change that eliminated our HOD.
• Making the current chair of the New Dentist Committee a voting member of the board. Our own Dr. Seth Walbridge, now the Second District trustee, was the first NDC chair as a voting member of the ADA board. The chair of the PDA New Dentist Committee also now serves as voting member of our board, too.
• Finally, the major project of updating the membership database software to Sales Force Fonteva, which ultimately drove the most recent PDA governance changes.
I don’ t know what happened behind closed doors at the ADA Board meeting that weekend in February that led to Ray’ s“ resignation,” and most likely none of us except our current trustee Dr. Jim Boyle, will ever know. In my opinion, Ray brought a new style and his vision of what managing the ADA should be and how we can change the trajectory of membership to sustain the association for the long term. Hopefully the next executive director will bring some of their own vision, but also continue on the trail Ray started.
Finally, I want to offer my congratulations to Drs. Jim Mancini on being elected PDA president-elect and Jim Tauberg on being elected as the next ADA Third District trustee. Speaking of elections, we all know by now that our current ADA trustee, Dr. Boyle, is running for the office of ADA president-elect. I encourage you to read Jim’ s campaign material, look at his excellent video and offer your support if it moves you. If you know friends and colleagues across the country, reach out to them and tell them about Jim. Encourage them to consider him to be our next ADA president-elect!
— STR3
MARCH / APRIL 2025 | PENNSYLVANIA DENTAL JOURNAL 5