Dear Friends and Colleagues,
I am writing to share that I will be stepping down as President of Advantage Dental at the end of December to further pursue my life’s work of oral health for all by seeking elected office.
When I started Advantage I was acting on the strong belief that we were failing our community’s children by allowing them to live in pain and suffer from the resultant cavities, despite the knowledge and science at our fingertips. I and a group of dentists from rural Oregon built Advantage Dental from the ground up with the goal of providing care and education to prevent dental disease from the start. We have developed a system of care that provides access to adequate dental care for all community members. Today the passionate and committed team at Advantage is doing just that and we are having a direct impact on the health of those we serve. This impact goes beyond the dental chair and I am incredibly proud of our work together.
Unfortunately, every community member, every child and family does not have the benefit of Advantage’s preventive model and delivery care system of care. I believe that we need policy changes at the state and federal level to improve the health of our citizens, including preventive oral health care and access to dental care for all. I feel strongly that I can contribute as a state policymaker to shepherd these necessary changes. That is why I made the difficult decision to hand the reins of Advantage over to new leadership so I can pursue this new challenge with complete dedication.
I am very happy to share that Ellie Naderi will join Advantage as CEO on January 8. Ellie has an extensive background in both clinical and business operations that will serve her well as part of the Advantage and greater Oregon health care community. Most recently, Ellie served as Senior Vice President Dental Hygiene Operations for DentalOne Partners, a leading industry innovator focused on supporting smart, technologically advanced practices. Prior to that, Ellie held several leadership positions with Coast Dental, served as a dental hygiene educators and practiced as a registered dental hygienist serving diverse groups of patients.
Lastly, I want to thank all of you that I have worked with over the years for your help and support in Oregon’s effort to have a sustainable integrated health care system.
