ODA LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE RECEIVES RAVE REVIEWS
The ODA hosted its annual Leadership Institute on March 13-14 at the Hilton Columbus at Polaris. The event was open to all member dentists, and nearly 200 dentists and dental students attended the 2026 Leadership Institute. In an effort to ensure we are meeting our members’ needs, the ODA regularly surveys its members about events they attend and ODA services or products they utilize.
We asked the attendees to rate the speakers, topics and other aspects of the Leadership Institute on a four-point scale (4 = Excellent, 3 = Good, 2 = Fair, and 1 = Poor). The survey results from the Leadership Institute attendees are overwhelmingly positive. In fact, every speaker, session, topic and aspect of the 2026 Leadership Institute received an “excellent” rating from a majority of the respondents.
The event kicked off with the keynote presentation “Using Social Media to Recruit, Engage, and Retain Today’s Dental Team” by Kristi Simone. Simone has 30 years of experience in dental marketing strategy and is co-founder of YeS! Creative Marketing. She shared ideas on how to strategically use social media to attract and retain the right team members for your dental office. Simone was very well received by the attendees, who gave the presentation an outstanding 3.79 average rating.
Following lunch, the attendees had the opportunity to choose two of three breakout sessions, all of which were very well received.
Simone followed up her opening keynote presentation with the breakout session, “A.I. and the Future of Dental Practice Marketing: What You Need to Know,” which received an amazing 3.89 rating from attendees. One attendee commented that he had not considered the use of A.I. in marketing before the presentation.
Dr. Kelly Roth, who is the speaker of the ODA House of Delegates and past chair of the ADA Council on Ethics, Bylaws, and Judicial Affairs, gave a breakout session entitled “Ethical Dental Dilemmas: What Would You Do?” Attendees enjoyed this discussion of real-world ethical dilemmas that dentists face every day, giving the session an impressive 3.73 rating.
ODA Director of Legal and Legislative Services Eric Richmond conducted a breakout session on “Updates on Legal and Regulatory Issues for Ohio Dentists,” which received a very strong 3.86 rating.
The ODA advocacy team gave an update on legislative issues impacting on dentistry in Ohio, which received a 3.79 rating, reiterating that member dentists continue to view advocacy as a priority.
State Sen. Kristina Roegner, who is running for Ohio treasurer, reviewed recent legislative activity at the Ohio Statehouse, including her sponsorship of recent legislation related to dentistry that has now been enacted into Ohio law. This new law adds Ohio to the Dentist and Dental Hygienist Compact, allowing for practice portability between participating Compact states, and also prohibits dental insurance companies from dictating the fees that dentists charge for services that the insurers do not even cover.
Roegner noted that these non-covered services policies of the insurance companies were “unfair.” She also said that the Dental Compact was the latest in a series of professional licensure compacts that she has sponsored in recent years in order to enhance mobility for professionals across state lines without duplicative testing and licensing requirements. Ohio has joined a dozen professional licensure compacts including for physicians, nurses and physical therapists. Roegner’s presentation received a 3.81 rating from attendees, many of whom expressed appreciation for her leadership on issues important to dentistry.
“ODA Today” Executive Editor Dr. Matt Messina hosted a discussion with Dr. Apoorva Ramaswamy entitled “The Laryngologist Perspective” to close out the Friday afternoon session. Apoorva Ramaswamy, MD, is a laryngologist who specializes in treating swallowing and voice disorders that can occur in patients who have undergone treatment for cancer. She discussed her practice and how passionate she is about helping patients using both surgical and medical methods in order to optimize their quality of life. Several attendees commented about how interesting the discussion was between Messina and Ramaswamy and the session received high marks, earning a 3.75 rating from attendees.
The Saturday session at the 2026 ODA Leadership Institute started with ADA Seventh District Trustee Dr. Manny Chopra giving an “ADA Update,” which included insights into the hiring of Dr. Nader Nadershahi as the new executive director for the ADA and the latest information on the ADA’s federal advocacy efforts on behalf of the dental profession. Attendees appreciated Chopra’s presentation, giving it a 3.66 rating.
Best-selling author, podcaster and leadership consultant Ryan Hawk delivered an enthusiastic and passionate keynote presentation entitled “The Pursuit of Excellence.” Hawk’s presentation engaged the audience and many left saying they felt “motivated” to take their dental practices and their lives to the next level. Attendees gave Hawk’s presentation a very strong 3.87 rating.
The ODA Executive Committee held its ever-popular Town Hall on the Saturday of the Leadership Institute where the ODA’s officers gave updates on the state of organized dentistry in Ohio and what we are doing for the members, including discussing efforts to address dental team workforce issues, dental insurance reform and other creative strategies to help member dentists thrive in today’s complex practice environment.
Attendees expressed appreciation for the ODA leadership’s efforts on the members’ behalf and for their transparency in answering member dentists’ questions in an open forum. The Executive Committee Town Hall received a strong 3.72 rating from the attendees.
Last October, the American Dental Association House of Delegates elected former ODA President Dr. Tom Paumier as the ADA president-elect. Paumier was nominated on the House floor to challenge three other candidates including two sitting ADA trustees. Paumier closed the 2026 Leadership Institute by sharing his experience in running for ADA president and his vision for the ADA’s future. Attendees, who gave Paumier’s presentation an impressive 3.82 rating, left the Leadership Institute on an optimistic note, feeling that the ADA is moving in the right direction.
In addition to the outstanding ratings that the attendees gave for each presentation and session of the Leadership Institute, the attendees also gave very strong ratings to all of the other aspects of the event, including the facilities, visual aids and handouts.
Finally, when asked to give an overall rating to the 2026 Leadership Institute, nearly all attendees responded with an “excellent” rating. In fact, the overall Leadership Institute rating was an amazing 3.92.
The survey asked what we can do to improve the Leadership Institute in the future, and the most common answer was “keep doing what you are doing.”
The ODA Director of Meetings and Conventions Suzanne Brooks, who has more than three decades of experience in meeting planning, said that the Leadership Institute’s attendee ratings are “a meeting planner’s dream.” Brooks said that the consistent level of outstanding scores across the board for every speaker, session and aspect of the Leadership Institute is “nearly unheard of for meetings like this.”
The success of the Leadership Institute is not an accident. A great deal of planning, research, coordination and preparation is done in order to ensure excellence at the annual ODA Leadership Institute. The event is designed by dentists for dentists and that is why it has become the premiere dental event in Ohio every Spring.
