2023 SDCDS Nominating Committee Candidate Statements and Information

Faith-Roselle Barreyro

Candidate For: Board of Directors, Delegate to the CDA House of Delegates

Candidate Statement:

I’ve always loved being part of something greater than just in my dental office. I enjoy giving back to the community. I truly value being a member of SDCDS and have greatly benefit from it. I believe organized dentistry is vital for us as dentists. It’s our way of taking care of our own mentally and physically. I love the camaraderie of being part of the dental society. I would like to assist in anyway I can. I appreciate all the board of directors have done for us behind the scenes. I would like to learn more about how I can be part of the bigger picture.

Skills & Experience:

I’m a great listener and I uphold any responsibility given to me. I am a team player and will put in the time to make sure we are successful as a team. I’ve been part of the Retention and Recruitment committee for over a year now. I’ve held many leadership positions in my life.

CV: https://sdcds.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Resume-Faith-Barreyro-April-2023-Faith-Barreyro.pdf

Heta Bhansali

Candidate For: Board of Directors

Candidate Statement:

I’ve loved being a member of San Diego dental society for the past 10 years. It has helped me grow personally and professionally. I want the society to be able to reach more dentists practicing in San Diego and continue to support them so that I can give back to the community that has given me so much.

Skills & Experience:

I am a very detail-oriented person that enjoys planning and communicating for a great purpose. I’ve also worked with the planning committee for the dental foundation’s annual gala and participated in dozens of events that the dental society has put on that has given me a great appreciation for what it is we do in the community and our role in it. I feel like my experience and skill set can be used to help foster a community that helps other dentists just like it did for me.

CV: https://sdcds.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Heta_Bhansali_resume_2023-Heta-Bhansali.pdf

Jose C. Castillo

Candidate For: Board of Directors, Secretary

Candidate Statement:

I would like to serve as the 2024 Secretary for the San Diego County Dental Society so that I can continue advancing the Society’s purpose of: “providing resources to help member dentists succeed and enhance professionalism.” I wholeheartedly believe in the Society’s purpose, and I plan to focus on promoting it in 3 ways: 1) By offering my leadership and orthodontics specialty training experience, 2) By offering my diverse intellectual, cultural, new/younger member background, and soft skills; 3) By serving as a model Executive Committee member so that other colleagues can see themselves in me.

I plan to continue to focus on camaraderie, collegiality, and mentorship. It is through my position as a model Board Member and future Executive Member that I will strive to make colleagues feel comfortable in asking about and serving the SDCDS.

Skills & Experience:

I have extensive leadership experience, especially through the Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists and Hispanic Dental Association, both of which have trained me to deal with issues of governance, policy making, and leading in meetings, while also working in collaboration for a greater cause. I am a new/younger member, a dentist of color, a Latino, a Spanish-speaker, and a fronterizo (person who grew up binationally near the border). These experiences provide me with a unique sociocultural perspective for a dental society that represents members in the US-Mexico border region.

My experiences include currently serving as a Representative to the California Association of Orthodontists (CAO) and Board Member for the Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists (PCSO), which represents all the Western United States and Western Provinces of Canada. As Board Member and New and Younger Member Director-at-Large with the PCSO, I represented the Resident, and New and Younger Member voices to the PCSO Board. Additionally, I have served a second consecutive year as a PCSO Delegate at our annual American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) House of Delegates meeting. I was also involved in discussing and approving the AAO’s 2023-2027 Strategic Plan.

In the past, I have been heavily involved with the Hispanic Dental Association (HDA), where I served as a Trustee on the National Board and helped organize HDA regional meetings. I am currently an active member.

Currently, I am a Volunteer Orthodontist with the UCSD Pre-Dental Society at their Student-Run Free Dental Clinic in Lemon Grove. I have lectured on orthodontics at the UCSD, USD, and SDSU pre-dental programs. Furthermore, I am an Orthodontics Advisor to the San Diego Advanced Study Group, part of the Seattle Study Club network, and have lectured on temporary anchorage devices/mini-implants and Phase I orthodontic treatment.

Moreover, I am serving as the 2023 Co-President for the San Diego Academy of Orthodontists where I organize quarterly 1-2 day continuing education meetings and social events for our local San Diego County orthodontic study group. This year, we have successfully applied for and received CE provider status from the Dental Board of California.

In the past, the Secretary position has required skills such as stellar attention to detail, having a keen eye over the meeting minutes, and being able to faithfully convey the happenings at the Foundation’s Board meetings to the Society’s Board. I believe I have those skill sets, the time commitment, and other soft skills to be a strong candidate for the Secretary position. I am a very easy going and thoughtful person, soft skills which make me approachable and a positive face representing our Society. I am good at networking and advocating for our colleagues, qualities which reflect well on the Board. In summary, I believe my qualifications and skills will complement the SDCDS Executive Committee and Board, and I am aware of the commitment this position and future upstream positions require.

CV: https://sdcds.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Jose-Castillo-CV-revised-final-Dr.-Jose-Castillo.pdf

Megan Clarke

Candidate For: Delegate to the CDA House of Delegates

Candidate Statement:

I appreciate your consideration for a position on the CDA House of Delegates. I have friends and colleagues who have participated in this organization, and they have spoken highly of the experience. I am currently not practicing clinical dentistry and because of this, my position might be a little atypical from the average nominee.

I attended University of the Pacific School of Dentistry, where I graduated in 2004, upon which I settled in San Diego to start my career as a general dentist. I worked briefly as an associate and then purchased a practice in 2006, a path that I believed that would eventually take me to retirement. It was a small niche practice, and once I settled in, I implemented many of the humanistic values that I learned at Pacific that allowed my small practice to thrive and grow. As you can see from my CV, I placed a high degree of importance on continuing education so that I may better serve my patients, often taking double the number of continuing education hours required.

In my free time, before children came, I volunteered as a general dentist in the UC San Diego Free Dental Clinic, often working alongside pre-dental students in service to the homeless and working poor communities in San Diego. Upon having children and with the challenges of juggling motherhood and a busy dental practice, I had to cut back my time at the free clinic. With my practice location being very close to San Diego State University, I took on a mentorship role to the pre-dental students from that school, and often had students circulating through my practice, shadowing, and in some cases, volunteering. I found both experiences to be especially rewarding, helping center many pre-dental students with a notion of ethics and leadership in clinical practice.

I was entering the maturation phase of my practice, where I looked to hire an associate so that I could spend more time with my two young daughters and possibly take on a more active role in the dental community, when a fluke injury derailed those plans. In 2015, I injured a bone in my hand that can only be described as “the bone you don’t want to break” as a dentist, a bone at the base of the thumb in my dominant hand. After several years of physically excruciating occupational therapy and uncertainty about the future, I made the decision to retire and sell my practice in 2017. I had not yet reached forty.

After the shell shock of retirement and transitioning out of my career for which I had worked for years, and the lengthy disability process had finally resolved, being the planner that I am, I thought, what next? I ultimately decided on graduate school, and I am currently in a graduate program with the University of Colorado at Boulder (online) so that I may receive a Master of Science in Organizational Leadership, with a specialization of Human Resources management. With this degree I hope to start my own company to empower dentists to make and implement solid HR policy within their practices.

During this time, I have been trusted with the task of editing the San Diego County Dental Society’s monthly magazine, Facets. Having retired from dentistry, being involved in this endeavor has allowed me to stay connected to the profession I love, even if I am not currently practicing.

Being a female dentist who has owned a practice, who has become a mother during her time as a dentist, and has undergone the experience of disability, I feel these experiences have given me a perspective that may differ from many who are currently on the House of Delegates. Being a female dentist and mother gave me the perspective that our needs as women may differ from our male counterparts, especially in the early years of our careers. Many maternity leave benefits that are available to our non-owner dentists are not simply within reach to those of us who are in the position I once was. Having had to return to work as soon as possible forced me to return to work when my daughters were 6 weeks and 8 weeks respectively, much too early and sleep deprived to be effective. I hope to help be a voice for young dental mothers and mothers to be.

I am also disabled dentist, which has given me the perspective that may help to strengthen disability laws within our state. I was able to make use of some generous disability policies that have allowed me to maintain my lifestyle pre-injury. I do know that many policies that were available to me are no longer available to new dentists. I hope to provide a voice to help bring those back.

Thank you again for your nomination. Please see my attached CV, listing my qualifications in detail. I appreciate your taking the time to read this and considering me for the fellowship.

CV: https://sdcds.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Megan-Clarke-CV-Megan-Clarke.docx

Marc Dentico-Olin

Candidate For: Board of Directors

Candidate Statement:

I wish to help maintain our professional contribution to local and state society and politics.

Skills & Experience:

I have been on the recruitment and retention committee and am an active volunteer providing dental care to those in need in the community.

Robert Frey

Candidate For: Board of Directors

Candidate Statement:

Would like to provide input on what younger dentists are facing and what is relevant to what is going on in our younger constituents.

Skills & Experience:

Served on Board of Directors and CDA House of Delegates the previous years before. Was active in CDA during dental school.

CV: https://sdcds.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/FREY_Resume-Rob-Frey.pdf

Robert Gandola

Candidate For: Delegate to the CDA House of Delegates

Candidate Statement:

I enjoy helping to guide the actions and direction of the CDA Through the House of delegates. I have been a part of this for a long time and have many connections with the current leadership and other components. I am well versed with the process and capable of making resolutions and amendments quickly as required by the nature of this meeting. Experience and knowledge are essential traits needed by delegates in this position.

Skills & Experience:

I have served in most aspects of leadership locally and at the state and national levels. I have been a delegate of the ADA and CDA for many years. I have served as the chair and a member of the nominating committee and know how it works. I can write and propose changes to resolutions as I have done so in the past.

CV: https://sdcds.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/CV-2023-R-Gand.pdf

Misako Hirota

Candidate For: Delegate to the CDA House of Delegates

Candidate Statement:

Want to continue serving my local component and influence direction of CDA

Skills & Experience:

Previous HOD delegate, ADA delegate

CV: https://sdcds.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/cv-Misako-Hirota.pdf

Virginia Mattson

Candidate For: Delegate to the CDA House of Delegates

Candidate Statement:

I would like to further deepen my understanding, involvement, experience and service with Dentistry and all that I can offer to help better promote the profession .

Skills & Experience:

Leadership, service, volunteerism

CV: https://sdcds.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/CV-2023-Dr.-Mattson-Virginia-Mattson.pdf

Ghazal Navab

Candidate For: Board of Directors, Delegate to the CDA House of Delegates

Candidate Statement:

Since I was a pre-dental student at UCSD, I was involved in organized dentistry through the UCSD-Pre dental society and had the opportunity to attend ADA and CDA meetings and learn about organized dentistry from early stages of my dental career. Once I started dental school, I continued the journey and became more directly involved in organized dentistry by holding various positions throughout my dental school years. I joined the SDCDS as soon as I moved back to San Diego in Summer of 2018 and have been an active member ever since. Having previously served on R&R as Co-Chair and CE committee member for a few years, I understand the needs of our members and the services we can provide to them.

Since I have been a board member for the last two years while helping LDC and Gala committees this year, I can be more beneficial in bridging the gap between the various hierarchies of the SDCDS. The last two years on the board went by fast, and I believe that this position definitely requires many more years of commitments in order to fully understand and utilize its functions and improve SDCDS as a whole. With that being said, I’m looking forward to serve another term in order to be more deeply engaged with the SDCDS while serving in other committees at the same time.

Skills & Experience:

SDCDS – Board of Directors & Delegate to CDA House 2021 – Present

Volunteer Faculty UCSD Student-Run Dental Clinic-Veterans Village 2018 – Present

SDCDS – Committee member of Continuing Education Committee 2018 – Present

San Diego AGD – Treasurer 2019 – 2023

SDCDS – Co-Chair Retention Recruitment and Retention 2018 – 2021

CV: https://sdcds.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/2023-GHAZAL-NAVAB-CV-Ghazal-Navab-1.pdf

Lindsay Pfeffer

Candidate For: Delegate to the CDA House of Delegates, Secretary

Candidate Statement:

Secretary: Fresh eyes and yet still have a good foundation after serving years on multiple committees on the dental society and longtime delegate and board member. I have aged out of my time on the dental board but I have been a part of 2 strategic plans, knowing where we’ve been, where we need to go and what we still don’t know. Serving on multiple committees has left me with a keener sense of the behind the scenes workings of what we are doing and where we are missing the mark or simply don’t have the manpower or answers.

For delegate we need committed members who are going to do the homework and be dedicated to do the work, as really important position statements or even CDA structure have come down to 1 vote for a decision that will be representing all dentists in California.

For Foundation: the society and the foundation is an important sisterhood that can not be forgotten or overshadowed through time, they are symbiotic in their needs and each is dependent on each other. Membership is of utmost important to make sure this is not lost through time, as they are mutually beneficial to each other. I have done a lot of work with the Foundation without being a formal member therefor would be honored to serve on Foundation should Secretary not be available. I think it’s coordination and mutual knowledge of eachother’s purpose needs to be better connected for the greater good of both of these organizations.

Skills & Experience:

History of serving on the board for 8 years and Delegate for many years. Several years on Retention and Recruitment, Communications and Gala Committee. Long term commitment with the Foundation and County with Free clinics, Stand Down, First 5, GKAS. Also served as CDA volunteer and CDA Host for many years. Volunteered in free clinics for UCSD for many years as well as county efforts and promises to kids for OH in foster youth. Have been part of two strategic plans for dental society and am a devoted member, being a Delegate in Sacramento 1 week after my first born and attending an emergency board meeting 1 hour after my c-section when Covid 1st happened and we were shut down. Currently have an associate to help balance my children, work and my dental society commitment.

CV: https://sdcds.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Dr.-Pfeffer-Resume-Dr.-Lindsay-Pfeffer.pdf