Dental Health Science Faculty Member Named Ambassador for National Initiative

Pacific University assistant professor Shawna Rohner, RDH, has been selected as an ambassador for the 2012 Give Kids A Smile Community Development Leader Institute Oct. 24-27 in St. Louis.

Rohner, a faculty member in the university's School of Dental Health Science, is one of ten individuals awarded a travel grant from the American Dental Association (ADA) to participate in the national program, sponsored by Hu-Friedy, Henry Schein and the ADA Foundation.

Rohner spearheads Pacific University's annual Give Kids A Smile (GKAS) initiative each February in partnership with the Washington County Dental Society. The annual event provides comprehensive dental care, including preventative maintenance and repairs, to 80 children of low-income families.

At the institute in St. Louis, some 650 underserved children will receive comprehensive dental care as part of the bi-annual event.

Rohner will work in a variety of capacities, depending on individual interests, that may include triage, education, sterilization labs and others. She will have the opportunity to learn how to initiate, expand and enhance a GKAS program.

Rohner holds a bachelor’s degree in dental hygiene from Eastern Washington University and a master’s degree in adult education from Portland State University.

She is an active member of the American Dental Education Association and the American Dental Hygienists Association (ADHA) as well as a dental hygiene study club.

October is designated as National Dental Hygiene Month by the ADHA.