Sacramento, Calif. — The California Dental Association Foundation is pleased to announce Cathy Mudge as its new executive director. The Foundation’s board of directors unanimously voted to hire Mudge during its recent board meeting. Mudge, who is also CDA’s chief administrative officer, will be taking on the additional duties of the Foundation’s executive director while continuing her current role.
"I’m thrilled with this new opportunity to work with the Foundation and its mission to improve the oral health of all Californians through innovative programs that link dentistry to community needs," said Mudge, who has worked at CDA since 1997.
Founded in 2000, the Foundation has made a number of significant contributions to oral health care in California, including its work in community water fluoridation, CAMBRA (Caries Management by Risk Assessment), the development of Perinatal Oral Health Guidelines and the Student Loan Repayment Program, which awards grants to new dentists in exchange for a commitment to provide services to those who experience barriers to care.
"Cathy is well respected for her leadership and management abilities. She has an excellent grasp of public policy, community relations and the serious challenges of eliminating oral health care barriers for the underserved," said Cindy Lyon, DDS, chair of the CDA Foundation. "She will be a tremendous asset in implementing the Foundation’s strategic initiatives as we work to address disparities in oral health care, particularly among California’s children."
Thanks to generous donations to the CDA Foundation, nearly 85,000 underserved Californians who otherwise would have gone without oral health care were treated in 2010, reflecting more than $12 million in services. In the past decade, the Foundation’s Grant Program has helped provide oral health services to more than 355,000 people, valued at nearly $56 million.
Prior to her current roles as Foundation executive director and CDA chief administrative officer, Mudge, who has worked in the association arena since 1990, was CDA’s vice president of public policy.
