American Dental Education Association (ADEA) president and CEO, Karen P. West, DMD, MPH, has been named a finalist for the 2023 CSR & Diversity Awards’ Top Executive of the Year Award. The awards, presented by Ragan Communications, a leading training company for communications professionals worldwide, honor organizations, individuals, and teams that have demonstrated a commitment to corporate social responsibility, diversity, and inclusion.
In the category of Top Executive of the Year, there are three finalists, including Dr. West. The other two finalists are Stanley Bergman, chairman of the board and CEO for Henry Schein, Inc., and Silke Muenster, chief diversity officer for Philip Morris International.
“This special honor helps position ADEA as a major influencer in the corporate social responsibility, diversity, and inclusivity space, notably among the company of Fortune 500 corporations and major household brands,” Dr. West said. “As this work is a personal passion of mine, I am energized by the efforts of our volunteer leaders, members, staff, and partners to help advance the tenets of social responsibility within oral health care education, and I am profoundly grateful to receive this extraordinary recognition.”
As the first woman president and CEO of ADEA in its 100-year history, Dr. West has been a tireless and consistent advocate and change agent for diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. She has continued to be at the forefront of these issues not only in oral health and dental education but also in healthcare and the academic health professions.
Recently, Dr. West led the historic efforts in combating the crisis regarding the lack of men of color in the health professions workforce and those graduating from academic health fields. In August 2022, for the first time in history, more than 80 representatives from the health professions participated in a summit at ADEA headquarters to develop strategies and form a coalition to increase the number of historically underrepresented men of color entering the academic health professions. A grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation supported these efforts.
The CSR & Diversity Awards ceremony takes place on Sept. 28 at the Yale Club in New York City.
About ADEA
The American Dental Education Association (ADEA) is The Voice of Dental Education. Our mission is to lead and support the health professions community in preparing future-ready oral health professionals. Our members include all 80 accredited U.S. and Canadian dental schools, more than 800 allied and advanced dental education programs, more than 55 corporations, and approximately 15,000 individuals.
Our activities encompass a wide range of research, advocacy, faculty development, meetings, and communications, including the esteemed Journal of Dental Education, as well as the dental school application services ADEA AADSAS, ADEA PASS, ADEA DHCAS, and ADEA CAAPID.
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