Award of Excellence

Excellence-Award-2025

This award honors the spirit of volunteerism by recognizing one student from each dental school for achieving superior levels of participation or leadership in service to other students, their school or local community.

Nominees are selected by faculty and staff at each dental school.

Award Criteria

Nominees must meet the following criteria:

  • Predoctoral member of ASDA in good academic standing
  • Participation or leadership in extracurricular school activities and/or service to the local community
  • Active participant in furthering the cause of organized dentistry

Submissions for the 2025 Excellence Award are now closed. Please contact membership@asdanet.org with questions.

2025 Award of Excellence Recipients

DISTRICT 1
Jared Jacobson, Boston ‘25
Demitria Tsitsopoulos, Connecticut ‘26
Adam Yang, Harvard ‘25
Abigail Margaret Campbell, New England ‘25
Emely Vidal, Tufts ‘25

DISTRICT 2
Jacinta Tracey, Buffalo ‘25
Kristin H. Woo, Columbia ‘25
Kristen Amanda Johnson, NYU ‘25
Lauren Mistretta, Stony Brook ‘25
Alexander Constantine, Touro ‘25

DISTRICT 3
Joanne Jeong, Rutgers ‘25
Brianna Thewsuvat, Maryland ‘25
Stephanie G. Dominguez, Pennsylvania ‘25
Benjamin Harrison, Pittsburgh ‘25
Tehzeeb Hassan, Howard ‘25
Inna Sophia Gorelik, Temple ‘26

DISTRICT 4
Allison Tempel, East Carolina ‘25
Nicole Boudeau, Georgia ‘25
Dominique Smolic, High Point ‘28
Ashlea Marlene Willis, South Carolina ‘25
Andrew Naguib, North Carolina ‘27
Jarrett Michael Adkins, Virginia ‘25

DISTRICT 5
Cassidy McNeely, Alabama ‘25
Monica Makram, Florida ‘25
Delaney Baker, LECOM ‘25
Mary Katherine Sobiesk Volk, Mississippi ‘25
John Russo, Nova Southeastern ‘25
Fabiola Gierbolini, Ponce ‘28
José Gabriel Rosa, Ana G. Mendez ‘28
Adrian Suarez Torres, Puerto Rico ‘25

DISTRICT 6
Van Nguyen, Lincoln Memorial ‘26
Alyse Pearson-Bryant, Meharry ‘25
Victoria Crane, Kentucky ‘25
Nicole Trytko, Louisville ‘25
Maggie Eslinger, Tennessee ‘26

DISTRICT 7
Darius Warner, Indiana ‘26
Anna Walker, Detroit Mercy ‘26
Mollie Falchook, Michigan ‘25
Fiona Chambers, Ohio ‘25
Sydni D. Harris-Evans, West Virginia ‘25
Kayla Michelle Nero, Case Western ‘25

DISTRICT 8
Trevor McDonald, Marquette ‘25
Jacqueline Wallowitch, Midwestern-IL ‘25
Elizabeth McDaniel, Southern IL ‘25
Deniz Namik, Illinois ‘25
Tyler Jenness, Iowa ‘26
Annmarie Schmid, Minnesota ‘25

DISTRICT 9
Therese C. Reardon, Creighton ‘25
Alexon Tiem, Joplin ‘27
Kaitlyn Carpenter, Kirksville ‘25
Jason Firth, Missouri-Kansas City ‘26
Payton E. Alber, Nebraska ‘26
Sophia Parker, Oklahoma ‘25

DISTRICT 10
Harli R. Jacob, Louisiana ‘26
Justin Thamsorn, Texas A&M ‘25
Seth Hartman, El Paso ‘25
Loren R. Matrone, Texas-Houston ‘25
Mira Brooke Lavallee, Texas San Antonio ‘25

DISTRICT 11
Hannah J. Lee, Arizona ‘25
Emily Tarr, Midwestern-AZ ‘25
Marisa A. Estipona, Roseman ‘25
Jordan Jenkins, Utah ‘25
Jillian Desmond, Colorado ‘25

DISTRICT 12
Lindsay Kim, Pacific ‘25
Neekita Saudagar, Pacific ‘25
Emma Nedley, San Francisco ‘26
Justin Sue, Northstate ‘25
Cooper L Joy, Oregon ‘27
Effy Jin, Washington ‘26

DISTRICT 13
Levi E. Mackelprang, Las Vegas ‘25
Ashish Shrestha, Southern California ‘25
Eunsoo Park, Southern California ‘25
Joshua Ventenilla, Loma Linda ‘25
Kendall Rollin, WesternU ‘26
Michelle Chiang, Los Angeles ‘25

2024 Award of Excellence Recipients

DISTRICT 1
Hannah Kilbride, Boston ‘24
Sarah Nevolis, Connecticut ‘25
Kadriye Elizabeth Hargett, Harvard ‘24
Kristin Biggs, New England ‘24
Samantha Anne L. Rivera, Tufts ‘24

DISTRICT 2
John Anthony Lepore, Buffalo ‘24
Adam Mucci, Columbia ‘24
Tyler Chung, NYU ‘24
Maria Amged Salib, Rutgers ‘24
Gil Barahman, Stony Brook ‘24
Jordan Sahawneh, Touro ‘25

DISTRICT 3
Brandon J. Shim, Maryland ‘24
Aymee Roman, Pennsylvania ‘24
Regina K. Munsch, Pittsburgh ‘24

DISTRICT 4
Phuquain H. Morales, East Carolina ‘24

DISTRICT 5
Heath Padgett, Alabama ‘24
Grace T. Ishak, Florida ‘24
Elyssa Okken, LECOM ‘24
Katherine Elizabeth Burkett, Louisiana ‘25
Caroline Russell Carmichael, Mississippi ‘24
Mary Wick, Nova Southeastern ‘24

DISTRICT 6
Claudia Larochelle, Detroit Mercy ‘25
Haley Schultz, Michigan ‘24
Joseph Linser, Ohio ‘24
Patrick M. Coulter, West Virginia ‘24

DISTRICT 7
Brianna Nicole Gill, Louisville ‘24
Tyler Guist, Marquette ‘24
Madeleine Walters, Midwestern-IL ‘24
Donald Thompson II, Southern IL ‘24

DISTRICT 8
Maya Chuppe, Creighton ‘24
Arshi Munjal, Iowa ‘24
Destiny Mills, Kirksville ‘24
Brady Hartman, Minnesota ‘24

DISTRICT 9
Danny Carney, Colorado ‘24
Rebecca A. Hobbesland, Houston ‘24
San Antonio, Elizabeth Liu ‘24

DISTRICT 10
Zaki Minas, Arizona ‘24
Eduardo D. Pais III, Las Vegas ‘25
Caitlin Kurz, Midwestern-AZ ‘24
Diana Zhen, Roseman ‘24
Cassidy Hiné , Utah ‘24

DISTRICT 11
Robert Zhou, Pacific ‘24
Isabelle Tseng, San Francisco ‘25
Michael Riley, Southern California ‘24

2023 Award of Excellence Recipients
DISTRICT 1
Andrew DiBenedetto, Boston ‘23
Maayan Schmidt, Connecticut ‘24
Jessica Murphree, Harvard ‘23
Sophia Hall, New England ‘23
Giang Nguyen, Tufts ‘23

DISTRICT 2
Andrew Hanna, Buffalo ‘23
Cordelia Chan, Columbia ‘24
Mariam Ahmad, New York ‘23
Saloni Patel, Rutgers ‘23
Lauren Toledo, Stony Brook ‘23
Sameer Bilal, Touro ‘23

DISTRICT 3
Wongelawit Tadesse, Maryland ‘23
Andrew Casey, Pennsylvania ‘23
Matthew Palmer, Pittsburgh ‘23
Ae Kwon, Temple ‘24

DISTRICT 4
Joel Anil, East Carolina ‘23
Caylor Mark, Georgia ‘23
Van Nguyen, Lincoln Memorial ‘25
Aparicio Peggins, Meharry ‘23
Lauren Bunch, North Carolina ‘24
Sammy Huynh, South Carolina ‘23
Quinnie Phan, Virginia ‘23

DISTRICT 5
Bryna Martinez, Alabama ‘23
Cameron Kocan, Florida ‘23
Tiffany Morgan, Louisiana ‘24
Nicklaus Blue, Mississippi ‘24
Delaney Valdes, Nova ‘23
Valeria Bravo, Puerto Rico ‘23

DISTRICT 6
Janith Jayatilake, Detroit Mercy ‘24
Kloanna Fetolli, Michigan ‘23
Lauren Ames, Ohio ‘23
Brittany Joseph, West Virginia ‘23

DISTRICT 7
Ruchi Naik, Illinois ‘24
Daniel Godfrey, Indiana ‘23
Anjesha Antony Alappatt, Louisville ‘23
Shuchi Patel, Marquette ‘23
Kasey Schock, Midwestern-IL ‘23
Kaitlin Carlson, Southern Illinois ‘23

DISTRICT 8
Lyndsey Herron, Creighton ‘23
Anna McNamara, Missouri-Kirksville ‘23
Kevin Marzolf, Minnesota ‘23
Kylie Sestak, Nebraska ‘24

DISTRICT 9
Daniel Carney, Colorado ‘24
Lauren Kaufmann, Oklahoma ‘23
Jesus Ojeda Pacheco, Texas A&M ‘23
Clara Kohlmetz, Texas-Houston ‘23
Zachary Nortch, Texas-San Antonio ‘23

DISTRICT 10
Jessica Camacho, Arizona ‘23
Danyalle Chun, Las Vegas ‘23
Benjamin McGiffin, Midwestern-AZ ‘23
Priscilla Leung, Roseman ‘23
Jacob Caldwell, Utah ‘23
Karen Ghatore, Washington ‘23

DISTRICT 11
Taylor Cone, Pacific ‘23
Samantha Garcia, San Francisco ‘24
Damilola Osibamowo, Southern California ‘23
Seraphina Oney, WesternU ‘23

Advocate Award

This award recognizes faculty or school administrators who have shown a commitment to dental students and organized dentistry.

Nominees are selected by chapter leaders at each dental school.

Award Criteria

Nominees must meet the following criteria:

  • Support efforts of the local ASDA chapter
  • Demonstrate a long-term commitment to organized dentistry
  • Provide leadership and direction for ASDA chapter leaders and members
  • Promote the ideals of organized dentistry
  • Motivate new members within the school
  • Maintain a membership in the ADA, if eligible

Submissions for the 2025 Advocate Award are now closed. Please contact membership@asdanet.org with questions.

2025 Advocate Award Recipients

DISTRICT 1
Samuel Palma, Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine
Tashima Sorhaindo, Harvard School of Dental Medicine
Barry C. Saltz DDS, University of New England College of Dental Medicine
Karin Arsenault, DMD, MPH, FACD, FPFA, Tufts University School of Dental Medicine

DISTRICT 2
Daniella Zajac, Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine
Karen Longo, M.P.H., Touro College of Dental Medicine at New York Medical College

DISTRICT 3
Kelly Powers, University of Maryland Baltimore College of Dental Surgery
Roopali Kulkarni, DMD, MPH, Penn Dental Medicine
Jo Ann Allen Nyquist, Temple University Kornberg School of Dentistry

DISTRICT 4
Gregory Griffin, DMD, Augusta University Dental College of Georgia
Kimberly Werth, High Point University Workman School of Dental Medicine

DISTRICT 5
Alex J Delgado, DDS, MS, University of Florida College of Dentistry
Stephen T. Perez, DDS, LECOM School of Dental Medicine
Katie Hanley, Nova Southeastern University College of Dental Medicine
Margarita Bonilla-Claudio, PhD, DMD, MSc., Ponce Health Sciences University School of Dental Medicine
Sigfredo Morales Rodríguez, EdD, UAGM School of Dental Medicine
Lorenzo M. Prats Lazzarini DMD, University of Puerto Rico School of Dentistry

DISTRICT 7

Daniel Edwards DDS, University of Michigan School of Dentistry

DISTRICT 8
Philip Schefke, D.D.S., Midwestern University College of Dental Medicine – Illinois
Kenneth G. Rawson, Southern Illinois University School of Dental Medicine
Teresa Fong, DDS, University of Minnesota School of Dentistry

DISTRICT 10
Sandra Andrieu, PhD, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Dentistry
Jayne S. Reuben, PhD, Texas A&M College of Dentistry

DISTRICT 12
Parvati Iyer, BDS, DDS, MAEd., FICD, University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry
David Graham, DDS, University of California San Francisco School of Dentistry
Michael Nguyen, DDS, California Northstate University College of Dental Medicine

DISTRICT 13

Jacob Love, Loma Linda University School of Dentistry
Heather Albertson, Western University of Health Sciences College of Dental Medicine

2024 Advocate Award Recipients

DISTRICT 1
Bharti Khattri Thapa, Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine
Nadeem Karimbux, DMD, Tufts University School of Dental Medicine

DISTRICT 2
Jary Patrocinio, MA, Columbia University College of Dental Medicine
Maria Ambrosio, DDS, Rutgers School of Dental Medicine
Jeffrey Seiver, DDS, Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine

DISTRICT 3
Robinson Warner, DDS, Howard University College of Dentistry
Robert Nerone, DMD, University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine
Jo Ann Nyquist, Temple University Kornberg School of Dentistry

DISTRICT 4
Valencia McShan, DDS, Meharry Medical College School of Dentistry

DISTRICT 5
Grace Ishak, DMD, University of Florida College of Dentistry
Aryia Amini, DMD, GPR, Nova Southeastern University College of Dental Medicine
Ginette Izquierdo, DMD, BS, University of Puerto Rico School of Dentistry

DISTRICT 6
Valerie Perrine, DDS, West Virginia University School of Dentistry

DISTRICT 7
Fred Howard, DMD, University of Kentucky College of Dentistry
Lizzy McGeough, Marquette University School of Dentistry

DISTRICT 9
Angel “JR” Gonzalez, DDS, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso Woody L. Hunt School of Dental Medicine

DISTRICT 10
Laura Kadillak, DDS, Roseman University of Health Sciences College of Dental Medicine

DISTRICT 11
Amy Jones, Loma Linda University School of Dentistry

2023 Advocate Award Recipients

DISTRICT 1
Michelle Yee, Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine
Donna Paolella, DMD, University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine

DISTRICT 2
Raymond Miller, DDS, University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine
Wayne Kye, DDS, NYU College of Dentistry
Vera Tang, DDS, NYU College of Dentistry
Jeffrey Seiver, DDS, Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine

DISTRICT 4
Kim Thompson, Augusta University Dental College of Georgia
Kimberley Perkins-Davis, DDS, Meharry Medical College School of Dentistry

DISTRICT 5
Heather Allen, RDH, BSDH, MSHCM, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Dentistry
Aryia Amini, DMD, Nova Southeastern University College of Dental Medicine

DISTRICT 6
Dan Edwards, DDS, University of Michigan School of Dentistry
James Cottle, DDS, The Ohio State University College of Dentistry

DISTRICT 7
Reagan Saxe, BA, RT, Marquette University School of Dentistry

DISTRICT 8
Colette O'Meara-McKinney, Ed.D., Creighton University School of Dentistry
Lisa Piper, The University of Iowa College of Dentistry
Wendy Weimer, University of Missouri Kansas City School of Dentistry

DISTRICT 9
Tanya Sue Maestas, DDS, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso Woody L. Hunt School of Dental Medicine

DISTRICT 10
Robert Kramer, DMD, Midwestern University College of Dental Medicine - Arizona

DISTRICT 11
Janelle Palomeres, University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry