A New Era at CDA

Last month, the topic here was the changing environment in which dentistry finds itself as the new millennium approaches a relatively few ticks of time from now. But what about the California Dental Association? What changes have set the association of 1999 apart from its previous editions?

Change in an organization is often difficult to measure because all but very major changes in personnel or policy are likely to occur without fanfare or recognition by the vast majority of membership. Such a major change occurred last year when Tim Comstock was hired as executive director. Most members of CDA are very familiar with that change in administration, due in part to the prolonged transition phase in CDA administrative leadership during the previous two years. The Comstock era at CDA is an example of a visible change.

Changes in volunteer leadership and the implementation and progress of programs are often more subtle and less visible to the membership at large. For example, at every annual House of Delegates, a new president is installed and a newly elected volunteer leader moves up to serve on the Executive Committee of the association. Beyond the fanfare associated with the House, it is business as usual for the association. Similar leadership transitions occur annually with new volunteers moving into service on the Board of Trustees and the various councils and committees of the association. An infusion of new ideas and new energy from this "rite of passage" is important to the growth and progress of our professional organization, although these transitions are not visible to the average member.

While each president may identify programs to be initiated during his or her tenure, they will also inherit issues of concern to the membership or new or developing programs that have previously been placed on the table by the House or Board of Trustees. For example, fluoridation was on the association legislative agenda several years ago. Since statewide fluoridation passed, the association has maintained a continuing and necessary presence to encourage and facilitate implementation of local fluoridation programs throughout the state.

An extremely significant issue to this association has been the increasing diversity of the profession in California. Given a declining market share of culturally, ethnically, and gender-diverse groups within the association membership and leadership, diversity became an important component of CDA’s 1994 strategic plan. An ad hoc Diversity Steering Committee to study the issue and provide direction was appointed in 1996. This activity has been ongoing since that time, recently culminating in a report to the Board of Trustees, which described a three-year Organizational Plan for Membership and Leadership Inclusiveness (2000 through 2002) for CDA.

If queried about diversity in CDA, the majority of members would probably be of the belief that very little visible change has occurred in the past four years of committee activity. In important areas of leadership such as the Board of Trustees, traditionally, significant change can only occur after change occurs at the component dental societies where these CDA trustees are selected. However, the steering committee report describes some notable accomplishments in each of the past four years that will facilitate the accomplishment of the goals set forth in the three-year organizational plan approved by the Board of Trustees in August.

Most important, a change toward a younger, more diverse Executive Committee has been quietly occurring and, until recently, may not have been particularly visible. Upon careful review, the changes have been remarkable. While recent boards of trustees (1996-99) have not shown a high level of diversity in their composition, they have nonetheless demonstrated (in their role of nominating committee for the association), that they have been incorporating an open and progressive attitude toward selection of a diverse association leadership corps. Unquestionably, the strategic plan and the work of the steering committee have also had some positive influence on this leadership process even though the formal organization plan has yet to commence.

When approved next month by the 1999 CDA House, the six elected, voting members of the year 2000 Executive Committee will feature ethnic minorities and the first woman to serve as a CDA officer. And, perhaps, most encouraging to the future vitality of the profession here in California is our observation that the average age of the officers in the chair positions (president, president-elect, vice president, secretary, and treasurer) is relatively low when compared to the usual age range we have seen over the years.

We have always had great respect for those who have served in the elected CDA leadership positions. The time requirement has always been demanding, and the commitment to the profession exceptional. It should also be noted here that in the past decade, we have seen the responsibilities and time requirements expand considerably for the volunteer leadership, making their contribution to their profession an even more significant sacrifice. Traditionally, the time and commitment required of volunteer leadership has limited the interested and qualified to those whose practices have matured to the point that they can afford time away for service to component dental societies, various professional organizations, and CDA. Typically, an individual will spend in excess of 15 to 20 years in service activities, not to mention balancing the responsibilities of raising a family. In the past, the majority of officer candidates were well into their mid-50s.

The year 2000 elected chair officers, with an average age of 49 years, are definitely not on the verge of retirement. Based upon their career accomplishments to date, and with their diverse backgrounds, they have the energy and insight to address some of the problems facing the younger and more diverse members, as well as those of the total membership. It promises to be a new and exciting era at CDA.