Maria Lubak

DMD

received her DMD degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine in Pittsburgh, PA. After graduation, she worked in private practice in the Pittsburgh area. In 1998, Dr. Lubak took a job at the Hamburg Center. During her 23 year career, she has treated patients with both Developmental Disabilities and Mental health in Pennsylvania for the office of DHS. Dr. Lubak was on the following committees while at the Hamburg Center: Dysphagia, Infection Control and Wellness. Dr. Lubak continues to practice within DHS at the White Haven Center. Dr. Lubak lives in Pennsylvania with her husband Bruce with whom they have 2 sons, Kyle and Austin, a daughter Caitlyn and Dunkyn, the Lab. 

Betsy White

RDH, BSDH, FSCDH

completed her Dental Hygiene Degree at Guilford Technical Community College, her B.S. studies at the Univ. of NC School of Dentistry and maintains her Fellowship in Dental Hygiene from Special Care Dentistry. She has spent her entire career in Special Care Dentistry and is currently a hygienist and Chief Operating Officer for Access Dental Care. She has served on boards and task forces from local to national levels to support dental providers serving patients with intellectual and developmental disabilities as well as those with mental health disorders 

Warren Torchinsky

DDS

has been in the active practice of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery for forty-five years. He is presently Section Chief of Dentistry and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, in the Department of Surgery, at Virtua Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Camden, New Jersey. His practice is centered on medically compromised patients and facial trauma. Dr. Torchinsky has been a speaker on the subject of Covid-19, as well as topics related to the interaction of Medical and Dental care to audiences of Residents, Dentists and Physicians.

Gaylene Baker

RDH, BSDH, MBS

received her BSDH from the University of Iowa and MBA from Aurora University. She holds a PHDH certificate for Illinois, has completed multiple OSAP Bootcamps, has received the OSAP-DALE Foundation Dental Infection Prevention Certification, and is a member of ADHA and a Past President of the IDHA. After 27 years of clinical practice, Gaylene left the operatory to help dental facilities with infection control and prevention needs.

Aous A. Abdulmajeed

B.D.S, Ph.D 

is the Director of Biomaterials and Assistant Professor at the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), School of Dentistry. He received his BDS degree with Honor from the University of Mosul, Iraq in 2007. Dr. Abdulmajeed then went on to earn his PhD (2013) in Prosthetic Dentistry and Biomaterials Science, his post-doctoral fellowship (2015) and AEGD residency (2020). He is a member of the Finnish Dental Association and International Association of Dental Research (IADR). He has over 60 peer-reviewed articles and abstracts in prosthodontics, implant dentistry,and dental biomaterials.

David Itzkoff

DDS

has been the Supervising Dentist at Shapiro Center, a 500-bed residential facility for adults with IDD operated by the State of Illinois in Kankakee for over 30 years.  He is a graduate of NYU School of Dentistry.  He is a senior fellow of National Academies of Practice where he serves as Chair of the Dental Academy and is a Diplomate and immediate past president of the American Board of Special Care Dentistry.  He has been a proud member of SAID for 30 years and hasn’t missed a meeting yet.

Mitchell Gardiner

DDS

is a 1977 graduate of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. After serving for 3 years in the Navy, Dr. Gardiner entered private dental practice. He is a full time general dentist in a multi-specialty practice in New Jersey. For over 25 years Dr. Gardiner has reviewed dental malpractice lawsuits, often testifying in court as an expert witness. Dr. Gardiner is on the faculty of the Rutgers School of Dental Medicine teaching fixed prosthodontics. He is Assistant Clinical Professor of Restorative Dentistry. 

Sarah Shanahan

is an Education & Training Director for HAVEN, an educator and life-long learner who has worked with public and private schools and community organizations for over 25 years. As a violence prevention educator she has delivered programs to over 100,000 students and parents, and has also trained hundreds of NH educators through Governor Hassan’s Youth Violence Prevention Initiative. Additionally, Sarah sits on the board of Lighthouse Kids, and serves on the Prevention Task Force for the Governor's Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery. She lives in NH with her daughter Molly, (a mechanical engineer and travel enthusiast), her partner Donny (a chef and musician), and their pets Monty and Finn.

Debra Altschiller

Debra Altschiller is the Community Liaison for HAVEN, NH's largest domestic & sexual violence crisis response center & violence prevention education program. She has been with HAVEN since 2012 as a confidential advocate, media coordinator and trainer. In addition to working with HAVEN, Debra serves on the New Hampshire Human Trafficking Collaborative task force with NH law enforcement & faith communities developing best practices for assisting people who have been sexually exploited. She was appointed by the Governor of NH and has served on the Oversight Commission for Children’s Services since 2018. She is a member of the Child and Family Law Committee as a member of the NH House of Representatives crafting and vetting legislation that impacts vulnerable children and families.

Douglas Veazey

DDS

is a dentist at the Black Mountain Neuro-Medical Treatment Center in North Carolina. Dr. Veazey was the Dental Director at Broughton Hospital, Morganton for 31 years. He has served over 20+ years at Good Samaritan Dental Clinic, a non-profit that serves indigent patients in Burke County. He and Dr. Levi have been kind enough to take on reviewing published literature that references dental patients with special needs, and to provide to attendees a summary of relevant articles.

Mannie Levi

DDS

received both his DDS degree and his Certificate in Pediatric Dentistry from Columbia University in NYC. In his career, he has worked in the fields of both Developmental Disabilities and Mental Health. In his private pediatric dental practice, he saw many patients with special needs. Dr. Levi currently teaches in the Pediatric Dental Residency at Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center, and teaches General and Oral Pathology and Local Anesthesia to Dental Hygiene students.