ABOUT US
Our Story
We founded Indiana Dental Hygienists' Association in 1946 out of a pure passion for our profession. Our goals, ambitions and inspirations have come together to form a truly amazing association that all of us are proud to be a part of.
GOALS OF THE INDIANA DENTAL HYGIENISTS’ ASSOCIATION
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Promote membership and participation in the Indiana Dental Hygienists’ Association while providing for a viable financial base.
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Achieve self-regulation of dental hygiene education, licensure and practice.
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Promote consumer advocacy in oral health care as a part of total health.
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Serve as the authoritative resource for the profession of dental hygiene.
To learn more about us, don’t hesitate to reach out - we’d love to hear from you.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Sheli Taulbee
President
Sheli is 1981 graduate, earning her Associate of Science with distinction from Indiana University in Fort Wayne. She has worked as a clinician in private practice for 40 years enjoying the opportunity to educate and share her passion for dentistry with her patients. Sheli has served the professional association throughout her career and is currently the President of the Indiana Dental Hygienists’ Association. She has served on the Dental Advisory Committee for Matthew 25 Dental Clinic, where she enjoys volunteering to care for those in need. Sheli credits her love of dentistry to her many mentors, including her dentist father.
Lauren McNicholas
President-Elect
Lauren graduated from Indiana University in Fort Wayne in 2008 with an Associate of Science in Dental Hygiene and earned her Local Anesthesia for Dental Hygienists Certification in 2019. She has been practicing in the Michiana area for over 12 years. Lauren is married and has two Wire Hair Fox Terriers. Her professional service includes serving two terms as President of the Elkhart/Goshen Dental Hygienists’ Association, a two-time delegate to the IDHA House of Delegates, has been a member of the ADHA since 2008, and served two terms as a member of the Indiana Hygienists of Indiana Political Action Committee. Lauren is currently serving as the President-Elect of the Indiana Dental Hygienists Association.
Heather Taylor
Immediate Past President
Heather earned her Associate of Science in 2006 from Indiana University Northwest, her Bachelor of Science of Public Health in 2011 and her Master of Public Health in 2014 from Indiana University/Purdue University Indianapolis. She has been an Indiana licensed dental hygienist for fourteen years. Heather has worked in a variety of settings as a hygienist, including private-practice, public health, and education. Currently, she is a PhD candidate at the Indiana University Fairbanks School of Public Health, a NLM Public and Population Health Informatics Fellow, and the Immediate Past President of the Indiana Dental Hygienists’ Association. Her research covers the oral-systemic health link, oral health disparities, and the integration of medical and dental data.
Jessica Rocke
Vice President
Jessica graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene from Indiana University Fort Wayne in 2019. During her schooling and her work in public health following graduation she found a love for educating patients on the oral-systemic connection and increasing access to care. Currently she is working on her master’s degree in Community Oral Health and will graduate in August 2021. Jessica hopes to continue work within the association and beyond to further collaborations between medicine and dentistry. Her dream is that this will lead to hygienists being a regular part of every comprehensive healthcare team, including working in hospitals. Jessica is currently serving as the Vice President for the Indiana Dental Hygienists’ Association.
Crystal Heath
Treasurer
Crystal graduated in 2015 from Indiana University School of Dentistry. She has a passion for preventative dentistry and dental public health. She is currently pursuing her master's degree in Public Health and will graduate in May 2021. Crystal aspires to move beyond direct patient care in a dental office setting and promote oral health on a broader scale within her community through program planning, education, research, and surveillance.
Sharon Paterson
Secretary
Sharon graduated in 1985 from the dental hygiene program at Loyola University Chicago then completed her Bachelor degree from Loyola in 1986. She has worked as a clinical hygienist in private practice, a military base, and has extensive experience as a temporary hygienist both in IL and IN. In 2000, her family relocated to the Indianapolis, IN area and Sharon found her passion for public health. She has worked for an FQHC (Federally Qualified Health Center) in Indianapolis for the past 20 years. Her specific areas of interest are patient education, the oral-systemic health link, refugee advocacy, and mentoring. Sharon is the current IDHA Secretary and Co-chair of the Membership Committee.
Lynn Ramer
Trustee at Large
Lynn graduated from Indiana University Fort Wayne in 1982 with an Associate of Science in Dental Hygiene. Throughout her 39 year career, she has practiced in private general dental practices, a periodontal practice and spent the past 23 1/2 years working within the DSO sphere. Her professional service has spanned decades at all levels of leadership in the association. She served as IDHA President in 1995-1996, ADHA District V Trustee and ADHA President in 2009-2010. While currently serving on the IDHA BOD as Trustee-at-Large, Lynn is also serving as an ADHA appointed Commissioner on the Joint Commission for Dental Examinations (JCNDE). She credits her passion to improving the health of the patients she serves, dedication to lifelong learning, and her active involvement in her professional association as the keys to keeping her energized.
Madison Shuee
ADHA 3 Year Delegate
Madison graduated from the University of Arkansas in 2014 with a bachelor's degree in Community Health and then went on to graduate from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in Dental Hygiene. After graduation, she moved to Indianapolis and has been working in the same private practice for four years. Throughout her time as a dental hygienist, Madison has enjoyed developing relationships with her patients and teaching them about the importance of dental health. She is passionate about explaining the impact oral health has on the entire body. Madison considers herself to be an oral health coach and wants all of her patients to leave the office learning something new about oral hygiene habits and feeling confident in themselves and their smile.
CENTRAL OFFICE
Executive Director
BARBARA OWENS
Barb has worked with nonprofits the majority of her career and in the association management environment for over 25 years, predominately in the membership and event planning areas. Barb has a passion for serving others and considers herself blessed to be able to work with nonprofit organizations whose missions she can endorse. That passion extended to volunteer work as a client advocate for a local Pregnancy Resource Center while living in St. Louis for eight years. She also has been active in women's and children's ministries at her home church. Barb loves spending time with her three precious grandchildren and is an amateur photographer, using her photos in ways that bless others and chronicle her family's history. While in St. Louis, Barb worked 15 months for Central Office Management Solutions (COMS) and was assigned the Indiana Dental Hygienists' Association as her client. Having returned to Indianapolis in 2016, she is excited to once again have the opportunity to work with IDHA.
IDHA Past Presidents
"Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality"
- Warren Bennis
Leonora Schrichte (d) 1947-51
Vivian Frumm (d) 1951-52
Betty Fink Ervin (d) 1952-53
Sylvia Heckenstaffer 1952-54
Wilma Hook Savage (d) 1954-55
Ann Ackerman Glass 1955-56
Lillian Dahl Werhle (d) 1956-57
Joan Kline Yoder 1957-58
Juanita Schisler (d) 1958-60
Donna Dodd (d) 1960-61
Priscella Robards 1961-62
Jaclyn Gray 1962-63
Sylvia Mills 1963-65
Betty Jo Knafel 1965-66
Marlene Christmas 1966-67
Connie Hamilton 1967-68
Karen Yoder 1968-69
Margaret Hunt (d) 1969-70
Carmine McDonald-Griffis 1970-71
Ann Mann 1971-72
Pat Wade Carpenter 1972-73
Suzanne Boundy 1973-74
Donna Pownell 1974-75
Kay Raag 1975-76
Anita Weaver Bond 1976-77
Pauline Phillips 1977-78
Patricia Hefner 1978-79
Beverly Boone Ruebeck 1979-80
Rita Marie Hope 1980-81
Sandra Gordner 1981-82
Beth Fultz Thompson 1982-83
Kathy Hinshaw 1983-84
Barb Gorbitz 1984-85
Kathy Hinshaw 1985-86
Jewell Arthur 1986-87
Kay Oser 1987-88
Nanci Yokom 1988-89
Jan Gettelfinger 1989-90
Laverne Whitmore 1990-92
Gail Williamson 1992-93
Kathy Nahrwold 1993-94
Ingrid Churchill 1994-95
Lynn Ramer 1995-96
Kathy Nahrwold 1996-97
Ronda (Henning) Worden (d) 1997-98
Judy Zink 1998-99
Ronda (Henning) Worden (d) 1999-2000
Paula Russell 2000-01
Lisa Driver 2001-02
Monica Skibbe 2002-03
Becky Alles 2003-05
Amy Lynn Byrd 2005-06
Ashley (Jamison) Recker 2006-07
Karen Wilber 2007-08
Denise Conrad 2008-09
Eileen (Mason) Clodfelder 2009-10
Sandra McIlrath 2010-12
Renee (Anderson) Pryor 2012-13
Melissa (Spriggs) Rippey 2013-15
Amanda (Daniels) Apple 2015-16
Stephanie Cohen 2016-17
Heather Taylor 2017-19
Sheli Taulbee 2020-Present