Dear Friends,

  The Connecticut Oral Health Initiative (COHI)
  is delighted to announce that Lisa Reynolds
  has been selected to become our Executive
  Director. After an exhaustive search, Ms.
  Reynolds emerged as the  finalist and has
  accepted the position. She has jumped in
  already and began work on July 2.

Lisa comes to COHI with a wealth of experience in the
non-profit field, particularly in strategic planning,
advocacy, community relations and organizing. She is a
passionate advocate for access  to  health care and is the
Co-Chair of the Health Care for All Coalition. Lisa joins us
from Senior Resources, the Eastern Connecticut Area 
Agency on Aging, where she oversaw the development
and implementation of the organization's strategic plan.

Lisa co-founded the Transportation Coalition for Eastern
Connecticut and the Healthy Aging Regional Partnership;
and created the Women of Color Network and the Direct
Care Workforce Shortage Team. The team publicly
launched its first issue report at the Legislative Office
Building. Among her current affiliations are:  the
Connecticut Citizen Action Group; the Connecticut
Citizens' Coalition for Nursing Home Reform; Advocacy
Chair for the Connecticut Multicultural Health Partnership
and a member of the Board of Directors of Northeast
Action. 

Lisa's background in health issues and work in the health
field position her well to get up to speed quickly on the
current issues and challenges facing the oral health
sector in Connecticut. Her extensive visibility and
networks in the state - especially with many allies and
leaders who are key to moving the oral health agenda
forward - are great assets. COHI is confident that she will
be a strong leader and will work effectively with our
partners to advance better oral health across the state. 

The COHI Board is grateful for the leadership exercised by
consultant Madeline McClave who has performed
admirably during the hiatus between executive directors. 
As many of you are aware, there have been more
meetings, more conferences, more need to seek out
champions and spokespeople for oral health, that have
kept her busy as COHI's Interim ED these past eleven
months. And, on top of all this, the search for a new ED!
Little did she know when she agreed to assume this
position that we would face such challenges. We can
never thank her enough for keeping COHI visible,
involved, and a continuing force to be reckoned with in
the oral health debate.  

COHI, founded in 1992 as a committee of the
Connecticut State Dental Association, became a
non-profit agency in 2002, and has climbed high on
the stage of oral health in the state by virtue of a
hard-working Board of Directors and its executive
directors, coupled with the strong support of the
Connecticut Health Foundation.These efforts will
continue unabated into the future because of the
strength of its mission and goals for "oral health
for all" in Connecticut.

Howard I. Mark, D.M.D., President