OSAP Leadership Awards 

Dr. James J. Crawford Lifetime Achievement Award

This award, named in honor of one of the founding fathers of dental infection control, recognizes lifetime achievement in the field. Awardees have made major contributions in science, education, or public policy related to OSAP’s core competencies of infection control and patient and provider safety.

Steven Geiermann, DDS, FACD, FICD
2022 Award Recipient

Dr. Geiermann, a retired Captain in the U.S. Public Health Service, served as the Senior Manager addressing access, community oral health infrastructure, and capacity within the ADA and as a dental director in the Indian Health Service and Federally Qualified Health Centers as well as being an HRSA regional dental consultant and project officer within the National Health Service Corps and the HIV/AIDS Bureau. He currently serves on the advisory committee for the Oral Health Progress and Equity Network and the boards of OSAP, the American Institute of Dental Public Health, and the Dental Patient Safety Foundation.

Previous award recipients:

Dr. Milton E. Schaefer Superior Service Award

This award is named after one of the founding members of OSAP and celebrates superior service to the organization, recognizing either continuous contributions over a period of time or singular accomplishments. The nominee’s efforts have resulted in tangible benefits to the continuing advancement of OSAP’s mission to be the leading provider of infection prevention and control education, training, and credentialing that supports safe dental visits.

Marie Fluent, DDS
2022 Award Recipient

Dr. Fluent is a graduate of the University of Michigan School of Dentistry. Her dental career spans 35 years and includes roles as dentist, both as an associate and practice owner, infection control coordinator, office manager, and dental assistant. Additionally, she has extensive experience and expertise as a dental inflection control clinical instructor, educator, speaker, author, and consultant. Dr. Fluent is passionate and deeply committed to improving dental infection control and patient safety. Through her writing, webinars, and invited lectures, she has educated thousands of dental professionals and students nationally and internationally. Dr. Fluent has written numerous peer-reviewed articles on infection control in the dental setting, OSHA compliance, and responsible antibiotic prescribing.

Previous award recipients:

Emerging Infection Control Leader Award

The goal of the Emerging Leaders Award is to help develop and promote the next generation of stars in the field of dental infection prevention and safety by identifying outstanding new infection control advocates.

Amanda Hill, BSDH, RDH
2022 Award Recipient

Ms. Hill practices part-time in Virginia Beach, VA as a registered dental hygienist, and is the clinical education manager for Young Innovations. She is a speaker, consultant, and award-winning author. A member of the advisory board for RDH magazine, Dentistry IQ, and OSAP’s Infection Control In Practice Editorial Review Board, Amanda strives to make topics in dentistry accurate, accessible, and fun!

Previous award recipients:

Dr. John S. Zapp Global Lecture

To honor and preserve Dr. Zapp’s memory, the Friends of OSAP, a committed group of leaders who seek to integrate OSAP initiatives into broader global health platforms, established the Dr. John S. Zapp Global Lecture. The lecture is intended to build bridges with global leaders to promote knowledge exchange about oral infection prevention and safety both for patients and providers of care.

Raymond A. Cohlmia, DDS
2022 Lecturer

Dr. Cohlmia’s experience includes joining the University of Oklahoma College of Dentistry faculty in 2009, serving in a variety of leadership positions. In 2011, he was named director of comprehensive care, and he served as assistant dean for patient care from 2013 until he was appointed dean in 2015. Prior to joining the University of Oklahoma, Dr. Cohlmia ran a private dental practice for 26 years.

An active leader in the dental community at the local, state and national levels, Dr. Cohlmia served on the ADA Board of Trustees from 2015-19 and as president of the Oklahoma Dental Association in 2001 and his local dental society in 1997. He has led the ADA New Dentist Committee and Council on Membership, serving as chair in 1999 and 2007, respectively. Additional ADA appointments over the years include the Council on Annual Sessions, the Council on Dental Benefits, and the American Dental Political Action Committee. Dr. Cohlmia has also represented his district as a delegate to the ADA’s House of Delegates — the governing body that develops ADA policies.

Dr. Cohlmia earned his dental degree in 1988 from the OU College of Dentistry. He currently resides in northwest Oklahoma City with his wife, Sherry, and has three children.

Previous lecturers include:

Bette and Paul Schwarz Award for Volunteerism

Karen Gregory, RN, CDIPC
2022 Award Recipient

Ms. Gregory works with Total Medical Compliance (TMC) as Director of Compliance and Education, where she is responsible for developing and supervising compliance programs. TMC provides onsite OSHA, infection control, and HIPAA compliance solutions to dental and medical practices, as well as seminars and webinars on various compliance issues. She is a requested speaker at local, state, and national dental meetings. Karen is on the Editorial Review Board for Infection Control in Practice, a Hu-Friedy Key Opinion Leader, and served on the OSAP Board of Directors. She was the 2020 recipient Dr. James J. Crawford Lifetime Achievement Award, and has earned Certified in Dental Infection Prevention and Control® (CDIPC®) certification.

Previous award recipients:

Chairman’s Citation Award 

Eve Cuny, MS, CDIPC, 2021 – 2022 OSAP Chair of the Board, presented special citations to individuals who have enriched the organization by contributing a unique blend of talents, skills, hard work, and unwavering commitment to the advancement of dental safety.

• Kathy Eklund, RDH, MHP
• Michele L. Lash, RDH, BA
• Jill Moore, EdD, MHA, BSDH, RDH

James A. Cottone Award for Excellence in Investigative Research

This award is named for one of the founders of OSAP who exemplified the best in infection control and safety research. The 2021 James A. Cottone Award is sponsored by Patterson Dental.

Sepehr Makhsous, PhD
2021 Award Recipient
Abstract: Evaluating Aerosol Persistence During Dental Procedures Using a Real-Time Network of Sensor

Previous award recipients:

2017: Peter Arsenault, DMD, MS, and Amad Tayebi ScD, Esq.
2008: Evandro Watanabe, PhD
2007: Charles Palenik, PhD, MS, MBA
2005: Ralph Leonard, DDS, MPH
2004: Enrique Acosta-Gio, DDS, PhD
2003: Joyce M. Galligan, RN, DDS
2002: Nuala Porteous, DDS, and Robert Cooley, DMD, MS
2001: Charles John Palenik, PhD
2000: Kathleen O'Keefe, RN
1999: Ruby Singh

Special Recognition Award for Leadership

Bestowed at the discretion of the OSAP Board of Directors, this special leadership award recognizes individuals whose vision, works, or achievements have significantly influenced and broadly shaped dental infection control. Unlike other awards, this special recognition is not given annually.

Cynthia C. Durley, M.Ed., MBA
2021 Award Recipient

Ms. Durley is Executive Director of both the Dental Advancement through Learning and Education Foundation (the DALE Foundation) and the Dental Assisting National Board (DANB). She has been employed by DANB for more than 35 years and by the DALE Foundation since its incorporation in 2010. Ms. Durley has served on a number of federal and national task forces and committees and held leadership positions in national associations and organizations. Ms. Durley joined former OSAP Executive Director Therese Long, CAE, MBA, as a founding member of the national Infection Control Consortium and currently serves on the OSAP-DANB-DALE Foundation Infection Control Certificate/Certification Steering Commission. She is former Chair of the National Commission for Certifying Agencies [national accrediting commission for certification programs] and former President of the National Organization for Competency Assurance [national membership organization for certification organizations, now called the Institute for Credentialing Excellence].