At the recent SmileCon event, the ADA named Brett Kessler, DDS, as its new president-elect and Edwin A. del Valle-Sepúlveda, DMD, JD, as second vice president.
Brett Kessler, DDS, a dentist in Denver, Colo, is the new president-elect of the American Dental Association (ADA). Kessler was recently elected at the ADA House of Delegates Meeting at ADA SmileCon in Orlando, Fla.
Edwin A. del Valle-Sepúlveda, DMD, JD, an oral and maxillofacial surgeon in San Juan, Puerto Rico, was also named second vice president of the ADA at the event.
Kessler has been an active volunteer leader and member of the ADA for 26 years. Since 2019, Kessler has represented the 14th district on the ADA board of trustees, and he has chaired several ADA committees, including the diversity and inclusion committee and the audit committee. He is also the chair of the ADA Science and Research Institute’s board of directors and currently serving his second term.
Kessler’s ADA leadership involvement also extends to the House of Delegates, the Dental wellbeing advisory committee and the council of dental benefit programs, where he was vice chair. Additionally, he has served as a board of trustees liaison to the council on advocacy for access and prevention, council of communications and council on dental practice. He was also awarded the Golden Apple award for “Outstanding Leadership in Mentoring” in 2010, which is the highest award bestowed from the ADA.
He served as president of the Colorado Dental Association from 2014-2015, and prior to his term, he held a plethora of other leadership roles within the organization.
Del Valle-Sepúlveda has been an engaged member of the ADA for 41 years, serving on the ADA house of delegates for half of that time. With over 25 years of experience in the leadership of the ADA tripartite, he has also served as a member of the commission on continuing education provider recognition and as a member representing the 4th District on the ADA council on membership. He is also a member of the Hispanic Dental Association, where he served as president in 2020 and National Treasurer in 2018.
Del Valle-Sepúlveda has been involved with numerous other dental organizations, including the American Dental Society of Anesthesiology and the American College of Dentists (ACD) Puerto Rico Section, where he has served as chairman since 2002. As a member of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS), he previously served as the chair and vice-chair of the clinical interest group on cosmetic maxillofacial surgery.
Photo via ADA
