Vermont Dental Conference Speaker Biographies
Mary Govoni, CDA, RDH, MBA
Mary Govoni is an internationally recognized speaker, author and consultant on clinical efficiency, ergonomics, OSHA & HIPAA compliance, and team communication.
Mary is past president and life member of the American Dental Assistants Association, a member of the American Dental Hygienists Association, a member of the Organization for Safety Asepsis and Prevention, the Academy of Dental Management Consultants and the Speaking and Consulting Network and the National Speakers Association.
Jo-Anne Jones, RDH
As a successful entrepreneur and international, award winning speaker, Jo-Anne brings life, energy, and inspiration to all her presentations. The veteran dental hygienist turned educator has a no-nonsense approach and dynamic speaking style that has made her one of North America's most sought-after lecturers in the dental community. She has been selected as one DPR's Top 25 Women in Dentistry and joins the 2020 Dentistry Today CE Leaders for the 10th consecutive year.
Jo-Anne is a Key Opinion Leader for a number of leading corporations within the dental community. She offers a frank and open lecture style, a focus on audience engagement complemented by the provision of educational and clinical resources has earned Jo-Anne many loyal followers both nationally and internationally.
Michael J. Melkers, DDS, MAGD FICOI, FACD
Dr. Melkers is a 1994 graduate of Marquette University School of Dentistry & currently serves as Visiting Faculty at Riga Stradins University & The Pankey Institute. He is also an Ad hoc reviewer for the Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry.
In the past, he has been Director of Occlusion & Aesthetic Dentistry at the Pacific Northwest AEGD Residency Program and Visiting Faculty at The Spear Institute. He just finished his tenure as Editor for American Equilibration Society and received the 2018 AES President’s Distinguished Service Award.
Dr. Melkers is a Master of the Academy of General Dentistry and maintains a private clinical practice.
Brian Novy, DDS
Dr. Nový is the President of the DentaQuest Oral Health Center, Director of Practice Improvement at the DentaQuest Institute, and an adjunct associate professor of general dentistry. He served on the ADA Council of Scientific Affairs 2010-2014, and as chairman of the CAMBRA coalition through 2015. The California Dental Association Foundation presented him with the Dugoni Award for “Outstanding contributions to dental education,” and in 2009, the American Dental Association awarded Dr. Nový and his office the title, “Adult Preventive Care Practice of the Year.” In 2016 he was appointed the consumer advocate on the United States Food and Drug Administration Dental Products Panel.
Professor Jon B. Suzuki, D.D.S., Ph.D., M.B.A
Dr. Jon Suzuki holds Clinical Professorships at the University of Maryland, the University of Washington and Nova Southeastern University. He is also on the faculty of the US Navy Walter Reed National Medical Center, Bethesda, MD.
Dr. Suzuki is Professor Emeritus of Microbiology and Immunology (School of Medicine) and Professor Emeritus of Periodontology and Oral Implantology (School of Dentistry) at Temple University, Philadelphia, PA. USA. He served as Chairman and Director of Graduate Periodontology and Oral Implantology, and Associate Dean for Graduate Education at Temple University. He also served as Dean, Chief of Hospital Dentistry, and CEO of the Faculty Practice Plan at the University of Pittsburgh, USA.
Dr. Suzuki is the current Chairman of the Food and Drug Administration Dental Products Advisory Panel, Silver Spring, MD. and holds this position until 2022. Dr. Suzuki received his D.D.S. from Loyola University of Chicago and Ph.D. in Microbiology from the Illinois Institute of Technology. He completed an N.I.H. Fellowship in Immunology at the University of Washington, and a Clinical Certificate in Periodontics at the University of Maryland. He earned an MBA from the Katz Graduate School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh.
He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology, Fellow of the American and International College of Dentists, Specialist Microbiologist and Past Board Examiner of the American College of Medical Microbiology, and Diplomate, Fellow, and Past President of the International Congress of Oral Implantologists.
Dr. Suzuki is the current Executive Secretary/Treasurer of the Supreme Chapter of Omicron Kappa Upsilon, the National Honorary Dental Society, and has served in this position for three decades.
Dr. Suzuki has published over 200 papers, chapters, and symposia, 200 abstracts, and 1 textbook in Medical Technology.
Peter A. Vellis, DDS
Dr. Vellis was raised in Brooklyn, NY, where he attended Adelphi University and received a BS in Biology, graduating Summa Cum Laude in 1996. He attended Columbia University College of Physician and Surgeons, graduating in 2000 with the degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery.
He was commissioned in the United States Navy Dental Corps as a Lieutenant and completed a General Practice Residency at Great Lakes Naval Hospital in Illinois. He completed a two year tour as Dental Department Head on the supply ship USS Detroit, home ported in Earle NJ in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Dr. Vellis was selected by the Navy to attend an oral surgery training program.
Dr. Vellis completed an advanced education training program in oral and maxillofacial surgery at the University of Minnesota in 2007. Upon completion of his training program, Dr. Vellis served as the oral surgeon on the USS Dwight D Eisenhower, home ported in Norfolk, VA. He deployed once again in support of combat operations. In 2009, he was assigned as head of the department of oral and maxillofacial surgery at the largest Navy dental clinic in the world in Norfolk VA. His assignment also included a staff appointment at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, where he was involved in resident education. He was then selected to the rank of Commander prior to his honorable discharge from the US Navy.
Dr. Vellis joined New England Oral Surgery Associates in 2011. His professional affiliations are Diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, a Fellow of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, Fellow of the American College of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, and a member of the American Dental Association.
Summer Wagner, CDA
Summer Wagner is a 20 -year veteran in the dental field. She has a clinical background as a CDA and a Dental Assisting instructor. A native of North Carolina she now resides in Connecticut with her family. She is a Software Technology Advisor for Patterson Dental and specializes in Eaglesoft and Fuse Practice Management Software.
Lynda M. Ulrich, DDS Keynote Speaker
Dr. Lynda Ulrich is the founder of Ever Widening Circles (EWC), a Positive Global Media Company that began publishing articles in 2014 about remarkable insights and innovation going uncelebrated. Now she is on a mission to bring us all together around an enormous wave of goodness and progress well underway in the world that almost no one knows about.
Dr. Lynda has devoted her professional life to finding inspiring ways to keep the humanity in healthcare and now she is speaking to thought leaders around the world every week who are making the world a better place in astonishing ways. Her gift is in synthesizing their genius into narratives, ideas, and connections that can change our shared future. Dr. Lynda and her husband own and practice at Fiddlehead Dental in St. Albans, VT and have been long-time VSDS/ADA members.
Dr. Lynda is being interviewed by news media around the world about the opening of a new era. She has a best selling book, podcasts, and TEDx Talks.