Thank you for the warm welcome to Dental Lifeline Network!
My entire professional career has been spent in the nonprofit sector. As such, I’ve had the good fortune of seeing the best in people, both in terms of their financial support, but also their donation of time and talent. I’ve never witnessed anything like Dental Lifeline Network. I am awestruck by the generosity of the dentists and labs and the commitment of so many others to our mission. I hope you are all proud of everything you have done to bring over $500M of donated dental treatment to over 165,000 individuals. That’s a stunningly large figure and it was made possible by our incredible network of volunteers, board members and staff who make it all happen.
During my first month, I gave my best effort to glean as much wisdom as I could from Fred before he officially retired on March 11th. He has been incredibly generous with his time and I am grateful for that time and for all he’s done to make Dental Lifeline Network so successful.
I’ve learned a great deal about the difficulty veterans face accessing dental care and have made connections with leadership from the Veterans Administration. DLN has been invited to participate in the ADA Give Veterans a Smile Summit in May and I am excited to share how DLN is continuing to help support veterans by continuing to provide them comprehensive dental care throughout the nation.
It’s been a pleasure being able to connect with our board members, both national and state-level, as well as the many other strategic partners while getting to know our amazing volunteers.
Last but certainly not least, working alongside this wonderful team of DLN staff members gives me confidence we’ll reach our next milestone. They are driven and passionate individuals committed to helping save and change the lives of many. We are currently in the process of hiring a new Vice President of Development who will help us continue pursuing this mission and am thrilled that we’ve garnered the interest of many talented candidates. We hope to complete the interviews by mid-March and to potentially make an offer by the end of March. Be on the lookout for news regarding that hire soon by following us on Facebook and Instagram.
Again, I want to acknowledge Fred’s amazing leadership of this organization. We hope his retirement is full of fun travel and his pursuit of hobbies.
Warmly,
Lynda
