Board of Directors

Adam Barefoot, DMD, MPH

President

Dr. Adam Barefoot DMD, MPH, is a Georgia licensed dentist and Director of Oral Health for the state of Georgia in the Department of Public Health.  He leads the state Oral Health Program to improve oral health outcomes and reduce oral health disparities across the state.  This is done through many programmatic activities including supporting 18 public health district oral health programs, providing technical training to community water fluoridation operators, promoting and implementing school based oral health prevention programs, conducting statewide oral health surveillance, and partnering with a variety of organizations in cross cutting activities and initiatives. Previously, Dr. Barefoot was a Dental Director for a Federally Qualified Health Center serving primarily underserved and uninsured rural populations.  This experience provided significant insight into health disparities and health inequity issues.  During this time Dr. Barefoot completed a Masters of Public Health degree program.   Dr. Barefoot also completed a 1-year general practice residency program in a hospital-based setting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania prior to starting his clinical career in private practice. Dr. Barefoot was selected to the CDC Public Health Training in Place Program (PH-TIPP) as part of the 2020-2021 cohort. He is a member of the American Dental Association (ADA), Georgia Dental Association (GDA), Oral Health Progress and Equity Network (OPEN), and participates on the Board of Directors for the Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors (ASTDD), American Network of Oral Health Coalitions (ANOHC), and the Georgia Oral Health Coalition (GOHC).

James Lopez, D.D.S., M.S., M.S., P.C.

Vice President

Dr. James Lopez graduated from the University of Tennessee and received his dental degree from the University of Tennessee Center for the Health Sciences in 1974. He graduated in 1977 and 1979 with two masters degrees in orthodontics and pediatric dentistry.

While in Tennessee, Dr. Lopez served as Chief of Dentistry in the Child Development Center at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine, assisting children with cleft lip and palate and other special needs. He also served as Clinical Director of the Department of Orthodontics in the College of Dentistry. Dr. Lopez now serves on many dental and civic boards, advises colleges on education of dental hygienists and has accomplished primary research, publishing his work in orthodontics. He was recently installed as the President of the Georgia Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. Dr. Lopez is the Georgia delegate to the American Dental Association. He also serves as a Trustee for the Georgia Dental Association, served as a member of the DentaQuest (Medicaid) Advisory Board for the State of Georgia, and a member of the Muscogee County Board of Health. Dr. Lopez has also been elected to the International College of Dentists and served as a delegate to the American Dental Association. He is the immediate past president of Georgia Academy of Pedodontics Dentistry.

This wealth of experience is applied to your care. Dr. Lopez also uses referrals when needed and applies the same high standards to those colleagues.

In addition to many dental awards, Dr. Lopez is an Eagle Scout and is the recipient of the Boy Scouts of America's highest honor to adults, the Silver Beaver Award, and has volunteered dental services in Central America. He serves on the Boards of Boy Scouts and the Boy's Club. Dr. Lopez has served on the Board of the Columbus Youth Soccer Association. Dr. Lopez serves on the Georgia Dental Association Medicaid Task Force and is a member of the Georgia Oral Health Coalition.

Mira Colter RDH, MPH

Secretary

Mira has been a member of the Georgia Oral Health Coalition since January of 2020, just shortly after joining the Georgia Department of Public Health as the Oral Health Program Manager in September of 2019. She has always had a passion for oral health and have dedicated over 20 years and counting to the profession. In 2000, she joined the military and became a dental assistant, and currently serves in the Georgia Air National Guard as a Non-Commissioned Officer in charge of the 116^th Medical Group dental clinic in Warner Robins. However, not long after she began her career in the military, she decided to attend college. Mira obtained a Dental Hygiene degree from Trident Technical College, South Carolina in 2005, a Bachelor of Health Science degree from the Medical University of South Carolina in 2009, and a Master of Public Health degree from the University of South Florida in 2013.  Mira has since received several accolades and awards including Non-Commissioned Officer of the Quarter, Student of the Year, and featured as the 116^th Air Control Wing Good Citizen Airman. She also served on the Health Ministry at her church and was a previous member of the American Dental Hygienists’ Association, and the American Public Health Association.

Michelle Boyce, RDH, MHSC, MPH, DHSC

Treasurer

Dr. Michelle Boyce is the Dean of Health Sciences and Associate Professor of Dental Hygiene at Georgia Highlands College in Rome, Georgia. She is an active member of the Georgia Dental Hygienists’ Association and the Treasurer for the Georgia Oral Health Coalition. She is a Registered Dental Hygienist and practiced full-time dental hygiene for 12 years in both a general and periodontal practice before changing careers to education. Lifelong learning is her passion.  She graduated in 1999 from West Georgia Technical College with an Associate of Applied Technology in Dental Hygiene and a Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene from Clayton State University in 2010. She then completed a graduate certificate in Public Health at the University of Florida in 2011. She obtained both a MHSc and a DHSc from Nova Southeastern University in 2013 through the dual MHSc/DHSc program. Most recently she earned a Master of Public Health from Augusta University in 2017. Her education interests include interprofessional education and collaboration, health promotion and health informatics, and clinical teaching. She has also traveled abroad on numerous occasions for dental mission trips. She has a passion for community health promotion and disease prevention and has volunteered her time to help organize and attend many health fairs and screening events She has published several articles in peer-reviewed journals and professional magazines. She lives in Dallas, Georgia with her husband, Shane. She loves to travel to warm places to scuba dive.

Dr. David Reznik, DDS

Board Member

Chief of the Dental Medicine Service, Grady Health System

David Reznik is a graduate of Emory College and Emory University’s School of Dentistry and is the Director of the Oral Health Center of Grady’s Infectious Disease Program, a program he founded 28 years ago. He also serves as Chief of the Dental Service for the Grady Health System. Dr. Reznik is president and founder of HIVDent (HIV Dent Alliance), a not-for-profit organization of concerned healthcare providers committed to assuring access to high quality oral health care services for people living with HIV disease. Dr. Reznik has lectured and published extensively on HIV and oral health. He has been presented with a 2014 Health Care Hero Award by Atlanta Business Chronicle, and was named a 2015 Distinguished Dentist by Expert Network. Among his many awards, Dr. Reznik was particularly honored by HRSA's HIV/AIDS Bureau at a Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program with a 2008 HRSA Associate Administrator's Award from Dr. Deborah Parham Hopson, who praised him for "his years of passion, dedication commitment and national leadership on HIV oral health care and for serving as a champion for national health care provider education."He has also helped set up oral health programs throughout the United States for Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (HAB) grantees and serves as a clinical site visitor for HAB grantees. Dr. Reznik is a 2016 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar, in part on the merit of his help in setting up oral health programs throughout the country for the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program. 

Pam Cushenan, RDH, MS, FSCDH, ATI

Board Member

Pam Cushenan is a licensed dental hygienist and dental hygiene educator. After many years of working with older adults and special patients, she developed the SOFT SmilesTM education and training programs for children, teens, adults, elders and their caregivers. Pam has devoted much time and energy to the development of resources to guide an ever-growing number of patients and clients that include professionals, elders, family members, caregivers, and interested individuals. In addition, she trains dental hygienists to provide mobile services to patients with special needs in safety net settings. The SOFT Smile goal is to increase awareness and skills to apply healthy solutions to unmet health needs. In 2005, Pam joined the faculty of Georgia State University Perimeter as a full-time educator in the dental hygiene program and today is an Assistant Professor. To date, several her published articles have been featured in Access Magazine, the Alzheimer’s Association Newsletter, RDH, and Modern Hygienist. Pam continues to work tirelessly to combine her training techniques and educational methods in a variety of symposiums, workshops and informative sessions across the country.

Emma Paris LMSW, MPH, PMP

Board Member

Emma Paris is the Director of Health Policy at the Georgia Dental Association. At the GDA, Emma advises member dentists and the association on third party insurance issues, OSHA and HIPAA questions, dental practice questions, public health issues, and researches relevant dental practice policy issues to keep the membership up-to-date on best practices and oral health data. Emma holds a Bachelor of Social Work degree from Auburn University, a Master of Social Work degree from Florida State University, and a Master of Public Health with an emphasis in Healthcare Organization and Policy from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Emma is a licensed Social Worker in Georgia and previously worked as a Medicaid Specialist Social Worker with the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Development serving low income special needs individuals. Emma also serves on the Georgia Dental Association Medicaid Task Force, the Community Water Fluoridation Advisory Committee, The AGs Statewide Opioid Task Force, the MAG Opioid Task Force, and is a secondary liaison for the Georgia Board of Dentistry. Emma lives in Decatur with her husband and dogs, Stella and Roscoe.

Charles E. Moore, MD

Board Member

Professor, Department of Otolaryngology,Emory University School of Medicine

Chief of Service, Otolaryngology, Grady Health System

Director, Emory Urban Health Initiative

Dr. Charles Moore received a Bachelor of Science from Union College and his medical degree from Harvard Medical School. He subsequently completed residency training in Otolaryngology- Head and Neck Surgery and fellowship training in Craniomaxillofacial – Cranial Base, Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the University of Michigan. Dr. Moore is a Professor at Emory University and the Chief of Service in the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery at Grady Health. Dr. Moore is the President and Founder of Health Education, Assessment and Leadership (HEAL), Inc. Dr. Moore has a longstanding and profound commitment to the training and development of learners from all backgrounds. His research focus has been in the investigation of factors involved in healthcare disparity with a particular focus on head and neck cancer incidence in medically underserved communities. In 2016, Dr. Moore partnered with Dr. Hope Bussenius and Dr. David Reznik to develop OH I CAN (Oral Health in Communities and Neighborhoods), aimed at increasing access to oral health services for low-income families.Today, the OH I CAN team has developed technology to bridge clinical practice, education and training, research, and health policy (ohican.org). 

Jorge Bernal, DDS, MPH

Board Member

Sealant Coordinator/Health Educator, DPH

Currently employed by the Georgia Department of Public Health, as a Dental Sealant/Oral Health Education Specialist, with over 10 years of experience in dentistry and public health. After dental school, spent 4 years working as a dentist in Colombia, South America, in the remote areas of the Amazon forest. Responsibilities included comprehensive dental care as well as promotion and prevention on a variety of health issues. I manage the school-based sealant programs in Georgia.

Sherelle Briers, RDH

Board Member

Director, The Oral Hygiene Instruction Recare System

Jay C Shirley DMD, MS

Board Member

Dr. Shirley is Director, Dental Services, Center for Cleft and Craniofacial Disorders at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Since 1997, he has had a hospital-based pediatric dentistry practice treating children with complex medical conditions. He is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine and a Consultant for the Navy Postgraduate Dental School in Bethesda, Maryland. Dr. Shirley completed a residency program in pediatric dentistry at the University of Alabama- Birmingham and is currently enrolled in an Executive Master’s program in Health Policy at the London School of Economics and the University of Chicago. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry and the American Board of Special Care Dentistry. He is also a Fellow in Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.

Dr. Shirley is a past president of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry and Georgia Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and serves as a consultant for the Commission on Dental Accreditation. He led efforts for legislation in Georgia for general anesthesia and oral health services for children with special health care needs and worked on the revision of state regulations related to safety during sedation of children. He has served on the Academy of Pediatric Dentistry’s Board of Trustees, Council of Dental Care, Council of Dental Benefits and Committee on Special Healthcare Needs, and the American Dental Association’s Dental Quality Alliance.

He recently completed 32 years of reserve and active Navy service. During this time, he held several clinical and senior executive medicine leadership positions, including Commanding Officer of a 150- bed field hospital. In 2017, he was recalled to active duty to serve as the Force Surgeon for U.S Marine Corps Forces Europe and Africa, and in 2019 he was recalled to active duty to US Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery in the Washington DC area.

Chistina Scherrer, PhD

Board Member

Professor and Department Chair, Industrial & Systems Engineering, Kennesaw State University

Dr. Christina Scherrer received her Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and has served on the faculty at Kennesaw State University (formerly Southern Polytechnic State University) since 2005. She is passionate about increasing access to preventive oral health services and excited to serve on the board of the Georgia Oral Health Coalition. Her research interests focus on applications of industrial engineering to the public sector, and especially oral health. Dr. Scherrer’s oral health projects include quantifying the cost-effectiveness and benefits associated with school-based sealant programs, generating workflow recommendations for those programs, and estimating the impact of fluoride varnish application in primary care settings. Her research has been used by federal and state agencies, state dental directors, and local sealant program coordinators to improve efficiency and promote implementation of preventive oral health services.

Delicia Smalls RDH, MPH

Board Member

Delicia Smalls is a trusted, experienced and committed member of the healthcare community. She’s a licensed Dental Hygienist and she also has a Masters Degree in public health. She and her late husband owned 3 dental offices in the greater Atlanta area. After Dr. Vincent Smalls passing, Delicia spent time away from healthcare to focus on family and her 2 young sons. While home, she started a dental consulting company and explored entrepreneurship. Within that time span 3 Smalls LLC was created. Her company invests in small businesses, performs contract work for Fulton County as well as dental consulting. 

Currently, Delicia has refocused her attention to her true passion which is oral health. She works as a dental consultant with hopes of combining her oral health experience with her public health knowledge.