University of Florida College of Dentistry faculty Alex Delgado, D.D.S., M.S., and Deeba Kashtwari, B.D.S., M.S., were both accepted as 2019-20 American Dental Education Association, or ADEA, Leadership Institute Fellows, an honor bestowed annually to the nation’s most promising dental educators.
Delgado, a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Restorative Dental Sciences and division director of operative dentistry at UFCD, and Kashtwari, a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Diagnostic Sciences and division and program director for oral and maxillofacial radiology, are kicking off the ADEA Leadership Institute with orientation March 15 in Chicago in advance of 2019 ADEA Annual Session and Exhibition.
The leadership institute is a year-long program that develops the nation’s most promising dental educators to become leaders in dental and higher education. Institute fellows hold positions ranging from department chairs to program directors to deans of dental schools.
The institute, unique to dental education, is conducted in four phases during which fellows undertake a variety of assignments designed to both guide and enhance their professional development. The program includes sessions in leadership theory, team building, communications, managing change, public policy, educational policy, legal issues, research, and budgeting and financial management.
Fellows engage in self and peer-assessment and gain perspectives about oral health policy and legislation, organization and financing of higher education, budgeting, and other skills associated with effective leadership.
2019-20 ADEA Leadership Institute Phases
- Orientation: March 15, 2019, at the 2019 ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition in Chicago, Illinois
- Phase I: Personal and Interpersonal Competencies for Leadership, June 25-29, 2019, Hilton Chicago Oak Brook Hills Resort, Oak Brook, Illinois
- Phase II: Legislative Workshop, September 15-18, 2019, ADEA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
- Phase III: Administrative Competencies for Leadership, January 29 – February 1, 2020, ADEA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
- Phase IV: Integration, March 13–17, 2020, at the 2020 ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition in National Harbor, Maryland
Alex Delgado, D.D.S., M.S.
As division director for operative dentistry, Delgado is responsible for leadership in the areas of teaching, research, service and faculty development for faculty in the division. He ensures that the predoctoral and postdoctoral curriculum in operative dentistry align with the strategic goals of the college and include the most-current scientific advances. Delgado works with other leaders in the department and throughout the college to ensure cooperation and collaboration to support the needs of the curriculum and an excellent education experience for UFCD students.
Delgado joined the college in June 2014. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Colegio Champagnat, Caracas, Venezuela, in 1996 and his dental degree in 2001 from Universidad Santa María, also in Caracas. In May 2014, he earned a certificate and a master’s in operative dentistry from the University of North Carolina School of Dentistry in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He teaches didactic, preclinical and clinical fundamentals in restorative dentistry, and also practices in the college’s faculty practice. Delgado is also the faculty director of the Equal Access Clinic Network’s dental program supported by UF Health.
Delgado was recently named the recipient of the 2019 Rising Star Award from the Academy of Operative Dentistry and the 2017-2018 Sustained Excellence in Teaching Award from the University of Florida. In 2016, he was presented with The Judson C. Hickey Scientific Writing Award from the American Prosthodontic Society and was awarded as the 2015-2016 Clinical Teachers of Year, an award that is selected by the dental students.
Deeba Kashtwari, B.D.S., M.S.
Kashtwari, a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Diagnostic Sciences, is the division director and program director for Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, is a Radiation Safety Officer for the College of Dentistry and serves as adjunct faculty in medical radiology.
Kashtwari joined the college in July 2014 and shortly thereafter became a Diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology in 2015.
She graduated from Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, India, in 2003 with a B.D.S. and worked in private practice before continuing her education the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she served as a teaching assistant for four years, completed a clinical research and faculty development fellowship in 2011 and earned her master’s degree in oral and maxillofacial radiology in 2014.
She is a site visitor for Advanced Education in Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology for the Commission on Dental Accreditation.
In addition to ADEA, she is a member of the American Dental Association, Florida Dental Association, American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, AAOMR, and the Radiological Society of North America. She represents the college on the Human Use of Radioisotopes and Radiation committee, serves on the college’s Advanced Education Faculty Committee, is an ex officio of Clinical Affairs and Quality Assurance committee and chair of the subcommittee for Radiation Safety and Quality Assurance. She is also member of the AAOMR Postdoctoral Education and Awards Committees.
Kashtwari is heavily involved in predoctoral and graduate dental education as course director of all predoctoral radiology courses at UFCD, mentors up to 12 residents in the postdoctoral program, and participates in clinical research and the Radiology Faculty Practice.