Board of Governors

The Humble Smile Foundation is governed by an independent Board of Directors, which is responsible for ensuring that the Foundation manages its finances, operations, and grant-making programs to advance its mission and goals.

Currentlythere are 10 Humble Smile Board members in 6 countries.

Dr. Darren Weiss

President, Executive committee

After 22 years as a clinician in private dentistry in Australia and Israel, and a few more years as a corporate oral health promotion consultant, Darren now directs all his efforts towards maximal impact on global oral disease.

Dr. Noel Abdayem

Fundraising, Executive committee

With a unique combination of entrepreneurial spirit, dental degree and outreach experience, Noel manages the business relations that sustain the foundation.

Lois K. Cohen, PhD

Global health research, Advisory committee

Lois is a sociologist with an extensive career in research and health science administration. She serves as a consultant & Paul G. Rogers Ambassador for Global Health Research and provides consultation for the WHO and National Institutes of Health,the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, various universities and professional associations including the ADA, FDI and ADEA. Having authored more than 150 articles in peer-reviewed journals, Lois serves on several journal and organisational boards.

Leoni Groot

Secretary, Executive committee

With an academic background in Conflict Studies & Human Rights in the Netherlands, Leoni has worked in non-profit organisations in the Middle East, most recently as Operations & Development Officer for Humble Smile.

Dr. Barbora Ďurčanová

Professional and academic relations, Advisory committee

After volunteering in Africa, which she describes as “a humbling experience”, Boa conducts preventive projects as president of the Slovak Association of Dental Students, while continuing her oral & maxillofacial surgery studies at Comenius University in Bratislava.

Prof. Birgitta Kohler

Prevention and cariology, Advisory committee

Birgitta is Professor emeriti in Cariology at the Institute of Cariology, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, which means she has researched, educated and prevented tooth decay for most of her career -but not just from an ivory tower, as she currently directs a project in Burkina Faso in West Africa.

Dr. Evelyn Mamber

Paediatric dentistry, Advisory committee

Evelyn is a paedodontistin private practice and Clinical Instructor and Lecturer in the Department of Paediatric Dentistry, Hadassah Medical Centre in Jerusalem. Evelyn brings her expertise in pre-natal and primary-primary prevention, as well as outreach experience as a volunteer with Pacific Partnership onboard the USNS Mercy ship.

Dr. Christian Coachman

Partnership development, Advisory committee

In addition to private dental practice in Sao Paulo, Christian founded Digital Smile Design, and spends most of his time sharing his innovative concepts in smile design, aesthetic dentistry, and oral rehabilitation, with dentists all around the world.

Dr. Aachal V. Devi

Senior research advisor, Advisory committee

Aachal is a Dental Public Health resident at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) with a Master in Public Health from Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. She has worked in rural parts of India and with Alaska Native Health Consortium. Her research interests include integration of oral health services into existing health programs and behaviour change research.

Dr. Judith Lasker

Medical sociology, Advisory committee

Judith is Professor Emerita of Sociology at Lehigh University in Bethlehem PA, USA, and author of Hoping to Help; The Promises and Pitfalls of Global Health Volunteering (Cornell U. Press, 2016). Her research in global health examines the impact on host communities and on volunteers of short-term international programs and makes recommendations for making programs more effective. Judith’s major areas of interest are in medical sociology, with particular emphasis on women’s health issues and international health. Her previous books addressed pregnancy loss, infertility, and time banking.

Jessica Hanna

Treasurer, Executive committee

Jessica studies Social Behavioural Science, an interdisciplinary degree combining sociology, psychology and pedagogy, at Mälardalen University in Sweden. She has previously volunteered with a Swedish non-profit organisation to help vulnerable children around the globe. Jessica’s care about children and people in need drives her to dedicate her efforts and knowledge to Humble Smile Foundation.

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