Floridians for Dental Access (FLDA) is a bipartisan coalition of organizations and individuals working to solve Florida’s oral health crisis. We strongly support evidence-based best practices in modern dentistry and dental hygiene that increase patient health, improve affordability and safely expand access to care through choice and workforce solutions.
Floridians for Dental Access was founded by Dr. Frank Catalanotto, DMD, the former dean and currently a professor in the department of community dentistry and behavioral science at the University of Florida College of Dentistry.
President
American Children’s Campaign
At the state capitol and in communities across Florida, American Children’s Campaign is the leading voice for children and Floridians for Dental Access advocacy partner.
Chief Executive Officer
Bond Community Health Center
Dr. Temple Robinson is the Chief Executive Officer at Bond Community Health Center in Tallahassee, Florida. She has dedicated her career to serving the Tallahassee area’s most vulnerable populations.
Center for Advocacy Director
Jacksonville Urban League
The Center supports the Jacksonville Urban League’s mission in advocating for increased access to quality education, economic opportunity, health and wellness for minority communities.
Miami- Dade College
Dr. Kass has been involved in dental hygiene education for over 47 years. She is the Dental Hygiene Program Director at Miami Dade College and also the current Chair of the Board of the American Dental Education Association (ADEA).
Interim Dean
Miami-Dade College
Ron Winston is a seasoned academic leader with extensive experience in both private and public higher education sectors. He has served as Academic Dean and Interim-Campus President at Concorde Career Institute, and most recently as Interim-Dean and Chairperson at Miami Dade College (MDC) – School of Health Sciences.
Assistant Professor
Florida Dental Hygiene Association
Shankisha is an Assistant Professor, Coordinator of Clinical Education Dental Hygiene Program. at State College of Florida – Manatee/Sarasota. In 2024 she won America’s Tooth Fairy 2024 Outstanding Dental Hygienist award for going above and beyond to help underprivileged kids in her community.
Vice President
Florida Dental Hygiene Alliance
Catherine has an extensive background in clinical hygiene, community health program development and as an educator. She is a sought-after speaker nationally and served on Florida Board of Dentistry for nearly 10 years.
Dr. Frank Catalanotto is currently a Professor in the Department of Community Dentistry and Behavioral Science at the UF College of Dentistry. He graduated from the College of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in 1968 and completed a post-doctoral research fellowship in pediatric dentistry at Harvard School of Dental Medicine and Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Boston. He has been on the faculty of five dental schools including UFCD where he served as Dean from 1995-2002. While Dean, he initiated the UF Statewide Network for Community Health to provide increased community based educational opportunities for dental students and residents, while also significantly increasing access to oral health care for underserved patients. He also served as Chair of the Department of Community Dentistry at UFCD from 2009-2015.
Dr. Catalanotto has been active in dental education, research and advocacy organizations for much of his career. He is a past president of the American Dental Education Association. He served as a consultant to the Commission on Dental Education for many years, focused on predoctoral dental education. He is the co-author of more than 110 scientific publications and has been the principal investigator or co-investigator for numerous federal, state and foundation grants totaling almost $11,000,000 in external funding since returning to a faculty position at UFCD after stepping down as Dean in 2002. His academic and professional interests include community based dental education, ethics/social responsibility, oral health inequities and racial equity, advocacy for health care reform, and access to dental care. In addition to the above topics, Dr. Catalanotto’s current advocacy efforts, consulting activities and lectures are focused on the new emerging oral workforce models. He is a Vice-Chair of the new national organization – the National Coalition of Dentists for Health Equity and a Co-Chair of the National Partnership for Dental Therapy. He is a founding member and currently the Content Expert for Floridians For Dental Access. Dr. Catalanotto is happy to report that there is life after being a dental school dean.
With respect to Dr. Catalanotto’s leadership of Floridians for Dental Access, the opinions he shares are his own and do not necessarily represent the official viewpoints of any organization with which he is affiliated.
As our Oral Health Projects Coordinator, Andrea assists with Floridians for Dental Access with policy development, website management, communications liaison, and collection of all project outcome metrics.
Andrea is a Florida native and a self-motivated woman with a passion for creating positive social change. She is experienced in assisting businesses and organizations in improving efficiency in human resources, marketing, digital security and internal and external communications. Her skills include copywriting for print and digital publications, social media marketing, graphic design, website updating, database management, change management, and data-driven business optimization, among others.
Andrea received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of South Florida and completed her master’s degree in Industrial-Organizational Psychology at Anna Maria College, graduating from both with honors. She is certified in Microsoft Office and specializes in Excel.
In addition to assisting Floridians for Dental Access, she serves as the Communications Coordinator for American Children’s Campaign.
