WFO announces nominees for Executive Committee; WFO Council to elect new committee members at 2nd Meeting of the WFO in April 2000 in Chicago

The World Federation of Orthodontists (WFO) Executive Committee has selected 10 nominees for the upcoming WFO Executive Committee election. During the 100th American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) Annual Session, the 5th International Orthodontic Congress (IOC) and the 2nd Meeting of the WFO in April 2000, the 110-member WFO Council will formally elect 10 individuals to serve on the next Executive Committee. The elected individuals will serve a five-year term and will help carry out the WFO's mission to advance the art and science of orthodontics throughout the world.

The incoming WFO Executive Committee will have 13 members in all, including the president, secretary-general, and a representative of the host organizations for the 6th International Orthodontic Congress. Currently, the WFO Executive Committee has eight members. This increase in the number of Executive Committee members will address WFO fellows' desire for enhanced representation at the Executive Committee level.

"The expansion of the Executive Committee is a direct response to the wishes of the members and the need to better meet our stated goals of 'equal representation,'" said WFO Vice-President Dr. Lee Graber of Kenilworth, Illinois, U.S.A. "Indeed, through the recommended Bylaws changes, there will be significantly improved regional representation. This will allow members more direct access to the Executive Committee. More important, it is my expectation that the Executive Committee members will be even more active in representing the WFO at national and regional meetings. Our levels of communication will improve, and the ability of the WFO to be effective as the world's orthodontic organization will be enhanced."

The WFO Executive Committee solicited candidate nominations from 79 affiliated organizations.

"All of the nominees are extremely well-qualified and are anxious to serve on behalf of the WFO," said WFO President Dr. William DeKock of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, U.S.A.

Dr. Hideo Mitani of Sendai, Japan, and Dr. Jae Chan Kim of Seoul, Korea, have been nominated to represent Central and East Asia. Dr. Mitani is the dean of Tohoku University School of Dentistry and is vice president of the Japanese Orthodontic Society. "Our professional role is to offer quality orthodontic care to the patients," Dr. Mitani said. "It is important for an orthodontist to know what is going on outside of his/her small world. Our world is becoming smaller and smaller these days, and people can communicate much faster and easier due to technology. The best quality care and the best social system to provide the best orthodontic care are all our common responsibility. In order to make it more effective and meaningful, we should walk together."

Dr. Kim is a current member of the WFO Executive Committee. He is a professor for the Department of Plastic Surgery at the Seoul National University and the Seoul National University Hospital. He is also a clinical associate professor at the Kyungbook National University and is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Korean Association of Orthodontists.

As a member of the WFO Executive Committee, Dr. Kim's goals are to help foster the equal development of the art and science of orthodontics all over the world. The WFO also helps its members with faster and better communication of knowledge and information, Dr. Kim said.

Dr. Abbas Zaher of Alexandria, Egypt, has been nominated to represent Africa and the Middle East. Dr. Zaher is an associate professor for the Department of Orthodontics at Alexandria University and is in private practice. He is a founding member and treasurer of the Egyptian Orthodontic Society and is the treasurer of the Arab Orthodontic Society. In 1996, he received the Helen and B.F. Dewel Award.

"My hopes and aspirations for the WFO are many," Dr. Zaher said. "I would like to see well-founded local orthodontic societies in every country in my region. A strong WFO consists of sound regional societies. It is obvious that the Middle East and Africa are underrepresented in the WFO membership. I, therefore, hope to work on the development of the local societies and to encourage their affiliation with the WFO."

"I also believe that the Mediterranean countries can and have previously served as an important bridge between Europe and the Middle East, as well as Africa," he said. "Over the years, I have developed sincere friendships within this region and in Europe and America. I hope to be able to strengthen this connection and use it to link orthodontists on both sides of the Mediterranean."

Dr. Julia Harfin of Buenos Aires, Argentina, has been nominated to represent Central and South America. Dr. Harfin is chair of the Department of Orthodontics at the Maimonides University School of Dentistry and is a member of the school's Science and Research Committee. She is also president of the Latin-American Association of Orthodontists and president of the Argentine Chapter of the International College of Dentists.

"As a member of the Executive Committee of the WFO, I would contribute to the transmission of the WFO's fundamental principles to the fellows in Central and South America," Dr. Harfin said. "I would also try to increase the number of members, keeping in mind the importance the WFO has not only in the transmission of basic and technical knowledge but also in collaborating and serving as a guide for all the changes that the millennium will surely require."

Dr. A.E. Athanasiou of Thessaloniki, Greece, and Dr. Francesca Miotti of Padova, Italy, have been nominated to represent Europe. Dr. Athanasiou is a professor of orthodontics at the School of Dentistry at Artistotle University of Thessaloniki. He is president of the Greek Orthodontic Society, secretary general of the European Federation of Orthodontics, and a current member of the WFO Executive Committee.

"The progress and prosperity of sciences and professions, like ours, are often critically influenced by the presence of organizations that provide the educational and ethical guidelines, create the stimuli for improvement, and upgrade the level of services provided," Dr. Athanasiou said. "I strongly believe that the aims and activities of the WFO may play such a role together with the efforts of other international, regional and national scientific, professional and educational institutions."

Dr. Miotti is a professor of orthodontics at the University of Padova School of Dentistry and a professor of orthodontics at the University of Padova Postgraduate School of Orthodontics.

"Serving on the WFO Executive Committee is important and very appealing to me because I strongly believe in the importance of international relationships and exchanges," said Dr. Miotti, who received her orthodontic training at the Institute of Dental Surgery at the University of London. "Having both appreciated and enjoyed my foreign education, I hope to help widen the network of international relationships that I perceive as essential in exchanging ideas, in sharing the results of the different research programs, and in further developing the art of orthodontics. As I also believe in both teachers' and students' exchanges between programs and countries, and in some harmonization in the different curricula, I also feel that the WFO can help in facilitating this process. For these reasons, I feel orthodontists should belong to the WFO. Discussing and comparing ideas with colleagues can be very stimulating."

Dr. Roberto Justus of Mexico City, Mexico, Dr. Larson Keso of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S.A., and Dr. Donald Poulton of San Francisco, California, U.S.A, have been nominated to represent North America. Dr. Justus is in private practice and is a past president of the Latin-American Association of Orthodontists. He is also a councilor for the College of Diplomates of the American Board of Orthodontics and a referee for the American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics.

"An important responsibility of the WFO Executive Committee members is to encourage high standards in orthodontics worldwide," Dr. Justus said. "I believe that all orthodontists should strive to elevate the standard of care they provide to their patients. Thus, if I am elected to the Executive Committee, I hope to be able to assist the future WFO president in achieving this goal. I have been a clinician and educator in Mexico since graduating from the University of Washington in 1968. Additionally, I have presented numerous lectures and courses in many parts of the world. Two important goals have been to help my students increase their knowledge and to treat my patients to the highest standard I can achieve. What better leadership position could one ask for than one that enables me to work on a lifelong goal in a worldwide setting? It would be a way of 'giving back' to this wonderful profession of dentistry and specialty of orthodontics."

Dr. Keso is in private practice and is a past president of the AAO. He is also the secretary of the American Association of Orthodontists Insurance Company (a Risk Retention Group).

"Enhancing the quality and quantity of orthodontic research, clinical practice and education is a key goal of the WFO," Dr. Keso said. "This organization of orthodontic organizations offers the best avenue for mutual cooperation between and among the several nations to achieve these goals. I look forward to helping the WFO continue to grow and to fulfill its mission in the next five years."

Dr. Poulton is the immediate past president of the AAO and is the director of graduate orthodontics at the University of the Pacific in San Francisco, California, U.S.A.

"The WFO is the first organization that really ties together orthodontists from every part of the world and encourages them to share their knowledge and new ideas," Dr. Poulton said. "I have had the opportunity to visit with orthodontists and to attend meetings in many countries. It is always exciting to learn what is happening in other parts of the world. While we have many differences, there is so much that we share. The WFO encourages orthodontists to belong and become active in their own local specialty organizations, and this benefits everyone. The ultimate benefit, of course, is to patients who can enjoy a constantly improving level of care. I am looking forward to the opportunity of serving this vital, new organization that has such great potential."

Dr. Robert Max of Auckland, New Zealand, has been nominated to represent Oceania, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia. Dr. Max, who maintains a private practice, is a current member of the WFO Executive Committee and a past president of the New Zealand Association of Orthodontists.

"I have very much enjoyed the opportunity to nurture and help develop the growth of the World Federation of Orthodontists, from its establishment in San Francisco in 1995 to the first full council meeting of the WFO that will be held next year in Chicago," Dr. Max said. "Working for this cause has provided me with an opportunity to witness the growth of clinical and academic orthodontics throughout the world. I have been struck by the common nature of the significant issues facing orthodontists in so many countries. I have also enjoyed the personal connections made and working with people whom I have come to admire and respect, all for the future of orthodontics."

In June, the WFO Executive Committee elected Vice-President Dr. Graber as the president-designate of the WFO. Looking ahead, Dr. Graber plans to focus on the growth and development of the WFO, and the worldwide improvement of the general standard of orthodontic care during his tenure as president.

"The first five years have been ones of growth under the guidance and vision of Dr. William DeKock," Dr. Graber said. "Dr. DeKock's strong leadership has been rewarded with the success of the WFO. As a new organization, the focus has rightfully been on growth. I foresee that some of this emphasis will carry over during the next five years. In addition, the very success of the WFO allows us the luxury to start to address more directly our prime mission, i.e., the advancement of the art and science of orthodontics. Our first efforts have been at the organizational level. My expectation is that the WFO will become even more involved in assisting in the formation and success of national and regional organizations. Strong specialty orthodontic groups, based close to the area of practice, have the best opportunity to provide the kinds of educational services needed by today's orthodontic health-care provider. It is my goal to see these organizational efforts continue to increase. Another one of my goals is to see the general standard of orthodontic care improved by way of better dissemination of information. Within the framework of strong local organizations, this means helping to develop good educational programming that is easily accessible to the orthodontic clinician. The use of new technology, such as the WFO Web site, will also help foster communication."

In addition to his WFO duties, Dr. Graber is serving as the Scientific Program co-chair for the 100th AAO Annual Session, the 5th IOC and the 2nd Meeting of the WFO. He maintains a private practice in orthodontics in Kenilworth, Illinois, U.S.A.

Dr. Olivier Mauchamp of Grenoble, France, will also serve on the incoming Executive Committee. He will represent the Société Française d'Orthopédie Dento-Faciale and the Syndicat des Spécialistes Français en Orthopédie Dento-Faciale. These two organizations will organize the 6th International Orthodontic Congress in Paris in 2005.