Dr. Jane Puskas completes term as Hinman’s first female president

Proceeds from the meeting fund thousands of dollars in scholarships and large gifts in support of dental education throughout the southeastern U.S.

“It’s been such an honor to serve as Hinman’s first female president. There are so many great women leaders in dentistry in Georgia that I felt a strong responsibility to serve in this role and encourage others to aspire to do the same,” said Puskas. “It was my goal to uphold many of our great Hinman traditions, while recognizing the different insights and strengths that women can offer to the Hinman Dental Society.”

This past year, Puskas also co-chaired the 2014 Hinman Dental Meeting educational program and worked diligently with Dr. Eddie Pafford to build an impressive program that included 65 world-class dental experts; 230 courses, including 75 hands-on participation courses; all-day educational tracks for dentists, hygienists, assistants and office staff; and 425 companies demonstrating the latest in dentistry. Hinman 2014 attracted 20,772 dentists, hygienists, assistants, students and other dental professionals and industry personnel to the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta in March.

As president, Puskas led the Hinman Dental Society Membership Meetings, which provide an opportunity for members to receive education and are held throughout the year. She also oversaw the many volunteer committees that make the annual meeting possible. And, she introduced an extremely well-attended Women’s Networking event to the meeting this year that provided women dentists the opportunity to share best practices and learn about achieving life-work balance.

“It’s been my mission over the past year to attract great women and men to the Society by fostering greater involvement and service of female and younger members who have so much to contribute to the organization,” added Puskas. “And, of course, I wanted to energize our members to work hard so that Hinman 2014 delivered the greatest value and created the most memories for everyone in attendance. I believe we accomplished that this year.”

Puskas is a graduate of the Harvard School of Dental Medicine. She practiced in both Boston and Toronto before moving to Atlanta in 1994 with her husband John, a cardiothoracic surgeon. She became a Hinman member in 1996 and said that the organization helped her become established in the Atlanta dental community. The following year, Puskas bought the dental practice of Dr. Harold Lanier, a personal mentor to her and a Hinman past general chairman. She continues to practice today in the Buckhead area of Atlanta.

“The networking in Hinman has been invaluable over the years. My young family loved and benefitted from the social interactions at the annual meeting and I am indebted to Hinman for all that it did for my professional career and family,” she added.

Over the years, Puskas has been very involved in Hinman and has served in a variety of leadership roles. But, Hinman is also an extension of her family. When not practicing dentistry, Puskas is a busy mother of three children and wife of a busy surgeon. Her son, Alex, recently graduated from Wake Forest; daughter Jillian is a sophomore at Princeton, and youngest daughter, Caroline, is a high school senior at Westminster.

Puskas will continue to serve the Hinman Dental Society as an officer and will be The Thomas P. Hinman Dental Meeting’s first female General Chairman for the 2017 meeting.

(Source: Hinman Dental Society)