2022 Esther Wilkins Lifetime Achievement Award Winner is Celebrated

Dimensions of Dental Hygiene—with premier sponsor Colgate Oral Pharmaceuticals, Inc.—celebrated Winnie Furnari, MS, RDH, FAADH, FAAFS, FADE, as the 2022 Esther Wilkins Lifetime Achievement Award during a cocktail reception on June 24 at the American Dental Hygienists’ Association Annual Conference in Louisville, Kentucky. 

Furnari was recognized for her efforts to expand the career possibilities of dental hygienists to include forensic science as well as her dedication to the ethical principles of the profession. She is nationally known for her expertise in forensic dentistry and disaster preparedness, which she utilized to help identify the remains of the deceased during the 9/11 tragedy. This passion for forensics has helped to create a new career path for dental hygienists. Additionally, as an adjunct clinical professor of dental hygiene at the New York University (NYU) College of Dentistry for more than 20 years, Furnari instilled the importance of ethics to her students, developed the college’s ethics committee and its protocols, and encouraged a commitment to ethics in the NYU White Coat Ceremony.

The award is named after its inaugural recipient and dental hygiene leader Esther M. Wilkins, BS, RDH, DMD, who passed away in December of 2016.

From Dimensions of Dental Hygiene. July 2022; 20(7)9.