Winnie Furnari Receives 2022 Esther Wilkins Lifetime Achievement Award

AAFS General Section Fellow Winnie Furnari, MS, was awarded the 2022 Esther Wilkins Lifetime Achievement Award by Dimensions of Dental Hygiene, the Journal of Professional Excellence. This prestigious award, which is sponsored by Colgate Oral Pharmaceuticals, Inc., is presented each year to recognize the distinguished career of a worthy individual who has consistently and effectively contributed to the enrichment of the dental hygiene profession. The award was presented  to Mrs. Furnari on June 24 at a reception during the 2022 American Dental Hygienists' Association Annual Session in Louisville, KY.

Mrs. Furnari has expanded the career possibilities of dental hygienists, including forensic science, as well as promoted the ethical principles of the dental hygiene 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. Additionally, as an adjunct clinical professor of dental hygiene at the New York University (NYU) College of Dentistry for more than 20 years, Mrs. 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.

Congratulations, Winnie!