NSU CDM Impressions Fall/Winter 2019

NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY | 29 Kennedy said being there for patients “sparks joy. In dentistry, I have an opportunity to see my patients, and I think most people want to be ‘seen.’ I get to know them as a human. If I can help them in any way, I do.” FINDINGWORK-LIFE BALANCE She also enjoys creating health and preventing disease. “I love to give my patients the authority and ability to be healthy,” she said. Saying “no” is her biggest chal- lenge. “I love what I do. Saying yes is easy, and sometimes I feel like when I say no, I’m saying no to a part of myself. Making sure to create time and space for things that really matter has been really challenging.” Establishing a core group of people from whom to seek input—including mentors, family members, friends, coworkers, and therapists—can be helpful, she added. “If you want to create sustainable change within yourself, you need that account- ability,” she said. Kennedy’s commitment to serve has generated honors, including Harvard’s Lois K. Cohen Award in Global Health and a recent community service award for her work creating a state antibiotic stewardship tool- kit and website for Massachusetts. It’s impossible to predict where her career will be in 10 years. “Every day, I learn about a new job a dentist can do or contribute to. Oftentimes, they are jobs that didn’t exist 10 years ago. My Harvard mentor, Dr. Chester Douglass, told me I’m going to have a job where the job description hasn’t been written yet,” she said. “I’ve always been a pioneer, trying to do something that’s never been done before just to pave the way,” she added. “Even if I fail, maybe I’ve paved a small road for somebody else to come from behind and do better.” u FAST FACTS ERINNE KENNEDY, D.M.D., M.P.H., M.M.SC . Hometown Middleport, Ohio Education B.S. (biology with a Spanish minor) Ohio State University (2011) D.M.D., Nova Southeastern University (2015) M.P.H., Nova Southeastern University (2015) Certificate (general practice residency) Baltimore VA Medical Center in Maryland (2016) Certificate (dental public health residency) Harvard School of Dental Medicine (2018) M.M.Sc., Harvard School of Dental Medicine (2019) Professional American Dental Association (Success series speaker, expert panel member for the 2018 Antibiotic Therapeutics Clinical Practice Guideline) Academy of General Dentistry (member) Massachusetts Dental Society (member) American Association of Public Health Dentistry (member of Council on Education) Ignite DDS (member) Dental Economics magazine (editorial board member) Dental Entrepreneur Woman junior editorial board member Areas of Expertise dental public health, leadership, and evidence-based dentistry Social Media Facebook: Erinne Kennedy DMD, MPH Instagram: @erinnekennedy LinkedIn: @erinnekennedydmd Hobbies yoga, travel, prayer, and journaling