Lasting Impressions | Fall 2016

50 © NSU LASTING IMPRESSIONS Staff Impressions e adage states there are no problems, only solutions, and that certainly applies to Tanya Gress . In her role as manager of clinical support, Gress is a key gure in maintaining and regulating clinical needs for NSU’s CDM— from ordering supplies to organizing Occupational Safety and Health Admin- istration training. It’s a job Gress has been doing in one capacity or another for the past 15 years. “I try to nd a solution for anything that may arise, and if I cannot, I will direct those who need assistance appropriately,” she said. Robert Uchin, D.D.S., the CDM’s former dean, enticed Gress to come to the CDM in 2001. At the time, Gress was working as an o ce manager/ dental assistant in a private o ce where Uchin’s daughter worked. “When he became dean, he said to me, ‘I have the perfect place for you if you are interested,’ ” she said. With her husband, Tom, teaching at NSU’s University School, and her two children both attending middle school there, taking a job at NSU was the natural choice for Gress. Her rst position was as the coordinator for the CDM’s newly created community dentistry department, which included 28 residents in the Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) program. A few months a er starting her job, she also became the resident coordi- nator for the oral surgery program. Not long a er that, she added the pediatric program to her list of responsibilities. en, in 2008, when the oral surgery clinic opened a second location at Broward Health Medical Center, Gress moved there and worked solely with Longtime Staff Member Serves as Key Go-To Person BY ELLEN WOLFSON VALLADARES