Somerville, Mass., (05/08/2025) – The American Dental Association Forsyth Institute (AFI) is pleased to announce that James M. Boyle, III, D.D.S., M.S., 3rd District Trustee of the American Dental Association (ADA), has been appointed the new chair of the AFI Board of Directors.
Joining Dr. Boyle are four new board members: Jonathan Knapp, D.M.D., 1st District Trustee of the ADA; Elizabeth “Betsy” Shapiro, D.D.S., J.D., ADA interim Executive Director; David Kochman, J.D., Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at Henry Schein, Inc.; and Maria Emanuel Ryan, D.D.S., Ph.D., Executive Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer at Colgate-Palmolive Company.
The new board members join sitting members Stephen E. Thorne IV, M.H.A., Michael Greeley and J. Leslie Winston, D.D.S., Ph.D.
“We have achieved a great deal in the last 18 months since the Forsyth Institute integrated with ADA,” said AFI CEO Dr. Wenyuan Shi. “We are truly excited to work with this new board, whose incredibly high level of expertise, experience, and passion for oral health innovation will help take AFI to the next level.”
The Board of Directors will continue to provide strategic guidance in support of AFI’s mission to advance global health, accelerate oral health innovation, and power the profession of dentistry through cutting-edge basic research, creative translational science, innovative clinical techniques, education, and global public health outreach. Key areas of investigative research include immunology and inflammation, dental and craniofacial biology and bioengineering, and microbiology and the oral microbiome.
About James M. Boyle III, D.D.S., M.S.
Dr. James M. Boyle, III, a private practitioner in York, Pennsylvania, is the Third District Trustee of the American Dental Association. As a trustee, Dr. Boyle serves on the Finance Committee, Business Innovation Committee, Strategic Forecasting Committee and previously as liaison to the Council on Scientific Affairs and Commission on Dental Accreditation. Dr. Boyle has held a variety of leadership positions within the ADA, including serving as member of the House of Delegates since 2007, chair of the Commission on Dental Specialty Recognition and Certifying Boards, chair of the Council of Dental Education and Licensure and chair of the Continuing Education Registration Program as it transitioned to a Commission. Dr. Boyle earned his dental degree from Northwestern University Dental School and completed his oral and maxillofacial surgery residency and masters research at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
About Jonathan Knapp, D.M.D.
Dr. Jonathan B. Knapp, a family dentist in Ridgefield, Connecticut, is the 1st District Trustee of the American Dental Association. Dr. Knapp is former chair of the ADA Council on Dental Practice and is active in international standards development for dental informatics. He is former chair of the Subcommittee on Information Exchange of the ADA’s ANSI-recognized Standards Committee on Dental Informatics, which oversees more than 25 separate work projects. He has also lectured on the development of quality measurement in oral health. For years, Dr. Knapp has been active at the state capitol in Hartford, advocating for a broad range of oral health-related issues, including equity for persons with disabilities and inclusive education in Connecticut’s schools. In 2009, Dr. Knapp was appointed to the Board of the Connecticut Foundation for Dental Outreach, where he served on both the Development Committee and Public Relations Committee. Dr. Knapp earned his dental degree from the University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine.
About Elizabeth “Betsy” Shapiro, D.D.S., J.D.
Dr. Betsy Shapiro is the Interim Director of the American Dental Association. Previously, Dr. Shapiro held the role of Chief of Governance and Strategy Management. Her work in that role focused on the operations of the Board of Trustees and the House of Delegates, governance issues and strategy management, as well as oversight of the ADA Foundation and the Strategic Forecasting Committee. Earlier work at the ADA includes Senior Director of the ADA’s Center for Dental Practice Policy, where her work focused on the Council for Dental Practice and any related dental practice issues. In addition, Dr. Shapiro’s ADA work experience includes launching and leading the Center for Professional Success. She practiced general dentistry in a rural Illinois community before coming to the ADA. Dr. Shapiro earned her D.D.S. from the University of Illinois College of Dentistry and her J.D. from Northern Illinois University’s College of Law. She holds the designation of Certified Association Executive from the American Society of Association Executives and is a fellow of both the American and International College of Dentists.
About David Kochman, J.D.
David Kochman serves as Chief Corporate Affairs Officer for Henry Schein, Inc., a Fortune 500 Company and the world’s largest provider of healthcare solutions to office-based dental and medical practitioners. In that position he is responsible for a diverse array of the Company’s global corporate functions, including Communications, Professional Relations and Strategic Partnerships, Government Relations, Public Policy, Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility, Team Engagement, Customer and Employee Experience, and Creative Services activities, as well as the management and administration of projects and initiatives originating from the Office of the CEO. Previously, David acted as the General Counsel and Corporate Development Officer for a privately-held company in the regulated consumer products industry, and was a Partner in the New York office of the international law firm Reed Smith. Before law school, David worked in Jerusalem for the Deputy Speaker of the Israeli Knesset. David is actively involved with charitable organizations focused on health care and criminal justice, and currently serves on the Board of Directors of both MedShare International (Atlanta) and The Fortune Society (NYC), as well as the NYU Dental Dean’s Strategic Council, University of Michigan School of Dentistry Dean’s Advisory Board, Penn Dental Medicine Board of Advisors, and Temple University School of Dentistry Board of Visitors. David has represented death row inmates in post-conviction proceedings, and has received numerous awards recognizing his dedication to public service. David received his B.A. in Philosophy from Emory University and his J.D. from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.
About Maria Emanuel Ryan, D.D.S., Ph.D.
Maria Emanuel Ryan, D.D.S., Ph.D. is Executive Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer at Colgate-Palmolive Company, where she provides oversight and leadership to Dental and Dermal Clinical organizations, Knowledge Management and Scientific Communications teams. Dr. Ryan previously served as Professor and Chair of the Department of Oral Biology and Pathology at Stony Brook University where she was actively involved in teaching, clinical practice of periodontology and research. She is the Past President of the American Association for Dental, Oral and Craniofacial Research (AADOCR) and has served on many academic and foundation boards. Dr. Ryan has received numerous awards including NIH National Research Service Awards and a Physician Scientist Award. She received an achievement award from the American Dental Association and was the first recipient of the Victress Health Award to recognize her educational and research efforts in the area of women’s health. Dr. Ryan is a nationally and internationally known speaker and author who has appeared on multiple media outlets to discuss the importance of oral health to overall health and wellbeing as well as the role of the dental professional in the provision of optimal overall health care.
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About the ADA Forsyth Institute
The ADA Forsyth Institute was founded in 1910 as the Forsyth Dental Infirmary for Children (later, the Forsyth Institute), to provide dental care to the disadvantaged children of Boston. While continuing to serve children in need, yet recognizing the ultimate goal is to prevent dental disease, the Institute in 1915 began to focus on scientific research and is today the world’s leader in oral health research. In October of 2023, the Institute joined with the American Dental Association to form the ADA Forsyth Institute, a 501(c)(3) entity dedicated to improving people’s oral and overall health and powering the profession of dentistry through cutting-edge basic research, creative translational science, innovative clinical technologies, and global public health outreach. Consistent with the Institute’s founding mission, the ADA ForsythKids mobile dental program continues to serve children in need.
About the American Dental Association
The not-for-profit ADA is the nation’s largest dental association, representing 159,000 dentist members. The premier source of oral health information, the ADA has advocated for the public’s health and promoted the art and science of dentistry since 1859. The ADA’s state-of-the-art research facilities develop and test dental products and materials that have advanced the practice of dentistry and made the patient experience more positive. The ADA Seal of Acceptance has long been a valuable and respected guide to consumer dental care products. The Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA), published monthly, is the ADA’s flagship publication and the best-read scientific journal in dentistry. For more information about the ADA, visit ADA.org. For more information on oral health, including prevention, care and treatment of dental disease, visit the ADA’s consumer website MouthHealthy.org.
