Finding her fit

Elizabeth Shapiro, D.D.S., J.D., brings depth of experience in dentistry, law, leadership to role as interim executive director

When serendipity extends a hand, Elizabeth “Betsy” Shapiro, D.D.S., J.D., feels compelled to take it. 

 “I like to point out frequently that this is how my life runs,” said the ADA interim executive director, who, in 2011, came across a notice in ADA News at exactly the right moment in her life.  

It was a call for applications for the Hillenbrand Fellowship, a former ADA immersion program that helped dentists move from roles in dental practice to leadership and management. At the time, Dr. Shapiro sought ways to merge her dental and legal backgrounds to advocate for the profession and oral health. The Hillenbrand Fellowship seemed like the perfect, serendipitous opportunity.  

Much to her gratitude, the ADA seemed to agree. Dr. Shapiro was selected as the 2011-12 Hillenbrand Fellow and immersed herself in association management, attending every possible council, committee, commission and Board of Trustees meeting. She was once an ADA volunteer herself, both locally and nationally, but it was a different experience to witness the full scope of dentists from across the country coming together. She saw the range of incredible work being done and how that work tied into the mission, vision and core values of the ADA.  

Here, she realized, was the place she was meant to be. At the ADA, she could contribute to oral health care and the dental profession by helping dentists.  

Though a role as a full-time employee wasn’t immediately available upon the fellowship’s conclusion, Dr. Shapiro remained undeterred, continuing as a temporary staffer until a position as a special projects manager in the department of dental practice opened up. From there, she rose through the ranks, always guided by that Hillenbrand experience. 

“I like to say I came for a year, then I never turned in my key card and nobody noticed. I just kept showing up,” Dr. Shapiro said. “I found where I fit.”  

Following in her father’s footsteps 

“I honestly don't remember a time that I didn't want to be a dentist,” Dr. Shapiro said. One of seven siblings, she spent her childhood helping out at her father David’s dental practice 90 miles west of Chicago in rural Amboy, Illinois. 

Between cleaning bathrooms and filing paperwork, she said, “What I saw was such a mutual respect. My father truly listened to his patients and their care was a joint decision.”  

Young Betsy marveled back then at the many ways dental care could change lives. In the early 1960s, when fluoridation had just been introduced into the county’s water system, she remembers her father educating his patients on the positive impact that fluoridated water was making on their oral health. The elder Dr. Shapiro, a member of the Illinois state legislature, also kept patients informed about lawmakers’ efforts to address the oral health needs of Illinois residents.   

“My dad would have certain patients scheduled with whom we knew he’d get to discussing legislation. We’d have to allow extra time in the schedule when structuring that day,” she remembers. “But I appreciated how he could connect his daily work with patients to his work in the legislature and vice versa. He looked after our community in more ways than one.”  

Though these experiences made the idea of law school appealing, Dr. Shapiro was set on becoming a dentist. She earned her degree from the University of Illinois Chicago College of Dentistry then returned to work at her father’s practice. He had passed away at the end of her senior year of high school, but his partners were still there, and Dr. Shapiro inherited many of her father’s former patients. Her first one, by patient request, was her high school English teacher.  

Dr. Shapiro enjoyed the longevity of the relationships and the plentiful work. From her class of UIC graduates, she was one of the lucky few to have a full schedule from the time she started practicing. “That's one of the beauties of exploring rural dentistry as a career; there’s so much opportunity,” Dr. Shapiro said. “Small towns need health care professionals. They need all kinds of professionals. You have an opportunity to be much more integrated in the community.”

She saw for herself the difference she made for her patients, particularly the one who credited Dr. Shapiro for saving his life. "I’ll always remember a patient who, after I strongly suspected he had an oral cancer and made sure he was appropriately referred, sent my hygienist and me a dozen roses every year on the anniversary of his diagnosis — or as long as I was in practice,” Dr. Shapiro said. “Early diagnosis certainly saved his functionality and perhaps saved his life. I held on to this experience as a touchstone: This is why dentists do the work we do."

After 15 fulfilling years, Dr. Shapiro stepped away from dental practice and attended Northern Illinois University’s College of Law. She often studied in the David C. Shapiro Memorial Law Library named for her father; he was the primary sponsor of the state senate bill that transferred the college of law to NIU from another university. His portrait hung in the library, an enduring reminder that the young Dr. Shapiro should finish her homework before going out for fun.  

Blending dentistry and law 

Across her many roles at the ADA over the past 14 years, Dr. Shapiro has taken advantage of every opportunity to use her dental and law experience to improve the profession and the landscape of oral health care.  

One of her favorite projects was launching and overseeing the ADA Center for Professional Success in 2013, an effort born from the Council on Dental Practice and the New Dentist Committee to provide resources for members to succeed as dental practitioners and small business owners. “We provided everything outside the mouth,” said Dr. Shapiro, referring to the office management skills offered that required the perfect blend of her dental and law expertise.

As part of leading the center, she hosted an ADA practice management podcast, Beyond the Mouth, which ended in 2019. Her voice is often recognized by dentists she meets at ADA events. “They’ll say, ‘Your voice sounds familiar,’ and I ask if they every listened to Beyond the Mouth.”  

Leadership during COVID-19

Dr. Shapiro is especially proud of her work at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, where she co-led the ADA’s COVID Response Team and collaborated with an ADA Presidential Task Force to create a return-to-practice toolkit that spelled out the protocol for infection control measures for dental teams.

“Early on there was a very strong suspicion that COVID-19 was spread through airborne particles, and many dental procedures create aerosols that could be capable of doing so,” Dr. Shapiro said. “Both patients and dental professionals were concerned. There was a big question at the heart of the ADA’s support at that time: How could dental teams deliver care safely? We stepped up to provide guidance on that question and to help our members, the profession, and patients. We worked tirelessly, day and night, to ensure that patients could safely return to getting the essential health care they needed.”

Governance leadership

After serving as the senior director for the ADA’s Center for Dental Practice Policy, Dr. Shapiro was named chief of governance and strategy management in 2021. Her work focused on the operations of the Board of Trustees and the House of Delegates, governance issues and strategy management. She also oversaw the ADA Foundation and, in 2022, became responsible for the Strategic Finance Committee. 

Today, since being named interim executive director in February, Dr. Shapiro reflects on the countless relationships she’s built with colleagues, collaborators and mentors throughout her ADA journey.

“It's one of the things about working at the ADA — we have such great people,” Dr. Shapiro said. “It makes stepping into the interim role so much more comfortable. I talked about my village in Amboy. This is my village now.” 

Upholding the ADA’s vision for the future 

“Listening is certainly, to me, the most important hallmark of a successful leader,” Dr. Shapiro said. “Listening to what is being said and then working to discover the meaning behind what's being said. You have to make sure you know what the real issue is before you can lead successfully.”

And so, as interim executive director, her first priority is to listen and seek to understand the realities facing the ADA currently. “We have such great vision and activity going on,” she said. “I have to be flexible when I’m thinking about how best to move forward, truly listening to those people who are living it.”  

Beyond that, Dr. Shapiro supports implementing the ADA’s initiatives at a thoughtful pace, out of respect for the ADA’s professional team and membership. “We’ll just keep learning, growing and moving forward, and I can help steer that in the interim.” 

Dr. Shapiro is grateful to be working alongside ADA President Brett Kessler, D.D.S., and ADA President-elect Richard Rosato, D.M.D., who exhibit a complementary leadership style and passion. “Ultimately, we’re all in this for the same reason,” she said. “Better health for our public, a stronger profession, and a strong association that is advocating for the right things.”