b'YOUR ACADEMY AT WORKCandidate for secretary/treasurerMy Fellow Academy Members:It is an honor to be nominated for Secretary/Treasurer of our Academy. As a full-time clinician for almost 25 years, and an AAP trustee for the past 4, I have been a strong advocate for the private practitioner. Research in psychology has proven that leadership to a small degree is genetically pre-determined, but the majority is Nick Caplanis, DMD, MS developed through training and experience. My training and experience as a past board member and president of the California Society of Periodontists, the American Academy of Implant Dentistry, and the Orange County Dental Society, as well as a current Trustee to the California Dental Association has given me that experience.Together with my passion for periodontology and the love of our Academy, I believe I will be a productive leader for the AAP.Change is the law of life, and those who look only to the past and present are certain to miss the future (John F. Kennedy 1963). These are words to live by and pertinent to our lives, practices, and our Academy. Change is inevitable. To A successfulbe successful as an organization, we not only need to embrace change, but more importantly influence the direction of that change, and take advantage of the relationshipopportunities that arise. As a delegate to the California Dental Association (CDA) house for almost 10 years, as well as a recent delegate to the American Dental between theAssociation (ADA), I have been influential in guiding change in our profession as well as our specialty. As a trustee and delegate to the CDA, I helped promote a periodontistsuccessful class action lawsuit against Delta Dental of California, which lead to a $65 million settlement to Premier Providers. The actions and success by the CDA and hygienistthen lead to another class-action lawsuit against Delta Dental by the ADA, alleging the provider network engaged in anticompetitive conduct and violated federal is invaluableantitrust laws. This lawsuit is still in progress. With your support, I plan on pursuing three major objectives on behalf of our for improvingmembers.patient careEnhance our Political InfluenceHaving served on the AAPs State and Regional Assembly (SRA), I have gained and increasingan immense respect and appreciation for the AAPs desire to engage in political advocacy. However, we must do better. During my tenure as president of the referrals.California Society of Periodontists (CSP), our board made sure that a periodontist was present and engaged at every State dental board meeting. State dental board meetings are where committees are formed to study an issue, and where new policies and regulations are debated and ultimately approved. Due to our presence, CSP was influential in guiding debate and decisions regarding the ability of Californian Periodontists to practice moderate sedation as we were trained, as only one example. Without our presence, decisions would have been made without our input and likely to our detriment. And what happens in one state, eventually affects us all nationally. I believe that periodontists should have a presence at every State dental board meeting across the country. Periodontists must also participate in leadership positions, in our local and state societies to promote our interests. However, since the AAP is a national organization coordinating state AAP Periospectives| 12102378_AAOP_a1.indd12 3/22/216:16 AM'