Dr. Karen Foster was installed as the 132nd CDA president during the 2018 CDA Annual Session in Crested Butte, Colo. Dr. Foster is the first pediatric dentist to be installed as president of the CDA and only the third female president in the association’s history.
Dr. Foster graduated from Texas Tech University in 1997. She received her Doctor of Dental Surgery from Baylor College of Dentistry in 2002, then completed residency in pediatric dentistry at the University of Texas-Houston Dental Branch in 2004.
Dr. Foster moved to Grand Junction in 2004, where she practiced as an associate in a private practice and at Marillac Clinic. In 2008, she opened Saddle Rock Pediatric Dentistry in Aurora. Dr. Foster is a Diplomate of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry and a fellow of the Pierre Fauchard Academy and the American College of Dentists and International College of Dentists. Chosen multiple times by peers as a 5280 Top Dentist, she has attended annual American Dental Association meetings as a delegate since 2005. She is a clinical associate professor at the University of Colorado School of Dental Medicine in the Special Care Clinic.
In 2013, the CDA recognized her with its Exceptional Leadership Award. Dr. Foster served on the Metro Denver Dental Society (MDDS) Board of Directors and was awarded with the MDDS Volunteer of the Year award in 2012. She previously chaired the Colorado Dental Political Action Committee, advocating for improvements benefiting patients and the profession.
2018-2019 CDA Executive Committee
New to the Executive Committee are Dr. Lindsay Compton, who was elected treasurer, and Dr. David Jackson, who was elected speaker of the house, during the CDA Annual Session in Crested Butte.
Dr. Compton majored in zoology and genetics during her undergraduate at Iowa State University. At the University of Iowa dental school, she held leadership positions within her class, the school, and national student organizations. She won major research competitions and was published in the Journal of Dental Research. After dental school, Dr. Compton joined the general practice residence program at Truman Medical Center, where she gained experience in sedation dentistry and providing care to patients with developmental disabilities, elderly patients, and pediatric patients. Dr. Compton is active in the Spear Study Club and International Partnership for Occlusion Study Club. She also has held leadership positions in the Colorado Dental Association and the Metro Denver Dental Society and has served as chair of the Colorado New Dentist Committee.
Dr. Jackson earned his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from the University of Iowa in 1992, where he also completed his undergraduate studies in biology. He grew up in Iowa and will forever be a Hawkeye. He moved to Colorado in 1992 and has been providing comprehensive family dental care through his private practice in Boulder County ever since. He has earned the honor of Fellowship in both the International College of Dentists and American College of Dentists and has served as the president of the Boulder County Dental Society, as a trustee for the Colorado Dental Association, and as a delegate to the American Dental Association’s House of Delegates.
The committee also includes President-Elect Dr. Jeff Kahl, Vice President Dr. Carrie Mauterer, and Editor Dr. Mike Diorio.