What is House of Delegates (HOD)?
House of Delegates is the Washington Dental Hygienists’ Association’s annual meeting that empowers members to directly impact the future of our profession. You can participate in House of Delegates along with state-wide advocates to promote our profession, advance our impact on patient care and overall health, and provide a centralized voice to seize dental hygiene opportunities on our horizon.
PRs (Proposed Resolutions) & PBYs (Proposed Bylaw Amendments)
Over the past month our dedicated Policy & Bylaws committee has been meeting to review our PRs and PBYs that our members have submitted. These policy revisions have a direct impact on the way we conduct our association, as well as advocate for our profession. PRs and PBYs will be available for review via our Delegates Manual, a comprehensive manual that includes all the PRs/PBYs that are being brought to the House, along with annual reports and leadership candidate information. This year’s delegate manual will be published September 17th, 2026 by our Executive Director.
House of Delegates is the time we elect our new RDH leaders… Are you ready to represent your profession?
We’re excited to announce that nominations are now open for the following leadership positions for the 2026 election:
- President Elect (requires previous experience of serving a 1 full year of elected office term, i.e. VP, Secretary, Trustee)
- Vice President
- Speaker of the House
- Secretary
Serving in a leadership role is an excellent opportunity for dental hygienists to grow professionally, strengthen leadership abilities, and develop valuable skills beyond clinical practice. Whether you’re looking to expand your professional network, build new skills, or become more involved in advancing our profession, serving in leadership is a rewarding way to make an impact.
If you’re new to leadership, we also encourage you to get involved at the component level. Many of our current Board members began their leadership journey there, gaining valuable experience and developing the skills that prepared them to serve at the state level.
Don’t be nervous! We all started at the beginning and we all were mentored.
Your Current Elected Exec. Board
From left to right: Santiago Valdez, WDHA President (2025 & 2026) | Susan Savage, WDHA Speaker of the House | CJ Whitfield, WDHA Treasurer | Cassidy (Voelker) Schroeder, WDHA Secretary
Elections will take place during the Sunday session of the 2026 House of Delegates.
To be considered, candidates must submit:
- A candidate statement
- A current CV
- A professional headshot
Application Deadline: September 2, 2026
If you’d like to learn more about serving in a leadership role, including responsibilities and time commitments, please contact our Central Office at info@wsdha.org. We’d be happy to answer your questions, connect you with our current leaders, and help you determine whether leadership is the right fit for you. All terms begin January 1st, 2027.
Candidate materials will be published in the 2026 House of Delegates Delegate Manual.
Kickoff HOD with Our New Continuing Education Day
This year instead of hosting only one course, we’ve organized three continuing education opportunities with the first beginning the morning of October 16th at 8:30am. Our course offerings this year have been carefully selected to serve the entire dental team. We encourage dental teams to attend together. Look for our group discount rates.
- 8:30am – 10:30am: Marti Santizo, RDH, MBA, FADHA
- The Dental Professionals Role in Managing the Diabetic Patient (she will bring important information about GLP-1 use).
- 10:30am -12:30pm: Trina Poulsen, RDH, BSDH and Santiago Valdez, RDH
- Implicit Bias: Our Role as Healthcare Providers
- Has your team satisfied the state licensure requirement on implicit bias?
- 2:00pm – 5:00pm: Joy Raskie, RDH
- The Future of Dental Hygiene: Integrating Lasers Into Everyday Practice
- Are you contemplating adding lasers to your Perio Program? Use the group discount and come as a team.
We will also be hosting some fun activities such as a celebration for our outgoing president, Santiago Valdez, RDH, an open mic night inviting everyone to share dental stories, and a dessert auction to support WHY-PAC.
Want to learn more about our continuing education day?
That’s not all people!! We have a F.U.N. evening planned. Stick around for some laughs & cake.
Continuing Education Day is not only a day spent listening to speakers, learning new skills and knowledge. We all need time away from the family, from the stress of the clinic, & a time to share an adult beverage & laugh until our bellies hurt.!
5:30pm – 9:00pm
A celebration to thank our outgoing president, Santiago Valdez. Everyone is welcome to join us for light snacks and a no-host bar.
WDHA is hosting an OPEN MIC NITE “The Tooth, the Whole Tooth, and Nothing but the Truth: Stories Behind the Smile.” We invite everyone to share their dental stories (funny, heartwarming, gross, etc). The stories only dental providers can share and laugh about.
WHY-PAC
Continuing Education Day includes a dessert auction. We will be bidding on fabulous desserts and sharing these tasty treats with each other. The funds generated from the dessert auction will go to support WHY-PAC, which in turn, donates to people and campaigns that support the direction of WDHA. These funds are separate from WDHA and are not tax deductible.
