Bev Woods, BSc, RDH

President/Executive Director

I have been a Registered Dental Hygienist for over 36 years and I devote 100% of my time to the Gift from the Heart Open Wide Program and the development and growth of our charity.

The Gift from the Heart charity was born from my passion to give back to those experiencing barriers accessing preventative oral healthcare. I opened my Dental Hygiene office in Trenton, Ontario as a location for my community to receive free care.

Over the years, I have served my profession as President and Director of the Ontario Dental Hygienists Association (ODHA) and Executive Council Member for the College of Dental Hygienists of Ontario (CDHO).  I was instrumental in the planning and implementation of the Dental Hygiene Program for Maxwell College, Belleville, Ontario and went on to hold the position of Dental Hygiene Director. I currently hold a Director position with the Canadian Dental Hygienist Association (CDHA).

My husband’s Military career took us outside Canada for a few years, where I volunteered  with “Friends of the Fallen.” I escorted family members out to the flight line to welcome home their fallen loved one as part of the “dignified transfer” USA military service.

When I returned home to Brighton, Ontario, I worked as a dental hygienist at the Port Hope Northumberland Community Health Centre and then went on to hold the Dental Program Manager position. I welcomed the opportunity to build a program to help provide much needed oral health care to those who were struggling financially. I was employed with the HPEPH to assist with the Ontario Dental Seniors Dental Program and offer my help with their mobile dental vehicles.

In 2019, I was honoured with the L'Oreal Women of Worth Award in Canada which confirmed that we are all worth it.

No one should ever be denied oral health care due to their economic status. Together we can improve health and save lives.

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Laura Iorio, BSc, RDH
Vice President

Laura Iorio is a graduate of the University of Alberta’s School of Dental Hygiene. She is an educator, dental recruitment specialist, infection control prevention solution strategist and practice advisor with 38+ years of experience as a clinical dental hygienist in the field of Periodontics.

Laura has been an instructor/professor in both Periodontal dentistry at the University of Toronto and dental hygiene programs at Oxford and Durham Colleges. Laura possesses advanced periodontal instrumentation skills including extensive training in ultrasonics, desensitizing and pain management. 

Laura has also worked in the dental/medical and animal industries providing safer solutions for infection prevention for personnel, animals and the environment. She has worked with key opinion leaders educating the public on how to change the disinfection industry to reduce disease transmission while providing environmentally friendly solutions for its workers and animals.

Laura has be an integral member of the GFTH executive since 2017and dedicates her volunteer hours to promoting GFTH while advocating for our vulnerable Canadians. She oversees the logistics  and utilizes her connections with her dental industry colleagues to provide donations to help offset the costs of our ongoing events.

Laura believes everyone deserves a healthy smile and aims to bring public awareness about the barriers many Canadians face to access this care.

Cindy MacKinnon, BSc, RDH

Secretary

Cindy has a Bachelor of Science in Oral Health Promotion and is also is a graduate of Dalhousie University’s School of Dental Hygiene. Her professional career spans over 36 years and three provincial licences. She considers herself truly fortunate to have been able to practice on both coasts, Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Victoria, British Columbia. Most of her professional career was in the nation’s capital of Ottawa, Ontario.

Cindy has been involved in volunteering thorough her career and has served on the ODHA and BCDHA Board of Directors. She was also on the International Symposium on Dental Hygiene – Planning Committee in Ottawa 1989. With an interest in the progression of dental hygiene and it as a profession, led Cindy to become an elected member of the College of Dental Hygienists of Ontario.

Being involved in regulation, policy and procedures and numerous Committees seemed to be where Cindy hit her stride. She was elected to Vice-President and completed her term as CDHO President.

Cindy has practiced in a vast array of practice settings, from pediatric dentistry, hospital dentistry in oncology and Craniofacial/Cleft Lip departments at Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO), orthodontics, and long-term care locations.

Cindy practiced with a specialty certificate in Ontario and utilized her restorative specialty through most of her career. She was an Educator at Algonquin College in the Restorative Dental Hygiene, Dental Hygiene, Dental Assisting and Continuing Education programs. One of Cindy’s most remarkable highlight was in opening a clinic for the homeless in British Columbia. 

Working with the most vulnerable and seeing the barriers that people face in accessing dental and basic care, align with the “Gift from the Heart”, and Cindy has been participating for the last couple of years. Cindy is humbled to now take an Executive position with such a remarkable Charity, to help and propel GFTH.