Leslie Topola, SDT (Chairperson)

Leslie is a dental therapist who was in the first class of dental therapists that graduated from the Wascana Institute of Applied Arts and Sciences in 1974 when the Saskatchewan Dental Plan (SDP) began. In 1987, when the SDP was privatized by the government, she became a dental health educator with Saskatchewan Health-Community Services Branch. Leslie served as the Director of the Saskatchewan Health’s Dental Health Education Program until 1995 when Saskatchewan Health devolved services/staff to health districts. From 1995 to 2023, she managed public health and primary healthcare programs/staff in Saskatoon District Health, the Saskatoon Health Region, and the Saskatchewan Health Authority, keeping the dental public health portfolio during this time. Leslie is the current president of the Saskatchewan Dental Therapists Association (SDTA) in addition to serving as the SDTA President from 2001-2006. Leslie received an SDTA Honorary Member award in 2007. In 2017, she received the Muriel Jarvis Award from the Saskatoon Heath Region for making a positive difference. She has received an Honorary Member Award from the Saskatchewan Dental Assistants Association and a Recognition Award from the Saskatchewan Dental Hygienists Association, in addition to receiving the 2023 Life Membership Award by the Candain Association of Public Health Dentistry. Currently, she is a Director in the Saskatchewan Oral Health Coalition Inc., a charitable organization focused on improving the oral health of Saskatchewan residents.

Meagan Kachur

Meagan Kachur (nee: Bowerman) was born and raised in Saskatoon, SK. Upon graduation, she attended the University of Saskatchewan and obtained a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology. She then graduated with a diploma of Dental Therapy in June of 2007. Upon completing her dental therapy diploma, she worked as a part time clinical dental therapist for Battlefords Tribal Council and part time COHI dental therapist for Health Canada. Through BTC and COHI, she provided dental prevention to five First Nations communities surrounding the Battlefords. Since 2010, she has worked part time as a COHI dental therapist and casual private practice in Saskatoon.  In November of 2019 she took on the role as the Acting Dental Team Lead for Indigenous Services Canada for Saskatchewan region.  Meagan is also an active member of the SDTA council.  Aside from work, Meagan is married to Jon and together have a daughter Jada and son Max. Besides running kids to dance, piano, ball, hockey and golf activities, Meagan enjoys teaching and participating in fitness classes at the gym.  She and Jon also enjoy travelling, golfing and spending time at the cabin with family and friends.

Karen Ritchie

Karen Ritchie is a dedicated oral health professional with a passion for improving access to care and promoting good oral health practices. She has been a dental assistant for 26 years, 22 of those years were spent in a pediatric public health program called Smile plus program, situated in Winnipeg, Manitoba. In the role she served underserviced populations. Improving oral health outcomes of individuals, particularly in vulnerable communities. She is dedicated to the advancing of the dental assistant profession. Karen has served as a director on the CDAA (Canadian Dental Assistants Association) and held the position of president of the Manitoba Dental Assistant’s Association.

Currently, she serves as a board member of the SDAA (Saskatchewan Dental Assistant’s Association). Additionally, she is an instructor for the dental assisting program at the university of Saskatchewan imparting knowledge and skills to the next generation of dental assistants.

She is always passionate about taking part in activities that help in bridging gaps in oral health care disparities and initiatives that promote education and awareness with communities.

Kellie Watson, RDH, MBA

Kellie Watson graduated from the University of Manitoba, School of Dental Hygiene in 1995 and has been involved in the dental/health field in many capacities since that time: as a clinical dental hygienist, educator/instructor at both the University of Manitoba and the University of Saskatchewan, and respected speaker at regional and national professional conferences. Upon completion of a Master’s degree in Business Administration specializing in Health Services Management, she has served in a management role with a regional health authority, and since 2007 has been Registrar – Executive Director for both the College of Dental Hygienists of Manitoba (CDHM) and the Saskatchewan Dental Hygienists’ Association (SDHA). In her roles as Registrar-Executive Director, Kellie has served as a Board of Governor for the National Dental Certification Board, including being President from 2012 to 2015, Regulatory member and Treasurer for the Federation of Dental Hygiene Regulatory Authorities (FDHRA), and been involved with accreditation site visits for dental hygiene education programs in her region. She is committed to upholding the standards of the dental hygiene profession, has been instrumental in developing programs and services for both the CDHM and SDHA, and is passionate about working collaboratively to improve the oral and overall health of the people of Saskatchewan, and advance the dental hygiene profession in Canada.

Shelby Hamm

Shelby Hamm (Bowerman) was born and raised in Saskatoon, SK. She attended the University of Saskatchewan before moving to Ontario to complete a diploma in Dental Hygiene in 2008, at the Canadian Academy of Dental Hygiene. Shelby has been involved in many areas in the dental field; as a clinical hygienist in Saskatoon and Prince Albert, in Long Term Care as an Independent Practitioner, as a clinical instructor with the College of Dentistry at the University of Saskatchewan and as a council member for the Saskatchewan Dental Hygienists’ Association.

In 2019, Shelby became employed with the Saskatchewan Dental Hygienists’ Association (SDHA) as the Deputy Registrar and assumed the role of Registrar/CEO in 2022. Her role with the SDHA has given her experiences with policy monitoring and development and board governance serving on committees and including; National Dental Hygienist Certification Board, Federation of Dental Hygienists of Canada, Program Advisory Board for Saskatchewan Polytechnic and the Network of Interprofessional Regulatory Organizations of Saskatchewan. As of July 1, 2024, the SDHA now operated as the College of Dental Hygienists of Saskatchewan in which Shelby remains the Registrar/ CEO.

Together with her husband, Jordan, Shelby has two boys Jameson and Cooper that keep them busy with sports and activities.

Glenda Burnouf

Glenda Burnouf (nee: Laliberte) hails from the small Northern community of Beauval, SK. Upon graduation she attended the National School of Dental Therapy in 1991-1993 and continued her education at SIAST (now known as Sask Polytechnic) where she became a dental hygienist in 1995. She started her career as a clinical dental hygienist in Saskatoon, SK and then moved on to a variety of practice settings for the next 29 years. The majority of her career was spent as a dental therapist/hygienist with the Children’s Dental Program for the three former northern health regions as she moved from one community to another. She was an instructor at National School of Dental Therapy for five years and currently she is employed by the Onion Lake Cree Nation where she is the Dental Program Manager of the School Dental Therapist Program. Glenda served as a council member for the Saskatchewan Dental Therapists Association which then led her to serving three terms as President. Glenda is married to Ken and they have three beautiful children Janae, Kalan and Graysen. She loves to travel, camp/RV, and spend quality time with family and friends.

Dr. Parviz Yazdani

For the last 15 years, Parviz’s practice philosophy has been to provide the best, painless, and most comprehensive treatment possible to each and every one of his patients.

As a graduate of University of Saskatchewan in 1998, Parviz has numerous years of experience in private practice in addition to an academic posting as a clinical instructor. He enjoys all aspects of dentistry, but particularly the cosmetic and surgical disciplines. As a father of four, he appreciates the anxieties of other parents and of the children themselves when it comes to dental care. He has built a reputation for providing a very gentle and positive experience for all families.

Boyd Doucette

Boyd Doucette is a 3rd generation denturist located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Boyd graduated NAIT in Edmonton, Alberta in June of 2012 and became fully licensed in that same fall. Boyd along with his brother Britten, currently own two denture clinics, MBK Denture Clinic in Saskatoon's Lawson Heights mall along with Warman Denture & Implant Solutions. Boyd currently sits on the Denturist Society of Saskatchewan's council as the Chair for the Conduct committee. During his free time he enjoys spending time with his family and friends, playing many sports and enjoying Saskatchewan summers.

Jolene Iron

Jolene Iron is a proud member of the Canoe Lake Cree First Nation in Treaty 10 territory.  She graduated from the National School of Dental Therapy in 2005 and has been employed with Meadow Lake Tribal Council since then. Jolene also has a Diploma in Business Administration, an Applied Certificate of Indigenous Leadership Skills and a Certificate of Achievement of Leadership Skills.

She is excited to join the SOHC as one of the Directors and looks forward to bringing about positive change to the oral health status in Saskatchewan.