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Meet the movers and shakers, power brokers and thought leaders accelerating change across dentistry, healthcare, business and media. Hosted by Benco Dental’s senior executives and experts from our company, each episode delves deep into how the brightest minds are shaping dentistry’s future through remarkable innovation—and how you can position yourself for personal and professional success in this fast-changing world.

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Episode 22

An interview with Rella Christensen, PhD – Lucy Hobbs Industry Icon

July 22, 2021 Hosted by Chuck Cohen

RELLA CHRISTENSEN, PHD
Lucy Hobbs Project Honoree
INDUSTRY ICON

Rella Christensen, PhD, recipient of the Industry Icon award, shares her inspirational level of knowledge as a clinical researcher in numerous capacities, without any monetary compensation. Within her purview: Expanded Function Dental Hygiene, for which she founded and directed the Bachelor of Science Program at the University of Colorado in Denver. Dr. Christensen’s competencies in the areas of Physiology and Microbiology power the team at Technologies in Restoratives and Caries Research (TRAC Research), a nonprofit institute she established in Provo, Utah. At its core: in-depth studies of restorative materials, preventive dentistry, and dental caries.

During her lifelong commitment to the betterment of patient treatment, Dr. Christensen also dedicated 27 years to Clinical Research Associates, a dental product testing institute that she founded and directed. She has presented over 1,040 dental continuing education programs, totaling over 5,200 hours, at U.S. and international locations and has published 121 abstracts. She is a member of the American Academy of Esthetic Dentistry and the International and American Associations for Dental Research. As a non-dentist, Dr. Christensen has been inducted into the International College of Dentists, Academy of General Dentistry and the Academy of Dentistry International as an Honorary Member. In 2001 she was selected as the Distinguished Alumnus of Brigham Young University’s School of Life Sciences, and now serves on its National Advisory Board.

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MEET OUR HOSTS

Chuck Cohen: Managing Director

Chuck Cohen graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1989 with a degree in English, and joined Benco as a territory representative soon after graduation. He’s taken on increasing responsibilities in the sales and marketing areas, becoming Managing Director in 1996. He serves on a variety of industry and community boards, including Wilkes University, the Dental Lifeline Network, and Jewish Community Alliance of Wilkes-Barre.

Rick Cohen: Managing Director

After three years as an IT consultant at Accenture, Rick Cohen joined Benco in 1994 to create Painless, the industry’s first windows-based e-commerce software. Since then, he’s taken on increasing responsibilities within Benco, focusing on Information Technology, Logistics, Clarion Financial, and our private brand. He is Co-Chair of the Benco Family Foundation, a trustee of WVIA public television and public radio, and a Director of the Dental Trade Alliance Foundation.