Dr. John Trotter

Redondo Beach, CA
DEI Task Force Chair

The Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists (PCSO) Board of Directors formed a task force in November 2020 with the charge of reviewing the Mission Statement and Core Values of the PCSO, with an emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). The Core Values and Mission Statement had not been reviewed in more than 10 years, so an analysis was timely and needed. I believe that the PCSO Board of Directors was once again exceptionally forward-thinking in requesting that these two documents be reexamined through the lens
of DEI.

The Task Force members include Drs. Nancy Gum, Guneet Kohli Kainth, Clarice Law, Nehi Ogbevoen,
Mark Rashidi, Barbara Sheller, Isaac Tam, Mary Gabrielle Thodas, and Adam Welmerink, with me selected as chairman. Dr. Marie Lathrop (the current PCSO president) and Ms. Callie Castro (the PCSO executive director) are also included in the meetings. The Task Force had a number of conference calls beginning in February 2021 and worked very hard to ensure we adequately addressed the request of the Board of Directors. The group has produced revised documents that I believe will serve the PCSO and its membership very well in the years to come. Concurrently, the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) and the American Dental Association have started DEI initiatives, so we believe the PCSO is certainly on the right track. The Task Force has proposed a new mission statement along with a set of associated core values. This mission statement will guide the PCSO in the years to come and will provide a framework for the future work of the Board of Directors and the society at large. By examining these documents through the lens of DEI, we can ensure that the PCSO will continue to have the best interests of the entire membership in focus. This new mission statement and core values will be presented to the Board of Directors, where they will be reviewed, discussed, and voted on at their annual meeting in October.

A review like the one that our Task Force has undertaken is sometimes tough, but as one of the
members (Dr. Ogbevoen) of the Task Force said, “We need to be comfortable being uncomfortable.”