The American Dental Education Association's Abigail Gorman Receives Rising Star Award At The 2007 Nonprofit CFO Of The Year Awards Luncheon

The American Dental Education Association's (ADEA) Chief Operating Officer (COO) Abigail W. Gorman, M.B.A., received the CFO Rising Star Award at the 2007 Nonprofit CFO of the Year Awards Luncheon. Ms. Gorman was honored for producing exemplary work in the nonprofit industry and representing the future of the nonprofit financial management profession.


"I was impressed to see hundreds of Abigail's peers (and many of mine) in the nonprofit sector in attendance at the awards luncheon. Everyone at ADEA is thrilled to see Abigail recognized for her significant contributions to the field of financial management and to ADEA in particular," said ADEA Executive Director Richard W. Valachovic, D.M.D., M.P.H.


Ms. Gorman directs administrative, financial, and organizational activities as COO of ADEA. Since joining ADEA in 2002, she has implemented the highest standards of financial stewardship and workflow efficiency. ADEA's membership has grown from 2,500 individual members to more than 16,000, with a 90% retention rate. Institutional membership has grown more than 25%. To accommodate this growth, Ms. Gorman formed a new internal management team responsible for finance, administration, information technology, membership, communications, marketing, meetings, professional development, knowledge management, and application services. This team ensures a tight link between the organization's strategic goals and financial management, to provide value added member services to a rapidly growing individual and institutional membership base.


With an M.B.A. from the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business, Ms. Gorman, whose baccalaureate degree is from Smith College, came to ADEA as Director of Finance and Operations in 2002. She became the organization's first Chief Operating Officer in 2005 after negotiating a successful transition from offices located on Massachusetts Avenue in the District of Columbia to larger quarters on K Street, also in the District. She brought to her new position a wealth of experience in management consulting in the private sector and skillfully made the transition to the nonprofit sector. A native of New Jersey, Ms. Gorman now resides with her family in Maryland.


Abigail Gorman's Rising Star Award


Hosted by West, Lane & Schlager and Tate & Tryon, the 2007 Nonprofit CFO of the Year Awards program honors financial executives in the Washington, DC, area for their contributions in exceptional leadership, operational excellence, and a commitment to promoting improved accountability and financial reporting practices. The Rising Star Award was one of three awards presented at the luncheon held at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington last week. Award recipients were selected from nominations and chosen by an independent judging panel of nonprofit industry experts and academic leaders in the Washington area.


About the American Dental Education Association


The American Dental Education Association (ADEA) is the voice of dental education. Its members include all U.S. and Canadian dental schools and many allied and postdoctoral dental education programs, corporations, faculty, and students. The mission of ADEA is to lead individuals and institutions of the dental education community to address contemporary issues influencing education, research, and the delivery of oral health care for the health of the public. ADEA's activities encompass a wide range of research, advocacy, faculty development, meetings, and communications like the esteemed Journal of Dental Education, as well as the dental school admissions services AADSAS and PASS.


American Dental Education Association