Dr. Raymond A. Cohlmia is the Executive Director of the American Dental Association, the nation’s leading advocate for oral health.
Dr. Cohlmia graduated in 1988 from The University of Oklahoma College of Dentistry. He was in private practice for 26 years prior to becoming full-time faculty at The University of Oklahoma College of Dentistry, where he served as Dean for seven years prior to his full-time appointment at the ADA.
Dr. Cohlmia is a life member of the ADA and served in the ADA House of Delegates as both a delegate and alternate delegate and on several councils and committees of the ADA over his tenure of many years of volunteer service to the ADA. He most recently served from 2015 to 2019 as the Twelfth District Trustee and was elected to the Board of the American Dental Association Science and Research Institute (ADASRI), where he served as their founding chair. He has also served in multiple capacities in the local and state levels, serving as president of both his local component and state associations.
Along with being known for his leadership in the association, he is also known in dental education. While serving in his previous academic position, he created an innovative model of clinical delivery in the college.
Dr. Cohlmia remains a member in many affiliate organizations, including the International College of Dentists, the American College of Dentists, the Pierre-Fauchard Academy of Dentistry, and the American Dental Education Association. Further, he has served on both dental and non-dental based foundation boards.
He is very active in his church that was founded by his great-grandfather. He comes from a family of dentists, including his father, brother, and numerous relatives. He and his wife have three sons, of which, two are general dentists.