NADP Honors 10 Members with Evelyn Ireland Volunteer Award
In celebration of outstanding volunteer achievements, the National Association of Dental Plans (NADP) will honor 10 individuals with the Evelyn Ireland Volunteer Awards during the Sept. 17 general session of CONVERGE 2025, the association’s annual conference. The award recognizes annual volunteer contributions necessary for the association to accomplish its mission to improve consumer access to affordable, quality dental care through advocacy, research, and the promotion of dental benefits.
“NADP values collaborative volunteerism. It is the engine that drives the association and provides insight, innovation, energy, and enthusiasm along the way,” said Executive Director Mike Adelberg. “NADP is privileged to honor these outstanding individuals, who are recipients of the 2025 Evelyn Ireland Volunteer Award.”
Following is a list of 2025 Evelyn Ireland Volunteer Award recipients and their contributions to NADP volunteer groups.
Shanna Madden
SKYGEN
Education Commission
Shanna Madden is a strategic dental healthcare executive with over 25 years of experience leading innovation across payer, provider, and third-party administrator (TPA) landscapes. With early roots in clinical dentistry, she blends hands-on insight with forward-thinking leadership to design and deliver scalable, compliant, and patient-centered dental programs.
Currently serving as Client Experience Executive at SKYGEN, Shanna oversees national strategy, product development, and portfolio performance for dental and vision TPA services. She drives measurable impact by advancing value-based care models, elevating client satisfaction through improved Net Promoter Scores (NPS), and fostering organic growth across key markets.
Shanna’s career includes pivotal leadership roles at Liberty Dental Plan and Avesis, where she led complex Medicaid, CHIP, Medicare, and commercial programs serving millions of members. She has consistently championed initiatives in network development, regulatory compliance, and client retention earning a reputation for aligning operational excellence with improved access, equity, and quality in oral healthcare.
A recognized advocate for collaborative innovation, Shanna contributes to industry progress through committee leadership, mentorship, and public speaking. She partners cross-functionally to build future-ready benefit solutions that meet evolving market demands and deliver meaningful results for members and clients alike.
Shanna holds an MBA from Ashland University and a BA from The Ohio State University. She is deeply committed to advancing oral health equity, supporting community outreach, and mentoring the next generation through workforce development initiatives, especially in underserved communities.
Amy Miller
Delta Dental South Carolina
Education Commission
The Education Commission is recognizing Amy Miller for developing and piloting the Ambassador program for CONVERGE.
Amy Miller is regional vice president of sales and account management at Delta Dental of South Carolina. She joined the organization in 2025 and leads sales and account management teams in its Columbia office.
Amy has more than 20 years of experience in the insurance industry, including in medical and dental claims, customer service, provider network management, product development and sales. She previously served as principal business operations advisor at BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina, as dental product sales director at BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina and as supervisor of provider support services and specialty network manager at BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee.
Amy serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the National Association of Dental Plans (Secretary), the National Association of Dental Plans Foundation, and the Prisma Health Cancer Institute Foundation. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in organizational management from Bryan College in Dayton, Tennessee.
Becky Morrow
Ameritas Life Insurance Group
Research Commission
The Research Commission commends Becky Morrow for being a consistent voice in making sure small, but impactful improvements are made for each NADP Industry Report, whether that be in working to insure data clarity or suggesting changes to make the published reports more readable.
Becky Morrow is a business analyst at Ameritas where she is responsible for the Group Benefits division's market insights and competitive intelligence needs. Through the course of her work, she partners with Sales and Marketing to identify trends and customer needs and plays an instrumental role in product design and ideation. Prior to joining Ameritas two years ago, she spent 10 years at Kaiser Permanente Washington where she honed her skills in strategy, market and consumer research, and process improvement. Becky is passionate about identifying the “so what?” in data and conveying those messages in easily digestible and useful formats for her audience.
Becky holds a Master's degree in National Security Studies and is a Navy veteran. Outside of work, she enjoys hosting parties with her husband, creating over-the-top cakes and costumes for her two boys, and stealing away for quiet time at the archery range.
Joshua Nace
Health Resources, Inc. / Promedica
Value-Based Care Initiative
The Value-Based Care Initiative applauds Josh Nace for his strategic insights regarding value-based care.
Josh Nace serves as President of Health Resources, Inc. (HRI), a division of ProMedica Health System, where he has led the Dental & Vision Plan since December 2021.
Before joining HRI, Josh spent over two decades at Dental Health Services, a regional dental benefits organization, where he served as Vice President of Sales and Service from 1998 through November 2021.
Josh is actively involved in industry leadership through the National Association of Dental Plans (NADP), where he served on the Board of Directors and chaired the Exchange Policy Workgroup. He is also a former Board Chair and longtime board member of the California Association of Dental Plans. In Washington State, he served as State President and Legislative Chair of the local Health Underwriters chapter and was a six-year member of the Washington State Insurance Commissioner's Advisory Council.
His contributions have been recognized with several industry honors, including the Barry Thoma Award—the highest member award from the Washington Association of Health Underwriters—and a Star Award from the NADP.
Josh with his wife Melinda, to whom he has been married for 26 years live in Lake Tapps, Washington. They have two adult children.
Gary Pickard
PDS Health
Value-Based Care Initiative
The Value-Based Care Initiative recognizes Gary for his contributions regarding value-based care.
For more than two decades he has been connecting people and ideas, dedicating his life to advocating for the dental industry and elevating the profession.
Gary currently serves as PDS’s senior director of Government and Industry Affairs. He is a proud veteran of the United States Navy. He earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Organizational Leadership from Azusa Pacific University. He also serves as an Advisory Board member for the Pacific Dental Services Foundation. A foundation dedicated to creating opportunities to serve through improving oral healthcare locally, nationally and internationally.
He has been an NADP member since 2004, annual participant in Advocacy in Action, and a longtime Government Relations Workgroup member.
Sean Pickard
Delta Dental of Washington
Government Relations WorkGroup
The Government Relations WorkGroup is honoring Sean Pickard for playing a pivotal role in effectively representing the industry’s collective interests on WA SB 5351, a deeply problematic bill that posed serious threats to the dental benefits industry. The legislation included harmful provisions such as mandated loss ratios, virtual credit card requirements, payment parity, restriction of same-day denials, prohibition of setting fees for non-covered services, and the elimination of utilization review—each with the potential to significantly disrupt operations and increase costs to consumers.
Representing the collective interests of the industry, Sean worked relentlessly to push back against the bill’s most damaging elements. He effectively built a diverse coalition of stakeholders to testify in opposition to the bill and played a key role in negotiating critical changes on behalf of the industry. His advocacy and strategic leadership were instrumental in softening the bill’s impact and ensuring the industry’s perspective was forcefully represented.
Sean has served as director of government relations for Delta Dental of Washington since 1996. He also served as a legislative assistant to Congressman Al Swift. He is a graduate of Seattle University’s Executive Leadership Program and holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Washington.
Don Polite
SKYGEN
Communications WorkGroup
The Communications WorkGroup commends Don Polite for providing expertise and direction in executing the workgroup's first digital advertising campaign.
In his role as Chief Marketing Officer, Don leads the marketing organization in continuing to position the company as an industry leader in driving results and innovation in health benefits technologies and solutions. Don joined SKYGEN in July 2019 as Vice President Customer Success. Don has served on the NADP Communications Workgroup for three years, he has also served on the Membership Workgroup for the past four years.
Prior to SKYGEN, Don served as Vice President, Brand and Corporate Marketing for Johnson Controls. Prior to Johnson Controls, Don served as the Executive Director, Partner Brands Marketing for Warner Bros. Don also had positions of increasing responsibility with NBC Universal, Abbot Laboratories, & Disney. Don received his undergraduate degree at Northwestern University in 1990 and has an MBA in Marketing from Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University in 1996.
Don serves as a Board Member with Chicago-based Juice Hoops Foundation, whose mission is to support underserved neurodiverse youth through the power of basketball and community. He also serves as Board President with Silver Spring Neighborhood Center which supports Milwaukee’s northwest community through education, health services and economic empowerment.
Deb Ramsay
Ameritas Life Insurance Group
Membership WorkGroup
The Membership WorkGroup is recognizing Deb Ramsay for successfully recruiting a new Supporting Organization member.
Deb Ramsay is the 2nd VP Provider Operations at Ameritas. She is currently part of the core administration processing solution leadership team for system modernization and future business state. Leadership of the nationwide PPO dental network with focus on management and innovation. This includes PPO dental network strategies, operations, network leasing, data management, reporting, and network systems. In conjunction with the above, she is an executive and functional sponsor for division and enterprise projects and oversees the execution and delivery of key initiatives.
Deb has been in the dental industry for over 40 years working as an orthodontic assistant, dental office management, dental insurance, and project management. She began her career with Ameritas in 1990 and has spent most of her tenure in provider network and operations.
Deb attended the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. She is currently volunteering on the NADP Operations Workgroup and Government Relations along with other sub workgroups throughout the years. She also has sat on the Board for The Dream Factory, volunteers at St. Teresa’s Parish, and the Friendship Home in Nebraska.
Beth Rutherford
United Concordia Dental
Communications WorkGroup
The Communications WorkGroup is honoring Beth Rutherford for her insightful edits and recommendations that add value to Communications products, including the MLR Issue Brief.
Beth Rutherford is the director of integrated communications and segment messaging for United Concordia Dental. She joined United Concordia as part of the company’s marketing team in 2009.
For the past 10-plus years, Beth has led internal and external communications for United Concordia, where her roles and responsibilities have continued to expand. Most recently, Beth assumed the added role of segment messaging, overseeing content development for producers and clients who do business with the national dental insurance carrier.
Prior to United Concordia, she spent 10 years in various nonprofit organizations (hospitals, charities and trade associations) and another decade in government-related roles (Governor’s Office, Pennsylvania Legislature and Pennsylvania Department of Education). This extensive experience in public service instilled in her a strong understanding of corporate social responsibility and a firm commitment to serving customers, which she leverages in her role at United Concordia.
Beth has received recognition from the Keystone Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA); earned a bronze and silver Telly award; and has been honored by state and national organizations, including the United Way of Pennsylvania. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism and economics from Pennsylvania State University and a master’s in integrated marketing communications from West Virginia University. She is an accredited PRSA member and volunteers regularly to help prepare others in the profession to earn their accreditation.
Ken Sheldon
UnitedHealthcare Dental
Value-Based Care Initiative
Ken Sheldon is the President of UnitedHealthcare Dental, a diverse oral healthcare organization that covers twenty-five million lives across the Commercial and Government markets. Ken guides the strategic vision and its execution across Network, Clinical, Distribution, Actuarial, Finance, and Shared Services. As part of UnitedHealthcare's Specialty Benefits team, Ken's objective is to deliver cost-effective oral health programs. Additionally, he is responsible for external business development. Ken has been with UnitedHealth Group for 24 years.
Prior to joining UnitedHealthcare, Ken held the position of President for National Pacific Dental. As President, he was charged with managing all aspects of the dental business. This included sales, product development, network development and administration, plan implementation, state and federal regulatory compliance, as well as all operational facets of the business.