Dr. Amarilis Jacobo Named President of the New York State Dental Association
NYSDA also welcomed new and returning NYSDA officers to serve in 2026-27.
Albany, N.Y. — The New York State Dental Association (NYSDA) has sworn in Amarilis Jacobo, Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS), making her the first Latina president in NYSDAs history. Dr. Jacobo serves as the 146th president of the organization.
Dr. Jacobo is a general practice dentist with private practices in Harlem and the Bronx. She is active in the American Dental Association (ADA), Hispanic Dental Association (HDA), Hispanic Dental Association-New York Chapter, Bronx County Dental Society and is a founder of the Dominican Dental Association. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she received a state appointment to the New York Forward Re-Opening Advisory Board.
“I’m honored to guide NYSDA into its next chapter of improving access to oral health throughout New York,” said Dr. Jacobo. “Building on a strong history and foundation, my focus will be on advancing the organization’s advocacy, empowering the next generation of dentists and strengthening the future of our profession.”
In 2017, Dr. Jacobo opened la clinca Astin Jacobo, a free dental clinic in the Dominican Republic named after her father. Housed at the Astin Jacobo Middle School, the clinic is dedicated to ensuring the oral health of all on campus. She established the Dr. Amarilis Jacobo Scholarship Award in 2016 for students at the Bronx School for Law, Government and Justice.
Dr. Jacobo attended La Universidad Central del Este School of Dentistry in the Dominican Republic. Following graduation, she returned to the United States and received her doctorate of dental surgery from New York University College of Dentistry.
Serving alongside Dr. Jacobo for the 2026-2027 term are the following officers, effective June 8, 2026:
Dr. Lynn Stacy, President-Elect
Lynn Stacy, DDS, is a general practice dentist with a private practice in Lowville that she opened more than three decades ago. Dr. Stacy also worked at the Lewis County Residential
Health Care facility, serving the elderly residents in a dental capacity for 25 years. She has held various leadership positions within the Jefferson-Lewis Dental Society and the Fifth District Dental Society, becoming president in 2012.
Dr. Stacy currently serves as the NYSDA Trustee for the Fifth District, where she has been involved in the NYSDA Strategic Planning Committee, the Lobby Review Committee and the NYSDAPAC Bylaws Committee. She also acts as the Trustee Liaison to Governmental Affairs. Previously, she served on the NYSDA Council on Membership and Communications and was a delegate for the NYSDA and the ADA, where she took part in the dental benefits study group.
Dr. Stacy is a graduate of University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine, where she was a member of the Omicron Kappa Upsilon Society. She has been inducted into the Pierre Fauchard Academy and the International College of Dentistry.
Dr. Michael Shreck, Vice President
Michael Shreck, DMD, is a general practice dentist with a private practice in New Hyde Park. Dr. Shreck is a fellow of the Pierre Fauchard Society, the American College of Dentists and the International College of Dentists while also serving as an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Dental Medicine at Long Island Jewish Medical Center.
Dr. Shreck is the founder and current co-chair of Nassau County’s Give Kids A Smile Program, which has helped treat and educate nearly 20,000 underserved children. He serves on the Board of Trustees of the American Dental Political Action Committee and is on the Board of Directors and an Executive member of the Nassau County Dental Society.
Dr. Shreck received his doctorate of dental medicine from the University of Pennsylvania. He completed his residency at Brookdale Hospital Medical Center and earned his Postdoctoral Certificate from Columbia University. Dr. Shreck was the second recipient of the American Dental Association Foundation’s prestigious Jeffrey Dalin, DDS Give Kids A Smile Volunteer Award for his outstanding achievements.
Dr. Paul Leary, Secretary-Treasurer
Paul Leary, DMD, is a graduate of Temple University School of Dentistry. He entered the United States Navy in his freshman year of dental school, completed three years of active-duty service upon graduation and remained in the Naval Reserve for 14 years, achieving a rank of commander. He left active service and entered private practice, where he continues to work more than three decades later. He shares ownership of his practice in Smithtown with Dr. Matthew Hanna and works alongside his daughter, Dr. Megan Leary-Ells, at the practice.
Dr. Leary has held many leadership positions in dental organizations in his home of Suffolk County as well as within NYSDA and the ADA. He has served as NYSDA Secretary-Treasurer for the past three years. Additionally, he has previously been a trustee representing the Second ADA District, NYSDA Trustee representing Suffolk County and a past member of NYSDAs Board of Governors. He remains dedicated to educating the next generation of dentists and has presented an ethics course to fourth-year dental students at Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine for nearly 15 years.
Dr. William Karp, Speaker of the House of Delegates
William Karp, DDS, is a general practice dentist and has maintained his private practice in the Syracuse area since 1983. He is also an attending dentist at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Health Center where he educates dental residents.
Dr. Karp has held leadership capacities as a delegate to the ADA and as a member of the ADA Council on Communications. At NYSDA, he has served as governor, trustee and a delegate in the NYSDA House. He previously served as president of the Fifth District Dental Society and has been their parliamentarian since 2009.
Dr. Karp is a graduate of New York University College of Dentistry and completed his general practice residency at the University of Rochester’s Strong Memorial Hospital.
Dr. Maurice Edwards, Immediate Past President
Maurice Edwards, DMD, runs his private practice in Manhattan and is active in the ADA, American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS), New York State Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (NYSSOMS) and the New York Society of Forensic Dentistry. Dr. Edwards holds faculty positions in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at New York University College of Dentistry and the Department of Otolaryngology at Mount Sinai and Mount Sinai West Medical Center’s Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Sections.
The day after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Dr. Edwards spent considerable time alongside thousands of volunteers at Ground Zero searching for the remains of victims. In the months that followed, he worked with the dental identification unit at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of New York City, helping to identify about 60 percent of all remains recovered. He received NYSDA’s New Dentist Leadership Award for his efforts.
Dr. Edwards received his doctorate of dental medicine from the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine. Upon graduating, he matched and completed a four-year residency program in oral and maxillofacial surgery at New York University and Bellevue Hospital.
About the New York State Dental Association: The New York State Dental Association, founded in 1868, is one of the largest state constituents of the American Dental Association and represents more than 60 percent of dentists practicing in New York State. Founded in 1859, the American Dental Association is the oldest and largest national dental society in the world and serves as the leading source of oral health-related information for dentists and their patients.
