Bowden Leadership Conference

Date: January 9, 2026
Location: LDA Office, 5637 Bankers Ave., Baton Rouge, LA 70808
Time: Check-in begins at 7:30 a.m.

This conference is crucial for LDA leaders, including officers, directors, and committee chairs, to enhance their effectiveness within the association. Registration is free, with mileage reimbursement for required attendees and one-night hotel reimbursement for those traveling over 100 miles.

Agenda Highlights:

Leadership sessions
LDA updates
Guest speakers
Breakfast and lunch provided

Agenda

7:30 AM	Check-In & Breakfast
8:15 AM	Introductions & Welcome
8:25 AM	LDS Update
8:30 AM	Speaker
10:00 AM	Break
10:15 AM	Key LDA Issues
10:25 AM	Leadership Session
12:00 PM	Lunch (provided) with speaker

Speaker Information

Chad Olson

Senior Director, ADA's Department of State & Government Affairs

Meet Chad

Chad Olson is the senior director of state government affairs at the American Dental Association. He leads a team that identifies state legislative/regulatory trends impacting the dental profession, and provides public policy advice that complements and enhances component dental associations’ and member dentists’ efforts. He and his team cover topics that include dental insurance reform, workforce policy, and access to care. Prior to coming to the ADA, he spent more than ten years with Delta Dental. During that time, he helped formulate Delta Dental’s health care reform strategy leading up to and following the passage of the Affordable Care Act, and served as a spokesperson on behalf of the Association to DC-based and national media. He also managed the Association’s political action committee administration and fundraising efforts. Chad received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Arizona State University and is a Health Insurance Associate designate from America’s Health Insurance Plans.

Course Title: Government Affairs/State Public Affairs

Course Description

ADA's Advocacy Efforts: An overview of the ADA’s advocacy initiatives and efforts to support the dental community at local, state, and national levels.

Course Objectives

LDA members have the unique opportunity to be involved in governmental advocacy at both the state and national levels. This session provides a breakdown of the federal legislative process, what initiatives the American Dental Association (ADA) is working on, and how grassroots lobbying is integral to the process. It will provide details on national successes and current works in progress, including the WAIVER (Waiving Applicable Interference for Viable ERISA Reform) proposal and community water fluoridation battles.

Olson will also describe the ADA’s state public affairs team and state public affairs grants and how these pieces fit together perfectly with the states’ own lobbying teams. Helpful insights will be provided on how each piece of the puzzle fit together for the benefit of dentistry as a whole and our members.

Expect to learn a lot about how we’ll lay the groundwork for the basic principles that make for an effective advocacy campaign, and how the ADA and LDA work simultaneously to keep control of dentistry in the hands of the dentists.