Advisory board

Dr Rick Olive qualified as a dentist in 1975 with BDSc (Hons) from the University of Queensland then undertook specialist training in orthodontics. After a further couple of years as a lecturer at UQ he entered specialist orthodontic practice in 1981 and retired in 2016.

Dr Olive has served on the ADAQ Branch Council, including as Branch President in 1985; the ADA Federal Council and as ADA Federal President 2014 to 2016; the Dental Board of Queensland in 1994 and as President/ Chairman of that Board from 1996 to 2007; as Director of the Australian Dental Council and as President of ADC from 2002 to 2004; Councillor of the Australian Society of Orthodontists Inc. and President from 1998 to 2000.

Dr Olive was a member of the Executive Committee of the World Federation of Orthodontists. He was Chairman of the Sydney International Orthodontic Congress Committee. Dr Olive has served on a number of ADA Inc Committees.

Dr Olive recently retired as an Army reservist. He held the rank of Colonel and served as Head of Corps of the Royal Australian Army Dental Corps in 2013 to 2014. He has a long association with the UQ as a part-time teacher and is appointed as an Adjunct Professor.

He has been the ADA nominee on the Advisory Board of the Australian Dental Health Foundation since 2014.

Alex Abrahams is the Founder of Pacific Smiles Group.

Alex has overseen the development of PSG from a group of partnerships to an incorporated entity on 1 January 2003. Alex is a dentist with a special interest in dental implants. Alex is a member of the Australian Dental Association and a member of the Australian Osseointegration Society (Implants).

Alex joined the Advisory Board of the Australian Dental Health Foundation on 1st April 2019

Chris Wilson is a currently serving as a Federal Councillor. He has been on ADA NSW Council since 1999 after becoming involved in his local ADA Division (Newcastle) in 1986. Chris has served as ADA NSW President and has participated in many other ADA NSW and Federal Committees over the years. After finishing dentistry at the University of Sydney in 1979, Chris worked for 18 months as a salaried dental officer then went to work for a private practice in Raymond Terrace, Six months later he bought the practice and still practices there on a full-time basis.

When not working, one of Chris’s regular activities is a yearly charity motorcycle ride for the Royal Flying Doctor’s Service to raise money for their Dental Outreach Programme which helps bring dental services to remote communities.

Recently retired after many years as a Federal Councillor, Neil Hewson has chaired and served on many Federal committees. He is a past Federal President and later served on Federal Executive for a further three years. Neil was a co-author of the paper that successfully proposed the establishment of the ADA Foundation and subsequently served on the Advisory Board as Vice-Chair. He has been a member of several government committees and was National e-Health Transitional Authority Clinical Lead. Neil was an ADAVB Branch President and has been on and chaired most Victorian Branch Committees. He was only the second Australian to be elected as FDI Speaker of the General Assembly, has served on FDI committees, has been a board member of the Australian Dental Research Foundation and was chair of the highly successful Oral Health Cooperative Research Centre. At the Australian Dental Council he served as a director, held the office of Vice-President and was a member of or chaired several committees. Neil also held senior roles in the Victorian and Australian Councils of Professions and has been admitted to an Honorary Doctor of Dental Science by Melbourne University.

Susan Wise is a Specialist Periodontist in suburban Melbourne. Susan is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and was the recipient of the 2021 ADA Valuable Service Award.

Susan is the current President of the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons, Past President of the ADAVB and Co-Chairs the Australian Dental Health Foundation Victoria committee as well as being on the Advisory Board of ADA Dental Health Foundation.

As well as practicing and being involved in committees, Susan has also demonstrated to and examined postgraduate and undergraduate students in periodontics.

Bradley Abraham is an experienced Board Director and is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Dental Association SA Branch.

He was formerly the Chief Executive Officer and Director of The Royal Institution of Australia and was the driving force behind the development of it as Australia’s first dedicated science multi-media outlet. This includes the establishment of Australia’s Science Channel, the acquisition of Cosmos Magazine and relaunch of Scinema International Science Film Festival.

Specialising in change leadership, Bradley has had over 25 year’s senior management experience in the not-for-profit sector, including senior management and marketing roles at CPA Australia, Swimming SA, Scouts Australia and The Australian Institute of Management.

A Fellow of The Australian Institute of Company Directors, Bradley has served on many Boards and Committees. Currently a Director of the West Adelaide Football Club, he has previously been a Director of Thylation Foundation, the Australian Science Media Centre, Netball SA, the Adelaide Thunderbirds and on the State Advisory Committee for CEDA.

Gavin Quek is a practising dentist who graduated from The University of Adelaide in 2021.He currently serves as ADA Tasmania’s Secretary and Chairs their Governance and Oral Health Promotion Committee. He is also Vice- Chair of the ADA Inc’s Oral Health Committee.

Gavin is a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and Fellow of the Institute of Managers and Leaders ANZ.

Gavin is a passionate volunteer and is currently one of the volunteers under the ADHF’s Adopt a Patient program. Gavin recently gave a TEDx speech about how curiosity drives contribution and about how oral and general health are so closely connected. He was recently awarded the Premier’s Young Achiever of the Year 2023 and was named Hobart’s Young Citizen of the Year 2023.

Dr Denise Y Salvestro – PhD(ANU), MArtAdmin (UNSW), DipHistArt(LondonUni), BDS(SydUni), FICD, FPFA

Denise graduated BDS from Sydney University in 1974. Before retirement from clinical practice, Denise worked as a general dental practitioner in Australia, UK and Italy, with the final twelve years of her practising career spent working in remote communities in the Northern Territory where she and her partner were also involved in setting up pro bono oral health promotion and dental service delivery programs. A member of ADA since graduation, Denise served on the Recent Graduate ADA Dental Health Foundation – Advisory Board, Sept 2023-25

Committee ADANSW in the late seventies, during which time she chaired the Working Committee for compiling a Glossary of Dental Terminology for Health Fund Members – the template for the current Australian Schedule of Dental Services and Glossary. For seven years Denise was a member of the then named CPD Committee of the Federal body and while in the Northern Territory, served several terms as President of ADA NT branch. From 2010 to 2021 Denise worked as a Professional Officer for the Dental Council of NSW and is a fellow of PFA and ICD. While practising dentistry Denise completed a Master’s in art administration (UNSW) and a PhD in Aboriginal Art (ANU) and runs her own arts consultancy business. She has been on the Board of a NFP Arts organisation, Artback NT for ten years, serving as Chair for the past eight years. Since 2018 Denise has been a research officer in the Macquarie University Economics Dept working on a survey of practising professional artists and on a project researching the value of art and cultural practices to remote Indigenous artists.