2025 was a year of great transition for Alliance for Smiles and of unexpected moments for me, both personally and professionally. Our Board looked back over 20 years of service and revisited how to best ensure Alliance for Smiles will continue to adapt to address the long-term needs of the cleft patients we serve and the interests of our partners around the world. For us, that meant shifting even more of our energy and efforts toward education and capacity building. This renewed focus on education means slowing things down, working side-by-side in true partnership with our peers around the world to build their knowledge and skills, and truly enable them to provide treatment without our presence on the ground.

Just weeks into 2025 we were back on the ground in Accra, Ghana, where we were powerfully reminded of the lasting impact and legacy of our volunteers when we were visited by the spirited, young Angelita. Angelita received surgery from Alliance for Smiles as a four-month-old baby in 2010. Now 15 years old, she radiates with confidence, gratitude, and perhaps most importantly, joy. She is a living testimony to the life-changing power of this work and the supporters, donors, and partners who make it possible. 

As the year progressed, we went on to the Middle East, South America, and back to West Africa, and conducted trainings and site visits around the world. Egypt and Ghana, in particular, brought our teams difficult and unique cases, but with those came immense opportunities to teach and train local medical teams to navigate any challenge that comes their way. In Ecuador, we also had the chance to care for our first-ever burn patient, brave and sweet Sofia.

These missions were only possible thanks to our incredible community of generous donors, partners, and volunteers, including those at Rotary International and from Rotary Clubs all around the world. Among these selfless supporters were: 

• Greensboro, Georgia’s Dining for Smiles crew, including Debbie and Ronnie Kent and their neighbor and friend (long-time AfS board member, Mission Director, and more) Tina Fischlin. For seventeen years, they have hosted a fundraising meal to support AfS – growing their event from a small, intimate gathering to a huge outdoor barbecue with a silent auction and presentations. 
• The Pettet Family & Community, including Brandy and Husten Pettet. Their beautiful daughter Grace was born with a cleft lip and palate, and her surgeon was long-time AfS volunteer, Dr. Chris Zarella. They first hosted a fundraiser for the Hood to Coast run in the Pacific Northwest, but have since gone on to raise more funds and have a golf tournament in the works. 

On the personal front, I was surprised and honored to receive the Global Human Rights Award from Women Changing the World at a prize ceremony in London. The award was given in recognition of the last twenty years of international work, including my work with Alliance for Smiles. 

The organization then invited winners to contribute to a book called Begin It Now, which I, as a lifelong avid reader, was delighted (though daunted) to do, and then to attend the book launch later in the year in Vancouver. At the book launch and regional summit, I was further surprised and honored with a first place award in Humanitarian Impact, as well as their highest honor: Woman of the Year. Thanks to this, I recently found myself on the cover of Stellar Woman magazine, where the interviewer was so moved by our work that she recalled specific stories and faces of children whose lives we have changed. 

As I shared on stage in my acceptance speech, I am deeply aware that I am but a representative of those for whom these accolades and awards are actually meant. None of us do this work alone, and Alliance for Smiles, along with every nonprofit or social impact team I have been part of, has needed every person’s generosity with their precious time and immense talents to make absolute magic happen. These awards are a tribute to you. On behalf of myself and the organization, we thank you deeply and profoundly for making this life-changing work possible in the lives of children in need around the world. 

While visiting a friend over the holidays, a fun slip of the tongue emerged as we discussed both looking back on the last twelve months and forward to the year to come, and he spoke about reflections and “preflections”. As I look ahead, I feel a profound sense of gratitude and hope. The future holds new partnerships, innovative training and mentorship models, and expanded access to care for children who are still waiting. There are countless lives yet to be changed, and healthcare systems yet to be strengthened. The challenges we face are real and impressive, but so is our collective ability to meet them.

As our organization has grown, so too has our understanding of how to create lasting impact. Today, we invest deeply in empowering surgeons, nurses, and healthcare providers and systems to deliver high-quality cleft care long after a mission ends. This evolution has not replaced our commitment to service, rather it has strengthened it.

Guided by compassion, collaboration, and courage, together we will continue to highlight that access to healthcare should never depend on geography or income. And together, we will continue to restore not only smiles, but dignity, confidence, and opportunity for thousands of children, families, and communities around the world. It is an honor beyond words to walk this path alongside such extraordinary people. Thank you for all the lives you’ve changed with Alliance for Smiles, and in advance, for all those we’ve yet to touch – in Ecuador, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Ghana, India, and beyond – in the year to come!