First President of the AAMS, for participating in the creation of an entity that promotes research on OMDs and fosters connections between universities, clinics and professionals worldwide. From her OMT beginnings close to 30 years ago to the present day Licia has striven to bring myofunctional therapy into the mainstream and to make sure that myofunctional sciences are embraced academically with evidence-based research. She has always strongly believed in the great benefits of myofunctional therapy and in the international and multidisciplinary exchanges of information, which ultimately benefit the reason why we are in business: our patients. Licia works hard but also makes a point to spend quality time with her siblings, with her much adored husband, her funny dog, friends, colleagues, students and with people passionate about learning and doing.

Since March 2005 to present Dr. Villa has been holding the post of Professor of Pediatrics at the Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, University of Rome “Sapienza” at the Hospital Santi Andrea. She has followed and graduate students in the writing of dissertations and specialization in the degree course in Medicine and Surgery, and in graduate school in the Pediatric Clinic Since November 2003 she has been Director of the School of Specialization in Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, University of Rome ‘La Sapienza’. She is also president for the course in Nursing as well as the course in Nursing Pediatric for the Faculty of Medicine and Psychology at the University of Rome “La Sapienza”. She has been a pioneer in connecting OMDs to sleep disorders and therefore supporting the use of myofunctional therapy as a treatment option. She has being instrumental in having the Italian Ministry of Health including

Dr. Bianchini is a Speech and Language Pathologist (SLP); Master in Communication Disorders (PUCSP); Ph D. in Science, Faculty of Medicine of the University of Sao Paulo (FMUSP) ; President of the Myofunctional Therapy Department of the Brazilian Society of Sleep (ABSono), she was instrumental in ABSono becoming the first major national medical association or society adopting myofunctional therapy as a standard of care for sleep apnea in November 2015 and helped lead way for ABSono providing the 1st national credential for myofunctional therapist qualifications to work with sleep disordered patients; Professor at the Post Graduation Program in Speech Language Pathology at the Pontifical Catholic University (Pontificia Universidade Catolica) of Sao Paulo (PUC-SP); Professor at CEFAC – Health and Education; Director of the SLP Rehabilitation Clinic in Sao Paulo, Brazil; a pioneering leader and author of scientific articles, books, and book chapters on subjects such as TMJD, surface electromyography and objective measurements, orofacial pain, swallowing disorders, effectiveness of OMT exercises and much more.

Dr. Toshihide Ohno received his Phd in Orthodontics and Dentisry in 1966 and began working as a part-time lecturer at his alma mater in Yokohama 1968-1970, opening his orthodontic practice in 1970. After taking a MFT course in 1978 in Tucson, Arizona with Richard Barrett, he was inspired to undertake efforts to have MFT come to Japan with a vision for it being an essential part of orthodontics and thus all of dentistry. Barrett came twice more and then Dr. Ohno helped organize courses in Tokyo with William Zickefoose from California, upon Barrett’s retirement, beginning in 1981. Offered yearly, the 25th course in Tokyo was held in the fall of 2016, involving the training of over 3,500 dental hygienists and dentists over the last 38 years. Dr. Ohno published his first book on MFT in 1989, subsequently publishing 5 additional orthodontic and myofunctional therapy textbooks and served as President of the Japanese Society of Orthodontics. Since retiring in 2014, he has been a director of the Dental Museum of the Kanagawa Dental Association and published 3 books on the history of Japanese and Western dentistry. He is a founding board member of the Japan Society for Oral Myofunctional Therapy.

Therapist, teacher, speaker and author Barbara J. Greene was first trained in myofunctional therapy by the visionary teachers Daniel Garliner, MA, and Roy Langer, PhD, at their Institute of Myofunctional Therapy in Coral Gables, Florida. She began her practice in 1971 while pursuing further study with other notable therapists, including Richard Barrett, MA, in Tucson, Arizona, and William Zickefoose, BA, COM, in Sacramento, California. Since then, Barbara has helped hundreds of children and adults correct their myofunctional disorders by guiding them through a simple, year-long therapeutic program to establish and maintain proper orofacial function. Eventually, she became a teacher herself, training therapists, consulting dental practices and coordinating the Pacific Coast Study Club for many years. She currently leads the Southern California Myofunctional Therapy Study Club at White Memorial Hospital, Los Angeles. Highly regarded by colleagues and patients alike, Barbara is considered one of the foremost therapists practicing in the US today.

For Dr. Kryger’s lifelong accomplishments in advancing medicine include 30 years of editing the core textbook for sleep medicine, Principles and Practice of Sleep Medicine, the 6th Edition of which includes 2 chapters establishing myofunctionaltherapy as an important standard of care in the treatment of sleep disorders. Meir Kryger joined the Yale School of Medicine and the VA Connecticut Health System, November 2011. Previously he was Professor of Medicine, University of Manitoba where he established the first clinical laboratory studying patients with sleep breathing problems in Canada. Dr. Kryger has published more than 200 research articles and book chapters. He is the chief editor of the most widely used textbook in sleep medicine, The Principles and Practice of Sleep Medicine, currently in its 5th edition and is the author of A Woman’s Guide to Sleep Disorders, the Atlas of Clinical Sleep Medicine, and Kryger’s Sleep Medicine Review. He is boarded in Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Medicine and Sleep Medicine and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada. He has been president of both the Canadian Sleep Society and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. He is on the Board of Directors of the National Sleep Foundation in Washington, D.C., and served as Board. of Sleep Medicine.

For having trained most of the speech-language pathologists to identify and treat OMDs. Now pediatric patients are examined not only for emergency treatments but also to identify signs

For training its staff in recognizing OMD in patients and implementing an appropriate multidisciplinary treatment. Unimed has been organizing multidisciplinary meetings, generating research and OMT training for other professionals.

For having done research in myofunctional therapy while treating children with OMDs and various other co-morbidities such as hypertrophic tonsils and adenoids, sleep disordered breathing, or craniofacial anomalies.

A special 2017 AAMS Rising Light On The Horizon to whom shows tremendous future promise and leadership in institutional development and interdisciplinary care, will go to Advocate Health, the largest health system in Illinois. Advocate Health is taking steps to include myfunctional therapy in its clinics and educate its professionals on the benefits of identifying OMDs in various co-morbidities.