Robyn Watson

Robyn Watson is a Dental Hygienist who was educated in the USA and practiced and taught in the USA for many years before returning to New Zealand in 1994 to participate in the introduction of the first school of Dental Hygiene in New Zealand. She has been on the Faculty of the Otago School of Dentistry, the Otago Polytechnic and consulted with the development of the BSc in Oral Health at the Auckland University of Technology where she was a Senior lecturer. Robyn is currently affiliated with the in the Department of Periodontics at the University of Sydney as International liason and Elective co-ordinator, as well as lecturer in Periodontics.

She has served as Vice President and President of the NZDHA and sat on the New Zealand Dental Council for 6 years. Currently she is the President of the International Federation of Dental Hygienists where she also served as President-Elect for three years and chaired the Education and Research Committee for 6 years. She served on the House of Delegates of IFDH for 12 years representing New Zealand.

Robyn received her Dental Hygiene education at the University of Pennsylvania, her Bachelors degree in Dental Auxiliary Education at the University of North Carolina and her Masters in Public Administration in Health Services Management from Golden Gate University in San Francisco. She is also a graduate of the Global Child Dental Fund Senior Dental Leaders programme (SDL-7) at Harvard University in 2013, and the SDL-10 at Kings College, London March 2016. She has also been appointed to the Expert Panel of the "Alliance for a Cavity Free Future"

Robyn has delivered programmes internationally for several years during which she has conducted seminars for Universities and professional groups in many countries.