Biography
Cathy Hester Seckman, a 1974 graduate of West Liberty State College, is a dental hygienist, speaker, writer, and indexer. As a hygienist, she has been in general and specialty practices for 32 years, including three years as a temp hygienist. Since 2003, she has worked in a pediatric practice. Since 2007, she has presented continuing education programs for hygienists on pediatric communication, management, nutrition, pre-natal to pre-school care, teen risk behaviors, and ergonomics. She has spoken at Pennwell’s Under One Roof Conference five times, and to dental components in California, Ilinois, Michigan, Maryland, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia.
Beginning with “Learning to Love My Recall System” in 1985, she has published more than 100 articles in RDH magazine. Other dental magazines featuring her work include RDH Student Focus, Dental Economics, Contemporary Oral Hygiene, Modern Hygienist, Dental Office, RDH eVillage, RDH eVillage Focus, and Hygiene Tribune. She is a member of the ADHA and its Ohio Tri-County component. She serves on the Editorial Advisory Board of RDH magazine, as well as its Key Influencer panel. She is a Key Opinion Leader for GC America, and is a Hu-Freidy Thought Leader and Colgate Oral Health Advisor. She was a charter member of the Allied Advisory Committee of the Samuel D. Harris National Museum of Dentistry. She is a member of Amy’s List and its Oral Cancer Awareness Committee. She supports the National Children’s Oral Health Foundation with fundraising raffles.
Outside of dental hygiene, Seckman is the author of Weirdo World, a young adult fantasy novel published by Cool Well Press in 2011. She is a co-author of Bad Moon Rising, a murder mystery set between Woodstock and the Kent State shootings; and an anthology, H2O Mysteries. Both are indie-published on Amazon and Nook. Her short fiction has been published in several magazines. Her most recent project, East Liverpool, is an Images of America book for Arcadia Publishing, which came out in May 2015.
She is also a back-of-the-book indexer. She's written more than 100 indexes, mostly for textbooks, on a wide range of topics. Dental books indexed include “Dental Communication Brief Book Series,” The Purple Guide, 2nd ed.,” “Confronting Caries,” “Saunders Review of Dental Hygiene,” “Essentials of Dental Assisting,” “Manage Your Practice Well,” "Dental Codeology," and "The Consummate Dental Hygienist." She is a member of the American Society for Indexing and a past president of its five-state Heartland chapter.
Beginning with “Learning to Love My Recall System” in 1985, she has published more than 100 articles in RDH magazine. Other dental magazines featuring her work include RDH Student Focus, Dental Economics, Contemporary Oral Hygiene, Modern Hygienist, Dental Office, RDH eVillage, RDH eVillage Focus, and Hygiene Tribune. She is a member of the ADHA and its Ohio Tri-County component. She serves on the Editorial Advisory Board of RDH magazine, as well as its Key Influencer panel. She is a Key Opinion Leader for GC America, and is a Hu-Freidy Thought Leader and Colgate Oral Health Advisor. She was a charter member of the Allied Advisory Committee of the Samuel D. Harris National Museum of Dentistry. She is a member of Amy’s List and its Oral Cancer Awareness Committee. She supports the National Children’s Oral Health Foundation with fundraising raffles.
Outside of dental hygiene, Seckman is the author of Weirdo World, a young adult fantasy novel published by Cool Well Press in 2011. She is a co-author of Bad Moon Rising, a murder mystery set between Woodstock and the Kent State shootings; and an anthology, H2O Mysteries. Both are indie-published on Amazon and Nook. Her short fiction has been published in several magazines. Her most recent project, East Liverpool, is an Images of America book for Arcadia Publishing, which came out in May 2015.
She is also a back-of-the-book indexer. She's written more than 100 indexes, mostly for textbooks, on a wide range of topics. Dental books indexed include “Dental Communication Brief Book Series,” The Purple Guide, 2nd ed.,” “Confronting Caries,” “Saunders Review of Dental Hygiene,” “Essentials of Dental Assisting,” “Manage Your Practice Well,” "Dental Codeology," and "The Consummate Dental Hygienist." She is a member of the American Society for Indexing and a past president of its five-state Heartland chapter.
Curriculum vitae
Cathy Hester Seckman, RDH
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Profile
I’m a reliable, self-motivated person who has built an individualized career that encompasses general and pediatric dental hygiene; public speaking; nonfiction and fiction writing; and back of the book indexing. My particular skills are in written and verbal communication. I’m always ready to learn something new, and am experienced with tight deadlines.
Dental hygiene qualifications
Since 2003 I’ve worked in a pediatric practice, which has made me very comfortable with management and special needs issues. I worked 21 years in general practices where I handled routine continuing care as well as soft tissue management, sealants, implant care, computerized charting, and digital radiography. I worked three years for a temp service, which gave me a wide view of office practices.
Speaking qualifications
Since 2007 I’ve spoken on pediatric management and nutrition, pre-natal to pre-school care, communication, teen risk behaviors, radiography, and ergonomics to dental hygiene audiences in California, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia. I’ve presented programs at RDH Under One Roof five times. My sponsors are GC America, American Eagle Instruments, Colgate, and Crown Seating.
I’ve also spoken to small groups on a variety of topics including writing, indexing, newspaper work, and motorcycling.
Writing qualifications
After seven years’ experience as lifestyles editor, then wire editor and feature writer at a small daily newspaper, I became a fast and efficient producer of non-fiction. I’ve published thousands of newspaper articles and features, more than two dozen short stories, two novels, a pictorial history, and more than 150 magazine articles. Magazines my work has appeared in include RDH, RDH eVillage, RDH Student Focus, Contemporary Oral Hygiene, Dental Economics, Dental Office, Hygiene Tribune, Modern Hygienist, Ohio Writer, Foley-Belsaw News, Northeast Outdoors, Key Words, American Motorcyclist, American Woman Motorscene, Michigan Motorcyclist, Road Rider, and Winding Road Motorcycle Times. I’ve done a small amount of copyediting and technical writing. Lists of published work are on my website.
Indexing qualifications
I’ve been a professional indexer since 2002, and work with publishers in subjects including health-medicine, political science, history, popular culture, religion, and education. A list of more than 100 published indexes is on my website.
Education
Graduate of West Liberty State College (dental hygiene)
Graduate of USDA Basic Indexing course
Graduate of EEI Copyediting and Proofreading course
Attend 100+ hours of CE courses, classes, conferences yearly for dental hygiene, writing, and indexing
Credits accumulated toward a bachelor's degree
Affiliations
American Dental Hygienists Association
Tri-County (Ohio) Dental Hygienists Association
RDH Magazine Editorial Board, Key Influencers Panel
Colgate Oral Health Advisory participant
GC America Key Opinion Leader
Hu-Friedy Thought Leader participant
Samuel Harris Museum of Dentistry Allied Advisory Committee (charter member)
AmyRDH list
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Writers Anonymous
Truewriters list
American Society for Indexing
ASI Heartland chapter (past officer)
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FISH food bank
RSVP of Columbiana County
Women's Missionary Society, Faith Community Church
Motorcycle Touring Association
Awards/Recognition
Award of Merit, Associated Press Society of Ohio
Editorial Award of Excellence, Thomson Newspapers
Award of Excellence, Miami Valley Society of Professional Journalists
Editorial Award of Excellence, Thomson Newspapers