Madge Potts-Williams, DDS (DEN ’81)
Madge Potts-Williams, DDS (DEN ’81) has been named the recipient of the 2025 Distinguished Alumnus Award—an honor that reflects her remarkable 44-year legacy of excellence in clinical practice, dental education, and organized dentistry. Through her unwavering commitment to service and mentorship, Dr. Potts-Williams has shaped countless lives and left an enduring impact on the dental profession.
“Dr. Potts-Williams is an exceptional woman who excelled despite the challenges of being a minority and a woman in dental school during the 1970s,” says Francis Curd, DDS (DEN ’77). “She has been a great supporter of the CWRU School of Dental Medicine through her teaching and mentoring of students, and has contributed greatly to the profession through her involvement with organized dentistry.”
Dr. Potts-Williams began her clinical career at Shaker Dental Associates, while simultaneously advancing the education of future dental professionals. She served as Director of Education at both the Shaker Dental Institute of Modern Dental Assisting and Cuyahoga Community College’s School of Dental Hygiene. Her passion for teaching soon led her back to her alma mater, where she served from 1983 to 2015 as a Clinical Instructor in the Department of Community Dentistry, later becoming an Assistant Professor in the Department of Comprehensive Care.
In 2015, at the invitation of Dr. Curd, she took on a new challenge—helping to establish the LECOM School of Dental Medicine in Bradenton, Florida. There, she played a vital role in training and calibrating preceptors, orienting students to the dental clinic, coordinating interprofessional education programs, leading grand rounds and mock boards, and implementing continuous quality improvement initiatives.
Dr. Potts-Williams has long been a respected leader in organized dentistry, holding key roles in the Student National Dental Association, the National Dental Association, the Forest City Dental Society, Omicron Kappa Upsilon Honor Society, the Greater Cleveland Dental Society, and the American Dental Education Association. Her volunteer service is equally impressive. She has served on numerous community boards and committees, including Health Legacy of Cleveland, the Consortium of African American Organizations, South Euclid United Church of Christ and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
Following her time at Shaker Dental Associates, Dr. Potts-Williams ran her own private general and restorative practice for two decades in Cleveland Heights and South Euclid. She now serves as the lead dentist for Manatee County Rural Health Services in Florida, where she provides patient care, conducts chart audits, and trains new providers. She also serves as a consultant and Clinical Floor Examiner for CDC/WREB/CITA.
Dr. Potts-Williams has received numerous honors throughout her career, including induction into the American College of Dentists, the Pierre Fauchard Academy, the Omicron Kappa Upsilon Dental Honor Society, and Phi Delta Kappa Sorority’s “Showcasing Our Successes.” Her awards include the National Dental Association President’s Award and Outstanding Delegate Award, the Consortium of African American Organizations Community Leadership Award, Black Pages of Ohio Community Leadership Award, the Women’s Health Symposium of the National Dental Association’s “Phenomenal Woman” Community Leadership Award, and the Cleveland City Council’s Kenneth W. Clement Award for Community Service and Academic Excellence. She is also recognized in the John F. Kennedy High School George E. Mills Gallery of Excellence.
Reflecting on her path to dentistry, Dr. Potts-Williams credits early mentors—including Dr. Francis Curd, Dr. James Hammond (DEN ’76), and Dr. Jefferson J. Jones, former chair of CWRU’s Department of Endodontics—for encouraging her to pursue a career in the field. She credits the love of good parents, faith in God, wonderful mentors, a supportive community, her church, her Delta Sigma Theta Sorority sisters, and her devoted husband, Charles, for the opportunity to have such a fruitful career.