Donna Phinney was a Certified Dental Assistant and program director for the Dental Assisting Program at Spokane Community College. She devoted her 20-year career to the dental field as a dental assistant and office manager and later to consulting and teaching. Ms. Phinney was a fellow of the American Dental Assistants Association, where she served as a consultant and an appointed commissioner, as well as an active member of the Washington State Dental Assisting Association. She earned her BA from Eastern Washington University and MEd from Whitworth College.