Dr. Robert Zena, Chief Executive Officer and President

Robert B. Zena, DMD, is the American Association of Dental Boards Immediate Past-President.
Dr. Zena has a very diversified background from his four decades of devotion to the dental profession. He has assumed
the roles of clinician, educator, consultant, researcher, author, lecturer, editor, inventor, and most of all leader. As a graduate of the
University of Kentucky’s College of Dentistry, he practiced for seven years as a general dentist. He then gained more education
through a residency in the Postgraduate Prosthodontics Program at the University of Louisville’s School of Dentistry. He now practices as a Board Certified Prosthodontist in Kentucky.
He is also the founder of the Accredited Continuing Education Program (ACE), for the AADB.
Recently becoming CEO and President of the American Teledentistry Association.

Vice-president

Ifetayo B. Johnson, BS, MA
Abbreviated Bio

Ms. Ifetayo B. Johnson is the Executive Director of Encompass Solutions, a consulting company focused on health equity, social justice, and system change. She served as the Executive Director of the Oral Health Progress and Equity Network, Inc. (OPEN), for three years. OPEN is a national network of over 2,500 members across all 50 states who are dedicated to oral health, health equity, and social justice.

Ms. Johnson has served as the Executive Director for several organizations including the United Health Organization, Project Healthy Living, Healthy Detroit, and the Detroit Cable Communications Commission. She has been an activist in the Healthy Cities movement and has directed numerous community projects focused on disease prevention, and health and wellness promotion. She supported Emory University’s “Faith-based and Community Partnerships: Reaching Vulnerable Populations” program that built capacity in faith- and community-based organizations to reach populations at risk of influenza.
She served on the faculty of Bowling Green State University, Livingstone College, and Appalachian State University.

She is the wife of a retired Army officer and mother of two adult sons and a foster daughter.

Secretary

Bio for
Yvonne Coleman Bach
Yvonne Coleman Bach is the Special Consultant- Associate Publisher/Editor of the
Louisville Defender Newspaper. She has been with the Louisville Defender Newspaper
since 1985, having come from working in the Corporate arena.
A member of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, she is a past Vice
Chair of the NNPA Foundation and past NNPA Treasurer. She also held a contract position
with the organization as Back Office Operations Manager, having placed $18 million in
advertising for the organization and its member newspapers, the most placed in the history
of the organization. In 2012, she was named Publisher of the Year.
After working in business, she returned to school at the University of Louisville and
graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communications with a minor in Theatre Arts
& Speech in 1985. It was at that time, she decided to enter the Media Arena. She started
at the Louisville Defender Newspaper, at first just to get experience. Almost 30 years later,
she is still there having worked her way up the ladder the hard way to Associate Publisher.
“My first thought was to work at the newspaper just for a few years and move to a
daily newspaper, but that was not to be. After I dug my heels in, I saw the value of the
Black Press and how I could make a difference. That is what has kept me there all these
years,” said Coleman-Bach.
She said working her way up, she learned to do it all. Coleman-Bach is a journalist,
editor, event planner, sales professional, advertising professional and Public Relations
Specialist. She said she learned to do it all well. She has additional experience in Radio,
having worked as a part-time on air personality for 15 years.
Coleman-Bach is a very well respected member of the Louisville Community. She
hosted the NNPA Convention in June, 2007. She has worked with the Mayor, the Governor
and many of the movers and shakers in the Louisville Community. She has supported the
NAACP, the Louisville Urban League and other organizations. She served 12 years on the
famed Kentucky Derby Festival Board, fighting to make sure that African Americans were
included in the event, both as participants and as suppliers. She completed the FBI
Citizens Academy Program and remains a member today. She served 5 years as the Public
Member on the Kentucky Board of Dentistry having been appointed by two Governors. She
held the position of Secretary/Treasurer. She was also elected to the American Association
of Dental Boards as the Public Member. She currently serves on other boards and
committees in the Community. Some of the contributions the newspaper has made in the
community include:
• Planned and Hosted a newspaper sponsored expo for over 20 years. The newspaper
hosted the NNPA Publishers for an Advertising Seminar.
• Currently plans and hosts the West Louisville Appreciation Festival and Family
Reunion, bringing over 50,000 people to the outdoor event each year.
• Plans and Hosts the Business & Professional Achievement Luncheon, where many
in the community are recognized for their achievements.
• Hosted the Big Momma Luncheon, recognizing the “Big Mommas” in African American Families.

• Hosted the “Real Black Men” Luncheon where the achievements of African
American men in the community were recognized.
Coleman-Bach has a unique style of getting things done. She is successful at bringing
people from all walks of life together for one cause. She is known to be fair to everyone.
But she can be tough and make the tough decisions when needed. She said one of her most
memorable times as Publisher was when she looked out her office window to see a local
Civil Rights group picketing the newspaper. The group was upset because of a political
endorsement made by the Newspaper. “We felt it was the right decision, so we made the
endorsement,” said Coleman-Bach.
With her vast experience, and while continuing her association with the newspaper,
Coleman-Bach recently launched Bach Advertising & Marketing Group, a marketing and
advertising placement firm specializing in minority media. She serves as the President &
CEO.
She also Co-Founded and is the President of the Unity of African Communities
Living in America, a group that brings Africans from various African Countries together.
The group was founded in 2019 and currently represents over 17 African Countries and
continues to grow.
Coleman-Bach is married to Stephen Bach and she is the proud mother of one
grown daughter, Sharonda. She is also the proud grandmother of three, Shannon, Benjamin• Hosted the “Real Black Men” Luncheon where the achievements of African
American men in the community were recognized.
Coleman-Bach has a unique style of getting things done. She is successful at bringing
people from all walks of life together for one cause. She is known to be fair to everyone.
But she can be tough and make the tough decisions when needed. She said one of her most
memorable times as Publisher was when she looked out her office window to see a local
Civil Rights group picketing the newspaper. The group was upset because of a political
endorsement made by the Newspaper. “We felt it was the right decision, so we made the
endorsement,” said Coleman-Bach.
With her vast experience, and while continuing her association with the newspaper,
Coleman-Bach recently launched Bach Advertising & Marketing Group, a marketing and
advertising placement firm specializing in minority media. She serves as the President &
CEO.
She also Co-Founded and is the President of the Unity of African Communities
Living in America, a group that brings Africans from various African Countries together.
The group was founded in 2019 and currently represents over 17 African Countries and
continues to grow.
Coleman-Bach is married to Stephen Bach and she is the proud mother of one
grown daughter, Sharonda. She is also the proud grandmother of three, Shannon, Benjamin