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The following four members were inducted as “Life Members” of the Association on 1/18/2000. Each was asked (on a voluntary basis) to provide a bio in their honor. The bios of those who chose to do so are included. Otherwise, biographical information obtained from the ADA follows the members’ name.
Dr. Elliot Brooks graduated from Temple University Dental School in 1958. After serving in the U.S. Air Force for two years (1959-1961), he established a dental practice in Somerset, NJ in 1961 that continues today. Dr. Brooks was awarded Fellowship in the Academy of General Dentistry in 1971. In addition to being active in numerous community affairs throughout his career, Dr. Brooks was Past-President of the Highland Park Conservative Temple. He is married to Jackie Brooks and the father of Leslie, Lauren and Jeffrey.
Dr. Matthew Brown received his undergraduate degree from the University of Scranton in 1955 and his DDS degree from Temple University in 1959. He served in the Public Health Service for 2 years in Los Angeles, California from 1959-1961. He arrived in New Jersey in 1961, establishing a practice in Perth Amboy where he spent 38 years (1961-1999).
Dr. Brown was a founding group staff member of JFK Hospital’s Dental Department, serving as an attending for 30 years. He also maintained a hospital affiliation with Raritan Bay Medical Center from 1961-1989.
Dr. Brown is a past-President of MCDS as well as a former Trustee to the NJ Dental Association. He is married to Miriam Brown, is the father of Lorie and David, and the grandfather of Jordan, Emma, Nikki, and Erica. He is now living in the Sarasota, Florida area from October through May and regretfully cannot attend the induction ceremony.
Dr. Levy is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Dentistry. He practiced prosthodontics in Middlesex, New Jersey until his retirement in 1997. Devoted to organized dentistry and to MCDS, Dr. Levy spent decades serving on the MCDS Board of Trustees, sitting on the Board until his recent retirement.
Dr. Portnoff, a specialist in Pedodontics is a 1956 graduate of Syracuse University and a 1960 graduate of NYU College of Dentistry where he was elected to OKU Dental Honor Society. He served a rotating internship at Beth Israel Medical Center in NYC and received his Pedodontic training at the Eastman Dental Center of the University of Rochester. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and the American Society of Dentistry for Children, and is a Diplomate of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry.
Herb is on the Medical-Dental staff of the JFK Medical Center in Edison, NJ. He holds the rank of Attending Dentist and is currently Chief of the Pedodontic Section of the Dental Department. He is a lecturer at Middlesex County College School of Health Sciences and has been a member of the Advisory Committee of the School of Dental Hygiene.
As a member of numerous academic and professional societies, Herb is a former Chairman of the Council on Education of NJDA, past President of MCDS and the NJ Association of Pediatric Dentists. He currently is a member of the Council for Dental Care Programs of the NJDA, the Board of Directors of the Kiddie Keep Well Camp, and a member of the Board of Trustees of the NJ Foundation of Dentistry for the Handicapped.
Herb has become a skiing enthusiast in recent years and plays an occasional game of tennis. He enjoys “working out”, running, reading, music, travelling, and “puttering” around the house when he has time.
He is married to his high school “sweetheart”, the former Thelma Berman of Irvington. They have two wonderful children, Lisa and Robert, a wonderful daughter-in-law, Barbara and two beautiful granddaughters, Rebecca and Julia.