As Dr Denstedt approaches the end of his role as AUA secretary, it has really given me a chance to reflect on the work he has done and the opportunities he has provided me and countless urologists around the world.

I have been fortunate to have experienced one-on-one mentorship with Dr Denstedt over the last decade as a resident, a fellow pursuing an academic career in Canada, and now as a colleague at Western University. Outside the day-to-day collegial advice, I am humbled to have Dr Denstedt sit on my academic mentorship committee. This biannual review is always a fruitful discussion on career opportunities and an interesting discovery on the steps he has taken to accomplish the impressive accolades he has achieved over his career.

Dr Denstedt is always open to new ideas and advancing urology as a specialty. He is a fierce advocate for the “underdogs” as evidenced by increasing involvement of early career investigators in AUA programs, piloting a very successful annual equality, diversity, and inclusivity edition of AUANews, and increasing international involvement and surgical training. He is always open to educating urologists on less glamorous topics such as chronic pain, genitourinary syndrome of menopause, or recurrent infections and willing to change his practice on these topics based on current literature. I find it particularly inspiring at this later stage in his career that he is still changing his surgical approaches to adapt to paradigm shifts in stone treatment and improving ambulatory patient care.

I appreciate Dr Denstedt’s candor, honesty, and open-mindedness. He has always been a great supporter of my work, despite having 2 very different subspecialty interests. What I find particularly amazing is that regardless of how busy he is, Dr Denstedt always finds time for mentorship, collegial advice, and teaching. Wherever he is in the world, he is easily available to review complex cases by email, he will cancel a meeting/clinic for residency education, and will make himself available to assist in an operating room case when needed. As demonstration of his commitment to education, in 2020, in addition to his AUA obligations, he won the resident-voted “faculty of the year” award within our division.

Something that the world probably doesn’t know about Dr Denstedt is that he is quite the outdoorsman, with a multi-acre forested property which includes dozens of deer (that he feeds), an entire ecosystem of aquatic wildlife, and a bird sanctuary. He invites residents and staff to hike the area, and I have actually celebrated my daughter’s birthday on these trails while he taught my oldest how to chop wood. It’s always an open invitation to come and explore, but I really appreciate the opportunity to observe Dr Denstedt in his natural habitat, with knee-high rubber boots and flannels.

I have a unique experience of getting to work alongside Dr Denstedt every week in clinic (when he’s in town), and often in the operating room. He’s always happy to share interesting cases, chat about new technologies and procedures, and give friendly advice. I consider him the devil on my shoulder and often find myself asking “WWJDD—what would JD do?” Even when my questions are outside the scope of his usual practice, a reassuring nod often secures the decision to think outside the box. In that sense, I also consider Dr Denstedt a father figure at work. I strive to “make him proud.” He’s always the first person I want to tell when we do an innovative surgery or find a unique solution to a complex problem. Also, whenever I have a problem or difficult patient, he’s the guy I need to see so that he can tell me “it should be okay!”

Though I’m positive I can never pay him back for the support and mentorship he has provided me over the years, I am slowly chipping away at that debt by seeing his sexual dysfunction and chronic pain patients without question.