Dr. Zeller and Dr. Marcia Brand discuss where they believe dentistry is going, and how that will look entirely different than many expect. They also discuss the utility in an integrated healthcare model and those that support and hinder change. Finally, Dr. Brand describes how the dental community can best advocate for oral health to their state and federal lawmakers.
Marcia K. Brand, Ph.D. is a Senior Advisor to the Dentaquest Foundation and the Executive Director of the National Interprofessional Initiative on Oral Health. She has held a number of leadership positions in the Federal government and academics and currently serves as a consultant and advisor on matters related to access to oral and rural health care. From 2009 until 2015, Dr. Brand was the Deputy Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), an Agency within the US Department of Health and Human Services that works to fill in the gaps for people who live outside the economic and medical mainstream. The Agency uses its $10 billion annual budget to expand access to quality health care in partnership with health care providers and health professions training programs. She held other leadership positions within HRSA, including associate administrator for the Bureau of Health professions and the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy. Brand worked in the US Senate as a legislative assistant, and held academic appointments in the dental hygiene departments at Thomas Jefferson University and Old Dominion University. She earned a doctoral degree in higher education from the University of Pennsylvania, and both master’s and bachelor’s degrees in dental hygiene from Old Dominion University.