COMMITTEE CHAIR
Our Advocacy Committee Chair Drake Imhoff is in charge of coordinating dental advocacy events for our ASDA members!
WHAT WE DO
Advocacy through ASDA is much more than just voicing your opinion to lawmakers! It’s about taking a united stand with dental professionals in an effort to improve the health of the community, whether that be local, regional, or national. At UNC, we advocate through Lobby Day in DC, hosting advocacy leaders for Lunch and Learns, sending letters to congress members, and more!
What are we up to?
Our committee hopes to promote participation, awareness, and interest in advocacy initiatives and coalitions that benefit dentistry for both providers and our patients. So far, we have had the opportunity to organize a pair of lunch-and-learn opportunities with speakers from outside ASOD that brought unique perspectives and insight into advocacy within dentistry and in the political realm. We plan to continue organizing and hosting such events.
A) Lunch and Learn with NCDS. Learn about advocacy in dentistry at the state and national levels with Elle Basile, the public affairs senior manager of the North Carolina Dental Society.
B) Lunch and learn with Ciara Zachary, MPH, Ph.D.: UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. At her Lunch and Learn, students will learn to better navigate NC Medicaid, how it relates to providing oral health care for our patients, and the recent impacts of NC Medicaid Expansion on dental care in NC. Dr. Zachary also recently completed a project with the NC Institute of Medicine Oral Health Task Force.