Shortly after 9/11, I was deployed by the U.S. Public Health Service to New York City as a member of a dental forensics team. I received my MS in Public Health in epidemiology/biostatistics from The George Washington University in 2005. My background includes more than 16 years of experience in health care and public health. I have experience in clinical and teaching settings in the dental field, and in forensic sciences. During the past few years, I’ve participated in research supporting efforts by the VA and the DOD to revise health care guidelines, and have studied the oral health effects of cigarette smoking in American Indian populations and the health effects of electromagnetic radiation. I share my life with my husband, our champion two year old son, and our two rock ‘n’ roll Siberian huskies, Mick and Elvis.