*Valli Meeks, DDS, MS, RDH, clinical professor in the Department of Oncology and Diagnostic Sciences at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry (UMSOD) is a recipient of a 2020 William J. Gies Award Achievement – Dental Educator.
The honor, part of the annual William J. Gies Awards for Vision, Innovation and Achievement, recognizes the efforts of individuals, institutions and organizations that advance oral health and dental education.
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Meeks has served for just over three decades as director of UMSOD’s PLUS Clinic, the state’s first dental clinic for Marylanders with HIV/AIDS who have no insurance. Established in 1989, the clinic remains Baltimore’s primary facility to provide comprehensive oral health services to uninsured and underinsured people living with HIV/AIDS.
“I’m still wrapping my head around that this is a national award from a nationally prominent dental organization recognizing me for what I think of as just doing my job. But it also galvanizes me to try to improve and do it even better,” Meeks said.
Check out Meeks in action in this biographical video, which was posted when she won the 2018 Founders Week Public Servant of the Year award.
