I started my career in clinical dental hygiene in the height of the last economic recession. Unable to find steady full-time employment, I took a civilian position as a dental hygienist at the Washington Navy Yard, Naval Health Clinic Quantico. This position offered opportunities to meet some of the country’s finest military, NATO, Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Congressional/Cabinet members, along with educational opportunities that launched my career through dental hygiene and into higher education. This experience lead me to the Naval Postgraduate Dental School, Naval Medicine Professional Development Center, where I worked with residents from the Advanced Education in General Dentistry and Comprehensive Residency Programs, while maintaining clinical practice at NPDS’s Faculty Practice Clinic. From clinical practice, I transitioned to academia as an assistant professor of dental hygiene and academic affairs administrator. I have a proven track record of expanding community partnerships for the division, securing affiliation agreements, reducing bias and barriers to student success, and working across college departments to implement successful initiatives for student retention and progression.After a decade in higher education leadership, i stepped away from the board room and back into clinical dental hygiene practice. I also serve as a research/dissertation chair to mentor the future leaders of our health care workforce. The highlight of my career will always be the 9 years I served as a volunteer forensic dental technician with Armed Forces Institute of Pathology at the Charles E. Carson Center for Mortuary Affairs, Dover Air Force Base.