Title: American Indian Graduate Scholars Program
Location: Mescalero Apache
Dr. Fontenot is working on building up her leadership and team building skills to provide the best care for her patients. Her vision is to reduce the high burden of oral health disease among Native populations and to apply her public health skills to create wide-scale oral healthcare prevention programs for Native children.
Education
Stanford, BA Human Biology
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, MHS in Reproductive Biology
University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry, DDS
Biography
Dr. Fontenot grew up on the Mescalero Apache Reservation in Mescalero, New Mexico. She attended Stanford University where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Human Biology. Upon graduating from Stanford she joined the Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health where she worked with the Centers training team to develop and expand the training program. Dr. Fontenot received a full tuition scholarship from the Center to complete a Masters in Health Sciences at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health while applying to dental school. Dr. Fontenot graduated from the University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry in 2011 as the first Mescalero Apache dentist. She has since worked at Tséhootsooi Medical Center, a hospital operated by the Navajo Nation in Fort Defiance, Arizona where she serves as Deputy Director. She strives to expand her leadership and team building skills to provide the best clinical care for her patients. Her vision is to reduce the high burden of oral health disease among Native populations and to apply her public health skills to create wide-scale oral healthcare prevention programs for Native children. Dr. Fontenot commits to mentoring other Native Americans interested in oral health careers and hopes that in her lifetime to witness other Mescalero Apache tribal members becoming dentists and working together to provide high quality care for their people.