Barbie Vartanian recently took on the leadership role as Executive Director of Project Accessible Oral Health, who’s mission to connect multiple stakeholders from across medical, dental, education, political and public sectors to act as a collective catalyst for action, moving the needle on policy, education and raising much-needed awareness of this crisis. This new initiative will focus on improving the health equity of the more than 57 million disabilities across the nation.
Prior to PAOH, Ms. Vartanian was chosen to lead the newly formed Pacific Dental Services Foundation [PDS Foundation]. She was instrumental in the development of their four key pillars that included international missions, education scholarships, mobile dental clinics and most significantly the development of an advocacy and training program for dental professionals that focuses on improving the access and overall care for individuals with special needs. Through her efforts she elevated the Foundation’s visibility and success in multiple areas including fundraising, employee engagement, global public/private partnerships, non-profit coalitions, and media relations.
Barbie’s most important role is mother to her child with special needs. She understands firsthand the barriers her son faces and will continue to face throughout his life. Once her child was diagnosed, realized she needed to do something more, to be his voice since he doesn’t have one. Through the pillars supported by Project Accessible Oral Health; policy, education, communication and resource development, PAOH will improve outcomes and ultimately change the way individuals with disabilities access all healthcare.
Barbie also sits on the boards of several non-profit organizations such as the NYU College of Dentistry Center for People with Disabilities Advisory Board, ECLC of New Jersey, Concorde Career College National Advisory Board, The Center for Oral Health, Jersey First and Rutgers Center for Innovation Education.