Sodabeh Etminan, DMD, recently became the first dentist selected for the Obama Foundation Leaders Program.
The program aims to connect emerging leaders throughout the world and empower them to drive positive change in their communities. The program was launched in Africa in 2018 and expanded to other regions of the world before starting in the U.S. in 2023.
Dr. Etminan is the senior director of oral health at the Mile Square Health Center in Chicago, where she focuses on increasing accessibility for vulnerable populations. She has also launched a food pantry for patients and a certification program to recruit dental assisting students from low-income communities.
Dr. Etminan was selected from a pool of more than 6,000 applicants, according to a news release. She is one of 100 leaders selected from the U.S.