Awards

Katrina Holt, M.P.H., M.S., R.D., FAND

John P. Rossetti Community Oral Health Impact Award 2022 Recipient

Katrina Holt is a nationally recognized public health leader focused on the oral health needs of pregnant women, infants, children, and adolescents, including those with special health care needs, and their families (the maternal and child health [MCH] population). Her expertise stems from education and training in MCH, experience providing direct care to the MCH population, and her work as project director of the National Maternal and Child Oral Health Resource Center (OHRC) at Georgetown University for the past 25 years. The resource center serves the MCH community with high-quality oral health technical assistance, training, and resources and was created under the vision of John Rossetti to support the MCH population.

Ms. Holt’s knowledge of oral health within the MCH population and her steadfast leadership have allowed OHRC to consistently secure funding from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration, and from the Office of Head Start, Administration on Children and Families, to support health professionals, program administrators, educators, and others working in or with MCH programs. Her unique ability to collaborate with national, state, and community partners and experts has proved invaluable to the success of many projects and resources over the years. In the course of producing dozens of publications for professionals and consumers, several in non-English languages, she has led the charge toward ensuring that health materials are written in clear language, incorporate inclusive images, and are culturally competent. Her leadership in a series of Office of Head Start–funded oral health initiatives represents decades of interprofessional collaboration focused on incorporating science into practice, affecting countless children and families.

Ms. Holt’s unwavering dedication to and passion for improving access to and use of oral health care for the MCH population developed while working closely with John Rossetti, a very special connection in light of this award having been created to commemorate his memory.