Dr. Tim Ricks, DMD, MPH, FICD, FACD, FPFA

Tim Ricks, DMD, MPH, FICD, FACD, FPFA serves as the Acting Director of the IHS Division of Oral Health, a division of the IHS Office of Clinical and Preventive Services.  Ancillary roles include IHS Oral Health Promotion/Disease Prevention Consultant, Oral Health Surveillance Program Co-Coordinator, Expanded Function Dental Assistant Program Director, IHS Continuing Dental Education Coordinator, IHS Community Dental Health Program Director, and IHS dental lead for the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA).  Dr. Ricks has led almost every IHS national oral health initiative for the past two decades including the Early Childhood Caries Collaborative, Periodontal Treatment Initiative, eight different oral health-primary care-behavioral health initiatives, and more.  A Diplomate of the American Board of Dental Public Health, Dr. Ricks has lectured extensively internationally and nationally.  A 35-year veteran of the U.S. Army National Guard and the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS), Dr. Ricks served as the 20^th Chief Dental Officer of the USPHS from 2018 to 2022, representing the U.S. on the international stage.  He has served as a staff dentist (Pyramid Lake), service unit dental director (Schurz), clinical director (Schurz), and Area Dental Officer (Nashville and Albuquerque) prior to his IHS Headquarters position.  Dr. Ricks is the recipient of numerous awards including the HHS Secretary’s Award, the Surgeon General’s Exemplary Service Award, the American Dental Association’s Distinguished Service Award, the National Dental Association’s Distinguished Service Award, the Hispanic Dental Association’s Distinguished Service Award, the Global Health Institute’s Leader of the Year, several IHS Director awards, multiple Area Director awards, and 40 USPHS honor awards including the Distinguished Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, and Outstanding Service Medal.  He also has received the IHS Dental Clinical Excellence Award four times and his clinical programs have been named Prevention Program of the Year three times.

Dr. Patricia Capo

Faculty

Dr. Patricia (Tricia) Capo, MD, FACOG, is an ObGyn physician at Alaska Native Medical Center and Southcentral Foundation in Anchorage, Alaska. She graduated from Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine and completed her residency training at The Mayo Clinic and Greenville Hospital System in South Carolina. Tricia has an inherent passion for Indigenous women’s health. She is a member of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe and grew up on the White Earth Reservation in northern Minnesota. As a physician and a patient in the IHS system she hopes to provide a unique perspective and strive for quality care for Indigenous people.

CDR Tina Pattara-Lau

Lead Faculty

CDR Tina Pattara-Lau, MD, FACOG, is the Maternal and Child Health Consultant with the IHS Office of Clinical and Preventive Services. In this role, she serves as subject matter expert, develops national programs and policies, and collaborates with federal and community resources to optimize patient access to quality care. She began her IHS career in 2015 as an OB/GYN at Phoenix Indian Medical Center, Parker and Peach Springs Indian Health Centers, and Valleywise Health Medical Center. During the COVID-19 pandemic she developed modified guidelines for OB/GYN care including delivery of telehealth prenatal care, vaccine education for patients, and multidisciplinary simulation training for Obstetric Readiness in the Emergency Department.

Tina graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with degrees in Molecular and Cell Biology and Psychology. She commissioned into the US Public Health Service in 2007 and received her medical degree from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in 2011. She completed her OB/GYN residency at the Naval Medical Center, San Diego, is board certified, and a fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

Dr. Miranda Davis

Faculty

Dr. Miranda Davis, DDS, MPH, has worked at the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board (NPAIHB) since 2019 where she serves as the Prevention Consultant for the Northwest Tribal Dental Support Center. She also directs the Northwest Dental Health Aide Program at NPAIHB, which includes the Native Dental Therapy Initiative, assisting Tribes in implementing innovative workforce models to address social determinants of health and expand access to high quality oral health care. Miranda has over twenty years of experience in the dental field.  She earned a DDS from the University of the Pacific School of Dentistry in San Francisco, and a MPH from the University of Washington School of Public Health.

Pamela Ready, RDH

Faculty