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Sheila Riggs, DDS. DMSc

Dr. Riggs currently serves as Chair, Department of Primary Dental Care at the University of Minnesota’s School of Dentistry as well as the Community Engagement Director for the University’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute. In these roles, she pursues a wide range of critically important research interests as well as providing leadership to the innovative Dental Therapy Program within her department.

Sheila Riggs is recognized as an academic and policy leader with an established record in developing and implementing innovative results through a balanced portfolio of peer reviewed research and hands on community engagement. She has navigated a uniquely influential career as a dentist, epidemiologist, academic, corporate executive, and policy advocate. Her professional interests combined with an expertise in the pursuit of business and policy results make her an effective advocate for the importance of dental health to the overall health status of communities and populations.

While pursuing her Doctorate in Medical Sciences from Harvard in the late 1980s, she was convinced that expanding access by influencing insurance carriers and legislative leaders would have a much greater impact than providing care one patient at a time. She began her career serving both as an Assistant Professor in Harvard School of Dental Medicine’s Department of Oral Epidemiology and Health Policy, and as President of the Iowa Health Research Institute. She joined the executive ranks of Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Iowa and South Dakota to launch and lead their analytics division, later adding the role of Executive Director of The Wellmark Foundation to her responsibilities.

In 1999, Dr. Riggs was recruited to the Board of Directors of Delta Dental of Minnesota to launch an innovative analytics strategy. The success of that strategy led to her appointment as CEO of Delta Dental in 2005 where she served until the firm’s operations were acquired in 2008.

Dr. Riggs is Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of Hennepin Health System, where she chairs the Physicians Compensation and Benefits Committee. She also serves on the board of Benco Dental, Inc., chairing the Growth and Diversification Committee as well as The Wellmark Foundation.