Melissa Ough

Melissa provides leadership and policy expertise to the Dental Access Project. Melissa supports the day-to-day operations of the project, helping the team implement the goals of the project and shape the future of oral health advocacy. Melissa was previously a policy analyst for the Substance Use Disorders program at Community Catalyst. In this role, she worked with state consumer advocacy groups to expand the use of Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) to address substance use disorders among youth and young adults. Melissa formerly worked at the Center for Social Innovation where she brought best practices to the field through accessible and engaging training and innovative online tools. She provided technical assistance to social services providers and was a research analyst and project manager for a National Institute of Mental Health study on the effectiveness of online learning for the dissemination of evidence-based practices in community-based settings.

Melissa holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Gettysburg College and a Master’s in Social Work from Boston University School of Social Work.

Community Catalyst works to ensure consumer interests are represented wherever important decisions about health and the health system are made: in communities, courtrooms, statehouses and on Capitol Hill.