Debra Lynn Best

The tenets of advocacy have been intentionally woven into my work in all domains from clinical service to education to scholarship.  Defined broadly by Earnest, et.al., advocacy is “activity that promotes the social, economic, educational, and political changes that ameliorate threats to human health and advance the well-being of people”. Under that umbrella, the foci that I have pursued through the years have been varied, ranging from childhood obesity prevention to teen parenting to universal newborn home visiting. Currently, my area of focus is in supporting early relational health and social emotional development.  Throughout each endeavor, I have focused on lifting the voices of those in marginalized populations and intentionally partnering with the community to provide holistic approaches to meet both medical and psychosocial needs of individuals.