Meet the Team

Traci Saito’s passion for dentistry started as an undergraduate at Santa Clara University when she participated in an immersion trip in Mexico to help build homes for families in need. She recalls that trip working with peers for nine days building homes from the foundation-up without the aid of electricity or power tools; coming together to help jumpstart a new community. She remembers being driven by a local family’s excitement and gratitude. Not only did Traci realize she was building a home for a family in need, but also building her passion for humanitarian work.  

This new found love of helping others inspired her to apply for dental school at OHSU. She has always had an interest in the medical field but this was a great way for her to work first-hand with patients in need. Throughout dental school she always dreamed of organizing her own dental humanitarian trips. Her ambition led her to participate in trips abroad through the school and mission trips. She would use her skills to help alleviating pain in individuals who had to walk a full 24 hours to come to the clinic just to be seen. Every patient she helped inspired her continue going on trips and brought her to start this organization.  

As Traci would describe: Health Beyond Communities, Inc is her passion in organizational form to create global humanitarian efforts and educate communities to become self-sufficient. Traci Works as an orthodontist in Portland, Oregon. She completed her orthodontic residency training at the Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health and Masters in Business Health Administration at A.T. Still University.

Michelle is a dentist who works for a community health center in rural Oregon. Passionate about serving the underserved, she has spent time both at home and abroad to provide dental care services. Some of her favorite places include serving the people of Portland, Honduras, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and India. She likes to share about her experiences in the hope that it may inspire others to serve those who need it the most with whatever skills they possess. 

 When she isn’t working, Michelle likes to practice yoga with her Husband, Zach, and enjoy the beautiful outdoors of the Pacific Northwest. She loves a good craft project and has also rediscovered her love of cooking. It’s mainly soups right now, but she’s quickly expanding her skills and may one day make something fancy.

Pam has over 30 years experience in dental hygiene as a clinician and educator. She is passionate about providing opportunities for dental hygiene care to underserved populations and strives to build sustainable infrastructures through education. Pam is currently an Associate Professor at Pacific University.

Dr. Barry Taylor is an Assistant Professor in Restorative Dentistry at the Oregon Health & Science University School of Dentistry. In addition he also is a part-time associate in private practice at Woodburn Community Dental. Prior to attending the OHSU School of Dentistry he worked as a research assistant for two year in the field of Neuropsychopharmacology at the U.S. Veteran’s Hospital in Portland, Oregon. Dr. Taylor has served as the Oregon Dental Association’s Editor for ten years in addition to leadership positions with the Oregon Academy of General Dentistry, American College of Dentists, Academy of General Dentistry, Delta Sigma Delta and the American Dental Association. Dr. Taylor has been awarded the “Dentist of the Year” from both the Oregon AGD and the Washington County Dental Society. He is also currently enrolled as a student in OHSU’s Human Investigation Program.