Dr. Jessica Meeske, pediatric dentist, public health advocate, and member of the Hastings College Board of Trustees, will be the speaker at the 124th Hastings College Commencement at 10 a.m., Saturday, May 15 in Lynn Farrell Arena.

A native of Murray, Neb., Dr. Meeske graduated from Hastings College in 1991 with a bachelor’s degree in biology. While earning a doctor of dental surgery degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Dentistry, she was national president of the American Student Dental Association. Dr. Meeske also earned a Master of Science degree in dental public health and a certificate in pediatric dentistry from the University of Iowa. In 1999 she joined Lockwood and Meeske Pediatric Dentistry, now known as Pediatric Dental Specialists of Greater Nebraska. The practice has locations in Hastings and Grand Island.

Recognized by the American Dental Association in 2002 for Outstanding New Dentist Leadership, Dr. Meeske has been named to both the American and International Colleges of Dentists, honors reserved for only 10 percent of dental health professionals. In 2008, she received the J.G. Elliott Award from the University of Nebraska Medical Center for improving dental health services for Nebraskans. An adjunct professor in the Department of Pediatric Dentistry in the UNMC College of Dentistry, Dr. Meeske is founder and clinical director of the Sonrisa Dental Project, which provides free dental care to approximately 100 uninsured children in Central Nebraska. She has received the Nebraska Public Health Dentistry Award and was named Health Care Provider of the Year by the Nebraska Rural Health Association.

Active in public health issues nationally, Dr. Meeske serves on the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry’s Medicaid Advisory Committee and is state coordinator of the Head Start Dental Home Initiative. In October 2009, she was one of 150 health care providers across the United States invited to meet with White House staff and attend President Barack Obama’s Rose Garden address on health care reform.
Dr. Meeske and her spouse Dr. Todd Pankratz, a 1988 graduate of Hastings College, chaired the Alumni Fundraising Committee for the new Morrison-Reeves Science Center at Hastings College.

Active in the Hastings community, Dr. Meeske serves on the Board for the Hastings Public Schools. Prior to her election to the school board, she chaired Citizens for a New Hastings Middle School, which successfully passed a bond issue with 70 percent of the vote.

Hastings College, founded in 1882, is a private, four-year liberal arts institution affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). A total of 64 majors in 32 areas of study and 12 pre-professional programs are offered to more than 1,150 students. Hastings College was named 75th Best Value College in the nation and #1 in Nebraska by Forbes.com and the Center for College Affordability and Productivity. It was named a 2010 “Best in the Midwest” by The Princeton Review and rated a “Best Buy in College Education” by Barron’s. Visit www.hastings.edu for more information.