Marnie Oakley, dean of the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine, was selected as a 2024 winner of City & State Pennsylvania’s Impact Awards. The award represents Pennsylvania's most outstanding corporate and civic citizens, all of whom will be honored in a special issue of the magazine on Nov. 25 and on Dec. 4 at a reception in Philadelphia.
This list recognizes Pennsylvania’s most influential executives, thought leaders, visionaries and trailblazers, who are setting new standards of excellence, dedication and leadership in improving their communities and making transformative change by successfully promoting one of the core principles of social responsibility, which include: charity, community engagement, customer service, diversity and inclusion, equity, ethics, transparency, sustainability and volunteerism.
After graduating from the School of Dental Medicine in 1992, Oakley served an active duty, four-year tour as a dental officer in the United States Navy. She was responsible for the development and implementation of the School of Dental Medicine Comprehensive Care Program.
As a graduate fellow of the American Dental Education Association’s Leadership Institute, she served in officer positions in several ADEA committees and groups. She is a senior consultant for AAL, the Academy of Advancing Leadership—where she offers one-on-one consulting services and seminars on various leadership topics to academicians across the country. Oakley works extensively in various areas of leadership development that include creating a positive culture, leading difficult conversations, resolving conflict, and managing change. As a proud alumna of the Berkeley Institute of Executive Coaching, she leverages her certification and experience to help executives discover and reveal the best versions of themselves.
Oakley’s vision includes exploring partnerships with industry, local academic medical centers and health care plans to improve access to dental care in rural areas across the commonwealth. One of her top priorities is to address the ongoing national shortage of dental auxiliaries. Pitt’s School of Dental Medicine has significantly expanded its dental assisting program to a hybrid format, combining online classroom training adjacent to clinical training in areas where the candidates reside. With a focus across rural areas of Pennsylvania, this program will provide relief to underserved dental practices where the impact of limited auxiliaries has been most devastating. The program currently has several trainees as far as Scranton, Pa.