Dr. Elmer Hilo was born in Manila, Philippines. He grew up in Southern California, while following in the footsteps of his family members that are dentists. He received his BS in Biology at University of California, Riverside and received his DMD at Western University of part of the inaugural class. He then went on to complete his post doctoral training at UCLA in Advanced Education in General Dentistry. As a 3rd generation dentist, he has committed himself to providing not only to his patients, but to his community. He has been instrumental in the implementation of WesternU’s community clinics with founding the first Student Run Health Clinic for the college. As this played a pivotal role in the creation of subsequent clinics, he has been recognized by the American Association of Public Health Dentistry, as recipient of the AAPHD Dental Student Recognition Award. He is also a recipient of the Dean’s Award, the Pierre Fauchard Scholarship, and two-time recipient of the President’s Society Award. These awards were to recognize exemplary leadership, professionalism, community service, and commitment to the college. In addition, his work with dental public health and community outreach has been published in ADEA’s Journal of Dental Education. He also currently serves at Western University of Health Sciences as clinical assistant faculty to help create additional community dental clinics in Pomona and other underserved areas.