Since earning her dental hygiene degree from Pacific University, Jessica Scruggs DHS ’09 has used her healthcare expertise for the greater good.
As a clinician in the U.S. Public Health Service, Scruggs not only provided care for incarcerated females in federal custody, but also created programs that improved their overall health. As a senior staff member for former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, she influenced federal public health policy with a specific focus on mental health and substance use disorder. In the private sector, Scruggs now uses her expertise to help companies leverage technology to make mental health services accessible to more people.
But at her core, Scruggs is still the practitioner that she learned to be at Pacific.
“I still carry my dental hygiene background with pride because it keeps me grounded,” Scruggs said. “I did not start in a boardroom. I started chairside, with real people, in real discomfort, trying to help them feel safe. That has shaped every leadership role I have had since.”
In recognition of her leadership in healthcare, Scruggs has been named the recipient of the Pacific University Alumni Association’s 2026 Outstanding Alumni Award. The honor recognizes alumni who have made significant contributions to their community or profession and made tremendous accomplishments toward their life goals.
Scruggs said that the award affirms the circuitous path that led her from oral care to public health to her current position as senior vice president of strategic initiatives for Kooth Health International, an online mental health services provider.
“It says that the path does not have to look traditional to be meaningful,” she said. “It also reminds me that the work we do early in our careers matters more than we know at the time. The habits I learned as a clinician, listening closely, building trust quickly, and respecting the person in front of me, are still the habits I rely on as an executive.”
A member of the second graduating class of Pacific’s dental hygiene program, Scruggs discovered the opportunities in public health service during a clinical rotation. When her husband received orders for a Coast Guard post in California, her interest turned into a position as a health services administrator in the U.S. Department of Justice, where she provided dental care and oversaw the healthcare needs for over 1,300 federal prison inmates.
Her work attracted the attention of Murthy, who invited Scruggs to join his staff in the Office of the Surgeon General, serving as his aide-de-camp at the end of the Obama administration and as a senior advisor during the Biden administration.
