A woman of many talents and interests, JoAnn Galliano, MEd, RDH, is a legislative consultant for the California Dental Hygienists' Association's (CDHA) Government Relations Council, and an instructor in the dental hygiene program at Chabot College in Hayward, Calif. As chair of the council for 13 years, she was instrumental in furthering the legislation that created the Dental Hygiene Committee of California (DHCC) and the registered dental hygienist in alternative practice (RDHAP) category of licensure. Passionate about preventing abuse and neglect, Galliano has served as a member of the Prevent Abuse and Neglect Through Dental Awareness coalition as a mandated reporter trainer.
Prior to her career in dental hygiene, Galliano was a junior high English teacher. After completing her master's degree, she decided to change careers and chose dental hygiene. Galliano began teaching dental hygiene education after working in clinical practice for 9 years, and she continues to work in private practice a few days each month. A definite "mover and shaker," she is a past president of CDHA and served as CDHA's liaison to the Dental Board of California prior to the creation of the DHCC. Now with the DHCC, Galliano contributes as a subject matter expert and helps the committee update state dental hygiene regulations.