Hastings, Neb — A nationally recognized pediatric dentist known for pushing Medicaid reform and expanding access to care for low-income children is coming to Hastings as the featured speaker for the 3rd annual Sachtleben/Throckmorton Faith & Science Symposium.
Dr. Jessica Meeske will be the 2026 featured speaker at the symposium, co-hosted by Hastings College and First Presbyterian Church of Hastings, April 17-19. Meeske is a 1991 Hastings College alumna, a member of the college’s Board of Trustees and an active member of First Presbyterian Church. She was named the 2023 Pediatric Dentist of the Year by the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry.
Organizers say this year’s symposium will explore how faith and science intersect in lived vocation, public policy and community advocacy.
“When we talk about faith and science, we are not talking about two competing forces,” said Rev. Greg Allen-Pickett, senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church and a Hastings College trustee. “Dr. Meeske embodies what it looks like to integrate rigorous scientific practice with deep moral conviction. Her work demonstrates how faith can inspire scientific excellence and how science can serve justice.”
The symposium opens Friday, April 17, at 2:10 p.m., when Meeske is scheduled to give a public lecture in Room 219 in Morrison-Reeves Science Center, 717 N. Ash Ave. On Sunday, April 19, she will lead the Adult Education Forum at 9:15 a.m. in Fellowship Hall at First Presbyterian Church, 621 N. Lincoln Ave., and later share her story during the 10:30 a.m. worship service. Organizers say the events are free and open to the public.
Meeske’s presentation is expected to be of particular interest to students and faculty in religion, science, public health, political science, sociology and other health care-related disciplines.
“Jessica’s work is a powerful case study in how scientific knowledge, ethical conviction, and civic engagement can come together for the common good,” Allen-Pickett said. “She helps us see that advocacy for children’s health is not merely political, it is deeply moral work grounded in her faith convictions.”
Meeske serves as senior partner at Pediatric Dental Specialists of Greater Nebraska, with clinics in Hastings, Grand Island, Kearney, North Platte and Omaha. She is also a clinical instructor at the UNMC College of Dentistry and a past president of the Nebraska Dental Association.
From early in her career, Meeske said she believed addressing childhood tooth decay required more than treating patients one appointment at a time.
“I knew we were never going to get to the bottom of this problem of rampant tooth decay in this country by drilling and filling one tooth at a time,” Meeske has said. “So even back when I was in dental school, I started to look at the problem from a population basis and a policy basis.”
Her advocacy work has been tied to the passage of more than 15 pieces of legislation in the Nebraska Legislature related to access to dental care. She has also held national leadership roles with the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and the American Dental Association, including chairing the Council on Advocacy for Access and Prevention and serving as vice chair of the Medicaid Reform Task Force.
The Faith & Science Symposium was created to encourage dialogue between disciplines that organizers say are often mistakenly portrayed as being in conflict, highlighting leaders whose lives show how faith and scientific inquiry can inform one another.
Organizers also pointed to ongoing needs in south central Nebraska, where untreated tooth decay remains a persistent challenge and free and reduced-price lunch numbers are high in local schools. Meeske works with school nurses, pediatricians, Head Start programs and social workers to connect families to Medicaid and other resources, and she participates in statewide free dental care events for uninsured families.