Gillian Barclay, DDS, DrPH

Gillian Barclay, DDS, DrPH, is vice president, Programs, of the Aetna Foundation. In her role, she leads the development, execution and evaluation of the foundation’s national grant programs and cultivates new projects within its three focus areas:  reducing obesity, improving health care equity and promoting integrated health care.  As part of her responsibilities, she also is a frequent spokesperson for the foundation, presenting its work and the accomplishments of grantees to internal and external constituents.

Prior to joining the Aetna Foundation, Dr. Barclay was an advisor for the Regional Office of the World Health Organization in the Office of Caribbean Program Coordination. There, she managed a portfolio of health initiatives in the region that focused special attention on the impact of gender, human rights, integrated health systems and essential public health functions on people’s access to quality health care.  Previously, she was the evaluation manager, health programs for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, responsible for assessing the foundation’s health initiatives in the areas of reducing health disparities, community and school-based health care, and oral health, among others.

Dr. Barclay has taught at the Harvard School of Public Health and Hunter College at the City University of New York.  She has published in peer-reviewed health literature and has been a frequent presenter at health conferences in the U.S. and around the world.

Dr. Barclay earned her doctorate of dental surgery at the University of Detroit Mercy and completed her residency at New York Hospital Medical Center.  She holds a doctorate in public health from Harvard University and a master’s of public health from the University of Michigan. Her undergraduate work was at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica.