Skip to main content
WVU Home
Would you like to search this site specifically, or all WVU websites?

Cloe Ratliff

CM

Dental Brigades Vice President 2026-2027; Fundraising Chair 2025-2026

Hi everyone! My name is Cloe Ratliff, and I am a senior majoring in biology and psychology from Morgantown, WV.

I learned about WVU’s Global Medical and Dental Brigade my freshman year and was immediately intrigued by the way Global Brigades approaches medicine in resource-reduced regions of the world. The holistic model empowers communities in their own development while providing sustainable solutions, making this organization unique. In preparation for our departure we discuss the social determinants of health extensively, a foreign concept to me prior to my first brigade. I learned that it is a huge factor in not only the places we brigade but also West Virginia and all of Appalachia. I can now view medicine from a sociological lens, preparing me to become a better healthcare provider in the future. I have been fortunate enough now to travel on three brigades, Honduras in March 2024, Southeastern Panama in the Darién Province in March 2025, and, most recently, Northwestern Panama in the Chiriquí Province in March 2026. Being able to see how physicians interact with patients, practicing triage skills, and learning charla skills challenged both the way I think and my skill set but have been some of my fondest memories in my time at WVU. We also complete a public health project for each brigade that has provided clean water for thousands or sanitation stations for an entire community, which allow you to directly see and interact with the communities. This is undoubtedly one of my favorite aspects of the work we do. Best of all, you will meet incredible people through this organization who will inspire you daily and become some of your best friends. I encourage anyone interested to apply and don’t hesitate to reach out!