How to Advocate for Global Health With Your Legal Career feat. Samora Legros

Samora Legros is an advisory manager, advocate, and board member of the Max & Thérèse Cadet Dental Fund, Inc. In this powerful episode, Samora and fellow board members share how a family legacy has grown into a 33-year commitment to improving oral healthcare in Haiti. From mobile dental clinics and maxillofacial surgeries to supporting the next generation of Haitian dentists, this is a story of service, strategy, and impact. You don’t have to be a dentist to support public health—you just have to care.

LISTEN TO LEARN

  • How one family’s story became a national dental care movement
  • The real impact of advocacy and infrastructure in global health
  • How lawyers can use their skills to support public health causes

WE ALSO DISCUSS

  • Maxillofacial surgery and dental care access in Haiti
  • The role of students and dental education at the clinic
  • How to support the Cadet Dental Fund and get involved

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How to Advocate for Global Health With Your Legal Career feat. Samora Legros

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How to Advocate for Global Health With Your Legal Career feat. Samora LegrosHow to Advocate for Global Health With Your Legal Career feat. Samora Legros

About This Episode

Background

The Cadet Dental Fund was founded to honor Dr. Max Cadet and Thérèse Cadet—a dentist and humanitarian who together built a legacy of community dental care in Haiti. From horseback visits to rural towns in the 1950s to a multi-chair dental clinic in Port-au-Prince today, their commitment to preventative care has endured through decades of political unrest, natural disasters, and public health crises.

“This is a project that means a lot to us as a family... My dad did not go into dentistry to really become rich, but rather to serve," shares Jessie Cadet-Legros on You Are A Lawyer.

Today, their children and grandchildren (including Samora Legros) serve on the board of the Max & Thérèse Cadet Dental Fund, Inc., which supports the Fondation Max Cadet in Haiti. The foundation treats up to 150 patients per day, offers dental education, and provides life-changing maxillofacial surgery for patients with tumors, trauma, and congenital deformities.

Why Lawyers Make Great Advocates

Lawyers often look for ways to make an impact outside the courtroom. For Samora Legros, the answer is clear: bring your advocacy skills into healthcare and public service.

As an advisory manager and board member of the Max & Thérèse Cadet Dental Fund, Samora bridges law and healthcare through strategic planning, fundraising, storytelling, and coalition-building. His legal background helps him understand how to craft arguments, mobilize stakeholders, and work toward long-term outcomes—skills that are vital in global health.

“You always need some sort of advocacy, no matter what you’re doing. Especially in the health care field," reflects Samora Legros on Episode 192 of You Are a Lawyer.

This episode reminds lawyers that their training in strategy, communication, and negotiation doesn’t just apply to litigation or deals—it’s foundational to leading nonprofit organizations, championing equity, and changing systems. Kyla and Samora explore how lawyers can become community leaders, change-makers, and legacy-builders far beyond the law firm.

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What the Clinic Provides

The Max & Thérèse Cadet Dental Fund supports a dental clinic in Port-au-Prince that delivers essential and advanced dental care to Haitian communities. This includes everything from general dentistry and cleanings to complex maxillofacial surgeries for trauma, tumors, and birth deformities. The clinic treats up to 150 patients per day, many of whom travel hours for access to affordable and safe care. In addition to direct patient services, the clinic provides critical training for third- and fourth-year dental students who have been displaced from Haiti’s closed university campuses, ensuring that the next generation of Haitian dentists continues to be trained.

“The last patient we did was a woman, who's 58 years old, her tumor is so large that you can barely see the inside of her mouth... So as a result of that, she was not able to eat... and we are happy to report that she [is] now being able to go home," shared Jessie Cadet-Legros on Episode 192 of You Are a Lawyer.

The clinic also plays a vital preventative role, especially through its outreach to schoolchildren. Oral health education and screenings help children form better hygiene habits and avoid long-term health issues. For families who may have never visited a dentist, the clinic’s presence represents more than healthcare—it offers dignity, education, and hope.

How You Can Help

The Max & Thérèse Cadet Dental Fund, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in the U.S. that raises funds to directly support operations at the dental clinic in Haiti. These funds pay for essential procedures, dental supplies, equipment upgrades, and full maxillofacial surgeries for those who could not otherwise afford care. Contributions of any amount make an impact, and monthly giving provides consistent support for this vital work.

“We are small, but boy, we carry the mountains of Haiti,” expresses Jessie Cadet-Legros in Episode 192 of You Are a Lawyer.

Lawyers and legal professionals can support the Cadet Dental Fund in unique ways: through strategic networking, pro bono consulting, fundraising, and amplifying the foundation’s story. Whether by contributing financially or helping to widen the circle of support, advocates of all backgrounds—and especially those with legal skills—can play a key role in sustaining the clinic’s mission. Visit cadetdentalfund.com to get involved.

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About Samora Legros

Samora is not licensed to practice law.

Learn more about Samora

About Max & Thérèse Cadet Dental Fund, Inc.

Learn more about the Cadet Dental Fund

Donate to the Cadet Dental Fund

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Kyla Denanyoh hosts the You Are A Lawyer podcast. 

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