How Project Happy Face is Revolutionizing Acne Care for Underserved Teens

As we celebrate Acne Awareness Month, Dermatology Times sat down with Amy Snow, MSPAS, PA-C, a dermatology physician associate based in Central Oregon, to highlight the importance of expanding access to acne care for underserved adolescents through community engagement and innovative outreach programs. Snow shared the story behind Project Happy Face, a nonprofit initiative she founded to provide free acne treatment and dermatologic care to teenagers facing financial, geographic, and social barriers to care.

The program began during her time practicing in Southern California, where she frequently encountered students without insurance who could not afford dermatologic treatment or prescription medications. As she developed relationships with these patients, Snow recognized that many were high-achieving students with significant potential but limited access to health care resources. In response, she began providing free acne treatment and covering medication costs in exchange for a simple commitment: participants would “smile at strangers” and give back to their communities in the future.

What started as a small personal project quickly expanded as students referred friends, and school counselors began reaching out on behalf of adolescents in need of care. Snow eventually established Project Happy Face as a nonprofit organization, partnering with local schools to provide dermatologic services while encouraging personal responsibility and community involvement.

After relocating to Oregon, Snow recognized a different challenge: geographic isolation. Many rural and frontier communities throughout the state lacked access to both primary care and dermatology services. To address this gap, Project Happy Face evolved into a mobile dermatology model. Today, the organization operates a fully equipped 24-foot dermatology clinic on wheels that travels throughout underserved regions, bringing free acne care directly to adolescents who might otherwise have no access to specialty services.

Beyond providing treatment, the program emphasizes education. Through partnerships with organizations and industry supporters, including skin care initiatives that provide cleansers and educational resources, Snow and her team teach teenagers how to develop simple, evidence-based skin care routines and navigate the often-confusing world of social media acne advice.

Snow also encouraged fellow dermatology professionals to become involved in community outreach efforts, regardless of scale. Whether providing skin cancer screenings for first responders, partnering with local schools, or participating in community health events, she believes these activities not only improve patient care but also help clinicians reconnect with the purpose that initially drew them to medicine. According to Snow, community engagement can serve as a powerful antidote to professional burnout while expanding access to dermatologic care for vulnerable populations.

“Health care is so challenging right now...when you can immerse yourself in the community and give back, it really reignites that spark, that flame that we all had when we first graduated, and we remember why we went into medicine,” Snow said.

Project Happy Face would like to thank all of its sponsors: Sun Pharma, Eli Lilly, La Roche Posay, EltaMD, CastleBiosciences, and Elevate-Derm Alliance. Click here to learn more!