Dr. Deneta H. Sells

Dr. Sells is your friendly neighborhood pediatrician. She blends the best of modern medicine with a warm, personal touch. As a resident of intown Atlanta herself, she is devoted to partnering with families of all kinds to foster the healthy growth and development of the city's most precious resource: its children.

Dr. Sells graduated from Harvard College in 1992 with a degree in Sociology. She received her medical degree from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in 2003, and she completed her residency in pediatrics at the Morehouse School of Medicine. Dr. Sells founded Intown Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine in September 2006.

Dr. Sells' commitment to children is nothing new. As a Harvard sophomore, she became the Director of an educational summer day camp for children from low-income families in Cambridge, Massachusetts. For four years, she worked closely with each camper's family to implement an innovative classroom-without-walls curriculum. Under Dr. Sells' leadership, the camp expanded to serve over 100 at-risk youth, and she credits that early success with sparking her interest in making child advocacy her life's work.

Upon her graduation from Harvard, Dr. Sells received a Stride-Rite fellowship to work as a community organizer in the Anacostia neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Together with residents of public housing developments, she started a breakfast program for elementary school children to make sure that each student arrived at school safely, prepared, and well fed.

Dr. Sells also spent time coordinating community outreach for the Georgetown Hospital Pediatric Mobile Unit. Working closely with the Mobile Unit's medical staff in some of Washington's poorest neighborhoods, Dr. Sells realized that she could be a stronger and more effective advocate for children as a pediatrician. Medical school, she decided, was the logical next step.

Not surprisingly, Dr. Sells' dedication to children and service didn't end there. While studying for her medical degree at the University of Tennessee, Dr. Sells started a "big sister" program designed to encourage better birth outcomes by providing practical support to young women during pregnancy. Dr. Sells' classmates quickly recognized her leadership abilities, electing her to class office and to leadership roles in the Student National Medical Association, the American Medical Student Association, and the American Medical Women's Association.

Dr. Sells spent the last two years of her medical school career in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Serving pediatrics patients and their families at Le Bonheur Children's Medical Center, Dr. Sells knew that she had found her true calling.

Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta was a natural choice for residency. The school's legacy of serving the underserved matched Dr. Sells' belief that all children deserve excellent health care, and its rigorous academic training was not lost in its emphasis on community pediatrics. Under the instruction of faculty from Morehouse and the Emory School of Medicine, Dr. Sells excelled.

Dr. Sells founded Intown Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine to provide warm, friendly and excellent care for the growing population of in-town families. Her personal philosophy is to be a true "neighborhood" doctor, involved in community activities, offering convenient appointment times and after-hours advice. She is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics and participates in the Section on Early Childhood Education & Childcare as well as the Section on Complementary, Holistic & Integrative Medicine.

Dr. Sells lives in Candler Park with her partner of 7 years, Bryan Sells, a civil rights attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, and their gray tabby, Scout.