Barbara J. Hatcher, PhD, MPH, RN, FAAN, is an experienced health care executive, health policy expert, health regulator, researcher, and entrepreneur with more than 40 years of experience. Over the past five years, Dr. Hatcher has been an associate professor of nursing at George Mason University where she teaches courses primarily in health administration and health policy for graduate students. Her health policy teaching efforts have resulted in several innovations, including increased student participation in Washington, DC-area health policy networks and the creation of student-generated health infographics. She currently serves as the coordinator for nursing administration programs in the School of Nursing. Dr. Hatcher has extensive leadership experience and has served in several key positions, including chief science officer and center director for learning and global public health at the American Public Health Association; secretary general for the World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA); office chief, maternal and child health and state maternal & child health director for the District of Columbia. Dr. Hatcher was the first and to date the only nurse, to serve as secretary general of the WFPHA, an international organization of country-level public health associations. Dr. Hatcher is known for her commitment to health equity and social justice and has been on the forefront of cutting-edge changes in nursing since her early years as a nurse. For example, she was among the first nurse practitioners trained in the nation, and as chair of the District of Columbia Board of Nursing led the District of Columbia’s efforts to implement non-restrictive advanced practice nursing regulations. The District of Columbia is among the earliest jurisdictions to provide for the independent practice of advanced nurse practitioners. In 2003, as part of her Robert Wood Johnson Fellowship Leadership Project, she founded the Friends2Friends Project in collaboration with a faith-based organization (FBO) to address the challenges of HIV/AIDS among orphans in Kakamega, Kenya. This project is still in existence and is now part of the major service activities of the Alpha Chapter, Chi Eta Phi Sorority, Inc. In 2010, Dr. Hatcher established the Hatcher, DuBois, Odrick Group, LLC, a global consulting firm that provides training and support in analysis and research, program design and implementation, strategic leadership, and organizational effectiveness for nonprofit groups and corporate organizations primarily in developing countries. Dr. Hatcher has received numerous awards and recognitions, including the Brazier Award for Service to the District of Columbia; Josephine A Dolan Award for Public Service from the University of Connecticut, her undergraduate alma mater; and the Trailblazer Award from the National Black Nurses Association. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and an inductee in the Waterbury (CT) Hall of Fame. She was certified in Nursing Administration Advanced from the American Nurses’ Association Credentialing Center from 1982 to 1997.

Leadership, Global health diplomacy, Community-based health care, Health disparities, Maternal and child healt.