Mary K. Wakefield, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N.

Dr. Mary Wakefield is associate dean at the School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of North Dakota; director and professor (tenured) of the Center for Rural Health at the School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of North Dakota, in Grand Forks, ND. She has served as Center Director since November 2001. Established in 1980, the Center for Rural Health has a full complement of programs to assist researchers, educators, policymakers, health care providers and, most importantly, rural residents to address changing rural environments by identifying and researching rural health issues, analyzing health policy, strengthening local capabilities, developing community-based alternatives, and advocating for rural concerns.

Dr. Wakefield has expertise in rural health care, quality and patient safety, Medicare payment policy, workforce issues, and the public policy process. She has presented nationally and internationally on public policy and strategies to influence the policymaking and political process. She has authored many articles and columns on health policy and she is on the editorial board of a number of professional journals, including the editorial board for the Journal of Rural Health, Nursing Economics, and Annals of Family Medicine.

From January 1996 - December 2001, Dr. Wakefield served as professor and director of the Center for Health Policy, Research, and Ethics at George Mason University, Fairfax, VA.

From January 1993 - January 1996, Dr. Wakefield was the chief of staff for United States Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND). From 1987 until 1992, Dr. Wakefield served as legislative assistant and Chief of Staff to Senator Quentin Burdick (D-ND). Throughout her tenure on Capitol Hill, Dr. Wakefield advised on a range of public health policy issues, drafted legislative proposals, worked with interest groups and other Senate offices.

Dr. Wakefield serves on many health-related advisory boards on the local, state and national levels. Currently, she is co-chair, National Quality Forum's Committee on Hospital Performance Measures; a member, Catholic Health Initiatives Board of Trustees; and member, Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System of the Institute of Medicine. Locally, she is a member of the Board of Directors at the North Dakota Health Care Review, (Quality Improvement Organization) and serves on the Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota Board of Directors.

In the past, Dr. Wakefield was commissioner on the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, 1999 - 2005, (which is responsible for advising the U.S. Congress on the Medicare program); a member of the federal Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) National Commission on VA Nursing in Washington, D.C. April 2002-2004; from 2000-2004, was a m ember and chair, of the National Advisory Council, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS); 1997-1998 served as member and subcommittee chair, for President Clinton's Advisory Commission on Consumer Protection and Quality in the Health Care Industry; 1999-2003 she was a member of the National Advisory Committee to the Office of Rural Health Policy, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; and co-chair of the Hospital Performance Measures Committee of the National Quality Forum in Washington, D.C., among others.

Dr. Wakefield received her Master of Science in nursing and her Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Texas at Austin. Her Bachelor of Science in nursing is from the University of Mary at Bismarck, ND. She was a Kodak Fellow in the Program for Senior Managers in Government at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Dr. Wakefield is a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing and a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies.