Yolanda Ogbolu, Ph.D., Neonatal Nurse Practitioner, FNAP, FAAN is Chair of the Partnerships, Professional Education and Practice Department and Associate Professor in the University of Maryland Baltimore, School of Nursing (UMSON).

She is a native of West Baltimore, wife and mother of four. Prior to her role as Chair, Ogbolu served as Director of the Office of Global Health at UMSON with a secondary appointment in the School of Medicine’s, Masters in Public Health Program. Dr. Ogbolu also brings to academia 25 years of clinical practice experience caring for critically ill newborns.

In her current role as Department Chair, Dr. Ogbolu is responsible for overseeing and supporting the school’s efforts in Simulation and Standardized Patient Labs, Wellmobile, Office of Global Health, Office of Professional Education, and The Institute of Educators. She also maintains a program of research that seeks to implement global and local solutions to advance health equity for vulnerable communities. Her research has advanced health equity by examining the adoption of cultural competency standards and policies in local hospitals; supporting community-based approaches to addressing social determinants of health by examining the implementation of an information technology platform across multisector organizations in Maryland; and her current research combating community social isolation in West Baltimore using a global learning model. Recognized as a leader in global learning, in 2020, she was awarded a grant to build a national network of scientists focusing on how to bring the best evidence based practices from around the world to improve health in local communities.

She is well known for her collaborative leadership style that she applies to multisector teamwork locally and globally working with diverse stakeholders and policymakers. In 2009, she served as a legislative intern in the Maryland General Assembly with the Chair of the Subcommittee on Minority Health Disparities. Ogbolu has since served on two Governor’s task forces: The Maryland Infant Mortality Task Force Epidemiology Group (2011) and as Co-Lead on Maryland’s Task Force on Cultural Competency (2012-2013) under the direction of the Maryland Office of Minority Health. Currently, she leads the Social Determinants of Health Taskforce for Baltimore, a first of its kind in the nation. She has been the recipient of multiple research awards; state and local policy citations; published in multiple peer-reviewed journals; and presented her research both nationally and internationally. She is a fellow of the National Academies of Practice, a Robert Wood Johnson Nurse Faculty Scholar Alum, and Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing.