Kathleen Smith is a registered nurse with degrees in both nursing and health care administration. She has been involved in government relations for nearly thirty years, beginning as a volunteer for the American Nephrology Nurses' Association (ANNA), then in her role as Director of Legislative Services for Nursing Economic$, where she represented a number of nursing and allied health organizations, including ANNA, in Washington. She currently holds the position of Vice President for Government Affairs with Fresenius Medical Care North America. In addition, from 1993 through 2005 she was the Program Coordinator for the Nurse In Washington Internship (NIWI), sponsored by the Nursing Organizations Alliance.
Ms. Smith has pursued graduate studies in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the School of Hygiene and Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, the School of Nursing, George Mason University, and Columbia Union College.
Kathleen has numerous publications and presentations to her credit and has been a contributing editor covering health care policy issues for Nursing Economic$, Pediatric Nursing, and MEDSURG Nursing. In addition, she was a contributor to Policy and Politics in Nursing and Health Care (3rd and 4th editions), the Core Curriculum for Nephrology Nursing (1st and 3rd editions), and Contemporary Nephrology Nursing. She has been published in Policy, Politics, & Nursing Practice and her work has appeared in various nursing specialty association publications.
She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau, the American Nurses Association and the American Nephrology Nurses' Association. Ms. Smith is the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award from the National Association of Orthopaedic Nurses (1999), and the Ron Brady Memorial Award for Volunteer Leadership (2000) and the Outstanding Contribution Award (2005) from the American Nephrology Nurses' Association (2000).
Prior to her career in public policy, Ms. Smith held a variety of clinical, administrative, and management positions, primarily in nephrology, transplantation, and critical care nursing.