Stephanie Ferguson

Stephanie Ferguson FAAN is an American nurse, Director of the Harvard Global Nursing Leadership Program and Professor of the Practice of Health Policy at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She is an Elected Member of the National Academy of Medicine and American Academy of Nursing.

Early life and education
Ferguson had allergic asthma as a child. She attended Appomattox Elementary School, where she remembers spending a lot of time with the school nurse. She studied nursing at Virginia Commonwealth University. After graduating she started working at the VCU Medical Center on a sickle cell disease screening programme for newborn babies. At the time, one in every 325 African American babies born in Virginia had sickle cell. Early diagnosis and treatment can prevent fatal consequences. Working with the Sickle Cell Anaemia Awareness Program, Ferguson gathered evidence for state-mandated screening. The legislation was enacted in 1989. Her doctorate considered the effects of peer counselling in adolescent pregnancy prevention. In 1996 Ferguson was appointed a White House Fellow, working alongside Bill Clinton and Donna Shalala.

Research and career
In 2009 Ferguson was appointed a Professor of Nursing at the University of Lynchburg. She directed the Community Nursing Organisation, developing health centres led by nurse practioners across Richmond. In 2016 she was elected to the National Committee on Global Health. In 2022 she was appointed Professor of Practise at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

She helped to convene the Harvard Global Nursing Leadership Program’s Certificate in Global Public Health for Nurse Leaders. The programme, which ran for the first time in 2022, partnered with the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention to champion nursing leadership around the world. It built upon nurses' broad expertise (e.g. pandemic response) and insight, and the urgent need for their efforts in shaping health policy.

Awards and honours

 * 2014 Elected to the National Academy of Medicine
 * 2014 HRH Princess Muna Al Hussein Award
 * 2020 American Academy of Nursing Civitas Award
 * 2024 University of Pennsylvania Commencement Speaker
 * Elected Member of the American Academy of Nursing