Dr. Nancy Ballard is Associate Professor and Coordinator of the Nursing Administration and Transformational Leadership graduate program at Kennesaw State University’s Wellstar School of Nursing in Kennesaw, Georgia. Her nursing career spans more than five decades, with wide-ranging contributions to clinical practice, healthcare leadership, research, and education.
Nancy’s journey into healthcare began in high school when she worked as a medical office assistant for a local physician who taught her how to carry out a variety of tasks typical of a small community clinic. After graduating, she attended vocational school and became an LPN. As her interest in cardiology deepened and she realized she wanted to do more, Nancy pursued further education and completed her ADN at what was then Kennesaw Junior College, becoming an RN.
Nancy’s work expanded beyond clinical care into policy, education, and research. She collaborated on the first nurse-led research study within her health system and served as System Clinical Nurse Specialist for Critical Care. In 2004, she became an appraiser for the ANCC Magnet program. While at the Center for Nursing Excellence, she coordinated the development of a professional practice model, launched a nursing research fellowship for clinical nurses which supported protected research time and mentoring, and introduced the NDNQI RN satisfaction survey. As a life-long student, Nancy completed her PhD with a minor in organization leadership in 2015 at the University of Kansas, focusing her research on how the practice environment impacts quality outcomes. Currently, her research explores team trustworthiness and its association with clinical, operational, and patient outcomes.
About ten years ago, Nancy learned about ALSN, then CGEAN, through a colleague who coordinated the graduate program she now leads. She is an active member of the Program Planning Committee and helped organize the 2025 ALSN Conference in Decatur, Georgia. She also served on the former Education Committee and regularly attends the annual conference. Nancy reflects on her involvement this way: “Being part of ALSN has helped me grow in many ways. It is a valuable source of support and fresh ideas. I always leave the conference inspired and energized.”
To new members, Nancy encourages, “Get involved—you will be glad you did. It is a wonderful way to connect, learn, and find opportunities you never expected.”
Nancy divides her time between her home in the foothills of North Georgia and a condo on Jekyll Island, made possible by the asynchronous online format of her graduate program. She calls herself a “world-class procrastinator” who relies on carefully planned personal timelines to stay on track. She plans to retire from academia in June 2026 but will continue her work with AACN for a few more years and looks forward to finally having time to write that novel.
If you would like to connect with nurse leaders like Dr. Ballard and be part of this community, learn more about ALSN membership at: ALSN.info/Join-Us
