Dr. Yolanda Ogbolu, PhD, NNP, FNAP, FAAN, is the Bill and Joanne Conway Dean of the University of Maryland School of Nursing (UMSON) and a tenured Professor. Prior to being named Dean in July 2023, she served as Chair of Partnerships, Professional Education and Practice and as Director of Global Health; she also co-directed the Center for Health Equity and Outcomes Research.

Dr. Ogbolu came to academia after more than 20 years of experience as a neonatal nurse practitioner. Her interprofessional and community-engaged research, teaching, and professional activities have focused on addressing health inequities and disparities in care locally and globally. Her projects have centered on strengthening nurses’ capacity to impact global health, improving the provision of culturally and linguistically appropriate care in rural and urban hospitals, and addressing social isolation and social determinants of health in marginalized communities. With funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, she has spearheaded global learning for health equity projects, including reducing family social isolation in West Baltimore and developing a global learning network to advance health equity by catalyzing communities across the United States. She currently leads the West Baltimore RICH Collaborative, a network of community and faith-based organizations, academic institutions, and health care organizations working to address hypertension and social isolation in West Baltimore.

Dr. Ogbolu is an elected fellow of the National Academies of Practice and the American Academy of Nursing, and a former Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Nurse Faculty Scholar. She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Master of Science, and PhD degrees from UMSON. She is a native of West Baltimore, a wife, and the mother of four.