Nancy Johnson, RN, MSN, MS, PhD

Dr. Johnson is the former chief executive officer of El Rio Community Health Center, one of the largest federally qualified health centers in the country. She is a registered nurse, graduating with a BSN from Illinois Wesleyan University. Dr. Johnson also holds master’s degrees in both nursing from the University of Illinois and marketing and business from the University of Arizona Eller College of Management. Her doctoral research was on provider perspectives in caring for the uninsured population, leading to her completion of her PhD in Health Care Administration.
 

Dr. Johnson has held positions as a clinician, an administrator and a faculty member in nursing, business and medicine. She spent more than 15 years with Tucson Medical Center, building community health and wellness programs, acquiring and managing medical practices for the TMC system and expanding community networks. After 14 years of service to El Rio Health, she continues to serve as an adjunct clinical professor for the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson as well as the College of Nursing. In addition, she serves as the director of clinical partnerships with the College of Health Sciences. She has co-authored a textbook with her husband titled “The Care of the Uninsured in America” and, most recently, wrote an article in Nursing Administration Quarterly on health care for the homeless. Dr. Johnson is a recipient of the University of Arizona’s Cecil B. Hart Humanitarian Award as well as the 2016 Distinguished Alumni Award from Illinois Wesleyan University. Dr. Johnson was named Greater Tucson Leadership’s Woman of the Year in 2021.