Martha Dawson
DNP, RN, FACHE
President, National Black Nurses Association
(Commission Co-Lead)
Martha A. Dawson, DNP, RN FACHE earned her bachelor’s degree in 1976 and her master’s degree in 1984, both from UABSON. In 2010, she earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice from Case Western Reserve University Frances Payne Bolton, School of Nursing. In 1984, she completed her hospital administration residency at Gaston Memorial Hospital at Gastonia, NC. Dr. Dawson has experience in academic medical centers, community hospitals, and academia. She served in senior level positions such as, Vice President of Clinical Operations and Chief Nursing Officers. She managed her own healthcare consultant business. She is an Associate Professor in the Nursing and Health Systems Leadership Division, and the Nursing and Health Systems Administration (NHSA) track at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing (UABSON). Dr. Dawson was installed as the 13th President of the National Black Nurses Associates, Inc., and represent the voice of over 308,000 African American and other nurses of different races and ethnicities. She has served as the division director and specialty track coordinator of the NHSA track. Under her leadership, the NHSA track at UABSON has ranked in the top 10 for the last 10 years under her leadership. Currently, the NHSA track is ranked #1 among public universities in the US and #3 among all universities. In 2019, Dr. Dawson was inducted into the Alabama Nursing Hall of Fame Nurse. She is a Scholar in the Sparkman Global Health Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives, Robert Wood Johnson Nurse Executive Fellow, and Johnson & Johnson Wharton Nurse Administrative Fellow. In 2017, she was the recipient of the American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE) Prism Award for Diversity, the President’s Teaching Excellence Award (2015), Graduate Dean’s Mentorship Award (2014), Nursing Innovation in Teaching Award (2012), Service Excellence (2011), Ruby Outstanding Leadership and Support (2011), Recognized Leader (2010), Madeline R. Zaworski Award for Outstanding Leadership from Frances Payne-Bolton School of Nursing (2010), and Lillian Holland Harvey Award from the Alabama State Nurses Association (2010), In 2004, a mayoral proclamation declared Dr. Dawson a Distinguished Citizen of Louisville, KY where she was active with the Regional Workforce Investment Board, American Red Cross Board, community research assessment projects that lead to the Kentucky Women 4 Women statewide health initiative, development of a nurse managed clinic, and participation with Sister Cities of Louisville. She was a contributing author in the Drive-Thru Flu Shots: A model for mass immunization. Carrico, R. 2002, ISBN: 1-879260-45-X. The first drive-thru flu shot model in the US. As a translational scientist, she focuses career barriers and mobility, management development, succession planning, career progression, and workforce diversity and planning. She has publications in books, journals, newsletters, and podcasts.