Rebecca Shasanmi Ellis is an Assistant Professor at Georgetown University and the Chairperson of the American Public Health Association (APHA) Public Health Nursing Section.

As an experienced public health nurse and health policy expert, Dr. Ellis’s primary areas of impact are global health workforce development, national nursing legislation, and the institutionalization of professional equity infrastructure. Her policy initiatives include developing strategic health workforce registries with the World Health Organization and delivering expert congressional testimony to strengthen federal nursing workforce and maternal healthcare infrastructure. Over the course of her career, Dr. Ellis has actively contributed to advancing health equity, including national service through the Council of Public Health Nursing Organizations and building sustainable anti-racism programming within national professional bodies. Her leadership has had system-wide impact, shaping national strategic nursing visions and creating reproducible pipelines that transition underrepresented nurses into executive governance roles. Her advocacy spanning global and domestic healthcare systems highlights the profound impact and influence of public health nursing leadership.

Dr. Ellis earned her MPH from Morehouse School of Medicine, BSN from George Washington University, MS and PhD degrees from Emory University.