Dr. Milstead is internationally recognized as an expert in public policy and the politics of health care. She is Dean and Professor Emerita, University of Toledo College of Nursing. Prior to her roles at the University of Toledo, she served as Director of Graduate Programs at Duquesne University and as a former faculty member at Clemson University.

Dr. Milstead is the founding editor and senior author of Health Policy and Politics: A Nurses Guide, which is sold in 22 countries. Published in 1999 as the first textbook of nurse research and policy theory, the book has become the seminal work for educating graduate students on the importance of linking practice to policy. As Dr. Milstead developed her own expertise in politics and policy at the international, federal, state, and local levels and leadership roles across the profession, she moved the profession to a broader vision as a major player in the policy arena. In 2020, she was inducted into the American Nurses Association’s (ANA) Hall of Fame in recognition of her sustained contributions to the profession. She is one of the founding members of ANA-Ohio that, in June 2023, became the new Constituent/State Nurses Association.

 

Since induction as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing in 2003, she has been active on the Development Committee, Policy Conference Planning Advisory Committee, and the Expert
Panel on Global Nursing and Health, where she has co-authored policy briefs and guidelines for cultural competence and expanding the nurse's role in responding to global pandemics.

Dr. Milstead holds a PhD in Political Science with majors in public policy and comparative politics
from the University of Georgia, an MS and BS, cum laude, in nursing from The Ohio State University where she was named a Distinguished Educator, and a diploma from Mt. Carmel Hospital School of Nursing where she is a Distinguished Alumna and served on the Board of Trustees for nine years.

She is board-certified as a Nurse Executive-Advanced by the American Nurses Credentialing Commission. She has been a member of Sigma since 1974 and was a charter member of the first European chapter in the Netherlands. From 2005 through 2008, she served on the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority where she was a member of a trade delegation to China. In 2020, she worked with nurses in Albania, Croatia, Italy, Panama, Portugal, and Rwanda whose involvement in the policy process in their countries has made a difference. She continues to write and is self-employed as senior consultant for leadership, education, and public policy.

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