Barbara Stilwell currently serves as a global health consultant following her decades-long career to support health workers and systems globally in various leadership positions. She is an expert in health human resource planning and health systems strengthening. Prior to her consultant work, Dr. Stilwell worked with the World Health Organization (WHO) in health systems development. In this role, she coauthored the WHO’s 2006 Health Report on the impact of migrants on health systems in developing countries as a key negotiator with ministers of health on strategies to address migration-related health issues. Through her international work as a technical specialist, she has been based in Switzerland, the USA, the Middle East, and sub-Saharah Africa, in addition to her native United Kingdom (UK).

She was one of the first nurse practitioners in the United Kingdom and as a Principal Lecturer at the Royal College of Nursing, she introduced the first UK-based nurse practitioner program. Dr. Stilwell has continued to advocate on behalf of the profession through her position as Executive Director of the global Nursing Now Campaign to raise the profile and status of nurses around the world. Since the campaign ended, Dr. Stilwell has been editing a book on global health, set to be published in 2023, in addition to her consultancy work.

Dr. Stilwell received her Doctor of Philosphy at the University of London, UK, Master of Science at Open University,UK, and Bachelor of Social Science at the University of Birmingham, UK.