Ellen Kurtzman is a professor and the Executive Director of Health Administration in the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University. Prior to her arrival at Bloustein, Dr. Kurtzman spent 15 years at The George Washington University with appointments in the Schools of Nursing, Public Health, and Public Policy. Dr. Kurtzman teaches health policy, research, and statistics. Her investigator-initiated research explores the impact of federal, state, and institutional policies on health care delivery and the role of the health care workforce in achieving higher value care.

From 2018-2019, Dr. Kurtzman served as one of eight Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Fellows and worked in the Office of the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Office of the Surgeon General. From 2014-2016, Dr. Kurtzman served as the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)/AcademyHealth Health Policy Fellow, which placed her “in residence” at NCHS to collaborate with federal researchers. From 2011 to 2012, was an affiliate scholar at the Urban Institute’s Health Policy Center and from 2007-2011, she collaborated with scholars at the University of Pennsylvania to build policy support for a model of care for chronically ill elderly, referred to as the Transitional Care Model.

Before joining academia, Dr. Kurtzman served in senior capacities for large health services organizations including the American Red Cross, National Quality Forum (NQF), American Health Care Association, and the National PACE Association.

She received her PhD in public policy and administration from GW’s Trachtenberg School, her MPH from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and her BSN from the University of Pennsylvania.