Krista Jones

Dr. Krista Jones serves as Director of the UIC College of Nursing's Urbana Regional Campus and Clinical Professor in the Department of Population Health Nursing Science at the University of Illinois Chicago. She holds leadership roles including Chair of the Council of Public Health Nursing Organizations (representing 200,000 nurses), President of the Association of Community Health Nursing Educators, and Chair of the Illinois Nursing Workforce Center Board of Directors.

Her educational background includes a Doctorate in Nursing Practice (2011), Master’s in Advanced Community Health Nursing (2007), Post-Master’s in Nursing Administration and Leadership (2009), and Teaching Certificate in Nursing Education (2008), all earned at UIC. She has instructed undergraduate through doctoral students for 18 years in Population Focused Nursing, Evidence-Based Practice, and Leadership courses.

Dr. Jones' research centers on public health nursing workforce development and adolescent risk reduction, highlighted by her National Library of Medicine-funded project that delivered evidence-based training to thousands of nurses across five grant cycles, expanding from public health to acute/ambulatory care settings. This work generated policy changes, improved patient outcomes, and numerous publications.

Her scholarly impact is recognized through awards including:

• Daisy Award and two Silver Circle Awards for teaching excellence
• Illinois Board of Higher Education Nursing Faculty Fellowship (2012)
• AACN ELAN Program Fellowship (2020)
• Fellowships in the National Academies of Practice and American Academy of Nursing

She co-founded the Illinois Public Health Nursing Leadership Academic Practice Workgroup, which conducted statewide workforce needs assessments and secured a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Grant funding 31 community service projects. Her initiatives also established annual academic-practice conferences addressing public health nursing challenges.