Dr. Richards joined the faculty at Appalachian State University after a career spanning nursing practice, healthcare leadership, patient safety and quality improvement, healthcare informatics, and higher education. A registered nurse since 1989, she brings extensive experience across clinical, administrative, and academic settings, including oncology, perioperative nursing, transplantation, risk management, patient safety, nursing administration, faculty leadership, and online education.
Her healthcare leadership experience includes serving as Patient Safety/Risk Manager and Administrative Officer at Blanchfield Army Community Hospital, where she led patient safety initiatives, facilitated multidisciplinary Root Cause Analysis (RCA) and Healthcare Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (HFMEA), supported Joint Commission readiness, analyzed organizational performance data, and worked with clinical and administrative leaders to translate regulatory requirements and evidence-based practices into operational improvements. Earlier roles included transplant coordination, perioperative nursing and education, wound care, case management, and surgical services leadership.
Dr. Richards subsequently transitioned into higher education, serving in faculty and leadership roles in graduate nursing, healthcare management, and business education. At Western Governors University, she taught in the MSN program and later managed and coached a team of graduate nursing faculty. Most recently, she served as a Learning Facilitation and Content Lead in Boston University Questrom School of Business's Online MBA program, collaborating with faculty and cross-functional teams to support curriculum delivery, student learning, program operations, and continuous improvement.