Shelby Collins, DNP, APRN, ANP-C

Shelby Collins applies a systems-thinking and quality approach in her role as Program Manager at EmWELL, where she leads efforts to align, strengthen, and sustain initiatives to improve healthcare workforce well-being across WHSC. Her previous clinical work as a nurse practitioner has centered on expanding healthcare access for historically marginalized and under-resourced groups, including those in correctional settings, FQHCs, migrant communities, and people living with HIV (PLWHIV). This foundation made her transition to focusing on healthcare worker well-being a natural progression, informed by firsthand experience the challenges and vulnerabilities faced by the healthcare workforce.

Shelby is a certified Adult Nurse Practitioner, certified Community Resiliency Model Teacher, and adjunct instructor at Emory University’s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing. She is an active member of the Georgia Nurses Association, American Nurses Association, and American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL). Her scholarly and advocacy work, disseminated regionally, nationally and internationally, spans clinical practice, education, and policy, with a focus on nursing and healthcare worker well-being, suicide prevention, mental health stigma reduction, and improving healthcare work environments. She holds a BSN from the University of Florida and an MSN in Adult and Women’s Health as well as a DNP in Health Systems Leadership from Emory University. She completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as an Advanced Fellow in the VA Quality Scholars Program, concentrating on leading healthcare improvement.