Tracie Kirkland is a servant leader and dedicates her life to community service. She is actively involved in a variety of programs targeting vaccine hesitancy, food insecurity, homelessness and human trafficking. An experienced nurse educator, Kirkland previously worked as an adult health nurse practitioner, pediatric nurse practitioner and research coordinator at Johns Hopkins University. Her clinical interest is in social determinants of health, and she recently completed her dissertation on Social Support and Loneliness in Black Women Experiencing COVID-19 Food Insecurity at Texas Woman’s University in Houston, TX.

Kirkland has over 25 years of experience as an adult and pediatric nurse practitioner and more than 30 years of experience as a registered nurse in a variety of clinical settings, including family practice, internal medicine, long-term care, retail health, corporate health/occupational health. She has experience in large academic teaching facilities as well as private practice. She values evidence-based quality care, working collaboratively and preparing the next generation of nurse practitioners. Kirkland remains active in clinical practice providing primary care services in the greater Houston area.

She has served as co-PI on several research studies examining diabetes and hydration, and has several publications in both clinical and educational research.

In her spare time, Kirkland enjoys spending time with her husband Robert, grandson James, and children, Morgan, Maya, and Samuel. She is active in her community, sorority, and Houston (TX) Chapter of Links, Incorporated along with many professional organizations.