Dr. Lolita T. O'Donnell is an Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm veteran and medical-surgical clinical nurse, currently serving as the Division Chief of the Executive Skills, Continuing Education & Libraries (EXCEL) Division and as the DHA J-7 (Education & Training) Continuing Education Program Office (CEPO).

Dr. O’Donnell provides strategic management for multiple lines of business involving collaboration and educational initiatives with military leaders, providers, families, clinicians, other federal partners, non-profit organizations, and the academic community. Since 2018, she has successfully conducted educational events and outreach and disseminated continuing education offerings to over 90,000 healthcare providers across DoD.

Prior to joining the DHA J-7 staff, Dr. O’Donnell was an original member of the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE) staff. Her leadership in the concept of operations planning and organizational design was critical to DCoE’s establishment in November 2007.

In addition, Dr. O’Donnell served as an Assistant Professor of Nursing at the College of Nursing and Health Science, George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia (2003-07). In this academic leadership role, she orchestrated all aspects of the Accelerated Second Degree Pathway BSN nursing program while teaching nursing research, leadership, nursing administration, and clinical nursing courses.

From 1990 to 2003, she accumulated extensive experience in nursing quality management, Joint Commission Accreditation, regulatory compliance, sentinel event and incident report management, case management, and quality improvement leadership experience at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, DC.

Dr. O’Donnell’s military experience includes serving as a Clinical Nurse in the U.S. Air Force Nurse Corps (1988-1993) and as a Flight Nurse in the U.S. Air Force Reserve Corps. Following her deployment in Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield, Dr. O’Donnell was awarded the Air Force Commendation Medal for excellence in nursing care.

Dr. O’Donnell completed her doctoral studies and graduate work in Nursing Administration, Policy Ethics, and Research at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. She specializes in nursing research in case management and ethics and serves as a copy editor and manuscript reviewer for various nursing specialties at Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. She is also an adjunct nursing professor at the Excelsior College Graduate Nursing Online Program.

Non-financial relationships: No non-financial relationships have been disclosed.