Susan Reinhard, R.N., Ph.D

Susan C. Reinhard is a Senior Vice President at AARP, directing its Public Policy Institute, the focal point for public policy research and analysis at the federal, state and international levels. She also serves as the Chief Strategist for the Center to Champion Nursing in America at AARP, a national resource and technical assistance center created to ensure that America has the nurses it needs to care for all of us now and in the future. Dr. Reinhard is a nationally recognized expert in nursing and health policy, with extensive experience in translating research and developing coalitions to promote policy change.

Before coming to AARP in 2007, Dr. Reinhard served as a Professor and Co-Director of Rutgers Center for State Health Policy where she directed several national initiatives to work with states to help people with disabilities of all ages live in their homes and communities. She directed a national technical assistance center to assist 53 states and territories funded by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to re-design their long-term care systems. She also led a national effort to help states enroll more low-income older adults and people with disabilities in the Medicare Savings Programs.

In previous work, Dr. Reinhard served three governors as Deputy Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, where she led the development of health policies and programs that gained national prominence. She also co-founded the Institute for the Future of Aging Services in Washington, DC and served as its Executive Director of the Center for Medicare Education. Her research and policy expertise includes nursing and health care workforce development and regulation, family caregiving, consumer choice and control in health and supportive care, development of assisted living and other community-based care options, quality improvement in long-term care, state pharmaceutical policy, and medication safety.