Marilyn Gardner is a Public Health Nurse (PHN), writer, curriculum developer and trainer specializing in education for community health workers (CHWs) and cultural competency. Ms. Gardner’s decades of international and domestic experience with diverse populations includes refugees and first nations with work and residence spanning Pakistan, India, Egypt, Haiti, Iraq, the Dominican Republic and Mexico as well as extensive travel throughout the Middle East and Asia. Marilyn has given humanitarian aid, disaster relief nursing and healthcare consultation in refugee camps in Pakistan, Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan. As well, she taught at the University of Raparin in the Kurdish Region of Northern Iraq. Marilyn is the author of Worlds Apart: A Third Culture Kid’s Journey and Between Worlds, Essays on Culture and Belonging. She is a cultural philosopher and blogger and serves on the board of Asian Women for Health.

As the Director of Clinical/Community Linkages at the Center for Health Impact, the Program Manager for the Women’s Health Network at Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the Program Manager for Cultural Competency and Minority Health at the VNA Care Network and as a private consultant, Ms. Gardner has developed numerous curricula, training thousands of healthcare workers, patient navigators and community health workers in core competencies, chronic disease, mental health, women’s health, cultural fluency, population-specific care and numerous other topics. With a colleague, Marilyn developed the first hybrid CHW core competency course in Massachusetts consisting of 12 online modules with 24 hours of virtual or in-person training. This program has been adapted for use in Washington, Idaho, Nebraska and Ohio. From clinical oversight to educational programs and quality improvement, as a PHN for the State of Arizona, Marilyn managed the Case Management of the Well Woman HealthCheck under the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, serving over 8000 clients annually.

Marilyn Gardner is certified as a Master Trainer for Chronic Disease and Diabetes Self-Management through Stanford University. She holds a Nursing degree from West Suburban College of Nursing and a Graduate Certificate in Health and Human Service Management from Suffolk University.