Natalia Barolín

Natalia Barolín, BA, BSN, RN, is the senior health policy advisor at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing.  She leads the school’s initiatives to build the capacity and elevate the expertise of nurses in advocacy and policy. Natalia also supports the school’s advocacy efforts in shifting health care and policy toward one that acknowledges the intersections of physical, mental and social health and well-being. 

Natalia began her nursing career in a federally qualified health center serving a primarily Latino immigrant population in Washington, DC, and later worked in oncology care navigation with the Lombardi Cancer Center at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital before joining the CMS Innovation Center (CMMI) in 2019. At CMMI, Natalia led the Accountable Health Communities Model, the first large-scale national model to test the integration of social needs screening with clinical care. Prior to becoming an RN, Natalia was a project director in strategic and policy communications, providing support and technical assistance to a range of government and nonprofit clients, including the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Institute of Medicine, the FDA Tobacco Regulatory Science Fellowship, and the Office of Training and Diversity in the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Natalia received her nursing degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing and has a bachelor’s degree in Latin American and Women’s Studies from the University of Richmond. Natalia’s family is originally from Uruguay, and she speaks Spanish fluently. Natalia’s experience helping her family navigate the US health system shaped her passion for social and health justice.