Gaurdia Banister, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, is the executive director of the Institute for Patient Care at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Banister has academic appointments at the Mass General Institute for Health Professions, the William F. Connell School of Nursing at Boston College, and the College of Nursing and Health Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Prior to her work at Mass General, Dr. Banister served as senior vice president for Patient Care Services and Chief Nurse at Providence Hospital, a metropolitan community hospital in Washington, DC.

Dr. Banister received the American Nurses Association Mary Eliza Mahoney Award and the Prism Award by the American Organization of the Nurse Executives for her outstanding achievements and leadership in promoting the integration, retention and advancement of minorities in nursing. She is also a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing, a former Johnson & Johnson Wharton nurse fellow and an alumna of the Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellows Program.

Dr. Banister earned her BSN from the University of Wyoming, where she received distinguished alumna awards from both the university and the Fay W. Whitney School of Nursing. She earned her MSN and PhD from the University of Texas at Austin, where she was also chosen as a distinguished alumna.