M. Kathleen Murphy

Health Services Coordinator at Milwaukee Public Schools, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 

Ms. Murphy joined the school district in 2001 in order to help meet the challenge of bringing direct health services to an urban school district. She has been instrumental in improving the health staus of students through strong community collaborations and increasing the number of school nurses.  Prior to joining Milwaukee Public Schools, her nursing career focused on the needs of children, families and underserved communities in her practice as a Family Nurse Practitioner and Clinic Coordinator at Madison Street Outreach Clinic (now Walker’s Point Community Clinic) a nurse-managed free clinic for the homeless and uninsured. She has served communities both here and abroad with clinical skills and advocacy as a public health nurse, care coordinator, social worker and Peace Corps volunteer. In many of these roles, she has also served as clinical faculty and preceptor for undergraduate and graduate nursing students, medical students and residents.

She is a member of the board of directors for Prevent Blindness Wisconsin, Madre Angela Free Dental Clinic, National Association of School Nurses, Wisconsin Association of School Nurses and Diverse and Resilient. She serves on the steering committees of the Wisconsin Oral Health Coalition, Fight Asthma Milwaukee Allies and the Statewide Advisory Committee on Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Birth Outcomes.  She chairs the Milwaukee Immunization Task Force, is a member of the Greater Milwaukee Committee's Health Committee and serves on Prevent Blindness America's Program and Public Health Committee.

She is an outspoken advocate for the overall health needs of children and families and has been recognized for her efforts to improve the health of her community.

Awards include the Global Vision Community Outreach Award from the Wisconsin Health and Hospital Association (2001, 1999) as part of the Madre Angela and Madison Street Outreach Clinic collectives, and the 2007 Distinguished Alumnus Award from Moraine Park Technical College.