Dara Koppelman, MHSA, RN

Title: Executive Vice President of Health Services and Programs

Education: Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a minor in Spanish from University of Maryland; Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Johns Hopkins University; Master of Health Services Administration from Georgetown University

Language(s): English, Spanish

As Executive Vice President of Health Services and Programs at Mary’s Center, Dara oversees the nursing, behavioral health, programs/social services, and quality and research departments. She has been dedicated to Mary’s Center’s work since 2012, when she started as a Nurse Manager and later worked as Chief Nursing Officer.

Dara began her professional and nursing journey in labor and delivery and then as a Public Health Nurse performing home visits in the Prenatal and Early Childhood program at a local health department. She later obtained her master’s in health systems administration from Georgetown University. She has also worked as an adjunct faculty at the Georgetown University School of Nursing, teaching the public health nursing course and clinical, and sits on the Advisory Board for the Platform of Hope.

In her time at Mary’s Center, she is proud to have contributed to the development of Briya Public Charter School’s Medical Assistant training program, the planning and opening of two new health centers and an in-house pharmacy, the implementation of Mary’s Center’s facilitated telemedicine program, and co-founding Mary’s Center’s Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Awareness (IDEA) committee. She is an advocate for staff development, growing her teams in both size and quality.

Dara firmly believes that access to quality health care is a human right. She has devoted her career to ensuring that people can achieve that right at Mary’s Center and beyond. In her personal life, Dara is an animal-lover, and enjoys traveling and exploring the outdoors with her family (including her beloved dog) and friends.