2021 Alaska Afterschool Champion: Barbara Pennington

Barbara has been a key source of reliable medical information on best practices to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in out-of-school time programs. She provided guidance on the Network’s Statewide Conference Calls by giving updates on prevention strategies, infection rates, vaccination efforts, and addressed providers’ questions and concerns. Barbara was instrumental in reopening programs in the summer and fall of 2020 and also worked very closely with school mitigation efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Barbara is the State of Alaska School Health Nurse Consultant and provides consultation and assistance regarding best practices for school nursing and health services statewide. She holds a master's degree in community health nursing and was a school nurse in the Anchorage School District for over 21 years. She offers a number of resources, guidelines, and trainings regarding school health and nursing services. She helps both public and private schools as well as providing resources for after-school programs. She is one of the HUB team members on the weekly school health echo.