Barbara C. Lee, RN, PhD (born 1949) has directed the National Children's Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety, located in Marshfield, Wisconsin, since its formal establishment in 1997 (with federal funding from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health). The focus of Lee's professional career has been advocating for the safety of children who live, visit and work on farms in the U.S. She led the national initiative to develop an action plan for childhood agricultural injury prevention that was funded through the United States Congress
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Lee was instrumental in the 2007 formation of the Agricultural Safety and Health Council of America (ASHCA), a coalition of agribusinesses and farm organizations promoting occupational safety in agriculture, and served as its Administrative Director until 2016. Lee was first woman President (1995–1996) of the International Society for Agricultural Safety and Health, formerly known as National Institute for Farm Safety;
Biography
Barbara Christine Smith was born and raised in Fond du Lac, WI, one of Mary Lou and Donald Smith's seven children. Her father and brothers were general contractors for large builders and her mother's extended family were all dairy farmers.
In 1971 she received a BSN from the College of St. Teresa of Minnesota; in 1985 she received a MSN from the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire; in 1995 she received a PhD from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, School of Nursing.
From 1972 to 1985 she working in nursing, and was then an instructor at St. Joseph's Hospital School of Nursing, Marshfield, WI. In 1987 she became Assistant Director, National Farm Medicine Center, Marshfield Medical Research Foundation, and then its director from 2000 to 2012. Since then she has been Director of the National Children's Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety, and Senior Research Scientist, National Farm Medicine Center.