J Taylor Harden, PhD, RN, FAAN is leading the Building Academic Geriatric Nursing Capacity initiative and advancing policy efforts to improve the health and nursing care for elders on behalf of the American Academy of Nursing.  Prior to her joining the BAGNC Coordinating Center, she had been the Assistant to the Director for Special Populations at the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health.

Dr. Harden is nationally recognized as a leader in gerontological nursing. Her career accomplishments are many and include extensive research activities and grant awards as well as numerous distinguished presentations, written articles, commentaries, and book chapters. Prior to joining the National Institutes of Health in 1994, Dr. Harden taught undergraduate and graduate courses nationwide. Dr. Harden is a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing and an Elected Fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine and the Gerontological Society of America. She earned the NIH Merit Award for Women in Biomedical Research Careers from the NIH and is a Distinguished Alumnae of the University of Texas at Austin.