Biography

Dr. Chater served as the Commissioner of the United States Social Security Administration from 1993-997 during the Clinton administration where she was responsible for 65,000 employees and a budget that exceeded 480 billion dollars. During her term of office she initiated a "putting customers first" strategy and redesigned selected business processes for more efficient and effective services. Based on an independent outside study, the Social Security Administration received the highest ranking of success for customer service when compared with ten other public and private companies. From 1986-1993 she served as President of Texas Woman's University with its main campus in Denton and health science campuses in Dallas and Houston. Major restructuring of colleges and departments led to increased enrollment and stable finances. The New York Times cited TWU for its participatory team management style. During her leadership a community health clinic for the underserved was created and managed by faculty of the School of Nursing in Denton. At the Houston Center, De Madras de Madras (from mother to mother) received national acclaim for the care given by Hispanic mothers to Hispanic pregnant women, supervised by nursing faculty. A special baccalaureate program for single mothers, offering campus housing, child-care and work study served as a model for other universities and is still in existence today. Dr. Chater also served for many years as a faculty member at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Nursing and at U.C. Berkeley in the School of Education. She held the positions of Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at UCSF from 1982-1987, the highest ranking woman in administration in the UC system at that time; and Associate Vice Chancellor for the preceding 4 years. She is a member of the American Academy of Nursing and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. She has also been elected to the Academy of Public Administration and the Academy of Social Insurance. In 2000, Dr. Chater was named a "Living Legend" by the American Academy of Nursing. Dr. Chater holds a diploma in nursing from the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, a bachelor of science degree in nursing from the University of Pennsylvania, and a master's degree in nursing from the University of California, San Francisco. She received her PhD in education from the University of California, Berkeley. In addition, she earned a certificate in management from the Alfred Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Chater is the recipient of thirteen honorary doctoral degrees from various colleges and universities, including her alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania. Other honors include distinguished alumna awards from the Hospital School of Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania, the School of Nursing of the University of Pennsylvania and the School of Nursing at the University of California, San Francisco. In 1997 she received the University Medal from the University of California San Francisco, the highest award given by the University. She was honored as a University of California Regents' Professor in 1997-1998. She also received the John P. McGovern, MD, Annual Award from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing in 1996 and the Sigma Theta Tau Honor Society Lucia S. Kelly Mentor Award in 1995. She has served on many boards, commissions and committees for the ANA, AAN and the NLN and was an advisor for 12 years to the Kellogg Foundation National Leadership Program. She was a co-director of the University of California, San Francisco John A. Hartford Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence from 1999 until 2005. Dr. Chater served as the Founding Chair of the National Advisory Committee for the Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellows Program, a position she held for fifteen years from 1997 to 2012 The Executive Nurse Fellows Program is an advanced leadership program for nurses in senior executive roles in health services, public health, and nursing education who aspire to help lead and shape the U.S. health care system of the future. In July, 2012, she was honored by the Convenient Care Association which presented her with the Loretta Ford Lifetime Achievement Award at the Fifth Annual Retail Clinician Educational Congress. She is also the recipient of the Diane F. Cooper Life Time Achievement Award from Nurse.com Nursing Excellence GEM Award, Gannett Healthcare Group on August 23, 2013 in Universal City, CA. As an independent lecturer and consultant, Dr. Chater works with universities, organizations, foundations and individuals on management and leadership development issues.