Diane K. Kjervik, J.D., R.N., F.A.A.N., is Professor and Chair (Health Care Environments Division) in the School of Nursing at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill. She received a B.S. in Nursing from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, an M.S. in Psychiatric Nursing from the University of California at San Francisco, and a J.D. from William Mitchell College of Law, St. Paul, Minnesota. She recently served as Director of the Carolina Women's Center and as President of The American Association of Nurse Attorneys (TAANA). She is also member of numerous organizations such as the American Bar Association and the American Nurses Association. In both 2004 and 1998, she received the TAANA Outstanding Advocate Award. And in 2006 she received the prestigious Mary Turner Lane Award from the Association of Women Faculty and Professionals at UNC-Chapel Hill for her work on behalf of women. She is a peer reviewer for many journals and has reviewed grants for federal agencies including the National Library of Medicine, the Bureau of Health Professions in Rockville, Maryland, and the Advisory Council for the National Center for Nursing Research at NIH. She also served as Chair of the Committee on Standards for Legal Content in Nursing Education of TAANA, and as Director of Governmental Relations and Associate Director of Research for the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. Prof. Kjervik is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Nursing Law, the author of numerous articles, chapters, and books, and a frequent speaker on topics dealing with the legal rights and ethical responsibilities of health professionals.