Barbara Holt
Senior Policy Analyst

Barbara Holt, a senior policy analyst at The Hilltop Institute, is responsible for providing policy analysis and analytical support for long-term services and supports initiatives in Maryland and other states.

Before joining Hilltop, Dr. Holt was a scientific program manager for the Department of Veterans Affairs. As such, she led the Health Services Research and Development (HSR&D) portfolio on Access, Rural Health, Telemedicine, and Disparities. She identified and addressed needs in the assigned portfolio area, including innovative approaches to resolving issues; guided researchers' selected topics; evaluated merit review projects recommended for funding; and represented HSR&D in communications and meetings with senior management within and outside Virginia, non-government experts, and the public, serving as liaison to other federal agencies and internal Virginia committees.

Dr. Holt has served as project director for Head Start Knowledge and Information Management Services; special projects for the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Disease (NIDDK); and a pilot study of dispute resolution between the nursing home industry and state survey agencies. She has conducted deep research involving multi-state survey and data analysis of the Multiple Data Set and conceptualized and designed a community education program on HIV/AIDS issues for older persons. Dr. Holt was also the associate director of the Center on Aging at West Virginia University School of Medicine and director of long-term care services at the Alabama Commission on Aging.

Dr. Holt is the author of a text book—The Practice of Generalist Case Management—and several journal articles, most recently including “Aging Policy for a Diverse Population” in the Journal of Health and Human Services Administration, “The Aging Student in Higher Education” in the American Association of Behavioral and Social Sciences Perspectives Journal, and “Factors Affecting Nursing Home Placement of Community-Served Individuals” in the International Journal of Public Administration.    

Dr. Holt earned her Ph.D. in public administration and public policy from Auburn University, her M.S.W. from the University of Alabama, and her M.Ed. and B.S. from Auburn University.