Teresa (Tess) Judge-Ellis has been in nursing over 30 years and has been a nurse practitioner for over 20 years. She is dually board certified in family practice and psychiatry-mental health. She is a nurse educator with a strong practice background in integrated care combining primary care and psychiatry in both rural settings and with people with serious mental illness and substance use disorders in community-based locations with individuals experiencing chronic homelessness or housing transitions.  Dr. Judge-Ellis enjoys working with others and identifying and bridging gaps that exist in the current system of fragmented care for people with serious mental illness, substance use disorder, medical illness, and insecure housing. She is a strong voice for health care reform in this population to meet the quadruple aim: lower cost, excellent outcomes, high patient satisfaction, and fulfillment in the work-life of health care providers.

Dr. Judge-Ellis has been on the faculty at the College of Nursing since 1999. From 1999-2011 she served as the Family Nurse Practitioner program coordinator. She began her nursing career as an Army nurse and practiced for over 13 years as an integrated primary care/psychiatry NP. Her current practices are through the College of Nursing Faculty Practice in partnership with local community non-profits on site at Cross Park Place and the 501 project, initiatives of Shelter House, and with Chatham Oaks, a residential care facility for people with serious mental illness in transition after exacerbation of their illness.

In 2005, Dr. Judge-Ellis was awarded the Friends of Iowa Civil Rights, Inc. Individual Award and the Catalyst Award from the University of Iowa Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity in recognition for her leadership efforts towards developing cultural competence and the elimination of health disparity. In 2013, Dr. Judge-Ellis was inducted as a Fellow in the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. She was awarded the American Psychiatric Nurses Association Excellence in Leadership-Advanced Practice Registered Nurse in 2018, the American Association of Nurse Practitioner State Award for Excellence in 2019 and the Benter Award for Organizational Leadership from the Iowa Chapter American Psychiatric Nurses Association in 2021.

Dr. Judge-Ellis received a master’s degree in nursing from Pacific Lutheran University (Family Nurse Practitioner) in 1996 and completed her Doctor of Nursing Practice (with a post-grad Psych-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner emphasis) from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in May 2008. In 2022 she finished a two-year fellowship as a VA Quality Scholar with a focus on homeless veterans.

Dr. Judge-Ellis has served as President-elect, President and Past President for the Iowa Nurse Practitioner Society (INPS). She was a leader in the formation of a state NP policy and legislative committee that coordinates legislative efforts and employs a lobbyist on behalf of Iowa NPs. Dr. Judge-Ellis served as a board member for the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties and has attended national leadership conferences through both the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, the American College of Nurse Practitioners and the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties. Dr. Judge-Ellis is an associate lecturer for Fitzgerald Health Education Associates, Inc. She is also co-host of Friends of Flo, a podcast that serves as a "touchstone for nurses across the practice continuum to share stories, exchange ideas, learn, and support one another."

Tess lives in Iowa City with her husband, son and two cats. She enjoys spending time with family and friends doing whatever happens to be on the agenda. She is a Lay Carmelite and a member of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Lay Carmelite Community in Iowa City.

Curriculum Vitae