Barbara is an associate director in NORC’s Health Care Programs department. Fernandez has over 25 years of experience in public health research, project and contract management, and business development. She brings a wealth of expertise in leading and managing interdisciplinary research teams and executing complex research studies. Barbara works with clients and study partners to define study objectives and methods; manage and monitor the performance of research projects; manage diverse teams of methodologists, statisticians, analysts, data collection staff, and subcontractors to implement projects according to contract requirements, budget, and methodological rigor; conduct quality assurance/control activities; and present results to clients and the research community. She ensures NORC completes tasks according to contract requirements, schedule, and budget, and anticipates and mitigates potential challenges. 

For the California Department of Aging, Barbara directed a mixed-mode evaluation to understand the allocation, use, and impact of program funds across eight programs that serve adults with disabilities and/or older adults to decrease social isolation, decrease the digital divide, and provide supportive services. Evaluation activities included in-depth content analyses, 200+ in-depth interviews with program managers, focus groups, English-focused communication web and phone surveys with program participants and caregivers, and reporting.

For the University of California, Merced, Barbara directed the Latino Health and Rural County Policy Contexts Survey, which aimed  to understand connections between mental health, health care access, and Border security and naturalization policies. This mixed-mode (web and phone), dual-frame (mail and prepaid cell phone) study leveraged Big Data classifiers to target rural Underserved populations in California and Arizona.  

For the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Barbara managed the Emergency Triage, Treat, and Transfer Implementation and Monitoring contract. This payment model provided flexibility to ambulance teams to address non-emergent health care needs of Medicare beneficiaries following a 911 call. NORC, the model team, and the measure development contractor developed a payment methodology that rewarded participants for improvement. 

Prior to joining NORC, Barbara served as an associate at Abt Associates, and before that as a senior research manager at ORC Macro (now ICF). Barbara led interdisciplinary projects teams for public health projects that focused on behavioral health and health insurance at the state and local level across the United States.