Staff Member

Tobie Barton brings deep expertise in managing public health programs, strategic planning, product development, maternal and child health, and injury prevention to her roles as the director of strategic priorities for the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention (Action Alliance) and as director of product development for the National Center on Health, Behavioral Health, and Safety (NCHBHS) at EDC.

In her role with the Action Alliance, which is the nation’s public-private partnership for suicide prevention, Barton guides Advisory Groups, task forces, and working groups composed of executive-level external partners to ensure measurable progress, strong partnerships, and meaningful policy and systems-level impact to advance the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention. Through these groups, the Action Alliance works to transform health systems to reduce suicide, improve data and research to support suicide prevention, strengthen behavioral health crisis response, and change the public conversation about suicide. 

With NCHBHS, Barton advances best practices for linking health and early childhood systems by developing evidence-based resources and workforce development tools for the Office of Head Start. She is passionate about building the capacity of organizations to improve the health of children and families.

In her previous work with EDC’s Center of Excellence on Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation and National Center on Early Childhood Health and Wellness, Barton led the design of multimedia products and provided technical assistance on topics such as home visiting, maternal depression, health and school readiness, active supervision, and child care health consultation. Barton has more than 20 years of experience working in public health areas such as child health and safety, STD/HIV prevention, substance use prevention and recovery, and sexual assault prevention and response. She is a skilled writer, curriculum designer, and program manager.

Barton received her undergraduate degree in political science and peace & conflict studies from Swarthmore College. She has a Certificate in Maternal and Child Health Public Health Leadership from the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an MA in Social Sciences from the University of Amsterdam, completed while on a Fulbright Fellowship.