John Nance

John J. Nance, a native Texan who grew up in Dallas, holds a Bachelor's Degree from SMU and a Juris Doctor from SMU School of Law, and is a licensed attorney in Texas. Named Distinguished Alumni of SMU for 2002, he is also a decorated Air Force pilot veteran of Vietnam and Operations Desert Storm/Desert Shield, and a Lt. Colonel in the USAF Reserve. Nance is well-known for his involvement in Air Force human factors flight safety education, and as one of the civilian pioneers of Crew Resource Management (CRM). He has piloted a wide variety of jet aircraft, including most of Boeing's line and the Air Force C-141, and has logged over 15,000 hours of flight time in his commercial airline and Air Force careers. He served as a Boeing 737 Captain for Alaska Airlines and a flight officer for Braniff International Airlines. Nance is an internationally recognized air safety analyst and advocate, best known to North American television audiences as Aviation Analyst for ABC World News and Aviation Editor for Good Morning America.

Nance has made numerous appearances on national shows such as Larry King Live, PBS Hour with Jim Lehrer, Oprah, NPR, Nova, the Today Show, and many others. His editorials have been published in newspapers nationwide, including the Los Angeles Times and USA Today. He has long been listed in Who's Who in America, Who's Who in American Law, and Who's Who Among Emerging Leaders in America.

He has authored 22 major books, including "Why Hospitals Should Fly," which won the James A. Hamilton ACHE Book of the Year in 2009, and its sequel, "Charting the Course," co-authored with Kathleen Bartholomew. His novels "Pandora's Clock" and "Medusa's Child" were adapted into successful television mini-series.

Nance is one of America's most dynamic professional speakers, presenting on topics such as teamwork, risk management, motivation, coping with competition, and healthcare reform. He and Kathleen Bartholomew (co-author and healthcare expert) deliver vital programs on Quality and Patient Safety to hospital boards, physicians, and hospital management nationally and internationally. He is a pioneering advocate of applying the lessons from aviation safety to revolutionize patient safety and performance in healthcare.

Nance is a founding board member and on the executive committee of the National Patient Safety Foundation. He resides in Friday Harbor, Washington and continues to be a key thought leader in American Healthcare, focusing on patient safety and healthcare reform. His work emphasizes the importance of transforming healthcare into a system that prioritizes patient safety and team collaboration, advocating for significant cultural and clinical changes within healthcare institutions to improve overall outcomes and patient safety.