Stephanie D. Barnes, JD, PhD, has over 20 years of experience providing business counsel and legal advice regarding the healthcare regulatory landscape, legal and business risks and opportunities for healthcare companies, and helping business leaders and researchers craft innovative solutions for healthcare delivery.

Her diverse career began at an international law firm and has spanned to serving as a general counsel of a health system and in-house counsel at a medical school. She has expertise in digital health and telemedicine, SaaS, contracting, Fraud & Abuse, corporate practice of medicine, and healthcare reimbursement. She also provides counsel on corporate and transactional matters including business formation, business development, corporate governance, and strategy advice regarding business models, financing, and healthcare transactions. Stephanie represents digital health companies and healthcare startups, including women’s health companies.

Dr. Barnes earned her B.A. summa cum laude in English from Tougaloo College in 1994. In 1997 she received her J.D. from Harvard Law School. She received her doctorate in Organizational Leadership from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology in 2016. She is admitted to practice law in Georgia, Mississippi, and Texas. Dr. Barnes is certified as a professional coach by Coaches Training Alliance. She was elected to serve as the Chair of the Health Law Section of the National Bar Association in 2023.

Dr. Barnes is also an internationally acclaimed speaker and an award-winning author on leadership, gender equality, women’s rights, and using digital health to close the gap in health equity and access. She is an advocate for black maternal health and using digital health to provide solutions for women’s health. She has been featured in the Harvard Business Review, Personal Excellence Magazine, and the Huffington Post, as well as gracing the TEDx stage to deliver a talk titled, “What’s in a Name? How Leadership Discourse Perpetuates Gender Bias.” She makes her home in Atlanta.