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School of Nursing

 

Ashley Darcy-Mahoney

Ashley Darcey-Mahoney headshot

Ashley Darcy-Mahoney

Ph.D., NNP, FAAN, ANEF

Professor (Tenured)

Contact:

Office Phone: 954-263-2928
LinkedIn X
Foggy Bottom Campus Washington DC 20006

Ashley Darcy-Mahoney, Ph.D., NNP, FAAN, is a dedicated neonatal nurse practitioner, researcher, and educator. Throughout her career, she has been at the forefront of advancing nursing research, education, and practice, with a specific focus on neonatology, infant health, and developmental pediatrics. Her unwavering commitment to improving the lives of at-risk and preterm infants has led to the development of groundbreaking programs that enhance their health and developmental outcomes.

Currently holding the position of professor of nursing and senior associate dean for faculty affairs, Dr. Darcy-Mahoney is actively pushing the boundaries of research in infant health and developmental outcomes for high-risk infants. Her primary focus lies in understanding the early brain and developmental trajectories of this vulnerable population. Her program of research aims to enhance early childhood outcomes, particularly through language interventions to promote future literacy and cognitive development. She played a key role in the conceptualization and launch of "Talk With Me Baby" and "Háblame Bebé" programs, which utilize nurses to empower parents with knowledge about the critical role of early language exposure in predicting academic success. These collaborative initiatives utilize the nursing workforce to educate parents on the critical importance of early communication and engagement with their infants.

Háblame Bebé" is a groundbreaking childhood language development app designed for bilingual parents, primarily Spanish speakers, aiming to foster meaningful interactions with their children.

In 2020, Dr. Darcy-Mahoney served as the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) Distinguished Nurse Scholar-in-Residence, where she played a vital role in the development of the Future of Nursing 2020-2030: Charting a Path to Achieve Health Equity. The Scholar-in-Residence program ensures the inclusion of nursing perspectives in national health policy discussions, aligning with NAM's mission to provide evidence-based solutions and shape policies to address social determinants of health and promote public health.

Dr. Darcy-Mahoney's exceptional contributions to the field have been recognized through various accolades and grants. She was a Robert Wood Johnson (RWJ) Nurse Faculty Scholar in 2014 and earned fellowship in the American Academy of Nurses in 2015. She has the distinction of being a 2017 Josiah Macy Scholar and was recognized as a rising star by Modern Healthcare in 2018. Furthermore, she has received esteemed awards, including the 2014 March of Dimes Nurse of the Year, the Florida Association of Neonatal Nurses President's Award, and the Lillian Sholtis Brunner Award for Innovation from her alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania.

  • The University of Pennsylvania – PhD in Nursing (2010)
  • The University of Pennsylvania – Master of Science in Nursing in the field of Neonatal Nurse Practitioner (2008)
  • Georgetown University – Bachelor of Science in Nursing (2006)
    • Certificate in International Health

Selected Publications

  • Darcy-Mahoney, A., Velasquez, A., Brito, N., & Baralt, M. (2026). Leveraging health technology to support early bilingual development: Insights from neonatal clinicians. Advances in Neonatal Care, 26(3), 267–274. https://doi.org/10.1097/ANC.0000000000001352
  • Darcy-Mahoney, A. E., Choma, E. G., & Wu, W. (2026). Integrating open educational resources and accessibility-first course design in a pediatric nursing course: An educational innovation. Teaching and Learning in Nursing. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.teln.2026.03.009
  • Darcy Mahoney, A., Lin, W.-C., Amadi, N., Thota, A., Rincon-Gonzalez, L., Myland, C., Dargam, V., Leon, V., Jung, R., & Baralt, M. (2026). Neural recruitment of inhibitory control in executive function among monolingual and bilingual preterm-born children: An fNIRS study. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728926101370.
  • Darcy Mahoney, A., & Parker, M. (2024). Harnessing School Nurse and School Counselor Collaborations. Nurse Educator 49(2):101
  • Yang, Y., & Darcy Mahoney, A. (2023). Redefining nursing: advancing health equity in the post-pandemic world. Lancet; 4011545
  • Hassmiller & Darcy Mahoney, A. (2022). Leveraging the Resources of Foundations to Advance Health Equity. Nursing Outlook, 70 (6 Suppl 1): S59-S65. doi: 10.1016/j.outlook.2022.05.012.
  • Darcy Mahoney, A., Chin, Le Menestral (2022). Supporting Nursing’s Critical Role in Advancing Pediatric Health Equity. JAMA Pediatrics; 176 (4): 342-344. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2021.5786
  • Darcy Mahoney, A., Brito N, Baralt M, Buerlein J, Patel S, Lu M. (2021) Innovating Maternal and Child Health: Incentive Prizes to Improve Early Childhood Development. Matern Child Health J. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34398407.
  • Darcy Mahoney, A., White, R., Velasquez, A., Barrett, T., Clark, R., Ahmad, K. (2020) Impact of restrictions on parental presence in neonatal intensive care units related to coronavirus disease 2019. Journal of Perinatology 40: 36–46.
  • Darcy Mahoney, A., Carter, B., Green, K., Mullan, F., Beard, K., (2020). Looking backwards to move forward: Using a social mission lens in nursing education. Journal of Professional Nursing
  • Baralt, M., Darcy Mahoney, A., Brito, N. (2020). Háblame Bebé: A phone application intervention to support Hispanic children’s early language environments and bilingualism. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, Volume: 36, issue: 1, page(s): 33-57.
  • Darcy Mahoney, A., McConnell, Larson, A., Becklenberg, A., Stapel-Wax, J. (2019). Where do We Go from Here? Examining Pediatric and Population-Level Interventions to improve child language outcomes. Early Childhood Research Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2019.01.009

 

Books:

  • Hassmiller, S., Darcy Mahoney, A., & Beard, K. (2023). The Future of Nursing 2020-2030: Global Applications to
    Advance Health Equity. Springer. ISBN .978-3-031-29746-5

     

 View the Full List of Ashley Darcy-Mahoney's Publications

  • Sigma International Nurse Hall of Fame (2026)
  • Fellow of the National League for Nursing Academy of Nursing Education (2025)
  • National Academy of Medicine Nurse Scholar-In-Residence (2020)
  • Josiah Macy Scholar (2017)
  • Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (2015)
  • Lillian Sholtis Brunner Award for Innovation - University of Pennsylvania (2015)
  • Top 25 Pediatric Nursing Professors, as named by nursepractitionerschools.com (2014)
  • March of Dimes Nurse of the Year (2013)
  • President’s Award - Florida Association of Neonatal Nurses (2013)

RNs Beyond the Beltway: Driving Up ABSN Enrollment and Clinical Training in Long-term and Acute Care in Rural Areas of Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia


HRSA | NEPQR–WEP Nursing Workforce Grant


PI: Darcy Mahoney  


Dates of Award: 10/1/2025 – 9/20/2029


This project expands and strengthens the nursing workforce by increasing BSN enrollment and preparing practice-ready nurses to serve rural and underserved communities through enhanced recruitment, retention, simulation, and rural clinical partnerships.

Hablame Bebe: Improving health information access for low-income Hispanic children's early language environments

NIH | National Library of Medicine 1G08LM013183-01

PI: Darcy Mahoney

Dates of Award: 8/1/2019 – 4/30/2023

The proposed project seeks develop, disseminate, and evaluate health information pertaining to early developmental milestones and language environments for low- income Hispanic families using Hablame Bebe application. We have partnered with a health sciences librarian as well as the Mia mi- Dade County Public Library System, and together, will do this by: (Aim 1) improving the deliverability, usability, and understandability of early child development information to low-SES Hispanic families; (Aim 2) developing additional educational content targeting low health literacy and cultural representation; and (Aim 3) assessing the effectiveness of the Háblame Bebé phone app using quantitative and qualitative analyses.

Guiding dissemination and implementation of the Future of Nursing: 2020- 2030

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Darcy Mahoney (PI)

Dates of Award: 3/1/22-6/30/25

Funding Amount: $340,000

Social Mission and the Culture of Health: Nursing Schools Educating for Health Equity


Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Pittman, & Darcy Mahoney (Co-PI)

Dates of Award: 9/14/2019-9/13/2021

Funding Amount: $290,782

In today’s increasingly commercial and diverse world, the social mission of nursing may not be as clear as it once was and it is certainly different than medicine or other health professions. This study will work to define Further discussions and potential initiatives to advance social mission within nursing education really call for a better understanding of the social mission of nursing schools in the context of current educational possibilities and realities.

  • Autism
  • Childhood Development
  • Infant Health
  • Neonatal
  • Pediatrics
  • Maternal / Child Health