A native of Rolling Fork, MS, Mr. Ward has 18 years of service at University of Mississippi Medical Center - 15 as a Nurse Anesthetist in the Department of Anesthesiology and 3 as a Registered Nurse in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit; both at UMC. He has practiced anesthesia in 27 hospitals in both Mississippi and Tennessee and has also travelled abroad to volunteer anesthesia services in Rwanda, Africa. Mr. Ward has been appointed by Governor Phil Bryant to the Mississippi Board of Nursing in both 2014 and 2018. Mr. Ward was elected President of the Board of Nursing after his 2nd year of service and functioned in that role from 2016-2017. With over 63,000 nurses licensed in Mississippi, the Board of Nursing regulates the largest group of professionals in the state. Mr. Ward also represents the UMC Department of Anesthesiology on both the Advanced Practice Provider Council and CRNA Council, and currently serves as chairman of the Board of Nursing Administrative Code Committee. Additionally, over the last 20 years, Mr. Ward has founded or managed nine Mississippi companies and has been named both one of the “Top 50 Under 40” business leaders in Mississippi and a “Healthcare Hero” by the Mississippi Business Journal. Aside from his medical and corporate interests, Blake has dedicated a significant amount of his time to nonprofits and philanthropy. In addition to several leadership roles in his hospital, neighborhood and church, he also created and organized fundraisers which have raised over $140,000 for fellow UMC employees battling cancer.