Wakefield is the new administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration for the Obama administration. An expert on rural health issues, Wakefield, 54, was most recently director of the Center for Rural Health at the University of North Dakota. Trained as a nurse, Wakefield has a master's degree and a Ph.D. in nursing from the University of Texas. She was previously director of the Center for Health Policy Research and Ethics at George Mason University, Fairfax, Va.