Dr. Natalie Schwatka has worked for over a decade to understand how to protect workers from physical harm and to promote their health and well-being - called the Total Worker Heath® (TWH) approach. Her primary research is on how the working environment – business strategies, leadership practices, and organizational climate/culture – can be used to protect and promote workers’ health, safety, and well-being. She has extensive experience with the design and evaluation of leadership-based interventions to accomplish this. She also supports new TWH researchers in her work to direct the TWH Pilot Project Program within the Center for Health, Work & Environment's TWH Center of Excellence.

She is the Director of the NIOSH Mountain and Plains Education and Research Center (MAP ERC) Certificate in TWH program, which provides scholarships for students seeking careers in TWH. Within this program, she teaches students how to protect workers' physical and mental health on the job. She is committed to developing the subject matter expertise of students while also giving them the opportunity to apply knowledge before they graduate.

Finally, she is passionate about assisting national and federal entities on the TWH approach and organizational leadership and culture.