Kaye Bender served as President and CEO of the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) 

from which she retired in 2019. Prior to joining PHAB, she worked in both local and state public health practice in the Mississippi State Department of Health, including serving 12 years as Deputy State Health Officer. 

Dr. Bender served as Dean of the University of Mississippi Medical School of Nursing in Jackson, Mississippi, for six years. She chaired the Exploring Accreditation Steering Committee, the precursor study for the establishment of the Public Health Accreditation Board, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She has served on three Institute of Medicine (IOM) study committees related to public health, and was recently appointed to an IOM standing committee on credentialing research in nursing.

Dr. Bender also serves on the National Board of Public Health Examiners; a National Academies of Medicine Work Group on CHNA/CHIP; is active in the American Public Health Association; and is a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing. She is credited with numerous publications and presentations related to governmental public health infrastructure improvement.​