Barbara J. Zabawa, JD, MPH is an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Law, where she teaches Health Law I and II, Contract Law, and Legal Rights in Health and Wellness. She also serves as President of Wellness Law, LLC, a health and wellness law consultancy she founded in 2014.
Professor Zabawa’s scholarship spans the intersection of health law, wellness regulation, and emerging technology. She is the author of Rule the Rules of Workplace Wellness Programs (American Bar Association, 2d ed. 2021), co-author of Law for Fitness Managers and Exercise Professionals (2021), and author of The Tug: Finding Purpose and Joy through Entrepreneurship (Henschel Haus Publishing, 2021). Her peer-reviewed and professional publications address topics including defining the field of wellness law, corporatization of health care, insurance regulation, and the legal rights of health and wellness providers. Her current research focuses on the legal and ethical obligations of licensed and unlicensed health professionals when using artificial intelligence. In October 2025, she organized the inaugural Wellness Law Symposium at UMKC School of Law.
Professor Zabawa holds a J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School and an M.P.H. from the University of Michigan School of Public Health.