Speakers

Meet the innovation 2025 speakers

Keynote Speakers

Dr. Holly Graham

Dr. Holly Graham, Associate Professor, Indigenous Research Chair in Nursing, University of Saskatchewan (Plenary Address, April 29)

Dr. Holly Graham, RN, BA, BScN, MN, PhD, R.D. Psychologist, a member of the Thunderchild First Nation, was awarded an Indigenous Research Chair in Nursing in April 2020.

Entitled wahkohtowin, this research chair is focused on mentorship and reconciliation, with the goal of improving the health of Indigenous (First Nation, Métis, and Inuit) peoples. This is one of six such chairs awarded across Canada.

These Indigenous Research Chairs in Nursing will promote research in Indigenous Health Nursing, thus furthering the development of knowledge and best and wise practices in the area of nursing practice, education, research and administration.

In addition, the Chair supports research to understand social, economic and cultural determinants of health and Indigenous holistic health practices to improve the health of Indigenous Peoples, and mentors undergraduate and graduate student nurses.

Funding for the new University of Saskatchewan (USask) chair will total almost $1.05 million, with contributions of $666,500 from Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), $308,500 from the Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation (SHRF), $10,000 from the Canadian Nurses Foundation (CNF), and $60,000 from USask.

Dr. Azita Emami

Dean, Yale School of Nursing (Plenary Address, April 30)

Azita Emami, PhD, MSN, BSN, RN, FAAN, is the dean and Linda Koch Lorimer Professor of Nursing of the Yale School of Nursing, a position she has held since August, 2023. Dean Emami is an internationally-recognized leader in the field of nursing. Her academic leadership experience spans two countries and 25 years, including positions as executive dean of the University of Washington School of Nursing; dean of the College of Nursing at Seattle University; head of the Division of Nursing in the Department of Neurobiology Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet (Sweden); and academic leader in the Division of Elder Care in the Department of Nursing at the Karolinska Institutet. Dr. Emami continues an active research program that has resulted in more than 80 peer-reviewed publications spanning topics that include dementia, cross-cultural issues in nursing care, and optimal ways to educate nurses so they provide culturally-competent care. She is a champion of an emphasis on wellness across the lifespan, population health, and understanding and addressing the social determinants of health.

Dean Emami has led a national effort to identify and address issues of racism in both nursing education and healthcare. She initiated and oversaw a multi-year effort that resulted in creating the nation’s first Center for Antiracism. She is a powerful, visible advocate for equity of access to healthcare for all. In addition to her position on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Board of Trustees (since July 2022) she is also a Fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine; an elected member of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering; a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing; a trustee of Yale New Haven Hospital; an elected member of the Washington State Academy of Sciences; and a member of the board of the National Clinician Scholars Program and the American Academy of Nursing.

Dr. Emami earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the renowned Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, where she grew up after emigrating from Iran. She went on to gain a master’s degree in international healthcare from Karolinska Institutet and the Red Cross College of Nursing; a nursing education degree with a teaching certification, and a doctorate in medical sciences from Karolinska. She is a proud recipient of the University of Washington Women’s Center’s Women of Courage award.