Paula M. Neira, JD, MSN, RN, CEN, FAAN

Neira – whose session at Leadership Summit is titled “Ask. Listen. Learn. Lead” – received multiple decorations for service in the Navy before becoming a nurse. In her current role as the Johns Hopkins Medicine Program Director of LGBTQ+ Equity and Education in the Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Health Equity, she lectures nationally on the need for improved transgender cultural awareness and health equity. In 2020, she was inducted as a fellow into the American Academy of Nursing in recognition of her leadership in advancing diversity and inclusion both in the United States Armed Forces and in healthcare. She is also the first United States service academy graduate to achieve this honor in American nursing.