The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), the nation’s largest philanthropy dedicated to improving health and health equity, has elected two nurse leaders to its Board of Trustees to provide vital leadership in the Foundation’s pursuit of a Culture of Health; one has ties to the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action, an initiative of AARP Foundation, AARP and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Jing Wang, PhD, MPH, RN, FAAN, dean of the College of Nursing at Florida State University, is president of the Asian American/Pacific Islander Nurses Association and serves on the Campaign for Action’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Steering Committee, which supports the Campaign in its effort to help prepare the field to care for an increasingly diverse population.

Wang is a nationally recognized leader on health equity and digital health, which uses computing platforms, connected devices, software and sensors for healthcare and related uses. In addition, she serves on the board of the National Coalition of Ethnic Minority Nurses Association. She is in the National Institute of Nursing Research Council Working Group on Diversity, and a National Academy of Medicine Emerging Leader in Health and Medicine.

On the health policy front, as a Health and Aging Policy Fellow and American Political Science Association Congressional Fellow, Wang worked a Senior Scientific Advisor to Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), and a senior policy advisor at Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC).

Wang earned her Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing, Master of Science in Nursing, Multidisciplinary Master in Public Health, and Graduate Certificate in Clinical and Translational Science from the University of Pittsburgh. She received her undergraduate degree at Jiangxi Medical College in Nanchang, Jiangxi, P.R. China.

“As a previous RWJF Nurse Faculty Scholar in 2013, the (RWJ) Foundation has played an instrumental role in my career and leadership development,” Wang said in a RWJF press release announcing the appointments. “It’s truly an honor and privilege to serve RWJF as a Trustee, and I look forward to working with RWJF in this pivotal time to advance a Culture of Health for all, where every individual in America has a fair and just opportunity for health and wellbeing.”

The second nurse joining the RWJF Board is Azita Emami, PhD, MSN, BSN, RN, FAAN, who serves as The Robert G. and Jean A. Reid Executive Dean of Nursing at the University of Washington (UW) School of Nursing. The RWJF press release states: “In this role, (Emami) emphasizes the increasingly global nature of nursing and the importance of educating nurses to deliver care in a wide variety of culturally and economically diverse settings. Under her leadership, the UW School of Nursing announced in February 2021 that it was launching the Center for Antiracism in Nursing. The first of its kind in the nation, the Center will tackle racism in healthcare from classroom to research to the doctor’s office.”

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 and the Red Cross College of Nursing; a nursing education degree with a teaching certification, and a doctorate in medical sciences from Karolinska. Her research has resulted in more than 70 publications in peer reviewed journals nationally and internationally on cross cultural care, elder care, the development of cultural competence, and specific diseases and conditions.

“I’m deeply honored to join the board of RWJF at this historic time when the philanthropic sector is recognizing its critical role in advancing the work of racial equity and healing across this nation,” said Emami in the press release. “I’m excited to support its efforts to change the way we as a nation view healthcare and to place an emphasis on how historical social and racial dynamics drive determinants of health and well-being today.”

The Campaign extends its congratulations to Wang and Emami.