Donna-Marie Palakiko, PhD, RN, APRN

Donna-Marie Palakiko, PhD, RN, APRN, FAAN is a Native Hawaiian mother, health strategist, and community-based nurse scientist. She is the inaugural Director of Cultural Innovation and Strategy and first Native Hawaiian Nurse promoted with tenure to Associate Professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene. She has over 25 years of experience addressing social and cultural determinants of health among Indigenous communities through culturally safe health interventions and building a culturally mindful health workforce. Her current program of research addresses asthma inequities among Native Hawaiians and develops a culturally responsible workforce through innovative approaches. As Director of Cultural Innovation and Strategy, she leads the school’s initiative to embrace Hawaiian culture through truth, racial, healing, and transformation. This integrates indigenous ways of knowing with the structure of racial healing work. Her commitment to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion is further demonstrated through her service on boards including the American Public Health Association, National Coalition of Ethnic Minority Nurses Association, and Asian American Pacific Islander Nurses Association. Dr. Palakiko is a 2022 Fulbright Post-doctoral Fellow and a 2023 Fellow of LEADS and the UC Davis Betty Irene Moore Fellowship for Nurse Leaders and Innovators.