Dr. Cynthia Samuel

With more than 35 years in the field of nursing, Dr. Cynthia Samuel has turned her passion for child advocacy in the areas of physical and mental health, and her desire to revolutionize how nurses are seen and heard into a personal mission. As a health equity innovation strategist, Dr. Samuel is a voice for the voiceless, as she is committed to next-level change, in how the medical community serves children and supports nurses. Her distinctive ability to address racial and social injustice and how it impacts child poverty, food insecurity and disparities in healthcare with evidence-based solutions and state of the art research alone has drawn partnerships and support in her fight to change the trajectory of our children’s lives and insure equitable healthcare outcomes.  In the fight for diversity, equity, and inclusion Dr. Samuel addresses the multifactorial challenges that impact the nursing community, illuminating systemic inequities that result in burnout, lack of retention and diminished growth and effectiveness by collaborating with leaders both inside and outside the healthcare industry to create change through education practices, policy, mentorship, and research.

In addition to serving as a School Nurse in Northern New Jersey, Dr. Samuel is a Member of the Dean of School of Health and Medical Science Diversity Equity Inclusion and Social Justice Steering Committee at Seton Hall University, a Diversity Equity and Inclusion Task Force Member for the National Association of School Nurses, and Standards and Practice Co-Chair, Executive Board Member for the New Jersey State School Nurses Association, Inc., and newly elected Vice President of Education for the New Jersey State Nurses Association.