Leo-Felix M. Jurado, PhD, RN, APN, NE-BC, CNE, ANEF, FAAN

Biography

Dr. Jurado is a passionate educator, a versatile leader, and a thoughtful mentor. He has held prominent positions in several professional organizations and educational institutions. He served as president of the New Jersey Board of Nursing; a past president of the Philippine Nurses Association of New Jersey; and a past president of the Philippine Nurses Association of America (PNAA), where he established a peer-reviewed journal, created a forum for advanced-practice nurses and founded a village in the Philippines providing homes for the impoverished. He previously served as the PNAA Executive Director, Editor of the Journal of Nursing Practice Applications and Reviews of Research and currently the PNAA Parliamentarian. He has received multiple awards in nursing education, leadership, mentorship, and community service. In December 2024, he was honored with the distinguished presidential award from the President of the Republic of the Philippines for his exemplary advocacy for the nursing profession and for his remarkable achievements and contributions as a nurse, educator, and leader.

Dr. Jurado has been in Higher Education for almost four decades. Prior to his position at DeSales, he served as the Founding Dean and Professor for the College of Health Professions at Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania. He is a professor emeritus at William Paterson University of New Jersey where he worked as the Chairperson for the Nursing department. His research agenda includes the social construction of foreign-educated nurses and men in nursing. He has spoken at local, regional, national, and global conferences regarding his program of research and other topics germane to healthcare, nursing education, leadership, and diversity.

He is a certified Advanced Practice Nurse, Nurse Executive, Nurse Educator, and a Distance Educator. Dr. Jurado is a Fellow of the Academy of Nursing Education and the American Academy of Nursing.