Kenya V. Beard, EdD, AGACNP-BC, ANEF, FADLN, FAAN, is the inaugural Dean and Chief Nursing Officer at Mercy University’s School of Nursing and former chair of the New York State Board of Nursing. A visionary thought leader, Dr. Beard has dedicated her career to advancing the nursing profession’s commitment to social justice and building inclusive systems where nurses, and the communities they serve, can thrive. She is guided by the conviction that everyone deserves access to high-quality health care and that a racially and ethnically diverse workforce is essential to improving health outcomes for all.

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Throughout her career, Dr. Beard has catalyzed structural change across academic and policy arenas. As a 2012 Macy Faculty Scholar, she helped shape national discourse on the barriers to inclusive learning environments. She contributed to the National League for Nursing’s 2016 Vision Statement, Achieving Diversity and Meaningful Inclusion in Nursing Education and co-created the Josiah Macy Foundation’s 2018 report Improving the Environment for Learning in the Health Professions, which remains a cornerstone of cultivating inclusive academic environments.

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Dr. Beard’s impact extends beyond academia. She served as a Senior Fellow at the Center for Health Policy and Media Engagement and co-produced healthcare disparity segments on WBAI-FM, reaching more than 400,000 listeners. She serves on the board of Public Health Solutions, the largest non-governmental public health organization in the U.S., and on the editorial board of the American Journal of Nursing. At the Harvard Macy Institute, she teaches transformational leadership and negotiation, equipping healthcare leaders with the skills to lead systemic reform.

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As a scholar and policy influencer, Dr. Beard has shaped several national frameworks. Her publications, cited extensively in the literature, have become foundational to equity-centered reforms in higher education. She served on the planning committee for a National Academy of Medicine workshop, reviewed the Future of Nursing 2020–2030 report, and co-authored the groundbreaking report Racism in Nursing as a Commissioner for the National Commission to Address Racism in Nursing. Her leadership in advancing racial equity in nursing led to her being featured in Everybody’s Work: Healing What Hurts Us All, a landmark documentary that confronts the enduring harms of racism and showcases how nurses are driving transformative change nationwide.

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A true innovator, Dr. Beard co-founded the National Black Nurses Association’s Academy of Diversity Leaders in Nursing, a national organization amplifying equity-driven leadership. At Mercy University, she launched the Health Equity Influencer Program, an ecosystem of bold initiatives that broaden the platform of nurse educators, students, and clinicians to lead equity efforts across academic, clinical, and community settings.

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Dr. Beard is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, the Academy of Nursing Education, the Academy of Diversity Leaders in Nursing, and the New York Academy of Medicine. Her many honors include the most recent 2025 Distinguished Alumni Award from Stony Brook University School of Nursing. Dr. Beard earned her AAS at Philips Beth Israel School of Nursing, BSN at Excelsior College, MS at Stony Brook University, and EdD from Dowling College.