Donna-Marie Palakiko, Ph.D., APRN

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Biography

Dr. Palakiko is a Native Hawaiian mother, nurse, researcher, and health strategist. Prior to joining the Nancy Atmospera-Walch School of Nursing, Dr. Palakiko worked in partnership with Native Hawaiian communities to address concerns around access to health care through developing programs, services, and increasing the number of Native Hawaiian health professionals in the workforce. As a researcher, she was a founding partner for the PILI Ohana Partnership, a community-based participatory research which developed a lifestyle intervention for Hawaiian and Pacific Island peoples in Hawaii. She has more than 20 years of experience as a community health nurse, health strategist, health care administrator, and nurse researcher. Her passion is to serve indigenous communities locally and within the Pacific.

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