Deborah Washington, RN, MS

My interview with Deborah Washington started provocatively when she expressed concern over the increasing dearth of nurse leaders. “It takes my breath away. Who are our role models? What happened to the days when we liked and wanted to emulate our leaders' values?”It is my sincere pleasure to introduce Deborah Washington, director of diversity for patient care services at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), to the readers of Nurse Leader. She is a wonderful role model for all of us who engage in leading others. When I first met her in the late 1990s, I was drawn to her immediately because of her soft-spoken and powerful way of communicating who she is. Since then, I have learned that Deb has significant gifts and insights about leading and developing others.