Celebrating a Decade of Nursing Discovery: Lessons from the Past, Innovations for the Future

Marion Leary, PhD, MPH, RN, is the Director of Innovation at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Nursing. Dr. Leary is an expert in innovation methodology, studying human-centered design and design thinking in healthcare and nursing. As the Director of Innovation at Penn Nursing, she works to amplify and educate nurses as leaders in health and healthcare innovation. Dr. Leary leads the national Nurse Innovation Fellowship program supported by Johnson & Johnson and powered by Penn Nursing and the Wharton School. Dr. Leary is a member of the American Nurse Enterprise’s Nurse Educator Innovator Leadership Forum, a member of the University Science Center’s Healthcare Innovation Advisory Committee, The Nursing Beat Advisory Board member, and a Founding member of the Society of Nurse Scientists, Innovators, Entrepreneurs and Leaders (SONSIEL). Previously, she was on the board of SONSIEL and a member of the American Nurses Association’s Innovation Advisory Committee. Dr. Leary is also on the NextGen Council for Natural Lands, The Nursing Leadership Council for the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau. She is a host of the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing podcast, Amplify Nursing, and the Love n’ Leary podcast and is a contributor to the American Nurses Association’s official journal and the American Nurse as part of the My Nurse Influencer’s column. In the past Dr. Leary has contributed to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Huffington Post, Generocity, and other publications. Dr. Leary also is the co-President of the Nursing is STEM board, a coalition to have nursing designated a STEM field.

In 2025, Dr. Leary received the SONSIEL Founders award for her commitment to innovation and leadership in nursing. In January 2024 she was named on the Philadelphia Power List by Metro Philly. In March 2023 she was named one of five female nurses who will go down in herstory by The Nursing Beat. In May 2022 and 2023, she was selected as one of the most powerful LGBTQIA+ people in Pennsylvania by City & State PA and in 2023 and 2024 was named an LGBTQ+ Power Player and named to the Philadelphia Power List by Metro Philly. In August 2019 she was named as an Influencer of Healthcare winner in the category of Excellence in Innovation by the Philadelphia Inquirer.  In 2017, she was named Geek of the Year for her outstanding achievements in Philadelphia’s vibrant geek community in the areas of innovation, technology, and activism.

https://marionleary.mystrikingly.com/

Dr. Kathleen McGrow is the Global Chief Nursing Innovation Officer at Microsoft, where she leads

strategic initiatives in digital health transformation. Her work focuses on addressing workforce

challenges, enhancing patient and provider engagement, and advancing cognitive computing to support

a learning health system.

Dr. McGrow earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice from the University of Maryland, Baltimore. With a

background in trauma critical care and health IT, she brings deep expertise to the intersection of clinical

practice and emerging technologies. She is a recognized thought leader in the application of artificial

intelligence in healthcare, with notable publications including “Foundation Models, Generative AI, and

Large Language Models: Essentials for Nursing” and “Implications of Artificial Intelligence for Nurse

Managers.” Her most recent work is her book, “Empowering Nurses with Technology: A Practical Guide

to Nurse Informatics,” published in January 2025.

In addition to her role at Microsoft, Dr. McGrow co-chairs the HIMSS Nursing Innovation Advisory

Committee and serves as an adjunct clinical instructor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham

School of Nursing.