Gail Donner will receive Canada's most prestigious nursing award, the Jeanne Mance Award, for her positive impact on the practice of nursing in Canada.
"Gail Donner is the true embodiment of what makes a great nursing leader," said Kaaren Neufeld, president of the Canadian Nurses Association, which presents the award every two years. "Recognized nationally and internationally for her academic excellence and inspiring guidance, Gail is articulate, engaged and influential - and her leadership has had a marked positive impact on health-care delivery systems in Ontario and across Canada. She is an inspiration to us all."
Professor Emerita at the University of Toronto's Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, Donner holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in nursing and a PhD in adult education from the University of Toronto, as well as an honourary doctorate from Ryerson University. Donner retired in 2001 as professor and dean from the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Toronto. She has worked in leadership roles at Ryerson Polytechnic Institute (now Ryerson University), the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario, and the Hospital for Sick Children. She is now a partner in donnerwheeler, a career planning and development consulting firm.
Donner has held a number of government and community appointments, including member, Metropolitan Toronto District Health Council Hospital restructuring committee; chair, Air Ambulance Review, Ministry of Health, Ontario; and vice-chair of the Director's Advisory Committee on the Long-Term Future of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE).
"There are a lot of very well-qualified people who could have been given this award, so although I knew I had been nominated, it still came as a surprise," said Donner. "I am absolutely honoured to join the company of nursing luminaries such as Bloomberg professor Linda O'Brien-Pallas and former dean Dorothy Pringle, among others, who have made a real difference in nursing and health care in Canada."
Internationally recognized for her contributions to the nursing community, Donner has published extensively and is a popular speaker and presenter on health care and professional nursing issues. Her academic research and consulting interests range from health policy and nursing administration to career planning and development in Canada, the United States, Europe and South Africa.
Donner is an active volunteer in her community. She serves on the board of trustees of the Hospital for Sick Children where she is chair of the Quality Council, and is book editor for the Canadian Journal of Nursing Leadership. She has received numerous awards over the years, including recognition from the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario, the Ontario Medical Association, the Canadian Nurses Association and the YWCA of metro Toronto.
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