Karen Daley (’88) Named Commencement Speaker at Rivier University.

Karen A. Daley (’88), a longtime public health advocate and educator, will deliver the commencement address for Rivier University graduates on May 9.

Daley, who served from 2010 to 2014 as the president of the American Nurses Association (ANA), will also receive an honorary doctorate of humane letters in recognition of her career achievements.

Daley was a senior staff nurse at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston for 25 years before shifting her focus to public health. A workplace needle stick left Daley infected with both HIV and Hepatitis C, helping transform her into a nationally recognized advocate for legislation mandating the use of safer needle devices in healthcare settings.

Daley is a past president of the Massachusetts Association of Registered Nurses and the Massachusetts Center for Nursing and has served on the boards of ANA, the American Nurses Credentialing Center, and the ANA-PAC. She is a current member of the Board of Trustees of the American Nurses Foundation and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

In addition to her MPH, she holds a PhD and a master of science degree in nursing from Boston College, and earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Curry College and a nursing diploma from the Catherine Labouré School of Nursing. Rivier University is a private Catholic liberal arts university located in Nashua, New Hampshire.