Dr. Pierce McDaniel is a nationally recognized nursing leader, health equity advocate, and policy expert whose career reflects an unwavering commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equitable healthcare for all. She serves as an Inclusion Excellence Ambassador and Consultant for James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. For more than five years she was an adjunct nursing professor teaching DNP courses and still continues to mentor students through their DNP projects.
A passionate healthcare policy advocate, Dr. McDaniel is a frequent presence in Congress and at Virginia's General Assembly, championing mental health, the geriatric population, environmental justice, and issues central to nursing practice. In 2026, she developed and launched the Eddie Bernice Johnson Health Equity Policy Scholars Institute (EBJ-HEPSI) from a Pfizer Community Forward Health Equity grant awarded through the National Black Nurses Association (NBNA), an initiative designed to build an evidence-based pipeline equipping Black nurses and nursing students to lead equity-centered policy and systems change. She is the grant Program Director.
Dr. McDaniel is an active and dedicated member of Sigma Theta Tau International, currently serving on the Board of the Sigma Chi Alpha at Large Chapter as Chair of the Governance Committee. She served as the 2025 Region 3 Delegate during the 2025 48th Biennial Convention. She previously served as co-chair of the Sigma Region 3 Member Engagement Committee and continues to contribute through mentoring and coaching. Her board service extends to Nurses on Boards Coalition, the Virginia State University RN-BSN Advisory Board, the Brightpoint Community College Nursing Advisory Board, and the Board of Trustees for Henrico, Parham, and Retreat Doctors' Hospitals. She is also past chair of student outreach and a former Board of Directors member for the Central Virginia Chapter of the Virginia Nurses Association.
A distinguished fellow of the 2021 inaugural American Association of Colleges of Nursing Access Connection & Engagement Leadership Institute (ACE), Dr. McDaniel subsequently served as a mentor and consultant for ACE from 2021–2024, guiding more than 40 nurse professionals through the fellowship. She is also a fellow of the inaugural 2024 NBNA Academy of Diverse Leaders in Nursing. Most recently, Dr. McDaniel was named a 2026 Distinguished Public Policy Fellow in Nursing of the National Academies of Practice (FNAP), a prestigious recognition of her exceptional contributions to interprofessional health advocacy, policy, and nursing leadership.
A Lifetime Member of the NBNA, Dr. McDaniel served as President of the Central Virginia Chapter of the NBNA before being called to serve as Interim Executive Director of the NBNA's national office in 2023. She currently chairs the NBNA Health Policy Committee. Her national leadership was recognized by the 14th NBNA President when she was awarded the 2024 Founders Spirit Award. In 2025 Dr. McDaniel spearheaded the inaugural Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Professional Development Series for nurses during their 54th Annual Legislative Conference.
Dr. McDaniel's contributions to nursing in Virginia are honored through the Dr. Vivienne McDaniel Health Equity Scholarship, established in her name by the Virginia Nurses Association and Virginia Nurses Foundation (VNF). As the inaugural chair of the VNF's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council and a former diversity ambassador on the VNF Board of Trustees (2019–2024), she has been a tireless advocate for equitable healthcare across the Commonwealth and the nation. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. McDaniel served on the Virginia Governor's Long-Term Care (LTC) COVID-19 Taskforce and LTC Provider Advisory Group, earning the VNF's 2020 Year of the Nurse Award for her contributions.
In 2022, Dr. McDaniel received the American Nurses Association's prestigious Leadership in Ethics Award, recognizing her exceptional ethical leadership in nursing practice. That same year, Dr. McDaniel submitted a proposal to the ANA to formally recognize Mary Eliza Mahoney, the first Black nurse to graduate from the first established nursing program in the United States, during Nurses Week each year. The proposal was unanimously approved, and in 2023, the Mary Eliza Mahoney Lecture Series was initiated, with Dr. McDaniel delivering the inaugural lecture, "Service for Humanity: The Life of Mary Eliza Mahoney." This landmark body of work is sponsored by the ANA's Racial Reckoning program and stands as a testament to Dr. McDaniel's deep commitment to honoring Black nursing history and advancing racial equity within the profession. In 2026, she was honored for her work advancing equitable opportunities in nursing for underrepresented nurses, when she was selected as a recipient of the Mary Mahoney Award, one of ANA Nurse Pioneers' highest honorifics, making her a three-time national award-winning nurse. That same year, she was awarded a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition in honor of her keynote address delivered to the Hudson Valley New York Black Nurses Association, a testament to her influence and leadership on the national stage.
Dr. McDaniel holds an Associate in Applied Science in Nursing from Thomas Nelson Community College, a Bachelor's and Master's Degree in Nursing with a focus in Nurse Management and Organizational Leadership from American Sentinel University, and a Doctor of Nursing Practice from Walden University. She is currently completing a post certificate Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program.