Dr. Leigh Chapman is committed to advancing the nursing profession in Canada to ensure equitable access to quality care. As CNO for Canada, she provides strategic advice to Health Canada, plays a convening role on key nursing issues, and represents the Federal Government at public forums. Leigh is a registered nurse (RN) who received her PhD from the University of Toronto's Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing. Over the past 20 years, she has gained a deep understanding of nursing by working in both frontline and clinical leadership capacities. In addition to her role as CNO for Canada, Leigh continues to work at a community-based consumption and treatment site in Toronto, where she provides harm reduction services and frontline care.

Howard was appointed the Chief Executive Officer of the International Council of Nurses (ICN) in February 2019. He is committed to ensure that ICN effectively represents nursing worldwide, advances the nursing profession, promotes the wellbeing of nurses and advocates for health in all policies.  

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Throughout his career Howard has worked and written extensively on issues relating to the Nursing and Healthcare Workforce and he co-chaired the first ever State of the World’s Nursing Report. He has led ICN’s work to respond to and support nurses globally during the pandemic and has been at the forefront of advocating for the protection of and investment in the nursing profession. 

Howard joined ICN in April 2016 as the Director, Nursing, Policy and Programmes. His team led the development of ICN policy and position statements. He also co-ordinated ICN Programmes and projects and oversaw the development of scientific programmes for ICN events.  

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Howard qualified as a Registered Nurse in 1988 and held a variety of nursing posts in England and the United States and worked for the New Zealand Nurses Organisation. He studied Social Policy at Cardiff University (BSc Econ Hons) and Industrial Relations at Warwick University (MA) and then worked as a Personnel and Organisational Change Manager in the National Health Service in the UK.  For 10 years Howard was Head of Policy & International Affairs at the Royal College of Nursing in the UK.  

Dr. Salimah Walani is the Dean of the Aga Khan University (AKU) School of Nursing and Midwifery, Pakistan, since August 2024. Dr. Walani has extensive global health and academic experience. Before joining AKU, Dr. Walani was Global Policy and Advocacy Advisor at MiracleFeet – a US-based not-for-profit organisation with programmes in 35 countries. Prior to that, she was Vice President of Global Programs at March of Dimes Foundation, USA, where she led the organization's maternal and Newborn health programs and partnerships in low- and middle-income countries.  

In addition to these positions, she has held leadership, advisory, and consultative roles with notable organizations such as the New York City Department of Health, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and New York University, among others.    Dr. Walani has also taught in graduate programmes at Felician University in New Jersey, the University of Connecticut, Arizona State University, and Pace University in New York.  

Originally from Pakistan, Salimah Walani graduated from AKU’s School of Nursing in 1987 and subsequently served as a faculty member at the university for six years. She then pursued a Master of Science in Nursing from Simmons University, Boston, a Master of Public Health from Harvard University, and a PhD in Nursing Research and Theory Development from New York University.    

Dr. Walani is well-known for her advocacy for the global birth defects agenda. She has served on several maternal and newborn health technical advisory groups. She is a member of the World Health Organization's Technical Advisory Group for Birth Defects, a member of the WHO's steering committee for developing a framework for newborn screening, diagnosis and management of birth defects and is an honorary member of the International Clearinghouse for Birth Defects Surveillance and Research. Dr. Walani serves on the editorial board of Policy, Politics & Nursing Practice.    

In 2014, Dr. Walani created a partnership to launch World Birth Defects Day which then became a global movement for advancing the prevention and care of congenital anomalies.