Donna Kinnair

Dame Donna Kinnair, born in 1961, is a British nurse who rose from bedside work in east London to lead the Royal College of Nursing as its Chief Executive and General Secretary. She trained at the Princess Alexandra School of Nursing at the Royal London Hospital from 1983, cared for HIV and intensive care patients, then worked as a health visitor in Hackney, Newham and Tower Hamlets and took a master's degree in medical law and ethics. That training turned her toward child protection, and she was one of four expert advisers to the 2001 Laming inquiry into the death of Victoria Climbie. She held senior commissioning, emergency medicine and nursing director posts in London, taught medical law, ethics and child protection in several countries, and advised the government on nursing and midwifery. She joined the Royal College of Nursing as Head of Nursing in 2015, became acting Chief Executive and General Secretary in 2018, was confirmed in 2019 and left the post in 2021. She was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2008.