Over my years at the UW School of Nursing, one phrase I have uttered more times than I can count is: nurses are the best innovators. And it’s true. Through various Office for Nursing Research & Innovation initiatives, we’ve highlighted and supported nurses who are dreaming, creating and testing novel solutions that strengthen the health, connection and collective well-being of our communities. Now artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping how nurses and healthcare teams do our everyday work. There’s been plenty of excitement, skepticism and quiet curiosity about AI’s place in healthcare. But at its heart, AI is simply a tool, one with the potential to help all of us deliver the highest-quality care to every person we serve. That promise is what drives our 2026 Northwest Summit to Reimagine AI in Nursing and Health (RAIN).
Bringing together today’s and tomorrow’s leaders from healthcare, nursing, academia, industry, policy and technology, the RAIN Summit is designed to move beyond speculation, conjecture and fear and advance the conversation about how to best use AI to advance healthcare delivery. It is a hands-on, forward-looking forum where real-world use cases, workforce readiness and cross-sector partnerships take center stage.
Hosted by the UW Office for Nursing Research & Innovation, Digital Health Innovation Hub and HIMSS Washington Chapter on May 15, 2026, participants will gather for a full day of keynotes, expert panels and collaborative discussions that illuminate the future of AI in nursing and healthcare. Among the voices leading these conversations are some of the nation’s most respected innovators and thought leaders:
Speakers and Panelists at the 2026 RAIN Summit
- Susan Alexander, DNP, ANP-BC; Vanderbilt University School of Nursing
- Kenrick Cato, PhD, RN, CPHIMS, FAAN, FACMI; University of Pennsylvania
- George Demiris, PhD, FACMI; University of Pennsylvania
- Stephen Ferrara, DNP, FNP, FAAN; Columbia University
- Perry Gee, PhD, RN, FAAN; Intermountain Health
- Justin Gill, DNP, RN, ARNP; Washington State Nurses Association
- Ken Grubbs, DNP, MBA, MN; Joint Commission
- Michelle James, MBA, MM, BSN, RN, CENP; PeaceHealth
- Jennifer S. Mensik Kennedy, PhD, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN; American Nurses Association
- Keri Nasenbeny, MHA, BSN, RN; Harborview Medical Center
- Renee Rassilyer-Bomers, DNP, EMBA, CMSRN, RN-BC, FAAN; Providence Swedish
- Ryan Shaw, PhD, RN, FAAN; Duke University Health System
- Tom Lawry; Second Century Tech
- Dan Weberg, PhD, MHI, RN, FAAN; OSU College of Nursing
These leaders—clinicians, researchers, executives and innovators—bring perspectives shaped by real experience at the bedside, in boardrooms, in research labs and in the communities we serve. They will guide sessions that explore what responsible AI adoption looks like on the hospital floor, in community clinics, in nursing education and across health systems striving to meet the needs of increasingly complex populations. Attendees will examine how AI can reduce task burden, elevate clinical judgment, expand healthcare access and strengthen the nursing workforce while centering ethics, equity and the lived realities of nurses and our patients.
Attendees will leave not with abstract ideas, but with practical insights, new professional connections and clear pathways for translating AI into meaningful, measurable improvements in health.
Transformative moments do not come often—and when they do, they require us to rise to meet them. Our RAIN Summit is one of those moments. A timely and unique opportunity to shape the tools that will shape our sector’s future. To make sure the voice of nursing is not only included, but leading.