Gilanie De Castro, MSN, RN, OCN, NE-BC, CNML has been a registered nurse for over 24 years with 18 of those years in oncology.  She has worked in various clinical settings and roles including in-patient Medical Oncology, NICU, outpatient infusion, oncology clinical trials, and most recently nursing leadership.  Gilanie has worked in a variety of organizations in Southern California such as Citrus Valley Health Partners (now Emanate Health), Beaver Medical Group, UCLA, and City of Hope.  She is based in Southern California and volunteers her time as 2024 President-Elect for the Los Angeles Chapter of the Oncology Nursing Society (GLAONS) and as the 2023-2025 Legislative Director for the American Nursing Association\California (ANA\C).  She is also a "Social Media Ambassador" for the American Organization of Nurse Leaders (AONL).  Gilanie is passionate about nurses taking an active role in politics and legislation as she believes that nurses should be in the driver’s seat when making decisions for their profession and determining how they guide their practice for themselves. Gilanie believes nurses are natural advocates and that the Nursing Code of Ethics primes every nurse to be a voice for the vulnerable and voiceless in all arenas.  She believes that robustly extending the reach of nursing influence into spheres where public and health policies are made is the key to improving health outcomes for all.