Media Contact:
DNPs of Color, Inc.
info@dnpsofcolor.org
dnpsofcolor.org
DETROIT, MI September 17, 2026 — DNPs of Color (DOCs) is pleased to announce Nutrena H. Tate, PhD, MBA, RN, APRN, CPNP-PC, NEA-BC, FADLN, as a keynote speaker for the 6th Annual DNPs of Color Conference, taking place October 15–18, 2026, in Detroit, Michigan.
Under the theme “Designing Our Collective Future: Igniting Community & Driving Innovation,” the conference will convene doctoral-prepared nurses, DNP students, clinicians, educators, executives, entrepreneurs, researchers, and community leaders from across the country to exchange ideas, build connections, and explore solutions for the future of nursing and health care.
Dr. Tate brings more than three decades of experience across clinical practice, nursing science, academia, health-system leadership, organizational strategy, and national professional service. A pediatric nurse practitioner and nurse scientist, she is a tenured Associate Professor at the University of Detroit Mercy’s McAuley School of Nursing and previously served as Director of Nursing Research at Henry Ford Health. She is also President and CEO of Brand Nu Consulting, Inc., with a career centered on developing leaders, advancing health equity, strengthening nursing research, and translating nursing expertise into organizational and community impact.
“Dr. Tate embodies what it means to design our collective future,” said Danielle K. McCamey, DNP, CRNP, ACNP-BC, FCCP, FAAN, FADLN, FAANP, Founder and President of DNPs of Color. “Her career crosses practice, scholarship, academia, executive leadership, entrepreneurship, and service. She understands that leadership is not only about individual achievement, but about using what we know, who we are, and the communities we are connected to to create what comes next.”
Attendees can earn up to 15 nursing contact hours through educational programming spanning clinical practice, health equity, leadership, innovation, artificial intelligence, advocacy, nursing history, and community engagement. Highlights include:
- Inaugural DOCs Hack-a-thon: A four-hour human-centered design experience where participants will develop and pitch solutions to strengthen the DNP experience.
- Reclaiming Our Narratives: Storytelling, Legacy, and Healing: An immersive experience using storytelling to explore leadership, healing, and legacy.
- Hip-Hop Public Health Storytelling Experience: An exploration of music, culture, storytelling, and culturally relevant approaches to public health communication.
- Clinical Practice On Demand: Sponsored by NPACE, providing additional clinical learning opportunities alongside the live conference experience.
- History, Health & Community: The Nurses You Should Know Historical Panel, DiMENsions in Nursing, poster pitches, and a signature Community & Innovation panel connecting nursing expertise with community-driven solutions.
- Mix & Mingle: Motown Karaoke Night: A Detroit-inspired evening of music, networking, and community.
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The conference experience begins October 14 at 8:00 p.m. ET with DOCs Virtual Movie Night, presented with Represent Justice, featuring What Grace Leaves Behind, a Detroit-rooted documentary short exploring women’s reentry after incarceration through dignity, community, and lived experience.
The conference culminates Saturday evening at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History with the Allen & Mahoney Scholarship and Awards Gala: Gala of the Future. Guests will gather in metallic and black to celebrate nursing excellence, leadership, scholarship, and service.
This year’s gala holds special significance as Dr. Virginia Allen is expected to attend in Detroit, the city where she was raised. Dr. Allen is one of the historic Black Angels, the Black nurses whose care of tuberculosis patients at New York’s Sea View Hospital represents an important chapter in nursing and public health history. The gala also honors the enduring legacy of Mary Eliza Mahoney, widely recognized as the first professionally trained Black nurse in the United States.
DOCs will continue its annual tradition of investing in its conference host city, with Congress of Communities, a resident-led organization working to strengthen Southwest Detroit by bringing residents, youth, and community partners together to lead and shape solutions, selected as the 2026 conference beneficiary. Donations accepted here: givebutter.com/DOCandCoC
All are welcome, join us! conference.dnpsofcolor.org
About DNPs of Color
Founded in 2018, DNPs of Color, Inc. is a national nonprofit nursing organization dedicated to increasing diversity in doctoral nursing practice, education, leadership, research, and scholarship. Through professional development, mentorship, advocacy, scholarship, community building, and national convenings, DOCs creates opportunities for doctoral-prepared nurses and DNP students to connect, lead, innovate, and advance meaningful change in health care and communities.
