Bonnie Castillo is the executive director of National Nurses United and of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee. Castillo also held the positions of CNA/NNOC Director of Government Relations and NNU Director of Health and Safety. She has been with CNA/NNOC for almost two decades in a number of capacities, working her way up into the leadership of the organization from her early days as a registered nurse member who helped to unionize her facility, to staff and then lead organizer, to a director, and now to her current position as executive director.

Castillo was among the first to call attention to the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) available to nurses across the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic, and fought layoffs and pay cuts that nurses faced despite their vital frontline work. Castillo’s commitment to the labor movement and unions is unwavering; she states that unions are the foundation of a democratic society. Castillo does not just work to heal patients; she works to heal society.

In 2020, Castillo was named to the TIME 100 list of the most influential people in the world. In January 2021, Castillo was named to The Nation's annual honor roll, which recognizes progressive activists and leaders who helped keep hope alive and set the groundwork for transformational change in 2021.

Nurses, Health, Healthcare, Healthcare Policy, Healthcare Quality & Safety, Business of Healthcare, Women in Leadership, Influential Women, Women's Health, Time 100, Leadership, Medicare, COVID-19