The Visionary Award is presented to an individual or entity to recognize programs, projects or research that envisions and/or utilizes nurse practitioners as leaders and valuable partners to the healthcare system.

Dr. Christie Torres is a nurse advocate for addressing climate health in the clinical setting in efforts to advance health equity. Her focus is especially on vulnerable patient populations with socioeconomic disparities including migrants, outdoor and manual workers, and unsheltered homeless populations.

She works at the Central Texas Veterans Health Care System as a nurse practitioner in primary care. She is a recent graduate of Yale University’s Health Care Leadership, Systems, & Policy Doctor of Nursing Practice Program in Connecticut; and has successfully completed several highly regarded leadership development programs. She completed the Yale Certificate Climate Change & Health Program and the Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate Program. Additionally, Dr. Torres was awarded the 2022 Yale University’s Milton and Anne Sidney Prize in recognition of her commitment to clinical research and contributions to YSN’s mission of better health for all people. Her project “Climate Change and Renal Health: The Development and Evaluation of a Toolkit of Healthcare Professionals,” developed and implemented an evidence-based climate

change and renal health toolkit as a knowledge translation strategy for facilitating practice change among healthcare professionals and optimizing renal health.