Dr. McNeal is the Associate Vice President for Community Affairs in Health at National University located in San Diego CA. Her interprofessional nurse-led and other projects, totaling more than $16 million in extramural funding, have been continuously funded for over 23 years. She currently serves as the PI for the HRSA Simulation Education Training program, a highly competitive grant-funded project initially awarded to a cohort of only 5 nursing programs nationwide. With this project, she is spearheading the use of virtual reality and immersive technologies, to better prepare nursing students to practice in real-world settings through the innovation of simulation.   She also serves as the PI for the HRSA funded Mobile Health Training Program, which is a $4 million grant over four years designed to increase the diversity of the nursing workforce, and to deliver primary care services to vulnerable populations residing in Los Angeles and San Diego counties.  Authoring over 180 publications, she has led the discipline of nursing in addressing the healthcare needs of underserved communities.  She was inducted into the American Academy of Nursing in 2006, which awarded her the coveted Media Award in 1994, and named her a 2020 Edge Runner. Most recently she was named a recipient of the prestigious American Association of Critical-Care Nurses’ Pioneering Spirit Award.  She is a former Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellow, and a former US Navy Nurse Corps Officer earning three promotions and two medals of commendation.