100 Most Influential People in Healthcare - 2022

Under Castillo’s leadership, NNU lobbies to protect the workplace rights of its nearly 225,000 member nurses. In a recent letter, Castillo and other NNU leaders asked Congress to approve $22.4 billion of federal response funding for COVID-19 and $4.6 billion for monkeypox. Elsewhere, Castillo and NNU leaders have sought legislative support for protecting abortion care, pointing to the importance of patient autonomy and dignity. The union also has been vocal on issues of hospital consolidation, workplace violence and staffing turnover. Castillo has held the top post since 2018. Before that, she was director of the Registered Nurse Response Network, a disaster relief program run by NNU.