Marialena Murphy, MSN, MHA, RN, NEA-BC, CNOR
WCSI Board Ambassador
Executive Nurse Consultant
Past Chair and Chief Nursing Officer Arizona Department of Nursing
Assistant Professor of Nursing – Mayo Clinic College of Medicine
Marialena Murphy, MSN, MHA, RN, CNOR, NEA-BC is a leader, nurse, and teacher with over 34 years of diverse clinical and leadership experience. She has held operational leadership and nurse executive roles in a variety of healthcare settings and currently an independent Executive Nurse Consultant working with the Arizona State Board of Nursing on the launch of NurseNet, a ground-breaking statewide digital platform to connect nurses, preceptors and healthcare organizations. Marialena is the past Chief Nursing Officer at Mayo Clinic in Arizona and held responsibility for the leadership of 4,360 patient care staff in the Department of Nursing.
Marialena received her Master of Science in Nursing from Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, AZ and her Master of Science in Health Administration from St. Francis University in Joliet, IL. She is certified as a nurse in the operating room (CNOR) and has board certification as a nurse executive-advanced (NEA-BC). In addition to her leadership roles, Marialena concurrently completed the Watson Caring Science Institute (WCSI) Caritas Coach Educational Program and became a WCSI Faculty Associate and HeartMath® Master Trainer in 2009. She has worked as a Faculty Coach for Capstone Leadership Solutions and is drawn to mentor and develop new leaders. Her work has led to poster and podium presentations, ongoing teaching workshops and leader mentoring.
Marialena’s education and experience has provided her with opportunities to develop and refine her communication, interpersonal style, project management, problem-solving and strategic partnership skills to deliver and improves staff work environments and patient care by implementing caring science principles.
Marialena is an advisory board member and past president of the Arizona Organization of Nurse Leaders (AzONL), is a member of the American Nurses Association (ANA), Watson Caring Science Institute (WCSI). She participated on the Chief Nurse Executive Advisory Board at the Edson College of Nursing at ASU and was a participant on the AANC’s Thought Leader Assembly in 2020.
Marialena has a wide variety of personal interests that include gardening, cooking, raising honeybees, milk goats and chickens, horse-back riding, DIY home improvement, and spending time with her family, especially her exceptionally adorable grandchildren.