Deva-Marie Beck is a doctorly prepared Canadian American nurse, global citizen, author of multiple articles, and award-winning Nightingale scholar. For 20 years, she served as a volunteer International Co-Director for the Nightingale Initiative for Global Health (NIGH), transitioning from a 30-year clinical practice to global health advocacy. Collaborating with the United Nations Institute for Training & Research (UNITAR), she established NIGH’s virtual Nurses’ and Student Nurses’ Speaker Series. Her journey began at the UN Human Settlements Summit in 1996, advocating for nurses to achieve United Nations Global Goals (2000-2030).

A nurse of 50 years, she emphasizes Nightingale’s legacy in advancing nursing’s role in human rights, social justice, and climate activism. Beck resonates with the ‘art’ of nursing, defined as ‘different every time.’ She has chaired numerous projects, including NIGH’s ‘Daring, Caring & Sharing to Save Mothers’ Lives’ campaign (2012-2014), which achieved 3.5 million hits from 97,000 unique visitors from 146 nations. She launched the NIGH’s ‘Student Nurses’ Voices Speaker Series’ co-hosted by UNITAR in November 2024.  As a Distinguished Toast Master, she aims to engage nurses and midwives globally through storytelling in NIGH’s upcoming Speaker Series to be launched in 2026.