Pinnacle Lecture Series

Each semester, the Connell School brings to Boston College an inspiring leader who speaks on an issue at the forefront of health care. Pinnacle lectures are open to all Boston College students, staff, faculty, alumni, and preceptors as well as practitioners and scholars unaffiliated with Boston College. View archived videos of past Pinnacle lectures.

FALL 2025

Meeting the Moment: Delivering Excellence in an Era of Health Care Scarcity

Monday, October 20, 2025, 5 p.m.

Yawkey Center, Murray Room

Holly Powell Kennedy in green top with multicolored necklace

Helen Varney Professor Emerita of Midwifery
Yale University School of Nursing

Holly Powell Kennedy

Ph.D., CNM, FACNM, FAAN

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About the talk

As nurses and midwives struggle with fewer resources and increasingly complex health care financing, how can we ensure accessible, high-quality care for all patients?

Drawing from a distinguished career spanning multiple nursing disciplines—from nurse-midwifery to family health to critical care—Dr. Kennedy brings a unique, multifaceted perspective to these pressing issues. As an accomplished practitioner, educator, and researcher, she will share practical strategies for enhancing clinical practice, advancing nursing education, and driving meaningful research, all while sustaining professional fulfillment in demanding times.

About Holly Powell Kennedy

Holly Powell Kennedy, Ph.D., CNM, FACNM, FAAN, was the inaugural Helen Varney Professor of Midwifery (now emerita) at the Yale University School of Nursing. She has served as president of the American College of Nurse-Midwives and received the 2016 Hattie Hemschemeyer Award, its highest honor.

Her program of research is focused on a greater understanding of the effectiveness and outcomes of specific models of care during the childbearing year, especially in support of childbearing physiology. She was awarded a Fulbright Distinguished Fellowship to King’s College London in 2008 and is a Fulbright Specialist. She is a retired Colonel in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps Reserve.  

Holly Powell Kennedy is the Dr. Maureen P. McCausland Pinnacle Keynote Speaker for fall 2025.

Continuing Education Contact Hours

This nursing continuing professional development activity is designated for one (1) contact hour provided by Boston College Connell School of Nursing Professional Development and Continuing Education. 

Boston Connell School of Nursing Professional Development and Continuing Education is approved as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by The American Nurses Association Massachusetts, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. 

Past Pinnacle Lecture Speakers

Click on the links below to view past lectures

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