A Naval Officer, Nurse, Lawyer, Educator, Leader. Paula Neira's career spans an incredible set of experiences and professions. She wanted nothing more than to command a ship at sea, but her Naval career was cut short by the need to live authentically well before transgender people could do both. Find out how she developed that still-burning desire to serve into a career in medicine, law, and education that knocked down barriers for others to reach their full potential.

Guest Biography
Paula M. Neira is originally from Jersey City, New Jersey, and graduated from Regis High School in New York City. A member of the United States Naval Academy Class of 1985, she graduated with distinction from Annapolis in May 1985. A Surface Warfare Officer, she served as a regular and reserve officer including serving in mine warfare combat during Operation Desert Storm. Her military decorations include three Navy Commendation Medals, the Navy Achievement Medal, and the Combat Action Ribbon, as well as numerous unit, campaign, and service awards. After leaving the Navy in 1991, she began her career as a registered nurse. She is certified in emergency nursing and focused her career on adult emergency care and trauma resuscitation. From 2008-2016, Paula served as the Nurse Educator in Emergency Medicine at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. She also served as the co-chair of the Johns Hopkins Transgender Medicine Executive Taskforce. In November 2016, she became the founding Clinical Program Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Transgender Health and served in this role 2016-2022. In March of 2022, she was named as the Johns Hopkins Medicine Program Director of LGBTQ+ Equity and Education in the Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Health Equity.

An attorney and member of the Maryland bar since 2001, Paula was a leader in the repeal of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy and in the change of military regulations to allow for transgender military service. As part of her role at Hopkins, she lectures nationally on the need for improved transgender cultural awareness and health equity. In 2015, she made naval history by becoming the first transgender Navy veteran to have her discharge documentation updated to reflect her correct name by order of the Navy. In 2016, the Secretary of the Navy named her to be the co-sponsor of the USNS HARVEY MILK (T-AO-206) and in November 2021, she christened the ship in San Diego. In 2018, she was awarded the GLMA Achievement Award and in 2020, she was inducted as a Fellow into the American Academy of Nursing in recognition of her leadership in advancing diversity and inclusion both in the United States Armed Forces and in healthcare. She is the first United States service academy graduate to achieve this honor in American nursing. Paula and her partner reside in Bowie, Maryland.

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