So proud of my niece, Dr. Kimberly Silver Dunker! Many of you have heard me speak of her. She is the Director of LLUSN’s MS/DNP Programs and continues to be a guiding force in health and medical higher education at Loma Linda University. She was recently featured in a column in Loma Linda NURSE magazine, highlighting her work and leadership. She has offered guidance and support to so many, including our family and me, shaping the future of healthcare education. Proud of you, Kim!

Getting to Know
Dr. Kimberly Silver Dunker, PhD, DNP, MSN, RN, PHN, CNE, CNECL
Director of LLUSN’s MS/DNP Programs

In 2025, Dr. Kimberly Silver Dunker experienced a remarkable year: earning a PhD in Leadership and Higher Education from Andrews University, relocating from Northern California—where she led Pacific Union College’s nursing program as Dean of Nursing—to Loma Linda, and joining the faculty at Loma Linda University School of Nursing (LLUSN) as the newly appointed Director of the MS/DNP programs for the 2025–26 school year. Her professional journey reflects a persistent calling to education, one she recognized early in her career and pursued with determination, allowing each role to prepare her for the next challenge.

An East Coast native, Dr. Dunker grew up in New England. She was immersed in nursing from an early age.

“I’m a fourth-generation nurse. My great-grandmother owned a nursing home, my grandmother was a nurse administrator at New England Memorial Hospital, and my mother was a nurse administrator for gerontology in a nursing home. There is quite a legacy there,” Dr. Dunker shares. She grew up on the hospital grounds of New England Memorial Hospital in Stoneham, Massachusetts, where she worked her first job as a transporter. Nursing, modeled as a family tradition, felt like a natural profession for her to pursue.

Dr. Dunker attended Atlantic Union College (AUC), earning her AS in 2000, BSN in 2001, and MSN from Regis College in 2004. Shortly thereafter, she and her family moved to Ohio, where she experienced teaching nursing for the first time—a path she has followed ever since. In 2008, she returned to New England, teaching at AUC and completing her DNP at Regis College. After finishing her DNP capstone project on nursing faculty development and core competencies at UMass Graduate School of Nursing, she was invited to join the faculty there in 2010 as the school’s first full-time DNP.

Those early years at UMass were exciting. At the time, DNP/PhD collaboration was far from the norm, and she found these opportunities deeply rewarding. After holding several positions, Dr. Dunker moved to a tenured role at Worcester State University as RN coordinator.

Her next career milestone was serving as Dean of Nursing at a for-profit institution in Tennessee. While this position offered leadership experience, she realized her true calling was in not-for-profit Christian higher education. In 2021, an offer from PUC aligned her leadership goals with her personal values. Four years at PUC flew by, and then LLUSN presented an opportunity to fulfill her long-standing desire to lead graduate nursing programs.

Though the decision to leave PUC was not easy, Dr. Dunker had already developed a strong, collaborative relationship with LLUSN Dean Dr. Shawn Collins, who encouraged her to complete her PhD—a program he had previously completed. “When [Dr. Collins] called and said there was an opening here at Loma Linda, I thought, ‘How often do you get to go to a position where you already know you are going to like working with your boss?'”

Dr. Dunker considers herself fortunate to have discovered the joy of teaching early in her career. A mentor once told her, “The impact that you are going to have will not just be on your patients. Think about how many students you will have, and how many patients they will each care for.” She carries this guidance into her teaching, striving to approach each student as both a unique individual and an opportunity to positively influence thousands of lives.

In her new role leading the MS/DNP programs, Dr. Dunker embodies authentic and transformational leadership, emphasizing the interconnectedness of staff, faculty, administrators, and students: “We do not exist without each other. This is a cooperative game we are playing, and when we win—we all win.” Her vision for the programs is to “lead my school in cultivating a learning community that fosters excellent academic education with an ethical and spiritual emphasis that promotes human growth and development.”

Dr. Dunker’s story is one of purpose, perseverance, and deep-rooted passion for nursing education. As she embarks on this new chapter at LLUSN, her commitment to excellence, collaboration, and faith-based leadership positions her to make a lasting impact on students, faculty, and the future of graduate nursing education.

Loma Linda University School of Nursing

Comments Off on Getting to Know Dr. Kimberly Silver Dunker
Filed under: Blog Posts, News & Updates