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Member Spotlight
Donna Kistler
Back in the late 90s, “The Twins” joined SIS….do you know who they are?
Donna Kistler and Karen Kouretas were called” the twins” because they joined at the same time and were good friends. Their boss at UC Davis Medical Center, Carol Robinson, was the incoming SIS President. She took Karen and Donna out for a drink and asked for their support. They enthusiastically said YES to Carol and to SI Sacramento. Donna and Karen have been friends for over 40 years - meeting as nurses at the Med Center. That’s how she started in SIS and more than 25 years later, she’s still here.
SIS is full of natural born leaders and Donna is no different. She started her career as a nurse, starting out in the ICU and then working in the kidney transplant unit. At the time, UCD was at the cutting edge for renal transplants, and Donna moved up into administration when she was still a pretty young RN. Since she was younger, it took longer to get promoted but because Donna was always ready to take on new challenges and responsibilities, it didn’t take long for the bigwigs to notice. All in all, she has been an RN for 46 years. She loved being a clinician but also realized that administration involved a whole new set of skills - leading the leaders - and she enjoyed this work as well.
Donna decided it was time to retire from hospital work when she was only 53 years old, but she knew she had a lot left in her, so in the second phase of her career, she decided to try something different. She became an Independent Hospital and Heath Care Consultant, and because she knew so many people up and down the state from her connection to various medical professional organizations, it didn’t take long for her to get really busy! Donna worked all over the Bay Area (and even in southern California) in interim director positions. On a quick glance at her LinkedIn Profile…wow…she was pretty busy over those years. Her last gig was as Interim CEO of the Association of California Nurse Leaders and ended that in 2022 after helping to transition the new CEO. Donna loved being an Interim leader and she definitely left each place a little better off.
Retirement has not slowed Donna down. She is a board member for three different nursing boards, a proud Soroptimist member, a member of the council for her university alumni and a volunteer at her grandson’s school.
Donna was married for almost 40 years before her husband, Ray, passed away in 2023. The two of them traveled together often, so it has been a transition for her to not have her favorite companion by her side. They were always big cruisers (close to Elite status on Princess) and in the last year, Donna has gone back to cruise life with friends and family. The next cruise starts in Vancouver and later this year, she’ll go to Quebec for an autumn cruise. A trip to London with a friend is in the works for October.
She has two sons (her son followed her into the medical field as well as his wife) and four grandchildren (ages 8 months, 6, 7 and 9) who all keep her busy. They love hanging out and traveling together. When she’s not traveling, she’s reading, helping with the grandkids and just enjoying life.
The photo below is Donna’s precious granddaughter, Emma Rae. This sweetheart was born on the first anniversary of her dear husband’s death. A bittersweet day for all of them, but they feel Ray smiling down on them whenever little Emma Rae lights up a room.
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