Diversity is critical to our mission, and we celebrate it. That’s why we’re excited to introduce to you Staff Nurse Specialist Danielle Aka.

Danielle serves in the operating room (OR) at Kettering Health Dayton and as adjunct faculty for the Nursing program at Kettering College. She was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. Her mother was born in the U.S., and her father is from Okinawa, Japan.

We sat down with Danielle to learn more about who she is, why her diversity is important to her, and what it means to work here.

Tell us about you—who is Danielle?

“I have been a nurse now for almost six years. I went to Kettering College for nursing school and have worked in the network ever since. I’ve been in the OR for about five years, and I absolutely love it.

“I met my husband here at Kettering College. We were both students at the time (he was in the X-ray program). We have a dog, Oakley, and a cat, Willow.”

Why did you pursue a teaching role at Kettering College, in addition to your role at KH Dayton?

“It felt like a very natural transition. I got my Doctor of Nursing Education, so the whole goal was to get into education—I have a huge passion for mentorship, helping guide people, and helping them grow.

“The educator job in the OR where I was already working opened and then there was also an opportunity to do some adjunct teaching at the college. I was excited to stay connected with the college, keep the relationship going, and work with some of the teachers who taught me.”

How does your culture influence your work and your teaching?

“In Japanese culture, people are very polite, very welcoming, kind, driven; and I feel like those are things that I grew up to have embedded in me and who I am. I would like to think that those are things that I try to emulate in my everyday work. Those are the things that I feel like I’ve really taken from my culture.”

What do you want other people to know about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)?

“I think it would be really great if people could be more aware of what the network is doing to try to amplify our DEI efforts so that people from all over can feel included. And not just included but celebrated.

“I think that it’s one thing to include each other, but it’s another thing to be interested and engaged in learning more about people who bring diversity to our workplace. Because that’s what makes it exciting; getting to learn about people.”

What do you enjoy most about working at Kettering Health?

“I think I would speak specifically to the people here in the OR at KH Dayton. We are such a close-knit team who works hard to prioritize our patients getting the very best care.”

Supporting DEI at Kettering Health

Find events, educational resources, and volunteer opportunities in the monthly all-employee DEI e-newsletter.