Leo-Felix Jurado Receives Prestigious Presidential Award

The dean of the College of Healthcare Professions is receiving high praise from the president of the Philippines.

Leo-Felix Jurado, Ph.D., is one of the recipients of the 2024 Presidential Awards for Filipino Individuals and Organizations Overseas. Jurado, who was born in the Philippines, received the award during a ceremony at the presidential palace in Manila in December.  

According to the Commission on Filipinos Overseas, the accolade recognizes Jurado’s exemplary advocacy for the nursing profession, as well as his achievements and contributions as a nurse, educator, and leader, which have broken down barriers, fostered inclusivity, and created broader opportunities for Filipino nurses in the United States.

“I am deeply humbled and grateful to receive this presidential award,” says Jurado. “Receiving this special honor is not just a recognition of my individual effort but a celebration of the boundless spirit of service that binds us as citizens of the world. My journey of service is with the simple belief that as people, no matter who you are or where we are, we carry a responsibility to lift one another, especially to those in need.”

Jurado was previously awarded by the Philippine Consulate General in New York for his advocacy for Filipino and other foreign-educated nurses in the United States. In addition to his role at DeSales, he recently served as executive director of the Philippine Nurses Association of America and has been a past president of the New Jersey Board of Nursing and the Philippine Nurses Association of New Jersey.

The Presidential Awards for Filipino Individuals and Organizations Overseas was established to honor those who have demonstrated an extraordinary level of achievement and have contributed to the advancement and cause of overseas Filipinos, national development initiatives, or elevated the global profile of the Filipino diaspora.