Pilar De La Cruz-Reyes, director of the Central California Center for Excellence in Nursing at Fresno State, was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown to the California Board of Registered Nursing.

The nine-member board was established to protect, and advocate for, the health and safety of the public by ensuring the highest quality registered nurses. There are more than 390,000 registered nurses in California.

“I have always been a believer that when you receive something, you need to give back,” De La Cruz-Reyes said. “I was fortunate enough to be able to realize my dream of becoming a registered nurse. The experiences and opportunities that I have had to work in both academia and service, I believe, will serve me well as I serve on this board to ensure that the practice of nursing will continue to be monitored while at the same time grow in directions that will better serve the nursing profession, health care and the public at large.”

De La Cruz-Reyes will also be inducted into the State Center Community College District 2015 Muro de Honor. Her award, which recognizes the contributions of dedicated and outstanding members of the Chicano/Latino community, will be celebrated from 5-7 p.m. today (Nov. 4) at Arte Americas, Casa de la Cultura in downtown Fresno (1630 Van Ness Ave.).

“I feel very honored to be recognized by the State Center Community College District and be inducted into their Muro de Honor,” De La Cruz-Reyes said. “As a former student of the district before and after nursing school, I am very proud of the education provided to students by the district, and I appreciate having had the opportunity to work with the State Center Community College District Foundation to raise funds for student scholarships and collaborate with the former health sciences dean to establish programs to increase the number of registered nurses for the Central Valley.”

De La Cruz-Reyes served as dean of the College of Nursing at United States University in Chula Vista from 2011-2013 before coming to Fresno State. She also previously served as project manager at the Hospital Council of Northern and Central California for five years.

Her career took root in 1969 at Fresno’s Community Regional Medical Center, where she served as staff nurse, director of nurses, nursing manager, supervisor of education and training and critical care and clinical instructor. She left Community Regional in 1992 for Clovis Community Medical Center, where she served as administrative director and service integrator until 1995.

From 1996 to 2003, De La Cruz-Reyes held several positions at Community Medical Centers, including vice president and executive director of education, vice president of continuum services and facility service integrator. She was the chief nurse executive at Fresno Heart & Surgical Hospital from 2003-2006.

De La Cruz-Reyes earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing from California State University, Dominguez Hills.

For more information, contact Evangelina Morris at 559.228.2130.