Executive Director, Professor, & Program Lead
Children's Hospice and Palliative Care Coalition & Grand Canyon University
Mosaic, 1:24 PM
Christy Torkildson, PhD, RN, FPCN, HEC-C, is Executive Director of the Children’s Hospice and Palliative Care Coalition of California and a Professor and Program Lead for the MSN–Public Health Nursing and MSN–Health Care Quality and Patient Safety programs in the College of Nursing and Health Care Professions at Grand Canyon University.
She earned a PhD in Family Nursing and Health Policy (minor in Education) from the University of California, San Francisco; an MSN in Administration and Education from the University of Phoenix; and a BSN from the University of Miami (Coral Gables, Florida). A certified health care ethics consultant, Dr. Torkildson also completed a postgraduate certificate in pediatric bioethics through Children’s Mercy and the University of Missouri–Kansas City.
Dr. Torkildson is Chair and Co-Editor of the Pediatric e-Journal, the longest continuously published U.S. journal dedicated to pediatric palliative and hospice care. She contributed to the development and implementation of California’s Pediatric Palliative Care Waiver and served as the founding Program Director of George Mark Children’s House, the nation’s first pediatric palliative and end-of-life care facility, providing pain and symptom management as well as transitional, perinatal, supportive, and respite services for children with life-limiting conditions.
Her national service includes the National Hospice and Palliative Care Coalition Pediatric Division as the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association (HPNA) representative, and participation on HPNA’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) Committee. She chairs the Pediatric Facts and Figures Research Workgroup for the Alliance for Care at Home, serves on the Alliance’s Pediatric and DEIB workgroups, and is Treasurer of the Arizona Bioethics Network Board of Directors.
Dr. Torkildson is a mother of four and grandmother of two; she and her husband are U.S. Navy veterans.
P10 Beyond the Script: Educating for Empathy and Impact in Serious Illness Communication
Wednesday, March 4, 2026
1:00pm - 5:00pm PST
Disclosure(s): No financial relationships to disclose
Voices for Equity: Tackling Health Equity Challenges Through Multidisciplinary Collaboration
Thursday, March 5, 2026
10:30am - 11:30am PST
Disclosure information not submitted.