Ashley Santillan is a dedicated oncology nurse at the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, and an aspiring Family Nurse Practitioner currently pursuing her Doctoral degree in Nursing at the UC Davis Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing. Her nursing journey began in 2020, after earning her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Concordia University Irvine, when she became a pediatric nurse at a level 1 trauma center in Los Angeles. Her experience providing compassionate care across a wide variety of specialties, including neurology, cardiology, oncology, bone marrow transplant, and trauma, led her to discover her passion for caring for cancer patients.

Beyond her clinical role, Ashley is working on a scholarly project to improve access to breast cancer screenings for underserved communities, aiming to detect cancers earlier and reduce breast cancer-related mortality. As a committed advocate for health equity and advancing the nursing profession, she is an active member of the Philippine Nurses Association and the California Association of Nurse Practitioners, where she volunteers her time to empower fellow nurses and create impactful change in the community.

For Ashley, nursing is far more than a profession—it is a calling. She finds great purpose in helping patients navigate some of their most challenging and vulnerable moments, providing not just care but hope when it is needed most.