DR. DESHA JOHNSON-MAKIYA
Dr. Desha Johnson Makiya, PhD, MBA, RN, CCRN, PCCN, is a distinguished nursing professional, educator, and researcher with expertise in healthcare management, didactic instruction, and clinical practice. With nine years of service at Sam Houston State University, she holds the position of Clinical Associate Professor and has assumed multiple leadership roles, including Assistant Director of Didactic Learning, LVN-to-BSN and BSN Program Coordinator, and Senior Level Coordinator. She is deeply engaged in institutional service, contributing to curriculum development, faculty
mentorship, and student success initiatives.
Her 26-year nursing career spans over two decades in The Memorial Hermann Healthcare System, where she excelled in nursing leadership, education, and direct patient care in ICU, PACU, and Interventional Radiology. She holds Texas RN licensure, is certified in Critical Care and Progressive Care Nursing, and maintains Advanced and Basic Cardiac Life Support (ACLS & BLS) certifications.
She is a 2024 American Association of Colleges of Nursing’s Emerging Leadership in Academic Nursing (ELAN) Fellow. Her research on moral distress in critical-care nurses has been presented at numerous professional conferences, highlighting her dedication to advancing knowledge in the field. She has served on the American Nurses Association’s Professional Issues on Moral Resilience Advisory Committee and contributed as an expert panelist for the Texas Nurses Association’s Perspectives on Moral Distress and Self-Care initiative.
She is an active member of the Stress and Trauma Among Nurses in Development (STAND) research group, which recently published its findings in Issues in Mental
Health Nursing. Additionally, she played a key role in securing two GEER II Nursing Innovation Grants, further demonstrating her commitment to advancing nursing
education and clinical practice.
Dr. Johnson Makiya holds a PhD in Nursing from The University of Texas at Tyler, an MBA in Healthcare Management from The University of Phoenix, and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Alcorn State University. She is an active member of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, the American Nurses Association, the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.
She has been married for 24 years and takes pride in her daughter, who recently graduated high school. Outside of her professional endeavors, she enjoys spending time with family, traveling, reading, and listening to music.
