Chris Watkins, MN, BScPN, RPN, is a nationally recognized nursing leader with more than 38 years of experience in mental health nursing, clinical leadership, and advocacy.
He currently serves as Director of Clinical Services at Connective, where he provides executive oversight for clinical programs and services across British Columbia and the Yukon. Watkins has contributed extensively to the nursing profession through national and provincial governance and leadership roles. He is the first registered psychiatric nurse appointed to the CNA board of directors. He also serves as a Leadership and Administration Councillor with Nurses and Nurse Practitioners of British Columbia and as an Editorial Board Member with the Journal of Mental Health and Addiction Nursing.
His system and community leadership includes involvement with the Canadian Network for Research in Schizophrenia and Psychoses and the Standards Council of Canada, as well as previous advocacy roles with the Schizophrenia Society of Canada and the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health.
He has served as President of the College of Registered Psychiatric Nurses of Alberta and as President Elect of the Canadian Federation of Mental Health Nurses.
Watkins’s work is grounded in a strong commitment to equity, reconciliation, and advocacy.