Dr. Tonja Padgett is a Clinical Associate Professor and Assistant Dean at Indiana University School of Nursing, Indianapolis campus where she has made outstanding contributions to the addictions field. She has incorporated addiction issues into two foundational undergraduate nursing courses, Fundamentals of
Nursing and Pathophysiology-Pharmacology. This additional content highlights the importance of addressing substance abuse to improve health outcomes and exposes undergraduate nursing students to these critical issues early in their careers. She also led a group of faculty to develop an unfolding case study that includes an addiction component, which can be used across both undergraduate and graduate nursing curricula.

Dr. Padgett’s journey into the field of substance use disorders began in 2017 after the tragic loss of her nephew to a heroin overdose. This personal experience ignited her passion for making a difference in the field of addictions nursing. With the guidance of her mentor, Tonja discovered the International Nursing Society on Addictions (IntNSA) and attended her first conference that same year. Since then, she has been an active and dedicated member. Dr. Padgett has been a member of IntNSA since 2017 and has served on the nominating committee since 2018. Currently, Tonja is in her first year on the IntNSA Board as an at-large member. She has attended the annual conferences, whether in-person or virtually, and has presented three times. She received the Community Service and Advocacy Award from IntNSA in 2019 for her work in the addictions field and has several publications, sharing her valuable insights and scholarship with her peers. She was inducted as a Fellow of the International Academy of Addictions Nursing in 2025.