Sara Horton-Deutsch, PhD, RN, FAAN, ANEF, is Professor and Director of University of San Francisco/Kaiser Permanente Partnership and Watson Caring Science Faculty Associate and Director of the Caritas Leadership Program. Dr. Horton-Deutsch has led in academic and practice settings for over 30 years as an advanced practice psychiatric/mental health nurse, educator, consultant, program director, Caring Science endowed chair, coach, and academic/practice partnerships director. Throughout her educational and practice career, she has contributed to developing evidence-informed knowledge to ensure compassionate, safe, and high-quality care. As a reflective leader, she emphasizes inward development to foster positive change. She has co-authored several books on Reflective Practice, Caring Science, and Caritas Coaching. She is a Caritas Coach, Leader, and Healing Circle Facilitator. Her passion is facilitating critical, deep, authentic connections that promote regeneration, renewal, and the profession's evolution.

Her most recent books, Visionary Leadership in Healthcare (2022) and Reflective Practice: Reimagining Ourselves, Reimagining Nursing (2024), were published through SIGMA, with the former winning the AJN first-place Book of the Year award in Leadership. Currently, she champions the ANCC Essentials within the USF School of Nursing and Health Professions. She is co-director of the Caritas Leadership Program at the Watson Caring Science Institute. In 2026, Dr. Horton-Deutsch was inducted as an inaugural fellow in the International Society of Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurses.