2026 Alumni Horizon Award: Denise Sigurlin Maria Potvin

“What drew me to nursing from the very beginning was working in a global health setting or humanitarian context,” says Denise Sigurlin Maria Potvin, ’11 BScN. Now, through her work with Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), she has brought compassionate life-saving care to some of the world's most vulnerable communities.

Potvin has completed 13 assignments across nine volatile regions for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) since 2018, demonstrating her skill in bringing order to chaos, whether supporting maternal and newborn health in Yemen, leading vaccination initiatives in remote Congolese communities or helping restore hospital services in Gaza. 

“In each experience, I've really had the chance to see the impact that we have,” Potvin says. “We get to interact with patients and communities, and have that patient-centered approach and impact in the work that we're doing while having an opportunity to maintain patient dignity, or providing universal or free access to health care in the communities where we are. It is a very strong value for me.”

Before joining MSF,  Potvin worked in emergency medicine, public health and neurology, and she served as a clinical instructor at Grant MacEwan University in Edmonton, Alta. While teaching, she earned a master's degree in public health from the University of Victoria. These experiences culminated in her work with MSF, where her career has now come full circle as she starts a new educational facilitator role. 

“What keeps me excited about nursing is this openness that there is. So looking back and understanding that I haven't just had one clear path or one specific job or specialty that I've done. I'm excited to  keep seeing where nursing takes me and all of the different possibilities.”

As a graduate of the U of A's bilingual nursing program, Potvin points to the unique offering as a major factor in choosing the Faculty of Nursing. 

“It really does provide not only opportunities for nurses to connect with francophone communities … but also just gives you such an opportunity to connect with people from anywhere … and also gives you this opportunity or stepping stone if you're interested in other opportunities,” she says. “I think it's something to be proud of, being from the U of A.” 

Today, Potvin speaks four languages and credits her bilingual background as a major asset to her work with MSF. 

“Don't limit yourself in your imagination of what you think is possible,” she says to current and potential nursing students who want to pursue a career in humanitarian nursing. “For me, the biggest draw of nursing, and what I've learned over the last 15 years of being a nurse, is that it's way more vast than I ever thought it was when I was in nursing school, and I'm so grateful for that.” She adds that vastness has kept her motivated in her career. “Don't be afraid to have as many experiences as possible.”

Potvin’s nominators agree that she is an inspiring role model and a powerful testament to the impact of humanitarian nursing. Her immense clinical capacity and profound humility while enduring personal sacrifices on the frontlines are among the reasons she is a 2026 Alumni Horizon Award recipient. 

The award is an honour that surprised and humbled her.  

“I don't think I have the right words to say how grateful I am,” she says. “It's nursing colleagues who made the nomination, and I had no idea that was happening until I got the email. So I just feel very grateful and very humbled by it.”