When the UC Davis Alumni Association selects its annual award recipients, it looks for alumni whose service reaches beyond a job title — people who advance their professions, uplift communities and strengthen the university along the way.

This year, the award celebrates someone intimately connected to the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis. Aron King, Ph.D., M.S., R.N., F.A.D.L.N., a 2021 Master of Science in Leadership graduate and 2026 Ph.D. graduate in Nursing Science and Health Care Leadership, has been named a Young Alumni Award recipient.

King’s resume spans clinical leadership, community-building and scholarship, including the role of assistant nurse manager at UC Davis Health. Earlier this year, he stepped into a new leadership position as the Magnet Program director at Kaiser Permanente Antioch.

Along the way, he has become a visible advocate for healthcare representation and mental health. He has been a driving force within the Capitol City Black Nurses Association (CCBNA), an organization he helped grow from a small chapter into a nationally recognized community hub.

“Aron is an exceptional nurse, doctoral student, community member and role model for the profession of nursing,” said Associate Dean Piri Ackerman, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.D.L.N., A.N.E.F., F.A.A.N., who has worked closely with King in his academic and community pursuits. “He has an extraordinary ability to bring people together. He takes risks to open dialogue to accomplish his goal of increasing inclusion in nursing and advancing health equity.”

A leader who ‘calls people in’

“Aron exemplifies the core values of the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing through the relationships he builds in the community, his commitment to health for all people, including underserved populations, and the way he collaborates with people who are too often overlooked by traditional systems,” added Dean Stephen Cavanagh, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N. “His work engaging Black men in wellness conversations reflects deep listening, empathy and collaboration with those directly impacted.”

That work comes to life through programs such as Barbershop Health Talks — a community education effort he helped create that’s designed to meet people where they are and build trust through conversation, peer support and practical health education. What began as virtual programming for Black men during the COVID pandemic grew into sustained community momentum in barbershops, including turnout that surprised even him.

“Once you start sharing health statistics, the guys are like, ‘We need to get more information like this out there.’ It’s just a huge disconnect,” he explained.

Among the fewer than 1% of Black male nurses in the nation, King also shared his experiences on the national documentary, “Everybody’s Work: Healing what hurts us all.” Upon graduation from the doctoral program, King is already thinking beyond his dissertation.

“Instead of looking at how we could get health into the barbershop,” he said, “why don’t we bring the barbershop into the clinic?”