Lynda Boyer-Chu

Curious about cultural diversity and global health, Lynda applied for summer internships during her BSN program — first with Crossroads Africa and then in Harlan, Kentucky — where she experienced communities with rich histories and cultures. She found her calling.

Early in her career, she worked with the International Rescue Committee in Thailand, assisting Cambodian refugees. At the San Francisco Unified School District, she directed projects on adolescent immunizations funded by the Centers for Disease Control, which enabled her to publish papers and conduct workshops across the U.S. She also mentored nursing and medical students as they earned their clinical hours. As a Fulbright Specialist, she taught at a university in Vietnam where she forged deep connections with nursing faculty; she returns every year to teach public health topics.

The top ten causes of mortality are largely preventable and nurses can make a difference. She hopes to inspire USF students to think beyond the hospital by introducing them to community settings where “health really happens.”

• Adolescent immunizations 
• Oral health and impact on systemic health
• Global health opportunities for nurses

• Oral health of low-income seniors in the Tenderloin

• Journal Reviewer, Journal of School Nursing
• Member and former Co-Chair, UCSF Center for Community Engagement

• Johns Hopkins University, MPH in International Health, 1980
• Columbia University, BSN in Nursing, 1977

• Associate Clinical Professor, UC San Francisco (current)
• Fulbright Specialist Professor, Tra Vinh University, Vietnam
• Wellness Center Nurse, San Francisco Unified School District
• Director-Refugee Nurse Training Project, Peralta Community College District/Laney College
• Public Health Nurse, International Rescue Committee, Khao I Dang, Thailand

• University of San Francisco Distinguished Teaching Award, 2026 
• Fulbright Specialist Award in Global Health
• Distinguished Service Award, San Francisco Unified School District
• Exemplary Community Health Partner Award, San Francisco Department of Public Health
• Inducted into Delta Omega, Honor Society in Public Health
• Inducted into Sigma Theta Tau, Honor Society in Nursing

• Fulbright as Opportunity for U.S. Nursing Educators and International Nursing Schools. T.H.T. Huynh, N.G.N. Nguyen, et al. Journal of Nursing Education. (2024)
• Challenged by immunization compliance? Five steps for urban high schools with multilingual students. NASN School Nurse. (2020)
• Disease Prevention (chapter editor). Selekman, J., Shannon, R.A., and Yokaitis, C.F. (Eds). NASN School Nursing, A Comprehensive Text, 3rd edition. Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis Company. (2017)
• Authored sections: Coordinated school health model; Immunizations: site-based services. Wiley, D.C. & Corey, AC. (Eds). Encyclopedia of School Health. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publishing. (2013)
• Tips for Tdap triumph: implementing a statewide law in an urban school district. NASN School Nurse, 2013 May; 28(3),134-7. (2012)
• Li, C, Freedman, M., Boyer-Chu, L. Championing school-located influenza immunization: the school nurse’s role. Journal of School Nursing, 25 (Suppl 1),18S-28S. 2009.