Margarita de la Fuente is the Director of Professional Practice and Magnet for Duke University Health System. de la Fuente began her nursing career at New York University's Langone Medical Center in New York, NY where she spent several years working in general medical/surgical units before accepting a role as a nursing quality specialist. de la Fuente continued her work of leading and facilitating quality improvement at Main Line Health System and later served as the System Director for Magnet and Professional Excellence for the five-hospital system. de la Fuente earned her undergraduate degree at Michigan State University for Audiology and Speech Sciences and graduated from the College of New Rochelle in 2005 with her BSN. She also holds a MSN from New York University and completed her DNP at Duke University School of Nursing.