Healing with Empathy: Dr. Anna Peeler ’13 Honors the Legacy of the Sisters of St. Mary’s

Driven by a deep commitment to service and health equity, Dr. Anna Peeler ’13 represents the selfless work of the Sisters of St. Mary’s. Just like Constance and her companions, Peeler is dedicated to helping under-resourced patients access the treatments and medicines they need through her work in palliative care. 

“It’s really powerful to be one teeny, tiny part of trying to make these patients’ lives better,” Peeler said. 

Because of her commitment to service and dedication towards health equity, she is the recipient of the 2025 St. Mary’s Young Alumna Award. 

After earning a nursing degree from the University of Alabama, Peeler began her career as a bedside nurse in the cardiovascular surgical intensive care unit at Johns Hopkins Hospital. There, she developed a passion for palliative care, prompting her to pursue a Ph.D. at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, focused on nurse-led palliative interventions. 

“In palliative care, I look at my patients’ symptoms and encourage open and honest communication about the prognosis of care for people who have life-limiting or life-threatening illnesses,” Peeler said. 

Continuing this work, Peeler is a research associate at the Cicely Saunders Institute of Palliative Care, Policy, and Rehabilitation at King’s College London, where she integrates palliative care into primary care systems. She is also helping the World Health Organization (WHO) train nurses in low to moderate-income countries. 

“I do a lot of advocacy work through the World Health Organization, and part of my role is to be a liaison between the researchers who work at Kings and the consultants who work at the WHO,” Peeler said. “I help them translate research into policy guidance for countries.”

Peeler’s work is grounded in a heartfelt commitment to supporting those in difficult situations. 

“The people I work with and talk to every day are really sick and are trying to find ways to make their lives feel meaningful,” Peeler said. “There is a lot of opportunity to make their lives better.”

Peeler credits her interest in health care to many of the opportunities she had at St. Mary’s. Through the St. Mary’s Community Fund, she engaged in hands-on service, which helped her discover her career focus.

“I was part of the St. Mary’s Community Fund, so I did some volunteering at the Church Health Center, and I think that sparked my interest in health care and health equity,” Peeler said. 

This interest, paired with the value of empathy she cultivated at St. Mary’s, set her on the path she follows today. Through the guidance of mentors and teachers and the lessons instilled in the Bridge to Caring, Peeler came to understand what it means to live with empathy and compassion. 

"The teachers encourage students to think about the people around them who might need help, and I think that also led me on my career path," Peeler said. 

“St. Mary's really shaped my values. I think St. Mary’s made me an empathetic person,” she said. “The teachers encourage students to think about the people around them who might need help, and I think that also led me on my career path.”

In addition to the instruction she received at St. Mary’s, Peeler attributes much of her success to the many St. Mary’s girls in her life. Anna’s two sisters, Dr. Mary Peeler ’11 and Margie Peeler ’17, went to St. Mary’s as well as their mother, Melissa Thrasher Peeler ’85. 

“St. Mary’s has been a big part of my family’s life,” Anna said. “In many ways, this award belongs to them too, because they got me to where I am.”