welcome gator nurse alumni! uf college of nursing

College of Nursing Advancement Team

A Note From UF College of Nursing ADVANCEMENT team

We value and appreciate our friends and alumni. Without your support, we could not advance our efforts to change the face of nursing. We invite you to explore the Alumni and Giving web pages and see how our alumni are making a difference in nursing and health care across the globe and how you can support the future of Gator Nursing.

Our college is proud to have graduates who have gone on to become nursing leaders throughout Florida and the world. Gator Nurses have been elevating the standards of nursing and health care for more than 60 years.

Being a Gator Nurse means being a member of a lifelong community. In hospitals, at conferences and in communities across the world, discovering a fellow Gator Nurse brings an instant connection and understanding. We are committed to reconnecting Gator Nurses from across the globe through alumni events, news and fundraising.

To access the latest and past issues of The Gator Nurse, the college’s alumni magazine, click here. If you are not on The Gator Nurse mailing list and wish to receive a copy, please contact the Advancement Team.

Take this opportunity to explore what Gator Nurses are doing today – and how you can continue ensuring our college’s legacy.

Notable Gator Nursing Alumni

Gator Nursing Greats

Care

Irene Alexaitis (MSN 1997) DNP, RN, NEA-BC, is the Vice President of Nursing and Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer of UF Health Shands. Alexaitis has more than 30 years of nursing experience, with 28 years in administrative/ management positions. She joined UF Health Shands Hospital in 1989 as a nurse manager and has held various positions, including director of nursing from 2003 to 2008.
Prior to joining UF Health Shands Hospital, she held a variety of staff and management positions at Tampa General Hospital from 1980 to 1989. As Vice President, Alexaitis for coordinating and evaluating UF Health Shands Hospital’s nursing services and participating in coordination of activities throughout the UF Health Shands family of hospitals in Gainesville. She has responsibility for nursing policy development and standards, planning, employee relations, public relations and marketing, professional practice and performance management.

Betty Bell  (MSN 1965) has devoted her life to the care of families with young children at high risk for developmental delays. She developed the first interdisciplinary, early intervention programs in the State of Alabama to care for these families, educating both the community and health professionals about the children’s needs and abilities. Betty’s clear vision, expertise in child and family development, and human relationship skills shaped every aspect of The Bell Center for Early Intervention Programs. The meticulously-crafted programs include community resources (Creative Dance Foundation, Hand-in-Paw animal-assisted therapy), volunteers and local university students. With Betty’s leadership, expert teaching, and compassionate advocacy, The Bell Center has influenced the community of Birmingham and the State of Alabama, and has been recognized nationally.

“Betty has touched so many children’s lives and given so many families help and hope when they were faced with a child with special needs.”

Joseph Bertulfo, DNP, MPH, MSN, NP-C,  (BSN 1993) is the Deputy Director of the Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention (DHDSP) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  DHDSP’s mission is to provide public health leadership to improve cardiovascular health for all, reduce the burden, and eliminate disparities associated with heart disease and stroke through multiple cardiovascular disease prevention programs, such as the national Million Hearts® initiative.  Prior to his current role, he served as the Deputy Director for the Division of Applied Sciences, home to CDC’s premier scientific and leadership fellowship training programs including the Epidemic Intelligence Service.  He has been recognized for his contributions to nursing and public health on multiple occasions in the areas of healthcare quality improvement, public health emergency preparedness, and workforce development.  He is a recipient of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary’s Award for Distinguished Service; the Public Health Service Commissioned Officers Foundation Carruth Wagner Nursing Leadership Award; the U.S. Public Health Service Chief Nurse Officer Award; the University of Florida College of Nursing Dorothy M. Smith Nursing Leadership Award; and a two-time CDC Honor Award nominee. Dr. Bertulfo is an active member of the University of Florida College of Nursing Alumni Council and was named the College of Nursing’s Alumnus of the Year in 2014.  He holds advanced degrees in nursing and public health from The University of Alabama (Sigma  Theta Tau) and the University of South Florida.

Nancy Cross Hamilton, MN, RN (BSN 1964, MN 1966) has had a long career in nursing including clinical practice in pediatrics and teaching nursing students. As a UF student, Cross Hamilton became one of the founding members of the UF chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International, the nursing honor society. After graduating with her BSN in 1964, Cross Hamilton worked in the pediatric wing at Shands at UF, an experience which contributed to her love and passion for the care of children. Cross Hamilton came back to UF to pursue her master’s degree in pediatric nursing. She worked for many years as a professor teaching nursing care for children at St. Petersburg College from 1970-2000 and also practiced clinically at All Children’s Hospital. Cross Hamilton has also been an active volunteer with All Children’s and the Ronald McDonald House. Cross Hamilton received her Master of Nursing in 1966 as a Pediatric Clinical Specialist at UF’s newly established program. For 30 years, Cross Hamilton taught the nursing care of children to students at St. Petersburg College, until she retired in 2000.

Laurie Duckworth, PhD, ARNP,  holds a joint appointment as a Clinical Associate Professor at the UF College of Nursing and the Director of Clinical Research at UF Health Shands. In this role, she serves as a bridge between faculty members at the college and nurses in the hospital to foster research and assists the nurses at UF Health Shands hospitals with formulating clinical research projects. She previously served as the Director of Advanced Practice Nursing and Nursing Research at Nemours Children’s Clinic in Jacksonville.

Duckworth has contributed to more than 40 peer-reviewed publications, abstracts and presentations and has participated in more than 45 clinical research projects. Her research interests lie in improving health outcomes in children with asthma. Dr. Duckworth is a board-certified advanced registered nurse practitioner. She is a member of the Association of Clinical Research Professionals and the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.

Pamela Dulin, BSN, MSN, received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 1971 and her Master of Science in Nursing in 1988, both from UF. She has worked in various nursing roles at Florida Hospital Orlando since 1973. Her experience at Florida Hospital Orlando includes assistant nurse manager, critical care clinical educator, pulmonary critical care nurse specialist and clinical nurse liaison. She has served as an adjunct faculty member for the UF College of Nursing at Florida Hospital since 2009, overseeing the nursing preceptorship program. In this role, Dulin rounds on the nursing students once a week and performs a final evaluation at the end of the clinical transition. The amount of students she oversees who are completing their transition at Florida Hospital ranges from four to seven each year. She has extensive experience as a clinical instructor at numerous Central Florida nursing programs, including the University of Central Florida, Seminole State College and Valencia Community College. Prior to her experience at Florida Hospital, Dulin was a staff nurse and relief charge nurse at Shands in Gainesville from 1972-73.

Melinda Fawbush, ARNP, (BSN 1975, MSN 1983, DNP 2015) is a genetics specialist at Hill Breast Center at Baptist Health in Jacksonville. She’s an advanced registered nurse practitioner with special training in genetics tests and genetics counseling. Fawbush is also the coordinator of the cancer risk assessment program.

Barbara Emmel Geiger, BSN, RN, MBA HCM, (BSN 1974) has worked at the North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System since 2001, and currently serves as Chief Nurse, Ambulatory Care. She received her bachelor’s degree in nursing in 1974 from UF and a master’s degree in business administration in health care management in 2003 from the University of Phoenix. During her 40-year career in the nursing profession, Ms. Geiger has lived in six states experiencing many different nursing positions that led her to expand her nursing competence. Before moving back to her hometown of Gainesville, she worked in Atlanta for Wellstar Health Care System as a nurse educator and for Radiation Oncology Services as a performance improvement specialist. Ms. Geiger has volunteered in many civic and professional organizations, has been an active member of the UF College of Nursing Alumni Council, and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the UF Alumni Association.

Valerie Ginn (BSN 2005, MSN 2006) is a nurse working with a physician in private practice in medical-legal case evaluations, a position she has held for the past 29 years. She is involved in both civil and criminal work throughout the United States. In the last several years, she has been significantly involved with child abuse cases where they are hired by defense attorneys. In the past, Ginn has worked at Palms of Pasadena Hospital, St. Anthony’s Hospital and Shands. She has been a community volunteer with Habitat for Humanity, the St. Petersburg Public Library and the St. Petersburg Free Clinic. She has also knitted two shawls for the College of Nursing’s Comfort Shawl program.

Linda Jenkins’, MSN, ARNP, (BSN 1962) professional background includes being on the faculty of University of California-San Francisco where she taught 3rd year medical students during their obstetrical rotation. She has also taught child birth preparation and prenatal exercise classes and continuing education classes for registered nurses. In addition to working in hospital, public health and school nursing, she served as a consultant to a local hospital that brought the first alternative birth center.

Her book, ‘Pregnancy, Birth & You’ sold over 26,000 copies and is now out of print, but the Spanish edition was recently presented to the doctors in Nicaragua when she was there as part of the PINCC team.  Linda has traveled to numerous foreign countries, filming births, writing, teaching, doing surgical nursing.  She has gone as part of a Rotaplast team to Venezuela as well as completed 2 trips with the LN-4 Prosthetic Hand Project to Vietnam and Peru.  She has recently returned from the Woodland Rotary club project to Nicaragua, financed in part by a Rotary Foundation grant.

Rita Kobb, MN, APRN-BC,(BSN 1981, MSN 1996)  serves as the Director of the Sunshine Training Center and Education Program Specialist for the Office of Telehealth Services of the Veterans Health Administration.  Kobb specializes in Care Coordination/Care Management, Home Telehealth Consulting, and Gerontological Nursing and has been involved in more than 65 publications and creative works. She is a national speaker about care coordination and home telehealth in VHA. She is a recognized expert consultant in care coordination and home telehealth and serves as Chair of the American Telemedicine Association’s Home Telehealth Special Interest Group. Ms. Kobb’s leadership in the field of technology and health care has been recognized by the Veteran’s Administration Hospital System for her innovative approaches to improving care.

Beyond her professional career, Kobb’s dedication to Gator Nursing can be seen in her years of tireless service on our College of Nursing Alumni Council Board.  She remains passionate on providing ways to assist students with scholarships, and her personal efforts toward the annual Silent Auction has garnered thousands of dollars which go to the Alumni Council Student Book Awards.

Linda Owens, BSN, RN (BSN 1980) is currently a Research Programs/Services Coordinator for the College of Medicine’s Division of Nephrology where she has been since 2012. In her role, she serves as a primary coordinator of research studies which entails a number of aspects including regulatory compliance, research protocol, informed consent, recruitment of subjects, data collection and storage and documentation. Prior to roles with clinical research, she served as a staff nurse with the UF Health Physicians Group Practice and a health administrator at Prison Health Services. She has received numerous customer service nominations and was given the Regional Health Administrator Award through the Prison Health Services in 2000.

Leslie Parker, PhD, ARNP is a Clinical Associate Professor in the UF College of Nursing. She is a neonatal nurse practitioner who has had a joint practice in the UF Health NICU unit since 1990. Parker also has NIH-funded research which involves nutritional support of the premature infant with an emphasis on breastfeeding infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). She is currently funding by the National Institute of Nursing Research to study the risks and benefits of routine gastric residual aspiration and evaluation in very premature infants and the optimal timing of initiation of milk expression following the delivery of a very premature infant. She has been featured in many publications highlighting her research and expertise in neonatal nursing and nutrition of the premature infant.

Durward Rackleff, MSN, RN (BSN 2011) is a nurse consultant in the Office of Patient Safety and Clinical Quality at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (NIH CC) in Bethesda, Maryland. In his position, he manages an overhaul of the organization-wide adverse event reporting process, focusing on feedback loops and data analytics. He also serves as an advisor to the Deputy Director for Clinical Care in areas of patient safety, quality improvement, clinical administration, clinical practice, research evaluation, hospital accreditation, emergency preparedness, management of the environment of care, and the review of clinical research. Prior to this he was a clinical nurse in the Children’s National Health System in Washington, D.C.  He has lobbied several times for legislation for health equity and accountability as well as increased access to palliative care. Rackleff is a member of the National Association of Health care Quality and the DC Society of Health Policy Young Professionals.

Sherri Reynolds, MS, RN (BSN 1975) has dedicated her career to making a difference in the community. For the last 30 years, she has worked in the public school boards of Manatee and Sarasota Counties, first as the Coordinator of Health Education and then as the Supervisor of Pupil Support Services, respectively. Within her current role as an administrator at the School Board of Sarasota County, she established and managed the Grants Department, authoring and managing over 65 grants, and supervised innumerable community prevention programs. Reynolds has received numerous awards over the years, including the Florida Health School District Gold Award back-to-back years and most recently in July 2015: the ABC 7 Who Care Award for Leadership and Community Volunteerism in Sarasota. As she prepares to retire later this year, she plans to continue to commit time to her true passion of community service.

Chad Rhoden, MSN, ARNP (MSN 2014) currently serves as an advanced practice nurse in the UF Health Adult Lung Transplant Team.  In this role he manages the teaching of all new lung transplant patients in the hospital setting and the outpatient care clinic twice weekly providing assessment and treatment. He also serves as a UF OPS professor in the clinical education of nurse practitioner (DNP) students and works in Gainesville After Hours Primary Care and Urgent Care Center. Prior to that he served as a charge nurse at UF Health Shands in the Medicine/Telemetry Unit. When he graduated in 2014 with his master’s degree, he won the Lois Knowles Award for Excellence in Geriatric Nursing.

In her nomination of Rhoden, staff nurse and alumna Anne-Marie Bodor stated  “Chad is a great leader and patient advocate. He uses evidence-based practice in the experimental field of lung transplant to make decisions about the clinical treatment of his patients. As a new nurse he encourages me to do my best and reach my goals. If I’m half the nurse he is during my career, I will feel like I have accomplished my dreams.”

Peggy Rodebush, RN, MSN (MSN 1985) has been a registered nurse for 35 years.  She was a critical care nurse for many years and worked in various leadership roles for AvMed SantaFe.  She was awarded an American Lung fellowship and earned her master’s degree as a clinical nurse specialist from the University of Florida.  After moving to Tampa with her family in 2005, she became a Healthcare Partner at Ernst & Young and worked with nurses and doctors providing consulting services to hospitals across the United States.  She was hired by Ross Perot to build a clinical division for Perot Consulting and later led healthcare clinical consulting practices for IBM and Siemens, focusing on using technology to improve clinical outcomes and care in the U.S., Europe and the Middle East. Rodebush has been active at the national level with various healthcare organizations including HIMSS, AONE and Magnet.  She retired in 2014 to spend more time with her husband, Denny, three grown children and three grandchildren.

Denise Schentrup, DNP, ARNP, is the Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs at the College of Nursing. She is responsible for administrative tasks related to the College’s Faculty Practice Association. Schentrup is the Clinical Director of Archer Family Health Care, the College of Nursing’s nurse managed health center. She is also Lead Nurse Practitioner and provides quality, affordable care to individuals and families of Archer, Florida and surrounding rural areas. She supervises the clinical staff and provides oversight to the day to day operations of the practice and the Quality Improvement Program. Schentrup is a member of the implementation team for the electronic health record and provides leadership in the clinical documentation piece within the electronic health record. She is a member of the national consortium of the Alliance of Chicago and participates on a subcommittee on clinical documentation to improve clinical documentation within the electronic health record

Schentrup teaches graduate courses and serves as a preceptor in the clinical setting as well as participating on DNP project committees. She is the PrincipaI Investigator on an Interprofessional Collaborative Practice at Archer Family Health Care funded by HRSA.

Gator Nursing Greats

LEad

Major General (ret) Marianne Mathewson-Chapman, (PhD 1995, MSN, ARNP 1995) has had a long leadership career in non-traditional nursing roles in community cancer nursing, military and government service. Chapman served as a nurse in the Navy, the US Army National Guard and was promoted to Major General as the first nurse to be selected as Deputy Surgeon General for health policies for 350,000 National Guard members in 50 states. With her leadership experience in the military and being a nurse, Chapman lead the first interagency integrated program at 63 National Guard/Reserve demobilization sites, developed the first outreach program for Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) members and established a combat Veteran call center to reach out and call over one million returning combat Veterans that increased the care throughout the VA. She believes the UF College of Nursing influenced the development of her inquiring mind, foresight, nursing practice and service delivery innovation to promote high-quality standards in program development, coalition building and administering Veteran-centric, coordinated care at home and on the battlefield.

Joan Clark, MSN (1989), D.N.P., R.N., NEA-BC, CENP, FACHE, FAAN, is senior vice president and chief nurse executive for Texas Health Resources. Under Clark’s direction, four of Texas Health’s 14 wholly owned hospitals have earned Magnet® designation and/or re-designation from the American Nurse Credentialing Center (ANCC) – the highest level of recognition that a health care organization can receive for quality nursing care. Prior to joining Texas Health in March 2008, Clark served as senior vice president of Patient Services and chief nursing officer at Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C.  She has also served as vice president and chief nursing officer at Baptist Hospital of Miami, part of Baptist Health South Florida.

Clark is active in supporting the nursing profession, serving as a member and leader of a number of professional organizations, including the American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE). She completed two terms as a regional board of directors member for the AONE in 2006 to 2007 and 2011 to 2013. In October of 2015, she was elected to serve as 2016 president . Clark is a recipient of the Dorothy Smith Nursing Leadership Award from the University of Florida College of Nursing and was selected as Forth Worth Healthcare Hero in 2016. She was also recognized as a Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL) Visionary Leader in 2013 by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.

Ann-Lynn Denker, BSN (1973), PhD, ARNP, is currently the Chief Clinical Officer for Plaza Health and a Consultant to the Florida Action Coalition. She is a nurse educator, researcher, nursing consultant and health policy expert. Dr. Denker has extensive experience in clinical practice, education and research including roles of pediatric clinical nurse specialist, director of research, (IRB) human subjects, privacy and clinical electronic systems.  From 2013-2015, she served as the director of the Florida Action Coalition (Future of Nursing) statewide grant to develop leadership and diversity sponsored by RWJF and Florida Blue. She currently teaches graduate students at the Barry University School of Nursing. Additionally, Dr. Denker serves on the Board of the Health Council of South Florida. Previously, she served on the Florida Board of Nursing as Chair. During her tenure, she served as a fellow of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, studying regulatory issues with an interest in quality and ethical issues around for-profit nursing education. Dr. Denker graduated with a BS and MN from the University of Florida and received her PhD in nursing from the University of Miami. Dr. Denker is a long-standing member of the bioethics committees at Jackson Health System and serves on the College of Nursing Alumni Council Board.

Molly Crocker Dougherty, PhD, RN, (BSN 1965, MSN 1968, PhD 1973) was a professor at the University of Florida College of Nursing for 23 years between 1973 and 1996. She taught women’s health nursing, advised graduate student research, served as research coordinator and led a series of NIH-funded grants related to urinary incontinence in women and rural health. Following her career at UF, Dr. Dougherty served as the Frances Hill Fox Professor of Nursing at the University of North Carolina — Chapel Hill from 1996 to 2004 and as the editor of Nursing Research from 1997 to 2012. Dr. Dougherty is the author or co-author of over 125 published scholarly works. She received her bachelor’s degree in 1965 and master’s degree in 1968, both from the UF College of Nursing. She earned a PhD in Anthropology from UF in 1973.  Dr. Dougherty and her husband, Ed, currently live in Durham, NC, where she enjoys an active lifestyle and travel.

Jennifer Dungan, PhD, RN, (BSN 2001, MSN 2002, PhD 2006), a nurse scientist with expertise in cardiovascular genetics research, is Assistant Professor in the Duke University School of Nursing and a Senior Fellow of the Duke Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development. Dungan’s dissertation research (Alpha 1A- and Beta 2-Adrenergic Receptor Gene Expression in Human Hypertension), a multi-disciplinary project funded by the American Heart Association and an NINR-sponsored NRSA, was the first to evaluate adrenergic receptor gene expression patterns in a human model of hypertension.

Dungan completed a 2-year postdoctoral training fellowship with the Duke University Center for Aging and Human Development from 2006 to 2008, strengthening her expertise in the areas of aging, genomics, and cardiovascular disease. From 2007 to 2009, she was a Duke University John A. Hartford Jr. Faculty Fellow. In 2008, Dungan became a Senior Research Associate at the Duke School of Nursing. In 2009, she was awarded a prestigious K99 Pathway to Independence Award to study the genetics of aging and survivorship in coronary artery disease. She was recently awarded the Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center Scholar Award for her research in this area.

Dungan is currently a member of the American Heart Association, the Gerontological Society of America, the American Society of Human Genetics, and the International Society for Nurses in Genetics. She has contributed her expertise in genetics toward inter- and trans-disciplinary service efforts such as the Duke Medical Center Genetic Testing Advisory Council and the Duke School of Nursing Genetic/Genomic Task Force. She has experience teaching in graduate-level courses and has developed a number of undergraduate- and graduate-level guest lectures on topics related to genetics and genomics in health and disease.

Mary Kay Habgood, PhD, RN, (BSN 1967, MSN 1971) is an Emeritus Professor of the University of Florida College of Nursing, where she was on faculty from 1998-2001. She also served as an educational researcher and instructor in the nursing program at St. Petersburg College. She also was actively involved in nursing policy and served as Vice Chair for the Florida Board of Nursing. Habgood is a fellow of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing Institute of Regulatory Excellence, the research liaison for the Florida Center for Nursing, a member of the examination committee for the National Council of State Boards of Nursing and an active member of the American Nurses Association. She previously served as director and past president for the Florida League for Nursing. Habgood published the “Current Summary of Test Results” for the School Board of Manatee County.  She received her BSN and her MSN from the University of Florida and her PhD from the University of South Florida.

Myra Hancock MSNSG (1995)  served her 31-year nursing career in the advancement of healthcare standards for children and infants.

In 2001, she joined the administrative team at Arnold Palmer Hospital for Women and Children where she served as administrator for Pediatric services. In 2003, she became the Chief Operating Officer, and in 2007, with the opening of Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Infants, Myra was named the Vice President of Arnold Palmer Medical Center. Myra served as the Vice President and Chief Operating Officer until her retirement in 2013.

Over the years, Myra has lobbied in Tallahassee and D.C. for funding for Children and infants health care. She has served as a member of the National Association for Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions, a board member for Children’s Miracle Network and the Howard Phillips Center for Children and Families. Since her retirement, she remains busy volunteering at Shepherd’s Hope, painting and serving as a guest speaker on Nursing Leadership, Ethics, and children’s health issues.

Paul Ingledue, MBA, BSN (1991), began his career as a dental hygienist while stationed in New Mexico with the Air Force. Today, he serves as the President of Downstream Strategies, LLC, a holding company for a diverse group of companies to include healthcare, restaurants, motorcycle fabrication and customization, a wearable fitness device, apparel and commercial property. He is also a partner at Upstream Strategies, LLC, a company that partners with hospitals and physicians to improve the Business of Healthcare by utilizing their extensive knowledge  of healthcare finance, regulations, insurance, hospital operations, physician practices and clinical care. Prior to joining Upstream, Ingledue spent 11 years with MedCath Partners, LLC, moving through the ranks from director of outpatient cardiac services in 1997 to serving as vice president of operations from 2003 to 2008.

Ingledue is a recent Gator100 winner, an event that recognizes the top 100 fastest-growing businesses owned by UF alumni. His company ranked 23 out of 100.

Neal McFarlane (BSN 1994, MSN 1999) is Vice President at UCB, a global biopharma company, responsible for the development assets in osteoporosis.  He was previously responsible for the U.S. Immunology Business as Vice President and General Manager.

Prior to joining UCB, Mr. McFarlane was Managing Director of Inlet Partners, a Florida-based venture capital firm focused on life sciences, medical technology, information technology and energy management.  In addition, he held various domestic and overseas roles with Genzyme Corporation and SangStat Medical.

Prior to his entry into the BioPharma industry, Mr. McFarlane founded Clinical Consulting Group, a specialty healthcare consulting firm.  He held clinical positions at the University of Florida, College of Medicine, Transplant Program and the Veterans Administration Medical Center.

He currently serves on the Florida Institute for the Commercialization of Public Research, Investor Advisory Board, the University of Florida Sid Martin Biotechnology Incubator, Advisory Committee and the University of Florida Biomedical Engineering Advisory Board.

McFarlane proudly served 16 years in the United States Army Reserves.

Judith McFetridge-Durdle, PhD (1991), RN, has served as dean of the Florida State University College of Nursing since 2013. Her contributions in research have improved our understanding of the role of gender and menopause in the development of heart disease and provides essential evidence for nursing interventions to improve cardiovascular health in women.

Dr. McFetridge-Durdle led the development of the Seamless Care Model of Interprofessional Education, a unique model with the goal of assisting patients to assume a more central role in managing their illness. This model serves the nursing profession and the public by improving patient safety and supporting patient and family engagement in health care decisions. In support of her research, Dr. McFetridge-Durdle has received funding from the National Institutes of Health, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and Health Canada.

For six years, she served as mentor and associate director of FUTURE, the Canadian research training program that prepared cardiovascular nurse scientists to generate and disseminate nursing knowledge to improve patient care.

Susan McLean, MSN, RN (BSN 1967, MSN 1977) is chairman of South Lake Hospital Board of Directors, an Orlando Health Affiliate. McLean has served as chairman since 2007.  She first joined the hospital’s district board in 1988 and was appointed to the board of directors in 2003.  McLean was hired in 1978 by the University of Central Florida (UCF) to work with the State Board of Nursing and Community Hospitals to establish the nursing program at UCF.  In 1982, McLean helped found Lake-Sumter Community College’s (now Lake-Sumter State College) nursing program, where she was named director.  She has served on the board of several other organizations including the Florida Nurses Association Board, the Florida Nurses Association Foundation Board and the Community Foundation of South Lake.  McLean currently serves as HR Director at Uncle Matt’s Organic, a family-owned fruit and juice business that promotes organic agriculture and works to increase awareness in sustainable organic practices to promote a healthy next generation.

Marian Newton  BSN (1967) MSN (1972) While a student and “med-surg” nurse in the mid-1960’s, Marian Newton  BSN (1967) MSN (1972) found herself attracted to psychiatric nursing when observing depression in post-cardiac surgery patients at the Shands Teaching Hospital of the J. Hillis Miller Health Center at the University of Florida. The UF psychiatric nursing faculty inspired her passion for mental health care of both psychiatric and medical patients.

After becoming the first psychiatric nurse practitioner in Virginia licensed to prescribe in 2001, she launched the Shenandoah University (SU) PMHNP certificate program in 2004, which was soon followed by PMHNP as an SU graduate nursing specialty. The ANCC exam and Shenandoah PMHNP programs are increasing the availability of prescribing PMHNPs to treat vulnerable populations, i.e., those underserved by psychiatrists.Since 2002 she co-initiated a behavioral health service within the Free Medical Clinic of Northern Shenandoah Valley in Winchester, VA for under-insured medically ill persons with psychiatric problems. This launched integrated medical and mental health care in that facility. She works one day every other week for a regional community service board to care for under-insured patients with complex psychiatric problems.Newton is a 2013 Virginia Nurses Foundation Leadership in Nursing Education award recipient and the assistant dean for advising, progression and retention at the SU Eleanor Wade Custer School of Nursing.

Pam Michell MHA, RN (BSN 1969) has been Chief Nursing Officer of Munroe Regional Medical Center since 2010 and serves as its Vice President. Michell has worked for Munroe Regional for more than twenty years; ten years in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and returning in 2000. Michell served many positions in nursing,administration, workforce development, and human resources at Munroe. She served as Vice President of Heart and Vascular Services at Munroe since 2007. Mrs. Michell provides executive leadership to all areas of Patient Care Services, Munroe Heart, Laboratory, Respiratory and Imaging Services.

Diane S. Raines, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, MSNSG (1983) has served at Baptist Health for more than 35 years in a number of capacities, both nursing and non-nursing. She worked her way through the ranks, starting with staff nurse, educator and cardiac rehabilitation nurse. She later held several management positions, including Director of Cardiac Services, Director of Business Development, Vice President of Corporate Communications and Senior Vice President of Organizational Effectiveness.

Raines has presented locally, nationally and internationally on leadership and nursing-related topics. She stays involved in the community through the United Way of Northeast Florida and the Bridge of Northeast Florida, where she currently serves on the Board of Directors. She has also completed several mission trips, including a medical mission to Haiti, a trip with Habitat for Humanity in Costa Rica and a health education mission to Ethiopia.

Raines is an active member of the American Nurses Association and a recipient of the 2010 University of Florida College of Nursing Alumna of the Year.

Carr Scott (BSN 1996) is an entrepreneur specializing in health care informatics and technology.  Scott started Poseidon Group in 1998 with a focus on emergency physician documentation and web-based evidence systems.  That quickly spread to the entire Emergency Department (nursing, ancillary staff) as they created and implemented the first web-based Emergency Department Information System that seamlessly integrated with existing hospital information systems.  This included a partnership with Shands at UF where they automated a busy and complex Shands ED from 2005 to 2012.

In 2006, as urgent care centers began to emerge in the market, Scott and business partners started Urgent Care Works, which automated documentation at urgent care centers and had a practice management front end and electronic coding and claims backend.  In 2012, he sold The Poseidon Group and Urgent Care Works to NextGen Healthcare.  Since then he has founded the Charles Sebastian Consulting (named after his children) which is focused on start-ups and investing, advising and growing businesses. Scott also served in the U.S. Army Reserve from January 1990 to December 2013 in a Combat Support Hospital. He has sat on multiple advisory boards within the American College of Emergency Physicians and Urgent Care Association of America.

Scott believes his experience at the College of Nursing helped to shape his desire and ability to successfully pursue a career as an entrepreneur.  “The curriculum at the College of Nursing is based on critical thinking and problems solving.  These two skills have helped me to start and maintain a successful business,” Scott said.

Elizabeth Shenkman, PhD, (BSN 1979, MSN 1982) is the chairperson for the Department of Health Outcomes and Policy at the University of Florida College of Medicine, the Director of the OneFlorida Clinical Research Consortium and the Co-Director of the NIH-funded University of Florida Clinical and Translational Science Institute (UF-CTSI). Dr. Shenkman’s research focuses on determining how health care delivery, community, and patient factors influence quality and outcomes of care; and developing corresponding evidence-based strategies to improve health outcomes. Dr. Shenkman is the lead Co-Principal Investigator (PI) for the PCORI-funded OneFlorida Clinical Data Research Network, which is a statewide alliance of three academic centers and six health system partners. In her role as the Co-Director of the CTSI, Dr. Shenkman leads the Implementation Science Program, which develops strategies to promote the uptake of evidence-based best practices in health care settings. Additionally, Dr. Shenkman is the PI of a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services-funded randomized clinical trial designed to examine effects of the combined use of health navigators and a flexible wellness account on cardiovascular disease risk reduction among individuals with co-occurring physical and mental health conditions. She is a triple-alumna of the University of Florida, receiving her BSN in 1979, MSN in 1982 and her PhD from the College of Education in 1987.

Phyllis McCully Tousey, RN, MSPH, (BSN 1973), holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the UF College of Nursing and a Master of Science in Public Health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Today, she is a Research Nurse Specialist for Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where she serves as a resource for health information in the International Epidemiology Field Station of its Southern Community Cohort Study. Prior to this, she served as an adjunct professor of epidemiology at the University of North Florida and a research coordinator for St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Cancer Data Services, the Heart and Lung Institute, and the Infection Control Department.

Her research has been featured in several publications, including the Journal of Occupational Medicine, the American Journal of Infection Control and the Southern Medical Journal.Tousey is happily married with two children and three grandchildren. She taught Youth Sunday School at Palms Presbyterian Church for several decades, and currently represents that church on the Board of “The Sanctuary on 8th Street”, a mission for children in the inner city of Jacksonville. She loves living in Atlantic Beach and walking in the tidal pools!

Donna Zahra, PhD, ARNP, (MSN 1979, PhD 2002) completed her nursing career as the Director of Nursing at the Nemours Children’s Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. In her clinical role as an Advanced Practice Nurse at Nemours, she specialized in caring for children with spina bifida and their families. Her focus was on developing independence skills and preparing youth and parents for the transition to adult life. She was also the founding Executive Director of the Webb Center for Independent Living, a non-profit established to assist children with disabilities to develop the skills necessary to reach their potential for independence and self-sufficiency.  Dr. Zahra was professionally involved in the Spina Bifida Association of America. She also was the chair of the Nursing and Healthcare Professionals Council, a member of the Professional Advisory Council and a member of the National Board of Directors. She received her MSN and PhD in Nursing from the University of Florida and a Masters in Counseling Psychology from the University of North Florida. Donna remains actively involved in organizations in the Jacksonville community. She is currently a member of the Women’s Giving Alliance and the Women’s Board of Wolfson Children’s Hospital. She is a graduate of Leadership Jacksonville and a past president of the Junior League of Jacksonville. She has served on several community boards including the United Way, Jacksonville Community Council, Inc. and Hospice of Northeast Florida. Dr. Zahra is married to Ellis Zahra, has four children, five grandsons and a sixth grandchild due in April.

Gator Nursing Greats

Inspire

Anastasia Albanese-O’Neill (BSN 2009, MSN 2013, PhD 2014) is an expert in the management of pediatric type 1 diabetes. She is a nationally board certified diabetes educator through NCDBE and a nationally certified pediatric nurse practitioner through PNCB. Albanese-O’Neill is on faculty and provides patient care at the UF Diabetes Institute. Prior to that she was on faculty at the UF College of Nursing. In April, Albanese-O’Neill was on a speaker panel that testified at the White House addressing diabetes as part of her advocacy efforts on behalf of the American Diabetes Association.

Beyond her professional background, Albanese-O’Neill has a personal connection to Type I diabetes. Her daughter was diagnosed with the disease at 16 months old and since then she has become an active diabetes advocate, currently serving on multiple national boards and committees related to her research and clinical practice in Type 1 diabetes. She was inspired to study nursing after her daughter was diagnosed.

Albanese-O’Neill conducts research on the role of technology in Type 1 diabetes management, and her interests include smartphone and tablet technology interventions.

Brenda Barton-Wheaton (BSN 1971, MSN 1973) is an independent wellness and fitness individual who is a retired mental health services manager. She has her master’s degree in psychiatric-mental health nursing. Barton-Wheaton committed a $3 million gift in 2012 along with her husband Richard to the College of Nursing to fund education and research focused on quality of life for patients and their families dealing with mild to moderate traumatic brain injuries, post-traumatic stress disorder and related conditions.

“Our vision for this gift is to support talented individuals in their efforts to obtain an education and conduct research to discover optimal ways to provide excellent care for individuals with mild to moderate traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder and their families,” Barton-Wheaton said. “We hope that education and research leads to better care for patients and that their families are better educated regarding these conditions and more able to advocate for optimal care.”

Dee Dee Boyington (MSN 1986, PhD 1997) is retired from the Moffitt Cancer Center where she served as Director of Nursing Research and was a courtesy faculty member at the University of South Florida. At Moffitt, Boyington was responsible for building the nursing research capacity through development of research skills of direct care staff nurses; design of studies that investigate clinical problems; oversight for all nursing research studies; and dissemination of study findings. She received funding from the National Institute of Nursing Research to design and test a computerized expert system to deliver evidence- based interventions to women with bladder control problems and more recently was co-investigator on a NCI funded project to investigate urinary symptoms in breast cancer survivors. In addition, Boyington has applied principles of online teaching and of adult education in graduate level coursework delivered by electronic learning platforms.

In addition, Boyington is a loyal Gator Nurse alumna, having served as a longtime active member of the UF Nursing Alumni Council.

Patricia Chamings (BSN 1964, MSN 1965) After graduating from UF, Chamings worked as a supervisory nurse at Shands for four years. In 1969, she moved to Nashville to teach at Vanderbilt University Hospital. In 1970, Patricia became a captain in the U.S. Air Force in Murfreesboro, TN. She joined the Tennessee Air National Guard’s Air Evacuation Unit in 1974. Patricia worked as an air evacuation nurse, flight instructor, flight examiner, and educational coordinator until 1984, when she moved to Atlanta to teach at Emory University. Patricia then served with a detachment of the 13th Contingency Hospital at Robins Air Force Base in Georgia until 1987. In addition to her Guard duty, Patricia served as interim dean at the School of Nursing at University of North Carolina Greensboro from 1985 to 1990.

In 1991, she was called to active duty during Operation Desert Storm to help set up a hospital facility at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. She was an individual mobilization augmentee at the Pentagon until her retirement. In 2008, Chamings established a fund to support scholarships and fellowships for nursing students in honor of those in her family who were nurses.

Myrna Courage, PhD, RN, (MSN 1973) is a professor emeritus of the UF College of Nursing and served as Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs from 1996-2003. She served on the UF CON faculty since 1973 and was appointed an administrator in 1979. During her academic career, she authored books and publications on nursing education, psychiatric/mental health conditions in the elderly and stress management in students. Courage mentored many students who credit her support for their success in the nursing program. She received many HRSA nurse traineeships to benefit the college as well as grants to boost technology and instructional resources in the classroom. Courage served on UF’s Curriculum Committee and was an active member of the minority mentor program.

“What I am most proud of in my years at the College was in working with my colleagues to provide optimal learning environments for students. Our students inspire us as faculty to prepare them to meet the challenges of education in health care,” Courage said.

Vivian Filer (BSN 1972) is now retired from nursing and served as a pediatric nurse at UF Health Shands Hospital and a Professor of Nursing and Assistant Director of Health Sciences at Santa Fe College.  She is founder and past president of the Greater Gainesville Black Nurses, Inc. Although retired, she remains one of Gainesville’s most active community members, especially in lower-income neighborhoods. Filer is the champion of the Springhill Neighborhood Watch Association where she helps ensure the safety and well-being of one of Gainesville’s oldest historically African-American communities. She is Chair of the Board of Directors of the Cotton Club Museum and Cultural Center (CCMCC). Filer is a member of the Community Redevelopment Agency’s (CRA) Eastside Advisory Board and works with the Alachua County Library District’s Board of Trustees.

For many years, Filer has been a very popular storyteller and singer in Gainesville. She performs for all types of audiences for the sheer joy of performing, including performances for government dignitaries, elementary school children and all groups in between.

Filer was a leader in fighting for integration of Alachua General Hospital, and local businesses through her work with local civil rights groups. She was the recipient of the 2008 Dorothy M. Smith Nursing Leadership Award in Service.

Karen Hanson, MSN, RN (BSN 1966, MSN 1986) retired from nursing in 2008 after a long and distinguished career in health care administration, most previously as the Director of Accreditation Services at Florida Hospital.  Hanson spent 22 years at Florida Hospital, directing quality improvement and managing Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) accreditation services for the 1785-bed, 7-campus hospital, which includes 14 urgent care centers. Among her key accomplishments include coordinating JCAHO surveys for the entire hospital.

In 2002 and 2012, Hanson was named an Outstanding Quality Professional by the statewide Florida Association for Healthcare Quality. Hanson was part of core group which was responsible for bringing the University of Florida Master’s in Nursing program to the Orlando area in 1985 where it remained until 2000. She is an active member of the UF Nursing Alumni Council.

Mark Jones, BSN, (BSN 1985) is the President and an original shareholder of Ven-A-Care of the Florida Keys, Inc., an infusion pharmacy that has been in business since 1987. Jones and his company have been active in false claims act cases since the early 1990s. In the late 1980s, Mr. Jones jointly founded Ven-A-Care, which delivered drug therapy to patients, many who were afflicted with HIV/AIDS, in their homes, allowing them to maintain a more normal lifestyle. Mr. Jones served as the home health nurse who visited many of these patients. Through a twist of fate, he and his Ven-A-Care colleagues found themselves investigating false claims issued by a competing pharmaceutical company. Ven-A-Care filed a false claims lawsuit as whistleblowers acting on behalf of the government.

Since that time, Mr. Jones and his partners have consulted on many cases involving pharmaceutical fraud and helped provide information for lawsuits. Ven-A-Care’s work has brought back more than $1 billion dollars to the public fiduciary. Mr. Jones and his company have personally testified before Congress on price reporting issues concerning Medicare and have been commended by Congress for their work in the false claims act area.

Ann Lurie (BSN 1966) administers the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Foundation, a private philanthropic foundation in Chicago that provides funding for projects she is passionate about and are aligned with a template she and her late husband Bob developed before he died. While supporting charitable endeavors in Chicago and throughout the world, she has developed a particular interest in funding medical treatment, research, education and prevention.

Lurie moved to Chicago in 1973 where she married Bob Lurie. Before starting her family, she worked in public health and pediatric intensive care nursing in rural Florida and at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago. Lurie founded and served as president of Africa Infectious Disease Village Clinics, Inc. (AID Village Clinics), a registered U.S. public charity focused on providing free quality medical care and public health services to rural communities in southeastern Kenya until its closing in late 2012.

In 2010, Lurie was appointed Adjunct Assistant Professor, Preventive Medicine, at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. In 2009, UF awarded her an honorary Doctor of Public Service degree.

Patti Moore, MSN, ARNP, (BSN 1974, MSN 1982) is the founder of The Watershed Group, a nationwide strategic consulting, speaking and coaching company based on hospice concepts of care, including compassion, wholeness, dignity, respect and empowerment.  Moore helps organizations manage change into positive growth and financial stability. Prior to founding The Watershed Group, Moore was the Executive Director of Hospice of North Central Florida (now Haven Hospice), leading that organization to a position of national prominence— building the ET York Hospice Care Center exclusively serving terminally ill patients and their loved ones.

Moore began her career in the nursing profession. She was a surveyor/consultant for the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations, a former president of Florida Hospices and Palliative Care, Inc., a founding member of the National Hospice Work Group and board member at Oak Hammock CCRC in Gainesville. She has spoken widely on issues of caring for the dying and end of life care. Moore is author of No Mission No Margin: Creating a Successful Hospice with Care and Competence published in 2014 and co-author of the book How Goes It with Your Soul, published in 2001.

Linda Moody, PhD, MSN, MPH, FAAN, (BSN 1965, MSN 1969) retired in 2007 as a distinguished professor emeritus from the University of South Florida. she previously served as a faculty member and co-director of the PhD program at the UF College of Nursing. While at UF, she started the first computer lab for faculty and graduate students and was one of two faculty members to first receive NIH research funding in 1984.

At USF, Dr. Moody served as Director of Research and Associate Dean of Graduate studies.  In 1997, she was instrumental in developing the school’s PhD nursing program after receiving a federal grant from Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Dr.  Moody’s research interests have long been focused in the areas of palliative care and end of life, especially aging issues. She is also interested in the development and testing of clinical informatics applications to improve patient care and patient safety.  Having received numerous state and national awards, including the Florida nurses Association Researcher Award and the university of south Florida Distinguished Scholar Award, Dr.  Moody remains active in research and consulting and serves as an editorial board member of Holistic Nursing Practice, Nursing Science Quarterly, and Healthcare Quality of Life International.

Gayle Olson, BSN, (BSN 1961) graduated from the University of Florida College of Nursing’s second graduating class and worked at Shands Hospital as a psychiatric nurse after graduating. She relocated to the west coast and worked in psychiatric nursing in a state and private psychiatric hospital. Gayle then sold real estate in Silicon Valley. Gayle and her husband Gary now reside in Oak Hammock in Gainesville and are loyal supporters of UF and the College of Nursing. Their giving to the College totals $3 million. One million dollars of the gift will be used to establish the “Margaret Giles Boyer Housel Professorship,” and the remaining $2 million will be used to establish the “Margaret Giles Boyer Housel Nursing Fellowship” to support fellowship awards for graduate students in the College of Nursing. The gift is in honor of Olson’s mother, Margaret Giles Boyer Housel, who graduated from the Kahler School of Nursing in Rochester, Minnesota, and who was committed to advanced nursing education.

“It is our desire that the College of Nursing have funds to attract and retain excellent teachers and top students who will go on to make significant contributions in research and teaching,” Olson said.

Rose Rivers, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FNAP (BSN 1988, MSN 1999, PhD 1995) is the Founder, Principal and Primary Consultant for Restoring Joy to Leadership, a Christian Spiritually based organization dedicated to helping leaders maximize their potential to make a difference in the lives of others as well as their own. Rose has served as Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer for St. Vincent’s Medical Center, Jacksonville, Florida and Shands Healthcare (now UF Health), Gainesville, Florida. She is an active American Nurses Credentialing Center Magnet TM appraiser.

Starting at age 16 in a Florida nursing home, Rivers advanced steadily through a series of nursing positions and educational degrees, most of them in Gainesville at the University of Florida and its primary teaching hospital, the 576-bed Shands Hospital at the University of Florida. Rivers has broken many barriers and received numerous accolades during her nursing and leadership career. An honorary Rose Rivers Scholarship was created to honor Rivers at UF Health Shands.

Rebeca Siguenza Guatemala, BSN, RN, (BSN 2016) is a recent BSN graduate who now works on the ____ unit of UF Health Shands. While a student, she was on the Academic Partnership Unit in UF Health Shands hospital. She is originally from El Salvador but moved to St. Augustine in 2005. Siguenza Guatemala performed many hours of community service in high school and graduated with over 500 hours of community service and first two years of college. These activities include 4 years of volunteering and translating at Wildflower clinic for the underserved in St. John’s County. She also volunteered in the library system as well as international projects. Her future career plans include becoming a family nurse practitioner and continuing service to the community and international outreach to provide care for other people in countries that need these health services.

Ann Pauline Smith (MSN 1967) practiced staff nursing and first line management in Iowa, Texas, and Pennsylvania before earning her MN at UF.  Upon completion of her master’s degree, she was offered a faculty position by Dean Dorothy Smith.  She taught Medical-Surgical Nursing to junior students for five years as well as the clinical supervision of the orthopedic inpatient service.

Ann served as North Florida Regional Medical Center’s first Assistant Director for Nursing Service for four years as one of the founding employees.  In 1977 she assumed the Director position until 1990. Beginning in 1990 she began the formal Risk Management Program and retired from North Florida Regional Medical Center in 1995.

Since retiring, she maintains an active schedule of participating in the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program at the University of Florida which included interviews with retired college of nursing faculty. She has coordinated the Veterans History Project, collecting oral histories of veterans of military service.  Smith is also an active member of the UF Nursing Alumni Council.

Jo Snider (MSN 1965) is Professor Emeritus of the UF College of Nursing, where she retired in 2014.  She taught more than 6,000 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral students in her 46 years at the University of Florida College of Nursing. At the time of her retirement, she taught in both the undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as directed the undergraduate Honors Program.

Snider was recognized year after year by students and colleagues for her effective and innovative teaching. On 16 separate years, undergraduate students voted her as “Outstanding Faculty Member” and she received five “Teacher of the Year” awards. Snider developed one of the first undergraduate honors research programs in the country in 1981.  In addition, she has consistently demonstrated a distinguished record of scholarly accomplishments in the field of psychiatric‐mental health nursing.

In honor of her career, the Martha “Jo” Snider Fellowship was established by a former student, to provide financial assistance to College of Nursing students pursuing graduate degrees in psychiatric-mental health nursing.

Susan Stone, MSN, RN (MSN 1990) has worked in many areas of health care including operating room, bedside nursing, office nursing, blood bank nursing, school nursing, and higher education. For 28 years, Stone was a Professor of Nursing at Valencia College, retiring in 2011. Her emphasis included adult care and leadership theory. Stone is proficient in online and classroom teaching. She is a published author and has presented frequently at both state and national meetings. She also owned several health-related companies providing marketing and consulting services.

Stone served as a founding board member for BETA and Health Care Center for the Homeless. She also served as President of Florida Nurses Association District 8 and was a long-term Ombudsman for the State of Florida. She is still working as a health screener and coach for several companies serving Florida residents. Now retired, Stone continues to remain actively involved in several community associations. She is past president of the UF Nursing Alumni Council.

Inez Tuck, PhD, RN, MBA, M.Div. (MN 1972) is the Dean of the School of Nursing at the MGH Institute of Health Professions in Boston, Massachusetts. She assumed her position at MGH in March 2016 after serving as Dean of the School of Nursing at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, North Carolina and Associate Dean and Professor of Nursing at Virginia Commonwealth University. In addition, Dr. Tuck’s career in academic nursing as a research scholar, teacher, mentor and leader included appointments at the University of North Carolina campuses at Chapel Hill and Greensboro and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Tuck conducts research focusing on healing, spiritual care and forgiveness with individuals suffering with chronic or terminal illnesses, stigmatized conditions, and the devastating life event of death of a family member by homicide. She has published on the topics of spirituality and healing. She serves as an instructor for nurse leaders enrolled in the National League for Nursing LEAD program. Tuck has been recognized as an Outstanding Gator alumnus.

Myra Dee Williams, PhD, RN, (BSN 1972, MSN 1973) retired from the UF College of Nursing after 35 years of service in 2014. She had been the Executive Associate Dean and Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs at the College of Nursing since July 1996. Williams also oversaw Archer Family Health Care, (AFHC), the College of Nursing’s comprehensive, nurse-managed health center.

Williams served in a number of faculty and administrative roles, including Director of the College’s Baccalaureate Studies.  In 2001, Williams was instrumental in bringing Archer Family Health Care to the small, rural town of Archer just outside of Gainesville. The nurse-managed health center, which celebrated its 10th year in 2011, partners with a local rural community to expand access to high-quality care for the underserved. Now a nationally recognized model, AFHC has an average of more than 6,000 visits per year. Williams also oversaw the implementation of a state-of-the-art electronic health record system.