Willis, Kuo, Ackerman, Meleis, Ackerman, Woleslagle Blank

Leadership in Action: Alumni, Faculty, Staff and Student Milestones

Nursing Leaders
May 21, 2024
By School of Nursing Communications

Faculty, staff, students and alumni of the UCSF School of Nursing are leading innovative projects to promote health quality and equity worldwide. 

Afaf Meleis

Afaf Meleis to be Honored With National Humanism in Medicine Medal

Professor Emerita Afaf I. Meleis, PhD, DrPS(hon), FAAN is the recipient of the Gold Foundation’s National Humanism in Medicine Medal. Meleis will receive the award in recognition of her advocacy for healthier communities at the foundation’s annual gala on June 10. 

Brandee Woleslagle Blank To Be Honored With Chancellor Award for Exceptional University Service

Brandee Woleslagle Blank, MA, academic program manager, is the recipient of the 2024 Chancellor Award for Exceptional University Service. The award recognizes staff employees for their extraordinary professional commitment and individual contribution to university service and citizenship that goes beyond the scope of their individual functions. 

Woleslagle Blank will be honored along with other awardees at the UCSF Founders Day Celebration on May 28.

Brandee Woleslagle Blank

Michelle Pelter

Michele Pelter Named Distinguished Research Lecturer

Michele Pelter, PhD, RN, FAHA, has been named the 2024 Distinguished Research Lecturer by the American Association of Critical Care Nurses. The honor recognizes Pelter’s contributions to nursing science and practice. 
 
Pelter will discuss her career and research journey during AACN’s National Teaching Institute & Critical Care Exposition, May 20-22 in Denver. The American Journal of Critical Care will publish an abstract of her presentation in its May issue, followed by a complete manuscript in July.
 

Kayla Longoria Honored With New Researcher Award

Postdoctoral fellow Kayla Longoria, PhD, MA, RN, is the recipient of the Carol A. Lindeman Award for a New Researcher from the Western Institute for Nursing (WIN). She is jointly mentored by faculty members Sandra Weiss, PhD, RN, FAAN, and Elena Flowers, PhD, RN, FAAN. Longoria received her award at the WIN conference in April.

Kayla Longoria

MS HAIL

MS-HAIL Celebrates a Decade of Success

This year marks a significant milestone for the MS-HAIL program: it's 10th anniversary! Over the past decade, 21 cohorts of students have completed the innovative program. The celebration of MS-HAIL took place during UCSF Alumni Weekend in April.

Monifa Willis Named Chief of Staff of DA Office 

Monifa Willis, MS, PMHNP, assistant professor, is the new chief of staff of the San Francisco District Attorney's Office. In this role, she will lead the launch of programs and initiatives focusing on prevention and intervention efforts that will improve public safety while advancing smart community-led criminal justice reform. She will work with community advisory boards and staff to navigate and influence legislation and policy change in the criminal justice reform landscape.

Julene Johnson

Julene Johnson Appointed Advisor to Brain Health Collaborative

Julene Johnson, PhD, professor, was appointed an advisor to AARP's new Brain Health Action collaborative, a multi-year, multi-faceted initiative to energize people to choose brain healthy lifestyles. By encouraging adoption of brain healthy behaviors, the organization hopes to transform the current fatalistic narrative into a more action-oriented, constructive and realistic one focused on building brain health.

Marianne Biangone Appointed to Board of International Society 

Assistant Dean Marianne Biangone, PhD, RN, CNE, professor, has been appointed to the Board of Directors of the International Society for Professional Identity in Nursing. 

KT Waxman, DNP, RN, FAAN

KT Waxman Appointed to AACN-AONL Committee, AACN Subcommittee

KT Waxman, DNP, MBA, FAAN, professor, has been appointed to serve on the Academic-Practice Advisory Committee of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) and American Organization for Nursing Leadership. The committee will discuss issues and opportunities for collaboration among academic and practice leaders to advance a shared vision for integrating education and practice. In addition, Waxman will serve as a member of the AACN Doctoral Conference Subcommittee for a two-year term through March 2026. 

Dismantling Modern Day Jim Crow

Jennifer James, PhD, MS, MSW, associate professor, was a moderator and speaker at the Segregated Healthcare: Dismantling Modern Day Jim Crow symposium on April 19. The event brought together lawyers, historians, clinicians, social scientists, community members and policymakers to share strategies for integrating care and to build partnerships to dismantle segregated care.

Jennifer James

Angel Kuo

Angel Kuo on Inspiring Innovative IPE and NP Residency Preceptors

Angel Kuo, EdD, MSN, PNP, professor, co-represented the UCSF Program for Interprofessional Practice and Education and co-presented the poster “Inspiring Innovative IPE in Clinical Settings Through an Internal Grants Program” at the National Academies of Practice Annual Conference from March 15-16 in Jacksonville, Florida. In addition, Kuo presented her paper “Identity Formation and Role Expansion for Nurse Practitioner Residency Preceptors: A Qualitative Thematic Analysis” at the American Educational Research Association’s Annual Conference, April 11-14 in Philadelphia.

Sara Ackerman on Patient Health Data

Sara Ackerman, PhD, MPH, associate professor and the director of Regulatory Knowledge and Support (RKS) at the UCSF Clinical and Translational Science Institute, was a guest presenter at the UC Health Data Conference, April 17-18 in Irvine. There, Ackerman and her team shared findings from RKS’s ethnographic project on patient data governance at UCSF.
 

Sara Ackerman

Faculty members attend the California Association for Nurse Practitioners 46th Educational Conference
From left: Birch; Juri Sanchez, MSW, associate director of UCSF's Restorative Justice Practices Office; Vanndy Loth, DNP, MPH, PMHNP, assistant professor; Stacey Green, DNP, PMHNP, from the UCLA School of Nursing; Melino; and Gatewood.

 

Faculty Share Expertise at CANP Conference

School faculty members attended the California Association for Nurse Practitioners' 46th annual Educational Conference from March 19-21 that focused on improving and expanding practice.

Elizabeth Gatewood, DNP, FNP, assistant dean, was the speaker for the session "The Path to Clinician Educator: How to Get There and Why You Want to be There."

Kara Birch, DNP, RN, PMHNP, associate professor, was a co-presenter in the session "Facilitating Inclusivity and Connection: Using a Restorative Mindset to Transform APRN Practice and Education." Birch and Kate Melino, MS, PMHNP, associate professor, presented on "Integrating Structural Competency Into Advanced Practice Nursing Care."

Faculty Present at NONPF Conference

The School of Nursing was well represented at the NONPF Annual Conference from April 17 to 21 in Baltimore. The following faculty members delivered presentations and led recruitment efforts:

  • Andrea Kuster, DNP, RN, FNP, associate professor, presented the poster “Hidden Grade Disparities: Are Our Assessments Really Equitable for Diverse Groups of Learners?”
  • Carolina Noya, PhD, FNP, professor, led the presentation “Innovative Programs to Train Advanced Practice Nurses in Diabetes Management.”
  • Brittany Christiansen, PhD, DNP, CPNP-PC, associate professor, and Elizabeth Gatewood, DNP, RN, FAAN, professor, presented the poster “Approach to Transitioning Pedagogy and Learning Modalities in Preparation for DNP NP Education.”
  • Gatewood, Kuster and Lisa Mihaly, MS, RN, FNP, associate professor, gave the presentation “Exploring the Past and Revolutionizing the Future Using a DEI Lens.”
  • Mary Anne Israel, MS, RN, PNP, assistant professor, and Angel Kuo, EdD, MS, PNP, professor, attended to support their colleagues and recruit faculty to the school.
  • Former dean Catherine Gilliss, PhD, RN, FAAN, and her contributions were acknowledged during the 50th anniversary remarks.
From left: Kuster, Gatewood, Christiansen, Noya, Mihaly and Israel.
From left: Kuster, Gatewood, Christiansen, Noya, Mihaly and Israel.

 

Kara Ramos

Celebrating Preceptors

Kara Ramos, March Preceptor 

Kara Ramos, PNP, is the school's March Preceptor of the Month. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, she has practiced pediatric primary care at the Daly City Clinic for four years.

Mary Anne Israel, MS, RN, PNP, assistant professor and specialty coordinator for the UCSF School of Nursing’s Pediatric Nurse Practitioner-Primary Care specialty, said: “Each of the students Kara has precepted has given specific praise of Kara's excellent clinical teaching, especially in the realm of building a differential.” 

 

Nicole Tilton

Nicole Tilton, April Preceptor

Nicole Tilton, PNP, is the school's April Preceptor of the Month. Tilton works in the Pediatric Epilepsy Center of Excellence at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital and has been a long-time preceptor for Acute Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioner students. 
 
“I love being a part of helping students develop and grow their knowledge base about pediatric epilepsy," Tilton said. "I feel a great sense of pride when students finish the quarter with a strong command of a very complex medical condition. The student-preceptor relationship goes both ways. I am constantly learning from my students, and I enjoy that they keep me on my toes!

Read more about Ramos and Tilton, including comments from students, on the Preceptor Portal.

SON Community Captures New Funding

  • Elena Flowers, PhD, RN, associate professor, and Linda Park, PhD, NP, FAAN, associate professor in Community Health Systems, each received $30,000 from the School of Nursing's 2023-2024 Gaine Research Fund which supports pilot projects focused on areas of high-risk maternity and long-term rehabilitative care. Flowers received funding for her project, "Out of the Shadows: Multi-omics Profiling of Postpartum Depression Risk." Park received funding for her project, "The Health Heart Program: Developing of a Digital Health Secondary Prevention Program for Patients with Cardiovascular Disease."
  • Kristen Harknett, PhD, professor, received a grant from Harvard University for her project "Effects of Job Quality in Service Sector on Health-Related Outcomes Across the Life Course." The award is $60,484.
  • Michele Pelter, PhD, RN, associate professor, received an R01 grant from the NIH National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, for her project "Evaluation of a Novel ECG Algorithm to Identify and Predict Ventricular Tachycardia in ICU and Non-ICU Patients with In-Hospital Cardiac Arrest." The award is $431,426.
  • Lindsey Scheller, PhD in Nursing student, received the Sigma Theta Tau Alpha Eta Chapter Research Award or her project "Racial, Ethnic and Neighborhood-Level Social Determinants of Health Disparities on Post-Tracheostomy Outcomes Among Children on Long-Term Mechanical Ventilation." The award is $2,250.
  • Sandra Staveski, PhD, RN, PNP, associate professor, received a grant from the International Honor Society of Nursing Federation, Inc. for her project "A Global Survey on Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care Nurse Education and Training from Nursing School to Bedside Care." The award is $4,958.
  • Meg Wallhagen, PhD, RN, FAAN, professor, and Sasha Binford, RN, nursing director of UCSF's Age-Friendly Health System, SON alumna and volunteer faculty member; received the 2023-2024 Clinical Nursing Research (CNR) grant for their project "Assessment of Single-Item Hearing Screens that Differentiate Levels of Hearing Difficulty." The award is $15,000. The CNR grant program is jointly sponsored by the UCSF Health Center for Nursing Excellence and Innovation and SON's Office of Research. It allows a practicing nurse in the health system and a faculty investigator from SON to conduct a clinically meaningful research study within the health system.
     

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