Vision statement: The VUSN Alumni Association enriches the success of a diverse community of present and future alumni by providing professional, academic, social and mentoring opportunities that strengthen each person’s experience and the overall community. The association advocates for the success of the School, its alumni and students, as well as the nursing profession.

All School of Nursing graduates are members of the VUSN Alumni Association. To find out how to get involved as a volunteer or leader, send an email to the Alumni Board president at vusn-alumninursing@vanderbilt.edu or fill out a contact form.

The Board of Directors steers the activities and interests of the Alumni Association. Members are nominated and approved by the current Board. Board members for 2023-24 are:

• President: Ekom Essien, MSN’14, BS’10, pediatric nurse practitioner, Maple City Health Care Center, and adjunct professor at Goshen College in Goshen, Indiana
• Past-President: Joanie Laughlin Jeannette, DNP’23, MSN’04, BSN’83, Associate Operating Officer, Vanderbilt University Adult Hospital Medical Segment
• Stephanie Abbu, DNP, MSN’12, Manager of Neonatal Services, Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt
• Nancy Sinclair Brook, MSN’91, orthopedic surgical oncology nurse practitioner, Stanford Hospital and Clinics in Los Altos, California
• Gwendolyn Godlock, DNP’20, nurse surveyor, Hospital Accreditation Program, The Joint Commission; CPT (R) Army Nurse Corps Officer; and District 8 representative, Bexar County (Texas) Veterans Advisory Committee
• Valerie Griffin, DNP, MSN’95, Director of Nurse Practitioner Specializations and associate professor, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Nursing; nurse practitioner in pediatric primary care and at a local health department in the Saint Louis area; and Medical Director of a foster care facility in southern Illinois
• Kristen Hughes, MSN’23, pediatric nurse practitioner
• Chinassa Iwuoha, MSN’17, BS’16, pediatric nurse practitioner, Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt
• Stephanie Kress, DNP/PMC student, MSN’22, psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner, Athena Care, Franklin, Tennessee
• Matt Martin, DNP’14, MSN’12, Division Vice President for Quality at Mission Health/HCA Healthcare North Carolina Division, and instructor at VUSN
• Holly Kosir Mathews, MSN’18, BA’13, pediatric nurse practitioner, GBMC Pediatric Group in Baltimore
• Donna Behler McArthur, PhD, MSN’77, adjunct clinical professor, University of Arizona College of Nursing, and associate, UAHS department of neurology in Tucson, and adjunct professor at VUSN
• Mark D. Miller, DNP-EL student, MSN’22, executive nurse practitioner, Acute Call OnCall, Nashville, and nursing faculty, Motlow State Community College, Smyrna, Tennessee
• Thomasena Moore, DNP’19, nurse consultant, Office of Healthcare Inspections with the Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; advice nurse, United HealthGroup, Optum Patient Helpline division; consulting faculty, Duke University School of Nursing, Durham, North Carolina; and adjunct faculty, VUSN
• Alexis Myers, MSN’17, BA’14, adolescent medicine nurse practitioner, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, and PhD student, Rush University School of Nursing
• Hannah Nolte, PhD’23, MSN’17, BA’15, psychiatric nurse practitioner, Empowered Heart Integrative Mental Health Care in Nashville
• Imelda Reyes, DNP’12, Interim Dean and professor, University of Nevada Las Vegas
• Micah Skeens, PhD’18, principal investigator, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, and assistant professor of pediatrics and assistant professor of nursing at Ohio State University in Columbus
• Benjamin Smallheer, PhD’11, MSN’04, associate professor and Assistant Dean of the MSN program, Duke University School of Nursing in Durham, North Carolina
• Kelli Wray, DNP’17, Chief Nursing Officer at Good Samaritan Hospital, HCA Healthcare in San Jose, California
• Liaison from VUSN Graduate Council: Kristen Andersen, MSN student, President, VUSN Graduate Council
• Representative on Vanderbilt Alumni Board: Tiffany Street, DNP’18, MSN’03, Associate Nursing Officer, Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute