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Class Notes 1990-1999

Every VUSN graduate has exciting things happening in her or his life, both professionally and personally.  Class Notes – printed twice a year in the Vanderbilt Nurse Magazine and available online on this page – is an opportunity for you to not only learn what other alumni are doing but also share news about your life.  We would love to hear what you've been up to! Please contact us at vusn-alumninursing@vanderbilt.edu or call 615-322-4836. And, when posting on social media please tag us! #VUSN

More info may be available at www.vuconnect.com and in the Class Notes sections of Vanderbilt Nurse Magazine.

  • 1990
    • Rhonda Brodrick, MSN’90, is an assistant professor at East Tennessee State University’s College of Nursing in Johnson City (2023).
    • Trey Early, BSN’89, MSN’90, joined Jackson Purchase Medical Center in Mayfield, Kentucky, in 2023, as a certified registered nurse anesthetist and nonsurgical pain management specialist.
    • Mary McLaughlin Gibbs, BSN’88, MSN’90, DNP’24, was promoted to assistant professor in the department of family and community health at the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia (2025).
    • Regan Jones Kudlata, BS’87, MSN’90, is an aesthetic injector and senior cosmetic laser practitioner at WIFH in Atlanta (2023).
    • Susie Leming-Lee, MSN’90, DNP’11, received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Tennessee Nurses Association in October 2025. She co-authored “Strategies to Evaluate New Models of Nursing Care to Meet Hospital Staffing and Patient Care Needs,” published in Nurse Leader in 2024. Susie retired from VUSN as associate professor and director of organizational performance improvement. She was on a Vanderbilt University Medical Center team that received funding from the Tennessee Department of Health in 2023 to evaluate innovative models of nursing care. That year, she received the Sara K. Archer Excellence in Teaching Award from students in the VUSN nursing and health care leadership specialty, and was elected to the TNA's nominating committee.
    • Cindy Lybarger, MSN’90, is co-author of “Feasibility of a Low-cost Clinical Informatics and mHealth Program to Improve Diabetes Outcomes in Youth,” published in Studies in Health Technology and Informatics in May 2025.
    • Ginny Moore, MSN’90, co-authored “Evaluating Primary Amenorrhea in the Primary Care Setting,” published in The Nurse Practitioner in May 2025, and retired as director of VUSN’s women's health/gender-related nurse practitioner specialty and professor in 2024 after 41 years on faculty. In 2023, she was published in Women's Healthcare, The Journal for Nurse Practitioners and Women's Healthcare, was inducted as a fellow by the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, and presented at the International Council of Nurses Congress. Ginny is a board member of NPWH and was appointed its representative to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' Council on Resident Education in Obstetrics and Gynecology.
    • Gwen Wright, MSN’90, of Scottsville, Kentucky, passed away April 8, 2024.
  • 1991
    • Nancy Sinclair Brook, MSN’91, was elected member of the VUSN Alumni Association Board in 2023. She is a nurse practitioner and adjunct faculty member at Stanford University in San Jose, California, where she works with adults and children with benign and metastatic tumors.
    • Jill Cash, MSN’91, received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023.
    • Beth Towery Davidson, MSN’91, contributed to the book, Managing Heart Failure in Primary Care: A Case Study Approach, published in 2023 by Springer. She is an advanced clinical expert with Abbott, director of the heart failure disease management program at TriStar Centennial Medical Center in Nashville, and adjunct faculty at VUSN.
    • Barb Duffy, BSN’80, MSN’91, PMC’98, received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023.
    • Lynda Rowe Faulkner, MSN’91, of Knoxville, Tennessee, passed away December 16, 2023.
    • Yulonda Haynes, MSN’91, of Saint Joseph, Missouri, passed away November 6, 2023.
    • Sharon Hendrix, MSN’91, retired from VUSN faculty in 2024.
    • Jim McMurtry, MSN’91, of Grayson, Georgia, passed away December 14, 2023.
    • Jule West, BA’89, MSN’91, MD’97, was named chief medical officer of Siloam Health in Nashville in 2024.
  • 1992
    • Teresa Jennings Boyer, MSN’92, was promoted to professor of nursing at Motlow College in Lynchburg, Tennessee, in 2023.
    • Janette Brach, BS’62, MA’64, MSN’92, of Nashville passed away April 6, 2024.
    • Mary Frances Cullen, MSN’92, of Hockessin, Delaware, passed away February 3, 2025.
    • Kappu Deshpande, MSN’92, was mentioned by Nashville’s WKRN for earning the promotion to emergency medical service assistant chief by the Nashville Fire Department in 2016. 
    • Sandy Greeno, MSN’92, DNP’13, of Akron, Ohio, passed away March 4, 2025 (here in VUMC News).
    • Nicole Herndon, MSN’92, DNP’13, presented a poster at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement Patient Safety Congress in 2022, and was elected to two terms as Tennessee State Chair of the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses. She is a member of the American Nurses Association’s Nursing Scope and Standards advisory council, and the ANA’s Workplace Violence and Incivility Professional Issues Panel. Nicole serves as corporate director of women's and pediatric services at Community Health Systems in Nashville, where she is expert resource in maternal-child, women's health and pediatric/newborn services. 
    • Pam Orebaugh Jones, BSN’81, MSN’92, DNP’13, served as Distinguished Speaker at VUSN’s pinning ceremony in 2024, and was quoted in rewire news group for “How This Southern University Is Leading on Campus Reproductive Health.” She was published in 2023 in The Journal of Nursing Administration, and was co-recipient a $2.8 million Health Resources and Services Administration Nurse Education, Practice, Quality and Retention Simulation Education Training Program grant. Pam is associate vice chancellor for health and wellness at Vanderbilt.
    • Karen Ramos McCarty, BSN’86, MSN’92, received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023.
    • Cheryl Nail, MSN’92, is chief nursing officer at Lawnwood Regional Medical Center and Heart Institute in Fort Pierce, Florida (2023).
    • Patti Schenk Scott, BSN’88, MSN’92, received the Most Supportive Alumna Award from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis in 2024. She was published in the American Journal of Perinatology in 2023, and in Hospital Pediatrics in 2022. She is a member of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Public Health Nurse Leader program.
    • Debbie Snedegar, MSN’92, received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023.
    • Pam Waynick-Rogers, MSN’92, PMC’96, presented at the Collaborating Across Borders conference in 2023. She is project manager for the Vanderbilt Nursing Education Program for Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners as well as a women’s health nurse practitioner and SANE-A at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
  • 1993
    • Pearl Bransford, MSN’93, who passed in 2020, was memorialized in February 2025, by Tennessee’s Franklin Board of Mayor and Aldermen with a recreational complex (here in the Tennessean) named after her.
    • Leslie Welch Hopkins, MSN’93, was re-elected National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties conference in April 2025, and is lead author of “Evaluation of Secondary AmenorNP specialty, and is co-author of “Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Practice Nursing,” published in The Nurse Practitioner that month. She joined the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as primary care NP residency director at the Alvin York VA Medical Center in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, in September. Leslie contributed to the book, Managing Heart Failure in Primary Care: A Case Study Approach, published by Springer in 2023, and was elected NONPF board member.
    • Betsy Babb Kennedy, BSN’89, MSN’93,was appointed to the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education Accreditation review team in May 2025 and was named a distinguished fellow of the National Academies of Practice in the fall. She received a shout-out in 2024 in Tennessee Nurse. In 2023, she was inducted into the inaugural class of fellows for the Association of Women’s Health and Obstetrics Nurses, became a National League for Nursing Academy of Nursing Education fellow, and received the Lulu Wolf Hassenplug Award for Distinguished Career in Nursing from the VUSN Alumni Association during the school’s annual awards ceremony.
    • Krista Kuhnert-Gainer, MSN’93, received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023.
    • Kathy Lewis (Beechboard), MSN’93, of Carthage, Tennessee, passed away October 25, 2024.
    • Betty Sue Minton, MSN’93, is featured on the Vanderbilt University Medical Center website for her 45 years of service (2024).
  • 1994
    • Margaret Anderson, MSN’94, was published in Tennessee’s Wilson County Source in “Vanderbilt Nurse Practitioner Discusses Crucial Role of Childhood Vaccinations in Disease Prevention,” and was highlighted in Tullahoma, Tennessee’s The News for her new role as a pediatric NP at Vanderbilt Integrated Pediatrics, both in 2024.
    • Shannon Cole, MSN’94, co-authored “Interpreting Bone Density Screenings and Treatment for Osteopenia and Osteoporosis,” published in Advances in Family Practice Nursing in March 2025, and co-presented at the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties conference in April. She co-presented, “Bone Density Demystified: Practical Approaches to Diagnosis and Management” at the VUSN Collaborative Academic Practice Symposium “From Insight to Impact: Advancing Outcomes in Adult and Women’s Health Care,” in November, and, “Longitudinal Evaluation of an Academic-practice Partnership Model to Prepare Family Nurse Practitioners for Underserved Practice,” at the American Association of Colleges of Nursing’s Transform 2025 conference in December. Shannon co-authored “Closing the Provider Gap in Rural and Underserved Communities: Preparing Family Nurse Practitioner Students for Entry-to-practice,” published in Nurse Educator in 2024, and presented at the Collaborating Across Borders conference in 2023.
    • Susan Roberts Cooper, BSN’79, MSN’94, was featured in the Memphis, Tennessee’s Commercial Appeal in “Regional One Executive Tapped as Only American for Global Nursing Program,” and was named an International Council of Nurses' Global Nursing Leadership Institute Scholar, both in 2024. Susan is senior vice president and chief integration officer at Regional One Health in Memphis.
    • Paul Deinert, MSN’94, of Franklin, Tennessee, passed away June 1, 2023.
    • Jack Garrett, MSN’94, is a nurse practitioner with Maury Regional Medical Group Pain Management in Columbia, Tennessee (2023).
    • Beth Fentress Hallmark, MSN’94, was inducted as a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing in 2024. She is an associate professor and director of simulation at Belmont University’s Gordon E. Inman College of Nursing in Nashville.
    • Missy Smith Hayes, MSN’94, received the Sara K. Archer Excellence in Teaching Award in August 2025, from students in the VUSN adult-gerontology primary care nurse practitioner specialty, and is lead author of “Managing Heart Failure with Reduced Ejection Fraction (HFrEF): Integrating SGLT2 Inhibitors,” published in The Nurse Practitioner in September. She co-presented, “Assessing the Nurse Practitioner Role in Air Medical Transport Teams,” at the American Association of Emergency Nurse Practitioners conference in 2024, and co-authored “Behind the Numbers: Factors Influencing Nurse Manager Satisfaction and Retention,” published in Nursing Management. Missy is co-editor of the book Managing Heart Failure in Primary Care: A Case Study Approach, published in 2023 by Springer, and co-author of a chapter. That year, she presented at the National League for Nursing's Nursing Education Research Conference, was published in Critical Care Nurse, and was interviewed by MedScape. She received the Archer Award from AGPCNP students, and was named one of America’s Top Nurse Practitioners by Point of Care Network.
    • Andi Alexander Honeycutt, MSN’94, is a family nurse practitioner at Vanderbilt Health at Metro Nashville Public Schools Employee and Family Health Care Centers​ in Nashville (2023).
    • Amy Hall Hull, MSN’94, received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023, where she is a assistant professor of clinical obstetrics and gynecology.
    • Francie Likis, BS’93, MSN’94, received the American College of Nurse-Midwives Lifetime Visionary Award in 2023, for serving as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health and an author of the textbook, Gynecologic Health. She is adjunct faculty at VUSN.
    • Hollie Potts, MSN’94, of Nashville passed away October 29, 2025.
    • Leigh Ann Davidson Ray, MSN’94, is the director of J.J. Oakley Campus Health Services at Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville (2024).
    • Michael Vollman, MSN’94, PhD’03, was ordained as a priest in 2023 at Trinity Episcopal in Russellville, Kentucky.
    • Bridget Wilson, MSN’94, retired in 2023 from University of California Davis Health in Sacramento where she was a nurse practitioner, and serves on the American Board of Neuroscience Nursing as its secretary/treasurer. 
  • 1995
    • Shelley Atkinson, MSN’95, DNP’19, was named director of advanced practice practitioners in surgery at Vanderbilt University Hospital in Nashville in 2024.
    • Suzanne McMurtry Baird, BSN’84, MSN’95, co-authored the book, AWHONN's High Risk & Critical Care Obstetrics, 5th edition, published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins in February 2025, and received the Lulu Wolf Hassenplug Award for Distinguished Career in Nursing presented by the VUSN Alumni Association during the school's annual awards ceremony in 2024. She is founder of Clinical Concepts in Obstetrics in Scottsdale, Arizona.
    • Valerie Griffin, MSN’95, was named associate professor emerita at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in July 2025. She is a member of the VUSN Alumni Board, nurse practitioner at Heartland Pediatrics and Madison County Health Department in the Saint Louis area, and a board member of the Ill. Society of Advanced Practice Nursing.
    • Linda Howerton, MSN’95, is co-author of a chapter in the book, Managing Heart Failure in Primary Care: A Case Study Approach, published in 2023 by Springer. She is a part-time heart failure nurse practitioner at Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute in Nashville.
    • Theresa Inott, MSN’95, of Nashville passed away March 10, 2024. She was on faculty at VUSN from the 1990s to 2016, and was instrumental in designing the first patient-centered care course for PreSpecialty students.
    • Mary Ann McCasland Jessee, MSN’95, was named dean of nursing at Colorado Mountain College in Breckenridge, Steamboat Springs and Spring Valley, effective February 2025, and was the keynote speaker at CMC’s nursing pinning and commencement ceremony in May. She was mentioned in Maryland’s Calvert Recorder for co-authoring a paper with a local student who received a grant, and is co-author of “Eye Movements as Predictors of Student Experiences during Nursing Simulation Learning Events,” published in Cognitive Research in July. Mary Ann is co-author of “Observed Use of Clinical Judgment among New Graduate Nurses,” published in The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, and “Current Practices for Assessing Clinical Judgment in Nursing Students and New Graduates: A Scoping Review,” in Nurse Education Today, both in 2024. That year, she presented the Texas Christian University’s Rankin Lectureship in Nursing on “Leveraging Expertise, Passion and Collaboration to Reframe the Academic Practice Gap,” and, “Integrating Well-being into a Pre-licensure Nursing Clinical Judgement Course Series,” at the National Summit on Promoting Well-Being and Resilience in Healthcare Professionals. In 2023, she was published in Nurse Educator, and received the Rebecca Clark Culpepper Education and Mentorship Award jointly from VUSN and Vanderbilt University Medical Center as well as the VUSN Impact Award for Faculty. She was promoted to professor at VUSN, was published in the National Council of State Boards of Nursing's Leader to Leader, and was interviewed by The MediaLine. She passed the Certified Nurse Educator exam and was inducted as an Academy of Nursing Education fellowof the National League of Nursing.
    • Tammy Shockley Keown, MSN’95, received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023.
    • Michele Lerner Martens, MSN’95, was published in The Journal for Nurse Practitioners and was promoted to assistant professor at VUSN in 2023.
    • MaryLee Pakieser, MSN’95, was featured in isStories in June 2025 in “MaryLee Pakieser, MSN, RN, FNP-BC: A Champion of Correctional Health and Advocate for Vulnerable Populations.” She is a nurse practitioner at the Traverse Health Clinic.
    • Clare Sullivan, MSN’95, is co-author of “Addressing the Need for Health Equity Reform in Rural Community Hospitals: Centering the Voices of Local Health Care Stakeholders,” published in January 2025 in the Journal of Prevention & Intervention in the Community. She is on the board of the Tennessee Health Care Campaign and a volunteer for its health policy conference held in 2024.
    • Barbara Wilgus, MSN’95, is a nurse practitioner in infectious diseases at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore (2024).
  • 1996
    • Stephen Andrews, MSN’96, is lead advanced practice provider in Baltimore Washington Heart Associates’ division of cardiology in Glen Burnie, part of the University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Medical Center (2024).
    • Wendy Johnson Araya, MSN’96, DNP’12, was mentioned in com in June 2025, after Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee, recognized her with a clinical simulation area named in her honor.
    • Debbie Arnow, MSN’96, DNP’11, retired from VUSN in July 2025 after serving as associate professor and director of the nursing and health care leadership specialty. She co-presented, “Mastering the Confidence to Engage in Health Policy Advocacy,” at the Gerontological Advanced Practice Nurses Association conference in September. Debbie received the Sara K. Archer Excellence in Teaching Award in 2024, from students in the VUSN NHCL specialty. She was elected treasurer of the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board for 2020-2023. 
    • Chris Marcou Eighmey, MSN’96, is an instructor of pediatric surgery at the Oregon Health and Science University School of Medicine and nurse practitioner at the OHSU Doernbecher Children's Hospital, in Portland (2023).
    • Karen Hirschkorn, MSN’96, is a psychiatric nurse practitioner in private practice in New York City, specializing in psychiatric evaluations, pharmacology and therapy for children, adolescents and adults (2024).
    • Christie Kirkpatrick, MSN’96, was a panelist for “MSN Know Your Value: How to Write Your CV,” hosted by the VUSN Alumni Board in 2023. She is a senior clinical recruiter for TeamHealth in Middle Tennessee.
    • Kathryn Moore, MSN’96, is chief executive officer at Acute and Critical Care Consultants in Tucker, Georgia, where she practices as an adult-gerontological acute care nurse practitioner in an intensive care setting. She earned her doctor of nursing practice from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland and her PhD from University of Kentucky in Lexington (2025).
    • Kathy Reese, MSN’96, received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023.
    • Mary Rutherford, MSN’96, is owner and provider at Psychiatric Group at Hilldale in Clarksville, Tennessee (2023).
    • Terry Sadler, MSN’96, is a nurse practitioner at Village Primary Care in Pleasant View, Tennessee (2024).
    • Rose Harris Turner, MSN’96, is a psychiatric nurse practitioner at Baptist Behavioral Health—Bartram Park in Jacksonville, Florida (2023).
    • Jane Tyson, MSN’96, is a nurse practitioner at Baptist’s The Medical Group in Germantown, Tennessee, specializing in hospital, family and internal medicine (2025).
    • Ken Watford, MSN’96, DNP’11, is co-author of “Short-term Effects of Lifestyle Modification on Vestibular Migraine,” published in the International Journal of Audiology in 2024. He received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023.
    • Pam Waynick-Rogers, MSN’92, PMC’96, presented at the Collaborating Across Borders conference in 2023. She is project manager for the Vanderbilt Nursing Education Program for Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners as well as a women’s health nurse practitioner and SANE-A at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
    • Bob Wilkinson, MSN’96, is president of the Sigma Iota Chapter (2023).
  • 1997
    • Stephanie DeVane-Johnson, MSN’97, was named Midwife of the Week by the American College of Nurse-Midwives in February 2025. She co-authored “The Burden of Maternal Syphilis: National Trends and Associated Pregnancy Outcomes in the United States,” published in The Journal of Perinatal & Neonatal Nursing in May, and “Point-of-care Techniques to Identify Risks for Early, Unplanned Lactation Cessation among Term Mother/Infant Dyads: An Integrative Review,” and “Integrating Biological, Behavioral and Economic Factors in the Practice and Study of Early, Unplanned Lactation Cessation,” in Breastfeeding Medicine in July. She was inducted as a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing in October. In 2024, Stephanie co-received a grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration to train Black doulas in Chatham County, North Carolina. She is featured for the organization she co-founded, LEADoula, in the documentary Critical Term: Why are Black Mothers and Babies Dying? which received a regional Emmy Award. She is co-author of “The Building Respectful Integrated Doula Support as a Gateway for Enhanced Maternal Health Outcomes and Experiences Conceptual Framework for Integrating Doula Support in the Pregnancy Continuum,” published in Nursing Clinics, and lead author of “Addressing Critical Issues in Women’s Health Care,” in Nursing Clinics. Stephanie is co-author of the chapter, “Culturally Relevant Community Engagement Strategies for Promoting Cervical Cancer Prevention among Black Women,” in the book Transforming Social Determinants to Promote Global Health, published by Springer. She is co-editor of an issue of Nursing Clinics, “Addressing Contemporary Issues in Women’s Health,” as well as lead author of the editorial, “Addressing Critical Issues in Women’s Health Care,” and co-author of “Addressing Birth Inequity: A Guide for Nurses,” “Nurturing the Journey: Preparing for Breastfeeding and Beyond,” and “The Building Respectful Integrated Doula Support as a Gateway for Enhanced Maternal Health Outcomes and Experiences Conceptual Framework for Integrating Doula Support in the Pregnancy Continuum,” published in that issue. In 2023, Stephanie was interviewed by WPLN in Nashville and was featured by Vanderbilt Magazine and Duke Nursing Magazine, and, along with colleagues, in The Daily Tar Heel. She was published in the Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities. Stephanie received a grant from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities and authored a chapter in Varney's Midwifery. She was keynote speaker at the Doulas of North America conference and co-received the DNA’s Annie Kennedy Award. That year, Stephanie was a panelist for “Black Doula Training Program Provides Support for Black Birthing Families,” part of the VUSN Dore to Door Alumni Forum, and was featured in a documentary on WRAL News in Raleigh, N.C. Stephanie is as associate professor in VUSN’s nurse-midwifery program.
    • Heather Flynn, MSN’97, was published in 2023 in Journal of Nursing Education.
    • Sarah Roberts Hart, MSN’97, PMC’14, is co-author of “Quality Improvement to Identify and Address Food Insecurity during Pediatric Hospitalizations,” published in 2024 in Hospital Pediatrics.
    • Renee Jones, PMC’97, is a clinical associate professor at Baylor University’s Louise Herrington School of Nursing in Dallas (2024).
    • Jenny Hannagan Kim, MSN’97, co-authored “An Objective Method to Determine Nurse Staffing for an Acute Care for Elders (ACE) Hospital Unit: Discrete Event Simulation,” published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society in May 2025, and was appointed director of the Gerontological Advanced Practice Nurses Association Leadership Institute in June. She is co-author of “Crosswalk Analysis of Existing Nurse Practitioner Populations and Emergency Nurse Practitioner Competencies: An Executive Summary,” published in the Advanced Emergency Nursing Journal, and “Factors Influencing Job Satisfaction of Nurse Practitioners in U.S. Nursing Homes,” in the Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, both in August. In 2024, she attended the White House Long Term Care Leadership Summit addressing the role of nurses and advanced practice registered nurses in keeping older adults safe from respiratory illnesses. She stopped by the Capitol, where she met with her former student, Congresswoman Jen Kiggans, MSN’12. Jenny received the Impact Award for Faculty from VUSN and was named principal investigator of a Health Resources and Services Administration Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program grant, which provides $5 million in funding to train and prepare the health care workforce to care for older adults. In 2023, Jenny was interviewed by GAPNA Chat and GAPNA Chat, and was published in The Nurse Practitioner and CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing. She presented at the GAPNA pre-conference workshop, was inducted as a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing, and co-authored a GAPNA position statement.Jenny is a professor at VUSN.
    • Paula Larson, MSN’97, is a nurse practitioner at Family Practice and Counseling Network’s 11th Street Family Health Services in Philadelphia (2023).
    • Julie Douglass Marshall, MSN’97, is a women’s health nurse practitioner at CCRM Fertility’s Main Center in Lone Tree, Colorado (2023).
    • Jacqi McMillian-Bohler, MSN’97, is co-author of “Addressing Critical Issues in Women’s Health Care,” published in Nursing Clinics, and co-editor of the issue of Nursing Clinics, “Addressing Contemporary Issues in Women’s Health,” both in 2024. She is lead author of “Addressing Birth Inequity: A Guide for Nurses,” and of “Comprehensive Care in the Fourth Trimester,” and co-author of the editorial “Addressing Critical Issues in Women’s Health Care,” published in that issue. She was a panelist for “Black Doula Training Program Provides Support for Black Birthing Families,” in 2023, part of the VUSN Dore to Door Alumni Forum. Jacqi is co-founder and co-principal investigator of LEADoula, assistant clinical professor at Duke University School of Nursing in Durham, North Carolina, and recipient of the VUSN Alumni Award for Clinical Achievement and American College of Nurse-Midwives Vanderbilt Nurse-Midwifery Faculty of the Year Award.
    • Marilyn Thomas, MSN’97, of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, passed away November 1, 2023.
    • Cindy Waller, MSN’97, PhD’11, received a $150,000 Nursing Education Incentive Program grant in 2024, to apply toward associate degree nurses seeking a bachelor of science in nursing at Truman State University in Kirkland, Missouri, and a grant from the State of Missouri toward her work as associate professor and chair of the Truman’s department of nursing. She was invited that year by U.S. Army Cadet Command to visit to the Brooke Army Medical Center and the Army Medical Department Center of Excellence located in Fort Sam Houston, Texas.
    • Cynthia Haynes Wasden, MSN’97, received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023.
    • Linda Lorantos Wilkinson, MSN’97, works for the trauma service at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and is on faculty at VUSN (2024).
  • 1998
    • Todd Ambrosia, MSN’98, was appointed president of Mount Carmel College of Nursing in Columbus, Ohio, in 2023. He had been dean of the Phillips School of Nursing at Mount Sinai Beth Israel in New York City. 
    • Sydney Bush-Foster, MSN’98, co-leads the Vanderbilt University Medical Center Adult Ambulatory Mock Code Team which received the Elevate Team Award in May 2025 from VUMC. She is nursing education specialist in the adult ambulatory division.
    • Barb Duffy, BSN’80, MSN’91, PMC’98, received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023.
    • Eva Dye, MSN’98, is lead author of “Small Patients but a Heavy Lift: Workload and Burnout of Advanced Practice Providers and Physicians in a Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit,” published in 2024 in The Journal of Perinatal & Neonatal Nursing, and was published in the Journal of Perinatology in 2023. She is quality improvement projects manager for the NICU at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.
    • Anne Marie Beeler Galloway, MSN’98, received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023.
    • Rolanda Johnson, PhD’98, was named co-director of the Academy for Cultural Pioneering Nurse Leaders, co-hosted by VUSN and Vanderbilt University Medical Center, in March 2025. She was selected for the inaugural class of fellows for the National Black Nurses Association’s Academy of Leaders in Nursing with Luminary status in 2024, and was named co-recipient of a $25,000 award from the Campaign for Action to expand VUSN and VUMC’s Academy for Cultural Pioneering Nurse Leaders. She is co-author of “The Progression of Inclusive Language that Enhances Belonging,” published in Creative Nursing. In 2023, Rolanda received the Joseph A. Johnson, Jr, Distinguished Leadership Professor Award from Vanderbilt University (here in Minority Nurse), and was published in the American Journal of Nursing and Nurse Educator. She co-directed VUSN’s Academy for Cultural Pioneering Nurse Leaders and was inducted as a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing. She was named principal investigator for the grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation for the Academy and was quoted in Nursing at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She is associate dean for culture and connectedness and Joseph A. Johnson, Jr., Distinguished Leadership Professor at VUSN.
    • Rene Love, MSN’98, DNP’10, PMC’12, was named dean of the Macon and Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences Ellmer School of Nursing at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, effective April 2025. She is co-author of “Crosswalk Analysis of Existing Nurse Practitioner Populations and Emergency Nurse Practitioner Competencies: An Executive Summary,” published in the Advanced Emergency Nursing Journal in August, and “Crosswalk Analysis of Existing Nurse Practitioner Populations and Emergency Nurse Practitioner Competencies,” in the Advanced Emergency Nursing Journal in October. She is a member-at-large of the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties board of directors.
    • Pam Nelson, MSN’98, PMC’20, DNP’20, received the Alumni Award for Clinical Achievement in Nursing presented by the VUSN Alumni Association during the school's annual awards ceremony in 2024.
    • Kim Kinghorn Steanson, MSN’98, was published in 2023 in Clinical Simulation in Nursing.
    • Natasha Pyles Thompkins, MSN’98, was re-elected in 2024 as councilperson for the District 3 seat on the Marshfield City Council in Wisconsin.
    • Christina Treppendahl, MSN’98, is an expert presenter for the Migraine World Summit, and founder and director of the Mississippi Headache Symposium, The Headache Center Institute, The Headache Center Fellowship, Headache Neurology Research Institute and The Headache Center in Ridgeland, MS (2023).

     

  • 1999
    • Marcia Spear Barnes, MSN’99, DNP’10, was published in 2024 in Tennessee Nurse. She is director of government affairs for the Tennessee Nurses Association and District 15 president, as well as treasurer of the Tennessee Nurses Political Action Committee.
    • Sharon England Bryant, MSN’99, co-presented, “Utilization of Virtual Reality to Explore Student Perspectives of Socioeconomic Healthcare Disparity and Associated Impact in Patient Management,” at the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties conference in 2024. She is director of the VUSN adult-gerontology acute care NP specialty.
    • Shawanda Clay, MSN’99, was a panelist for MSN Know Your Value hosted by the VUSN Alumni Board in 2023. She is heart transplant coordinator at Veterans Affairs Tennessee Valley Healthcare and former president of the Nashville Black Nurses Association.
    • Christina Chisenhall Dozier, MSN’99, received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023. She is a family nurse practitioner at Vanderbilt Primary Care in Clarksville, Tennessee.
    • Charisse Fizer, MSN’99, is an administrator with AtlantiCare, headquartered in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey (2024).
    • Amy Helmes Fortner, MSN’99, received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023. She is a family nurse practitioner at Vanderbilt Health at Metro Nashville Public Schools Employee and Family Health Care Centers.
    • Martina Harris, MSN’99, was inducted as a fellow of the National League for Nursing’s Academy of Nursing Education in 2024, and appointed dean of nursing and allied health at Chattanooga State Community College in Tennessee in 2023. She is president of District 4 of the Tennessee Nurses Association. 
    • Sharon Karp, MSN’99, PhD’08, co-presented, “Appreciative Onboarding: A Theory to Practice Framework to Onboard New Faculty in Higher Education,” at the Virtual Appreciative Education Conference hosted by Florida Atlantic University in January 2025. She is co-author of “Developing a NAPNAP Research Agenda to Guide Future Research and Quality Improvement in Pediatrics: Process, Challenges and Future Directions,” published in the Journal of Pediatric Health Care, “Feeding Behaviors in Infants and Toddlers Later Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review,” in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, and “Breastfeeding Journeys: Comparing Mothers’ Experiences with Autistic and Neurotypical Infants,” in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, all in 2024. Sharon was named president of the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners Foundation for the 2024-2027 term, and presented “The Biology of Childhood Obesity and the Implications for Medical Treatment,” at the American Association of Nurse Practitioners fall conference. She was published in 2023 in Obesity Pillars and Appetite. Sharon is chair of the Acute and Chronic Care Community at VUSN.
    • Gordon Melton, MSN’99, is a nurse practitioner at Maury Regional Urgent Care in Columbia, Tennessee (2023).
    • Leslie Beck Norman, MSN’99, was featured in the Memphis Business Journal in 2024 for joining Margaret West Comprehensive Breast Center as a women’s health nurse practitioner.
    • Julia Cain Phillippi, MSN’99, co-presented, “Appreciative Onboarding: A Theory to Practice Framework to Onboard New Faculty in Higher Education,” at the Virtual Appreciative Education Conference hosted by Florida Atlantic University, and co-authored “Updating and Advancing Member-checking Methods: Use of Video and Asynchronous Technology to Optimize Participant Engagement,” published in the International Journal of Qualitative Methods, both in January 2025. She was inducted into the National Academies of Practice as a Distinguished Fellow in the Academy of Nursing in March, and co-authored “Buprenorphine Treatment in Pregnancy and Maternal-infant Outcomes,” published in JAMA Health Forum in April. She was quoted by Healio in “This Is a Generational Change: Why ACOG Now Recommends Tailoring Prenatal Care,” in May. Julia was named a VUSN Health Equity Fellow in July, with her project being “Assessment of ‘Multiple Moves’ in the Childbearing Years.” She is co-author of “Telehealth Simulations with Generative Artificial Intelligence in Midwifery Education: Practice for Person-centered and Culturally Responsive Care,” published in the Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health, and “Assessing Artificial Intelligence to Support Grant Evaluation in Nursing Education,” in CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing, both in August. She gave podium and poster presentations at the ACNM conference in October. Julia is co-author of “Experience of Decision-making for Home Breech Birth: An Interpretive Description,” published in SSM-Qualitative Research in Health, and of “Implicit and Explicit Weight Bias among Midwives: Variations Across Demographic Characteristics,” “Telemedicine for Routine Prenatal Care: Use and Satisfaction during the COVID-19 Pandemic,” and “Weight Bias among Certified Nurse-midwives and Certified Midwives: Findings from a National Sample,” in the Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health in 2024. She received the Media Award from ACNM for editing Varney's Midwifery, 7th edition, and the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Service to Faculty and Students from VUSN. She is co-author of “Experience of Decision-making for Home Breech Birth: An Interpretive Description,” published in SSM-Qualitative Research in Health, “Maternal and Neonatal Outcomes Associated with Breech Presentation in Planned Community (Home and Birth Center) Births in the United States: A Prospective Observational Cohort Study,” in PLOS One, and “Collecting Real-time Patient-reported Outcome Data during Latent Labor: Feasibility Study of the MyCap Mobile App in Prospective Person-centered Research,” in JMIR Formative Research, and lead author of “Sex and Gender Variables in Data Set Creation and Data Cleaning for Inclusive and Accurate Reproductive Health Research and Quality Improvement,” in the Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health. She co-authored “Acute Cystitis in a Transfeminine Patient: Assessment and Treatment of Urinary Tract Symptoms,” published in the Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health, and “Changes in Postpartum Opioid Prescribing after Implementation of State Opioid Prescribing Limits,” in JAMA Health Forum, and received the Colleen Conway-Welch Award for National Leadership presented by the VUSN Alumni Association during the school's annual awards ceremony. She co-authored “Defining Midwifery-led Care in the United States Using Concept Analysis,” published in the Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health, and “Association of Opioid Use Disorder-related Service Trajectories during Pregnancy and Postpartum Health Service Use: A Group-based Multitrajectory Modeling Study,” in the Journal of Addiction Medicine, and received second place in the primary care and the maternal-child nursing categories of the American Journal of Nursing's Book of the Year Awards for 2024 for editing Varney's Midwifery. In 2023, Julia was is published in Perinatal and Neonatal Nursing and Birth. She is co-editor of Varney's Midwifery, published by Jones and Bartlett Learning, and principal investigator on a $4 million Health Resources and Services Administration grant to increase the nurse-midwife workforce (here in the Nashville Post). She is chair of the Family Care Community at VUSN.
    • Brenda Truman Pun, MSN’99, is co-author of “Delirium and Coronavirus Disease 2019: Looking Back, Moving Forward,” published in Critical Care Nursing Clinics, “Long-term Outcomes after Treatment of Delirium during Critical Illness with Antipsychotics (MIND-USA): A Randomised, Placebo-controlled, Phase 3 Trial,” in The Lancet, and “Patient, Practice and Organizational Factors Associated with Early Mobility Performance in Critically Ill Adults,” in the American Journal of Critical Care, all in 2024. She received the Pioneering Spirit Award from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses in 2023 (here in VUMC Reporter). Brenda is director of data quality at the Vanderbilt Critical Illness, Brain Dysfunction and Survivorship Center.
    • Shamonda Harris Strother, MSN’99, was elected member of the VUSN Alumni Board in 2024. She is founder and chief of fun at You Can Fit Out 2 and founder of Essence of Eating, both in Atlanta.
    • Mary Katherine White, MSN’99, is an assistant professor at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, teaching in its bachelor of science in nursing program as well as graduate nursing courses in pediatrics, health assessment and community health (2025).
    • Jennifer Ezell Wilbeck, MSN’99, PMC’06, is lead author of “Crosswalk Analysis of Existing Nurse Practitioner Populations and Emergency Nurse Practitioner Competencies: An Executive Summary,” published in the Advanced Emergency Nursing Journal in August 2025, and co-author of “A Novel Collaborative Simulation for Emergency and Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Students,” in Clinical Simulation in Nursing in November. In 2024, she contributed to the book Emergency Nurse Practitioner Scope and Standards of Practice published Springer, and was named program director for a $1.5 million grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration for a new program, “ENPs-CARE: A Program to Sustain Emergency Nurse Practitioner Comprehensive Sexual Assault Response” (here in WIA Report). Jennifer is lead author of “Historical Evolution of Emergency Nurse Practitioner Education: A Comprehensive Review,” published in the Advanced Emergency Nursing Journal, and co-author of “Utilization of Quick Response Codes for Rapid Facilitator-generated Feedback during Simulations in Nurse Practitioner Programs,” in Clinical Simulation in Nursing, “PREPARED NP: Preparation for Emergency Care Delivery among Nurse Practitioners,” in The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, and “Ultrasound Education for Nurse Practitioner Students: Strategies for Curricular Integration,” in The Journal for Nurse Practitioners. She co-presented, “Mass-casualty Incident Simulations to Promote Interprofessional Emergency Care Learning,” and “Assessing the Nurse Practitioner Role in Air Medical Transport Teams,” at the American Association of Emergency Nurse Practitioners conference. In 2023, Jennifer presented at the AAENP and National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties conferences, as well as a poster at NONPF which was voted top poster for that session. She was published in Clinical Simulation in Nursing, The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, the Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, The Journal for Nurse Practitioners and the Advanced Emergency Nursing Journal. She was interviewed by the Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners and received the Sara K. Archer Excellence in Teaching Award from students in the VUSN family NP/ENP specialty. Jennifer is a professor and director of the ENP specialty at VUSN and executive director of AAENP.
    • Melody Riggenbach Wilkinson, MSN’99, was inducted as a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing in October 2025. She is assistant professor at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
    • Angela Wilson-Liverman, MSN’99, is lead author of “Rise of Advanced Practice Professionals in Women’s Health,” published in Obstetrics & Gynecology Clinics in September 2025. She was named director of advanced practice practitioners in obstetrics at Vanderbilt University Hospital in 2024.
    • Dana Wirth, MSN’99, received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023.