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Class Notes 2010-2019

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.

  • 2010
    • 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.
    • Jane Case, DNP’10, was named associate vice chair for advanced practice for the department of medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in 2023.
    • Georgi Mayer Coon, PMC’10, is a hospitalist at Saint Peter’s Health in Helena, Montana (2023).
    • Marlee Crankshaw, MSN’01, DNP’10, retired from Vanderbilt University Medical Center in 2023 after 40 years of service, most recently as director of neonatal services.
    • Jie Deng, PhD’10, is lead author of “A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of Photobiomodulation Therapy in Head and Neck Cancer Survivors with Chronic Lymphedema,” published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology in May 2025, and “Study Protocol for a Multi-site Randomized Clinical Trial of an Intervention Program to Promote Self-management among Head and Neck Cancer Survivors with Lymphedema and Fibrosis [PROMISE Trial],” in Trials in October. She was named the Evan C. Thompson Term Chair for Excellence in Teaching at University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in 2023, and was published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics.
    • Stuart Downs, MSN’10, DNP’13, was elected president-elect of the American Organization for Nursing Leadership in August 2025, and is one of 23 nurse executives invited to attend a meeting of the Chief Nursing Officer Council hosted by Get Well in 2024. He became system chief nurse executive of the Northeast Georgia Health System in Gainesville in 2023. Stuart is a member of the Chief Nursing Officer Council.
    • Jennifer Young Fitzsimmons, BE’07, MSN’10, is co-author of “The Impact of Dedicated Just-in-time ICU Beds for Adult Patients during Rapid Response Activations,” published in Critical Care Medicine in 2024.
    • Melissa Armstrong Glassford, MSN’10, co-presented, “’Soft Skills’ with AI Simulation: Integrating Bodyswaps into Competency-based Education,” at the American Association of Colleges of Nursing’s Transform 2025 conference in December.
    • Monica McKeon Hannah, BS’09, MSN’10, is a pediatric nurse practitioner at Marcus Autism Center in Atlanta (2025).
    • Katy Hansen, MSN’10, PhD’22, is lead author of “Implementation Outcomes from a Pilot Study of Mindful Awareness in Body-oriented Therapy (MABT) as a Chronic Pain Treatment Modality in an Integrative Health Clinic,” published in Global Advances in Integrative Medicine and Health in February 2025, and was promoted to assistant professor at VUSN in August. She was published in Advances in Radiation Oncology, and received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center, both in 2023. Katy is a nurse practitioner at the Osher Center for Integrative Health at Vanderbilt.
    • Kelly Davis Hardy, MSN’10, PhD’21, received the Sara K. Archer Excellence in Teaching Award in August 2025, from students in the VUSN pediatric nurse practitioner—acute care specialty. She is lead author of “Postoperative Treatment Contributions to Post-traumatic Stress Symptoms in Preschool-aged Children after Cardiac Surgery,” published in Progress in Pediatric Cardiology in October, and “Feasibility and Acceptability of a Digital Storytelling Intervention for Children with Serious Illness,” in the Journal of Pediatric Nursing in November. In 2024, Kelly received the Archer Award from PNP—AC students, and was published in 2023 in the Journal of Pediatric Nursing.
    • Michele Hasselblad, MSN’10, was appointed to the Nashville Health Care Council’s Leadership Nashville 2025 cohort by Vanderbilt University Medical Center where she is vice president of adult ambulatory nursing services. She served as facilitator for the Supporting a Multi-Generational Workforce Conference hosted by VUMC in 2024, and was published in AAACN Viewpoint in 2023.
    • Crystal Hawkins, MSN’10, received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023.
    • Sharon Holley, DNP’10, joined the faculty of the University of North Alabama’s Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professions in Florence, as an associate professor in September 2025. She was quoted on the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing website in 2024, in “MSN Nurse-Midwifery Pathway Graduates First Cohort.” She received the inaugural Career Achievement in Nurse-Midwifery Award from UAB and was commencement speaker at UNA. In 2023, Sharon received the American College of Nurse-Midwives Excellence in Teaching Award, authored a chapter in Varney's Midwifery, and received the Colleen Conway-Welch Award for National Leadership presented by the VUSN Alumni Association during the school’s annual awards ceremony.
    • Katy McNeill Jackson Lanz, DNP’10, was panelist for “From Nurse to Entrepreneur: VUSN Alumni Share Their Stories,” in 2023, part of the VUSN Dore to Door Alumni Forum. She is founder and chief executive officer of TopSight LLC, headquartered in Pittsburgh, and national director of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.
    • Tiffany Latham, MSN’07, DNP’10, was a panelist for “Medical Professionals Tips for a Fit and Health Life,” hosted by the Health Literacy Outreach Series in 2023. Tiffany is a nurse practitioner and chair of the advanced practice provider professional development sub-council at Inova Heart and Vascular Institute in Falls Church, Virginia.
    • Giles Lippard, MSN’10, received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023.
    • 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.
    • Manola Valverde Vides McCain, MSN’10, co-presented, “Education for Indigenous Guatemalan Women in the United States: Implications for Maternal Health,” and “Traditional Birth Attendant Care in Guatemala: Challenges and Opportunities for Nurses,” at the International Council of Nurses Congress in June 2025, and co-presented, “Aligning Advanced Practice Nursing with Global Sustainable Development Goals,” in July as part of the monthly Global Collaborative series co-hosted by University of Michigan School of Nursing, Yale University School of Nursing and VUSN. She is featured on the Vanderbilt Athletics website for co-leading a week-long immersion trip to Guatemala for VU student-athletes in health-related majors in 2024. She was inducted as a fellow of the American College of Nurse-Midwives in 2023. Manola is an assistant professor at VUSN and a certified nurse-midwife at West End Women’s Health Center in Nashville.
    • Kate Meriwether, MSN’10, is a nurse practitioner at Pinnacle Dermatology in Nashville (2024).
    • Shelley Torres Moses, MSN’10, is co-author of “The Utility of Collaborative Teamwork for Nursing Students in the Acute Care Setting,” published in Nursing Education Perspectives in July 2025.
    • Christy Adewumi Ogunleye, MSN’10, is a family nurse practitioner at Midstate Health Associates in Nashville (2023).
    • Erin Wood Oldenkamp, MSN’10, is a pediatric nurse practitioner at Family Health—Adventist Health in Tillamook, Oregon (2024).
    • Breanna Jacobs Pepin, MSN’10, is a nurse practitioner at Children's Minnesota, a level III/IV neonatal intensive care unit, and Regions Hospital, a level II NICU, both in Saint Paul (2025).
    • Estee Perlmutter is MSN’10, completed the 18-month Liberty Fellowship leadership program in October 2025. She is an advanced practice nurse at Liberty Doctors in Charleston, South Carolina.
    • Jaclyn Miller Piasta, BS’09, MSN’10, was inducted as an inaugural fellow of the National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health in October 2025. She is chief operating officer and owner of Monarch Health in Marietta, Georgia.
    • Melissa Pounders, MSN’10, was mentioned by WRAM/WMOI in June 2025 for joining the staff of McDonough District Hospital Gastroenterology in Macomb, Illinois, as a family nurse practitioner.
    • Michael Radyko, MSN’10, received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023.
    • Anna Richmond, MSN’10, authored “Pediatric Complex Regional Pain Syndrome,” published in The Nurse Practitioner in March 2025. In 2023, she was published in The Journal for Nurse Practitioners and presented at the National League for Nursing's Nursing Education Research Conference, the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties conference, and the American Association of Nurse Practitioners conference.
    • Michelle Ruslavage, MSN’10, DNP’13, was named VUSN Nursing Informatics Preceptor of the Year in 2024. She is a Captain in the U.S. Public Health Service, a public health analyst with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and an instructor at VUSN.
    • Aaron Scott, MSN’10, received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023.
    • Carlye Burns Scott, MSN’10, is a neonatal nurse practitioner at Monroe Carell Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt (2025).
    • Patty Sengstack, DNP’10, is co-author of “Revisions to the Safety Assurance Factors for Electronic Health Record Resilience (SAFER) Guides to Update National Recommendations for Safe Use of Electronic Health Records,” published in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association in April 2025, and was quoted by org in May in “92% of Nurses Say Charting Is Crushing Their Job Satisfaction—Eating 40% of Every Shift.” She is co-author of “Assessing Artificial Intelligence to Support Grant Evaluation in Nursing Education,” published in CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing in August, and “Toward Amplifying the Good in Nursing Education: A Quality Improvement Study on Implementing Artificial Intelligence-based Assistants in a Learning System,” in Nursing Outlook in September. She was keynote speaker for the Tennessee Chapter of the American Nurses Informatics Association conference in October. In 2024, Patty co-authored “Role of a Nursing Informatics Specialist in a Clinical Simulation Laboratory: The Catalytic Link,” published in Nurse Educator, “Defining Documentation Burden (DocBurden) and Excess DocBurden for All Health Professionals: A Scoping Review,” in Applied Clinical Informatics, and “Special Issue on Informatics Education: Teaching Data Science through an Interactive, Hands-on Workshop with Clinically-relevant Case Studies,” in Applied Clinical Informatics. She received the Sara K. Archer Excellence in Teaching Award from students in the VUSN nursing informatics specialty, and co-presented, “AI Integration and Innovation in Nurse Practitioner Education and Practice,” at the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties. That year, Patty retired from her role as professor, senior associate dean for nursing informatics and director of the NI specialty. She was named board member of the Future of Learning and Generative AI Initiative in 2023.
    • Caitlin Sloan, MSN’10, is a certified nurse-midwife at Northern Light Mercy Midwives in Portland, Maine (2023).
    • Tony Smith, DNP’10, co-led and certified students in an American Heart Association advanced stroke life support course in February 2025 at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and is the author of “Excellence in Paramedic Practice: The Professional Paramedic Advancement Ladder,” published in the Journal of Emergency Medical Services in August. He co-presented, "Mass-casualty Incident Simulations to Promote Interprofessional Emergency Care Learning," at the American Association of Emergency Nurse Practitioners conference in 2024. He was promoted to assistant professor at VUSN and presented at the Kentucky Association of NP and Nurse-Midwives' Coalition Conference in 2023. Tony is a provider at IRevive Health and Wellness in Nashville.
    • Missi Willmarth Stec, MSN’05, DNP’10, is co-author of “Rise of Advanced Practice Professionals in Women’s Health,” published in Obstetrics & Gynecology Clinics, and “Advancing Nurse-midwifery Education: A Quality Improvement Initiative for Competency-based Intrapartum Skills Laboratories,” in the Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health, both in September 2025. Missi is chair of the American College of Nurse-Midwives division of education.
    • Julia Martin Steed, MSN’10, PhD’18, 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 in August 2025, and was elected to National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties’ Inclusive Excellence Committee for 2025-2027. She was selected by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing to develop its Holistic Ecosystem of Excellence in Nursing Education faculty toolkit, and co-presented, “’Soft Skills’ with AI Simulation: Integrating Bodyswaps into Competency-based Education,” at the AACN’s Transform 2025 conference in December. In 2024, Julia received the VUSN Award for Faculty Achievement in Social Justice during the school’s Martin Luther King Jr. celebration, and is co-recipient of a $1.5 million Health Resources and Services Administration Bureau of Health Workforce grant to create a Nurse Education, Practice, Quality and Retention Simulation Education Training Program at VUSN. She was interviewed by Minority Nurse for “Is the FNP Program Right for You?” and was named an inaugural VUSN Health Faculty Fellow, where she will study the impact of theoretically based inclusive teaching and learning frameworks on academic success among graduate health professional students. In 2023, Julia was named co-principal investigator on a Vanderbilt University Sesquicentennial Grant and is one of 13 U.S. NP faculty members accepted into the 2023-2024 Faculty Leadership Mentoring Program cohort sponsored by NONPF. She was published in the American Journal of Nursing, Policy, Politics & Nursing Practice, and Nurse Educator. She presented at the American Association of Nurse Practitioners conference, was promoted at VUSN to academic director of the FNP program, and was elected to TNA’s Nominating Committee for 2023 and 2024.
    • Kathryn Smith Steele, MSN’10, is a women’s health nurse practitioner at West Cancer Center and Research Institute in Corinth, Mississippi (2023).
    • Zhijian Wang, MSN’10, received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023.
    • Sherry Wright, MSN’10, received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023.
    • Cara Calloway Young, MSN’06, PhD’10, was promoted to PhD program director at the University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing in 2024. She is an assistant professor at UT Austin, a family nurse practitioner at WellMed in Del Valle, Texas, and on the editorial review board for The Journal of Nursing Education and Practice.

     

  • 2011
    • Margaret Turner Allgood, MSN’11, is a nurse practitioner specializing in cardiology at North Mississippi Health Services in Amory (2025).
    • Amy Ledvina Armstrong, MSN’11, 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​.
    • 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. 
    • Elizabeth Smith Cook, MSN’11, is nurse practitioner lead at Pedatrix Medical Group in Knoxville, Tennessee, a level III neonatal intensive care unit (2025).
    • Tanya Crockett, MSN’11, DNP’18, is a pediatric nurse practitioner at Poole and Thomas Pediatrics in Lexington, Kentucky, and a psychiatric-mental health NP student at the University of Cincinnati (2023).
    • Becky Brunette Davis, MSN’11, is a nurse practitioner at Northside Hospital’s East Cobb Family Medicine in Marietta, Georgia (2024).
    • Erin DeBruyn, MSN’11, served as a peer reviewer for Women's Healthcare in 2023.
    • Erik Dygulski, MSN’11, is a nurse practitioner at Milwaukee Orthopaedic Group (2024).
    • Hector Escajeda, MSN’11, is an acute care nurse practitioner at Renaissance Surgery Group in Edinburg, Texas (2025).
    • Catherine Evans, MSN’11, is a family nurse practitioner at Vanderbilt Health at Metro Nashville Public Schools Employee and Family Health Care Centers (2023).
    • Natalie Finnie, MSN’11, was appointed by Governor J.B. Pritzker in 2023 to be director of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (here in Chicago Sun Times and The Southern Illinoisan).
    • Carriedelle Wilson Fusco, MSN’11, is a nurse practitioner and co-director of office-based opioid treatment services in the Mountain Area Health Education Center’s Family Health Center at Biltmore in Asheville, North Carolina (2023).
    • Lauren Houghton Gardner, BS’10, MSN’11, is an acute care nurse practitioner at Novant Health Heart and Vascular Institute in Whiteville, North Carolina (2023).
    • Candace Harrington, DNP’11, received the Gerontological Advanced Practice Nurses Association’s Excellence in Research Award at its national conference in 2023.
    • Jane Miller Hearnsberger, BS’10, MSN’11, received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023.
    • Cathy Ivory, PhD’11, is lead author of “Economic Implications of Adopting a Unique Nurse Identifier,” published in Nursing Economics in January 2025, and co-author of “Effects of Virtual Reality on Pain, Stress and Affect in an Outpatient Chemotherapy Infusion Clinic: A Randomized Controlled Trial,” in the Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing in February. She is lead author of “Promoting Top-of-degree APRN Practice through PhD/DNP Partnerships,” published in The Nurse Practitioner in April, and co-author of “ANI Emerging Leaders Project: Strategic Integration of Unique Nurse Identifier Numbers in Nurse Education Programs,” in Computers Informatics Nursing in June. In 2024, Cathy co-authored “Strategies to Evaluate New Models of Nursing Care to Meet Hospital Staffing and Patient Care Needs,” published in Nurse Leader, and “Nurses and Midwives Must Take the Lead on Improving Maternal and Infant Outcomes,” in The American Journal of Maternal/Child Nursing. She is lead author of “2024 Nursing Knowledge Big Data Science Conference: Exploring AI and Innovation in Nursing,” in CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing. Cathy is 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, and member of the Nursing Knowledge Big Data Science Initiative steering committee at the University of Minnesota School of Nursing in Minneapolis. She is an assistant professor at VUSN.
    • Joelle Koplin, MSN’11, is a nurse practitioner specializing in rheumatology at Penn Rheumatology Perelman in Philadelphia (2023).
    • Mary Lambert, DNP’11, was a panelist for “Health Care and the Homeless: A Unique Role for Nursing,” part of the VUSN Dore to Door Alumni Forum, and co-authored the chapter for the Journal of Health and Human Experience, both in 2023. She stepped down from her position as inaugural director of the Chattanooga (Tennessee) Office of Community Health to attend law school and continue serving the City of Chattanooga as a consultant. Mary is an adjunct faculty member at Kentucky State University in Frankfort.
    • Kristel Lassiter, MSN’11, is a nurse practitioner and neonatal intensive care unit advanced practice provider clinical education specialist at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in Saint Petersburg, Florida (2025).
    • Coralie Lecoguic, MSN’11, is a psychiatric nurse practitioner in the counseling services department at Belmont University in Nashville (2025).
    • 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.
    • Jennifer Crichton Lusty, MSN’11, DNP’23, is manager of regional hospitals utilization for Vanderbilt University Medical Center (2025).
    • Christina Poston Martin, MSN’11, is a neonatal nurse practitioner at Millennium Neonatology in Albuquerque, New Mexico (2025).
    • Natasha McClure, MSN’11, was featured in NP Student Magazine in January 2025 for her innovative program supporting children with asthma, and co-authored “Interactive Simulation for Addressing Vaccine Hesitancy in Nurse Practitioner Education,” published in Clinical Simulation in Nursing in May. In 2023, she presented at the National League for Nursing's Nursing Education Research Conference and at the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties conference, and became co-recipient of a $2.8 million Health Resources and Services Administration Nurse Education, Practice, Quality and Retention Simulation Education Training Program grant.
    • Heather Whaley O’Dell, BA’09, MSN’11, MMHC’16, was promoted to executive director and associate operating officer of the Vanderbilt Transplant Center in Nashville, effective July 2025.
    • Ellen Thompson Olson, MSN’11, is a women’s health nurse practitioner at MultiCare Rockwood Clinic—OB/GYN and Midwifery Center in Spokane, Washington (2023).
    • Shaunna Parker, MSN’11, received the Sara K. Archer Excellence in Teaching Award in August 2025, from students in the VUSN women’s health/gender-related nurse practitioner specialty. She was promoted to director of the VUSN WH/GRNP specialty in 2024 (here in Daily Nurse), and received the Archer Award from WH/GRNP students in 2023. She is an instructor at VUSN.
    • Mary Lauren Whitehead Pfieffer, MSN’11, was elected to National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties’ Simulation and Telehealth Committees for 2025-2027. She is lead author of “Interpreting Bone Density Screenings and Treatment for Osteopenia and Osteoporosis,” published in Advances in Family Practice Nursing in March, and was inducted as a fellow in the American Association of Nurse Practitioners in June. Mary Lauren is co-author of “Developing Clinical Competence through Case Presentations with Artificial Intelligence-driven Simulation,” published in The Journal for Nurse Practitioners in July. 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,” and “’Soft Skills’ with AI Simulation: Integrating Bodyswaps into Competency-based Education,” at the American Association of Colleges of Nursing’s Transform 2025 conference in December. In 2024, Mary Lauren was co-recipient of a $1.5 million Health Resources and Services Administration Bureau of Health Workforce grant to create a Nurse Education, Practice, Quality and Retention Simulation Education Training Program at VUSN. She co-authored “Closing the Provider Gap in Rural and Underserved Communities: Preparing Family Nurse Practitioner Students for Entry-to-practice,” published in Nurse Educator, and became a certified nursing educator in October. In 2023, Mary Lauren presented at the National League for Nursing's Nursing Education Research Conference. She contributed to the book, Managing Heart Failure in Primary Care: A Case Study Approach, published by Springer, and presented at the AANP national conference. Mary Lauren is an associate professor at VUSN and chair of the Sigma Iota Chapter leadership succession committee.
    • Courtney Young Pitts, MSN’09, DNP’11, received the DAISY Extraordinary Nurse Leader of the Year from the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties in April 2025. She is co-author of “Integration of Entrustable Professional Activities in a Competency-based Clinical Assessment Tool in a Nurse Practitioner Program,” published in Nurse Educator, and “Closing the Provider Gap in Rural and Underserved Communities: Preparing Family Nurse Practitioner Students for Entry-to-practice,” in Nurse Educator, both in 2024. That year, she received the Thomas L. Christenbery Award for Connectedness presented by the VUSN Alumni Association during the school's annual awards ceremony and was inducted as a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. In 2023, Courtney received the VUSN Martin Luther King Jr. Social Justice Award and served on the committee that released the National Advisory Council on Nurse Education and Practice's 18th Report to the Secretary of Health and Human Services. She was published in The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, the Journal of Nursing Administration, The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, and the book Managing Heart Failure in Primary Care: A Case Study Approach published by Springer. That year, she presented at the NONPF and the American Association of Nurse Practitioners national conferences, and was a panelist for “Vanderbilt DNPs: Where Are They Now?” hosted by the VUSN Alumni Board’s Know Your Value Committee. She became principal investigator a $2.6M four-year Health Resources and Services Administration grant to continue VUSN’s Collaborative Academic Practice program. She announced she would be leaving VUSN as director of the family nurse practitioner program to become FNP specialty director and clinical professor at Emory University’s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing in Atlanta.
    • Lauren Doppelheuer Presley, BA’07, MSN’11, is co-author of “Use of Medications for Opioid Use Disorder and Child Welfare Outcomes,” published in JAMA Health Forum, and was featured by Emory News Center in “5 Questions: How Opioid Treatment Can Keep Newborns out of Foster Care,” both in 2024.
    • Mindi Rivas, MSN’11, joined Bone and Joint Institute of Tennessee in Nashville as a nurse practitioner in 2023.
    • Erin Gregory Robinson, MSN’11, is a nurse practitioner at Ascension Saint Thomas Medical Partners in Nashville (2024).
    • Sori Valencia Rodriguez, MSN’11, is an aerodigestive nurse practitioner at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego (2025).
    • Helen Sandford, MSN’11, is a nurse practitioner at Ascension Medical Group’s Saint Vincent Walk-In Care in Zionsville, Indiana (2024).
    • Benjamin Smallheer, MSN’04, PhD’11, presented, “Updates in the Management of COPD,” at the Gerontological Advanced Practice Nurses Association conference, and is author of “The Changing Landscape of Infectious Disease Management,” published in Nursing Clinics of North America, both in September 2025, and lead author of “Pain Management in Modern Day Health Care,” in Nursing Clinics of North America in December. He was the keynote speaker for the Sigma Iota Chapter induction ceremony at VUSN in 2024, presented at the American Association for Men in Nursing conference, was overall chair of VUSN’s reunion, and authored the editorial, “New Era in Women’s Health: Innovations and Insights,” published in Nursing Clinics. Benjamin was named a Provost Faculty Fellow for 2024-2025 at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. In 2023, he received the Excellence in Nursing Leadership Award from the Amy V. Cockcroft Leadership Fellowship and was inducted as a fellow by the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. He became assistant dean of the master of science in nursing program at Duke and joined the VUSN Alumni Board as a member. Benjamin is lead faculty for the adult gerontology nurse practitioner-acute care program and an assistant professor at Duke. He is a consultant at the Koo Foundation Sun Yat-Sen Cancer Center in Taipei and led a two-week ultrasound training workshop for NPs both at that hospital and in surrounding affiliated hospitals, and one of the lead sponsors of the VUSN Health Equity Faculty Fellows program.
    • Doug Smith, MSN’11, is lead author of “Increasing the Volume of Delivered Enteral Feeds Using a Volume-based Feeding Protocol in a Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit,” published in 2024 in Critical Care Nursing. He was inducted as a fellow in the American College of Critical Care and was a member of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners national conference committee in 2023.
    • Jodi Johnson Spiegelberg, MSN’11, was named the 2024 Preceptor of the Year by the University of Michigan School of Nursing in Ann Arbor. She is a women’s health nurse practitioner at U-M in Brighton, where she treats obstetrics and gynecology patients across the lifespan, and adjunct clinical faculty.
    • Patrick Stieve, MSN’11, is a cardiac critical care nurse practitioner and team lead at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and instructor at VUSN (2025).
    • Jannyse Starks Tapp, MSN’09, DNP’11, received the VUSN Award for Recognition of Faculty Achievement in Social Justice in January 2025, during the school’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration. She was nominated by Delta Sigma Theta Sorority’s Nashville Metropolitan Alumnae Chapter for a Nashville Cable Young Professional ATHENA Award, and co-authored “Interpreting Bone Density Screenings and Treatment for Osteopenia and Osteoporosis,” published in Advances in Family Practice Nursing, both in March. She co-presented at the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties conference in April, and appeared in Nfocus Magazine in May for attending Nashville Cable’s ATHENA Awards and Scholarship Gala, where she was honored as a nominee. Jannyse is featured on the NLN Nursing EDge Unscripted podcast, “Nursing Leaders Driving Health Equity–Part 2,” posted by the National League for Nursing in July, and co-authored “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 in August, and “Integrating Social Determinants of Health into Nurse Practitioner Education through a Faculty Enrichment Initiative,” in INQUIRY: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision and Financing in October. 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,” and a poster, “Appreciative Evaluation SOAP Notes: Bridging Nursing Education and Clinical Practice,” at the Evaluation25 conference, both in November. She co-presented, “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. In 2024, Jannyse was named a member of the NONPF Determinants of Health Special Interest Group and was appointed a member of the inaugural class of Mercy University’s Health Influencers Program, a first in the U.S., in the Bronx, New York. She is lead author of “Closing the Provider Gap in Rural and Underserved Communities: Preparing Family Nurse Practitioner Students for Entry-to-practice,” published in Nurse Educator, and co-author of “Introducing the ‘Nursing Education Integrating Social Change for Health Equity (NISCHE)’ Framework for Nursing Education,” in Nursing Outlook. In 2023, Jannyse presented at the NONPF and American Association of Nurse Practitioners conferences. She became principal investigator for a Health Resources and Services Administration grant to continue the CAP program at VUSN. Jannyse is an assistant professor at VUSN.
    • Lucy Tucker, MSN’11, co-presented, “HEENT Skills,” at the American Academy of Emergency Nurse Practitioners’ Blueprint Pre-conference in March 2025, and was promoted to assistant professor at VUSN in August.
    • Jordan Moore Vaughan, MSN’11, served as a peer reviewer in 2023 for Women's Healthcare. She is an in vitro fertilization nurse practitioner at Nashville Fertility Center and treasurer of the board of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • Vanessa Wilson, MSN’11, is manager of population health at Northside Hospital in Atlanta (2023).
  • 2012
    • Stephanie Abbu, MSN’12, presented, “Creating a Nursing Career Roadmap: Travel from Survive to Thrive in 2025,” hosted by the Tennessee Center for Nursing Advancement, and was named president of the VUSN Alumni Board, both in January 2025. She served as Distinguished Pinning Speaker at VUSN’s pinning ceremony for its inaugural class of masters of nursing graduates in 2024, and was a panelist for MSN Know Your Value hosted by the VUSN Alumni Board in 2023.
    • Amy Alspaugh, MSN’12, was inducted as a fellow in the American College of Nurse-Midwives in October 2025.
    • 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.
    • Trish Baise, MSN’12, DNP’16, is listed among Becker’s Hospital Review 213+ CNOs to Know, published in 2024. Trish is system chief nurse executive at East Carolina University Health, headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina, and has served on the board of the Tennessee Nurses Association.
    • Carole Bartoo, MSN’12, is co-author of “Implementing Quality Improvement in Nursing Homes: Nurse Practitioner Perspectives on Barriers, Facilitators and Lessons Learned,” published in the Journal of Nursing Care Quality in November 2025. She wrote a letter to the editor about the Tennessean’s coverage of climate change, which the paper published in 2024.
    • Tisha Barzyk, MSN’07, DNP’12, served as Distinguished Pinning Speaker at VUSN in 2024. She is a Nexus legal nurse consultant in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, specializing in the field of wound management and wound care cases, and a wound care consultant for Integumetrix.
    • Michelle Bednar, DNP’12, of Colfax, North Carolina, passed away May 3, 2023.
    • Dani Bowie, MSN’12, is author of the book, Reimagine Workforce Management with AI: A Roadmap for Healthcare Leaders, published in April 2025. She is senior vice president of workforce artificial intelligence at Aya Healthcare headquartered in San Diego.
    • Asa Briggs, MSN’12, was a speaker at the Mental Health Community Summit sponsored by Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority in 2023. Asa is the chief executive officer and owner of Briggs Psychiatry and Behavioral Health in Greenville, South Carolina, and a clinical assistant professor at Clemson.
    • Taaka Cash, MSN’12, DNP’13, was a panelist for “From Nurse to Entrepreneur: VUSN Alumni Share Their Stories,” in 2023, part of the VUSN Dore to Door Alumni Forum. She opened Privy Oasis to provide psychiatric mental health care for children, adolescents, adults and geriatric people in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, and is a public speaker.
    • Martha Coates, MSN’12, earned a PhD in nursing science in 2023 from Drexel University in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, where she is a postdoctoral research fellow in aging research. Her dissertation is “Examining Polypharmacy Status and its Impact on Symptoms and Health Outcomes in Older Adults with and without Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias.” She is a post-doctoral researcher at Drexel University and a clinician in primary, long term and skilled nursing care in Philadelphia.
    • Rebecca Faulkner, MSN’12, is owner and psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner at Naturally Revitalize Me in Surprise, Arizona, and PMHNP at InnovaTel (2023)
    • Kate FitzPatrick, DNP’12, is one of 23 nurse executives invited to attend a meeting of the Chief Nursing Officer Council hosted by Get Well, and she is listed among Becker’s Hospital Review 213+ CNOs to Know, both in 2024. She was featured in Becker’s Hospital Review in “153 Hospital and Health System Chief Nursing Officers to Know,” in 2023. She is chief nurse executive officer at Jefferson Health in Philadelphia and a member of the Chief Nursing Officer Council.
    • Jennifer Guay, DNP’12, was inducted as a fellow in the American College of Nurse-Midwives in October 2025.
    • Karla McAteer Hammonds, MSN’12, presented, “It's Not You! It’s Your Hormones,” in May 2025, hosted by The Chattery in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where she is a nurse practitioner at Restored Heath and Beauty.
    • Lauren Hansen, MSN’12, DNP’15, co-authored a position statement and served as a peer reviewer for in 2023 for Women's Healthcare. She is owner of Bloom Wellness and Aesthetics, a boutique private practice in Nashville focusing on a comprehensive approach to women's wellness.
    • Beth Bobo Higney, MSN’12, was featured in StyleBlueprint in 2023 to showcase her business, Complexion Nashville.
    • Jenn Hill, MSN’12, is a nurse practitioner specializing in medical oncology and hematology at Emory University Hospital Midtown in Atlanta (2024).
    • Tamika Hudson, MSN’12, was published in 2023 in CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing. Tamika is a member of the Nashville Metropolitan Hospital Authority board of trustees.
    • Kalisha Bonds Johnson, MSN’12, is lead author of the chapter, “Expansion of Family Networks and Social Interactions to Facilitate Successful Navigation of Health Care Systems for the Management of Cognitive Impairment,” in the book Transforming Social Determinants to Promote Global Health, published by Springer in 2024.
    • Vicki Jones, MSN’12, presented at the Fuld National Institute EBP Summit in 2023.
    • Jen Kiggans, MSN’12, was featured in Healthcare Finance in February 2025 in “Bill Seeks to Boost Nursing Workforce by Supporting Preceptors,” in The Daily Signal in July in “Former Navy Pilot Congresswoman Could Face Retired Marine Lt. Colonel Challenger in Virginia,” and in Politico Pro in September in “This House Republican is No Troublemaker. But She's Sticking Her Neck out for Obamacare Subsidies.” She received the Colleen Conway-Welch Award for National Leadership from the VUSN Alumni Association during Reunion in November. In 2024, Jen was announced as recipient of the National League for Nursing’s Public Policy Advancement Award, and was keynote speaker for the Eastern Shore Christian Businessmen’s Association prayer breakfast. She was interviewed in Norfolk, Virginia’s Daily Press for “In Virginia’s 2nd District, Jen Kiggans and Missy Cotter Smasal Talk Military Aid for Israel, Ukraine,” and was featured by Norfolk’s 13 News Now in “VERIFY: Kiggans Ad Highlights Her Career in and out of Congress,” confirming she is the only nurse practitioner currently serving in the U.S. Congress. Jen co-sponsored the bipartisan bill, the Improving Care and Access to Nurses (ICAN) Act, to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2023, with support from the American Nurses Association. She is featured in Issues in Science and Technology in “New Voices on the Hill.”
    • Katie Koss, MSN’12, joined HCA Healthcare in September 2025, as director of ethics and compliance, supporting over 2,000 clinics nationwide.
    • Talitha Kyle, MSN’12, is a family nurse practitioner at Ascension Saint Thomas in Hendersonville, Tennessee (2024).
    • Nanette Lavoie-Vaughan, DNP’12, is owner of DrNurseNanConsulting in Raleigh, North Carolina, a presenter at national and international conferences, and a developer of continuing education programs (2023).
    • 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.
    • Matt Martin, MSN’12, DNP’14, was named division vice president for quality at Mission Health/HCA Healthcare North Carolina Division in Asheville in 2024.
    • Megan Matheson, MSN’12, is a nursing instructor at Dyersburg State Community College in Tennessee (2023).
    • Cathy Maxwell, PhD’12, is co-author of “Perioperative Nurses’ Experience of Working with Persons Living with Dementia,” published in Research in Gerontological Nursing in April 2025, “Experiences of Unpaid Caregivers for Persons with Memory impairment Navigating Perioperative Care,” in the Journal of Trauma Nursing, and “Mitochondrial Fitness Science Communication: A Qualitative Study,” in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, both in July. She co-authored “Older and Younger Adults’ Perceptions of Augmented Reality Photorealistic Avatars as a Viable Medium for Interpersonal Communication,” published in Innovation in Aging in August, and “Engaging Older Adults and Staff in the Co-design and Evaluation of Socially Assistive Robot and Virtual Reality Activities for Long-term Care: User-centered Study,” in JMIR Aging in December. In 2024, Cathy was appointed as the Robert L. and Joyce T. Rice Presidential Endowed Chair in Healthy Aging at the University of Utah College of Nursing in Salt Lake City, and inducted as a Distinguished Fellow of the National Academies of Practice in Nursing. She is co-recipient of a $1.5 million Health Resources and Services Administration Bureau of Health Workforce grant to create a Nurse Education, Practice, Quality and Retention Simulation Education Training Program at VUSN, and she presented, “Staying Healthy Longer: Innovative Strategies,” at the Middle Tennessee State University's Positive Aging Conference. Cathy is co-author of “Life-stage and Contextual Factors of Advance Care Planning among Older Adults with Limited Income,” published in the Journal of Applied Gerontology, “Advance Care Planning among Older Adults with Limited Income: Results and Recommendations from a Qualitative Study,” in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, “Using the Age-friendly Environment Framework to Assess Advance Care Planning Factors among Older Adults with Limited Income: A Cross-sectional, Descriptive Survey Study,” in The Gerontologist, “Essential Advance Care Planning Intervention Features in Low-income Communities: A Qualitative Study,” in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, “From Lab to a Long-term Care Facility: Lessons Learned from Field Deployment of Augmented Reality Telepresence System as an Interactive Communication Technology,” in 2024 IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality Adjunct, “Trauma Patient Transitional Work: A Multidisciplinary Feasibility Survey of Planned Behavior Elements,” in the Journal of Trauma Nursing, and “Development of an Exploratory Dementia Family Caregiver Pain Assessment Survey,” in Research in Gerontological Nursing. She is lead author of “Mitochondrial Fitness Science Communication for Aging Adults: Prospective Formative Pilot Study,” in JMIR Formative Research. In 2023, Cathy was published in Journal of Gerontological Nursing, Geriatric Nursing, the Journal of Gerontological Nursing, Palliative and Support Care, Geriatric Nursing, and the Journal of Trauma Nursing, and she was promoted to professor at VUSN.
    • Rachel McDowell, MSN’03, PMC’12, received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023.
    • Chichi Ugbaja Nnaji, DNP’12, is owner and provider at Liberty Medical Clinic in Bells, Tennessee (2024).
    • Anna Prestwich, MSN’12, received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023.
    • Mark Reinhardt, DNP’12, was named inaugural dean of the Ruth Whitaker Holmes School of Behavioral and Health Sciences at Hood College in Frederick, Maryland, effective June 2025.
    • Imelda Reyes, DNP’12, was featured in Times-Georgian for being named dean of the University of West Georgia’s Tanner Health System School of Nursing, in Carrollton, and spoke at “My Professional Origin Story” at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, both in 2024. Imelda is associate editor of Advances in Family Practice Nursing and co-chair of the policy and advocacy committee for the National Association of Hispanic Nurses.
    • Alice Sattler, MSN’12, authored a chapter in Varney's Midwifery, released in 2023.
    • Scott Schuch, MSN’12, of Nashville passed away September 21, 2024.
    • Janelle Senda, MSN’12, co-presented two posters at the American College of Nurse-Midwives conference in October 2025, and is lead author of “Acute Cystitis in a Transfeminine Patient: Assessment and Treatment of Urinary Tract Symptoms,” published in 2024 in the Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health.
    • Heather Sevcik, MSN’12, was interviewed by VUMC News in October 2025 in “From Steakhouse to Sanctuary: Vanderbilt Birth Center Celebrates 10 Years.” She became clinical director of Vanderbilt Birth Center in Nashville in 2023.
    • Stacy Gunter Sheppard, MSN’12, is a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner at Valley Health in Minton, West Virginia (2023).
    • Kimberly Smith, MSN’12, is a nurse practitioner at Golisano Children's Hospital in Rochester, New York, a level IV neonatal intensive care unit (2025).
    • Randy Smith, MSN’12, co-presented, “Public Health and Planetary Wellness: Integrating Greenspace for Climate-resilient Healing in Practice and Policy,” at the Healing Beyond Borders conference in September 2025, and was published in The Journal for Nurse Practitioners in 2023.
    • Kara Hicks Stejskal, MSN’12, co-presented, “HEENT Skills,” at the American Academy of Emergency Nurse Practitioners’ Blueprint Pre-conference in March 2025. She is an emergency NP at Parkland Hospital in Dallas.
    • Joshua Thornsberry, MSN’12, was inducted as a fellow in the American College of Cardiology in March 2025. He is the advanced practice provider fellowship director at Wellstar Health System–Cardiovascular Medicine Department in Atlanta, and an adjunct instructor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing.
    • Brandi Wilkerson Torres, MSN’12, was named VUSN pediatric nurse practitioner-primary care Preceptor of the Year in 2023.
    • Alexandra Lesko Verbetan, MSN’12, is an oncology clinical nurse specialist at Froedtert Health in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (2025).
    • Brian Widmar, PhD’12, co-authored “Ultrasound Education for Nurse Practitioner Students: Strategies for Curricular Integration,” published in The Journal for Nurse Practitioners in 2024. He is an adjunct professor at VUSN and a member-at-large of the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties board of directors.
    • Ty Williams, MSN’03, DNP’12, received the Dean Colleen Conway-Welch Award in January 2025 from students in the VUSN doctor of nursing practice program, and graduated from A.T. Still University in Kirksville, Missouri, in 2024, with his doctorate of education in health professions. His dissertation is “Impostor Syndrome in APRN Faculty.” Ty was published in 2023 in The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, the Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, and The Journal for Nurse Practitioners. He was elected to National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties’ Faculty Institute Committee and was promoted to associate professor at VUSN. He is a member of the Sigma Iota Chapter board and counselor and governance committee member.
    • Katrina Anderson Wu, MSN’12, is lead author of “Telemedicine for Routine Prenatal Care: Use and Satisfaction during the COVID-19 Pandemic,” published in the Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health in 2024. She is director of the nurse-midwifery program at Bethel University in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
    • Carol Ziegler, MSN’06, DNP’12, presented, “Aligning Advanced Practice Nursing with Global Sustainable Development Goals,” in January 2025 as part of a monthly series co-hosted by University of Michigan School of Nursing, Yale University School of Nursing and VUSN. She co-authored an opinion piece, “Carbon Credits Help Make Homes More Affordable for Low-income Families,” published in the Tennessean in April, and co-presented, “Student Approaches to Advocacy: Environmental Perspectives,” at Vanderbilt University in May, hosted by Nurses for Global Health. Carol received a Vanderbilt Center for Sustainability, Energy and Climate grant through the Seed Project Fund, and was interviewed by two campers from the Tennessee Nature Academy for a podcast about a therapeutic technique that she shared with them during a camp presentation along Mill Creek in Tennessee, both in July. She chaired the health and policy portions of the VSEC inaugural symposium in August where she co-presented on climate health in the Southeast and advancing climate mitigation and health equity. Carol co-presented, “Public Health and Planetary Wellness: Integrating Greenspace for Climate-resilient Healing in Practice and Policy,” at the Healing Beyond Borders conference in September, and presented, “Planetary Health in the Southeast Region: Priority Actions for Public Health,” as part of a continuing education learning series with the University of Wisconsin for the Metro Nashville Public Health Department. She is a presenter in the HealthStream podcast, “Launching a New Era in Nursing Education,” released in the fall about a partnership with VUSN. In 2024, Carol presented at Columbia University’s Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education webinar, and was interviewed by GAPNA Chat. She was moderator of “What is Planetary Health and Why Does It Matter?” hosted by VUSN, and was named an inaugural VUSN Faculty Fellow. Carol presented at the Deep Culture Sustainability Summit and was interviewed by Inside Climate News for “Slow Wheels of Policy Leave Low-income Residents of Nashville Feeling Brunt of Warming Climate.” She is co-author of “Mobilizing Carbon Offsetting to Reduce Energy Cost Burdens: A New Approach for Calculating and Monetizing the Offset Value of Energy Efficiency Upgrades to Low-income Housing,” published in Frontiers in Energy Research, and “Carbon Offsets Can Help Bring Energy Efficiency to Low-income Americans: Nashville Data Shows It Could Be a Win for Everyone,” in Utah News Dispatch and The Conversation. In 2023, the Climate, Health and Energy Lab at Vanderbilt University, which Carol co-founded, received the Provost’s Faculty Grant for Culminating Projects in Immersion. She was appointed by Mayor John Cooper to the Metro Nashville Board of Health, was featured in the Tennessean, and received the Sara K. Archer Excellence in Teaching Award from students in the VUSN family NP specialty. She was featured in an American Nurses Association’s Innovation Lounge webinar, presented at the American Association of Nurse Practitioners conference, and was interviewed on iHeart Radio’s Healthy Living Healthy Planet Radio and by S. News & World Report. Carol was published in Primary Care: Clinics in Office Practice, Women’s Healthcare, and the Interdisciplinary Journal of Partnership Studies, and she presented at Vanderbilt University’s Bioengineering for Global Health Conference and presented at VU Medical Center's Department of Radiology Climate Action and Sustainability Summit.
  • 2013
    • Soheyl Asadsangabi, MSN’04, DNP’13, received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023. She co-manages and staffs the Vanderbilt Center for Women's Health clinic in Thompson’s Station, Tennessee.
    • Rhonda Bartine, MSN’13, is co-owner and psychiatric nurse practitioner at The Willows Health and Recovery in Nashville (2023).
    • Jeffrey Boon, MSN’13, PhD’23, is co-author of “Recruitment Strategies in Older African American Adults with Pain: The Current State of the Science,” published in Pain Management Nursing in April 2025, lead author of “Mitochondrial Fitness Science Communication: A Qualitative Study,” in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society in July, and co-author of “Gerontologists Combating Fraudulent Research Participants: Recommendations from Design to Dissemination,” in The Gerontologist in September. He is author of “Pain Assessments by Family Caregivers of People Living with Dementia,” published in Pain Management Nursing, lead author of “Development of an Exploratory Dementia Family Caregiver Pain Assessment Survey,” in Research in Gerontological Nursing, and co-author of “Mitochondrial Fitness Science Communication for Aging Adults: Prospective Formative Pilot Study,” in JMIR Formative Research, all in 2024. In 2023, he successfully defended his dissertation, “Dementia Family Caregivers’ Pain Assessments and Characteristics of the Person with Dementia and Caregivers,” at VUSN, and was published in Geriatric Nursing, the Journal of Gerontological Nursing and Geriatric Nursing.
    • Stacey Browning, MSN’13, DNP’15, was published in Science Talks in 2023. She is an assistant professor at Tennessee Technological University Whitson-Hester School of Nursing in Cookeville.
    • Britney Hagy Broyhill, BS’06, MSN’08, DNP’13, was inducted as a fellow by the American Association of Nurse Practitioners in 2023.
    • Pamela Bruce, MSN’13, DNP’15, was interviewed by VUMC News in April 2025 for “VHAN Celebrates 2024 Successes, Looks forward to Further Improvement Initiatives.” She is director of quality and clinical transformation for Vanderbilt Health Affiliated Network.
    • Grace Appert Campbell, BS’12, MSN’13, and her husband hosted seven VUSN students for a preventative health fair during spring break in 2023, where the students provided vision screening and education and on dental health, nutrition and first aid for cuts and bug bites at the children’s facility they founded, Mission Santa Maria, a nonprofit that partners with local organizations in Ecuador to enable children to receive shelter and high-quality education.
    • Barbara Carden, MSN’13, is a nurse practitioner in endocrinology at Health First Medical Group in Viera, Florida (2024).
    • Taaka Cash, MSN’12, DNP’13, was a panelist for “From Nurse to Entrepreneur: VUSN Alumni Share Their Stories,” in 2023, part of the VUSN Dore to Door Alumni Forum. She opened Privy Oasis to provide psychiatric mental health care for children, adolescents, adults and geriatric people in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, and is a public speaker.
    • Avni Cirpili, DNP’13, was a panelist for “Vanderbilt DNPs: Where Are They Now?” hosted by the VUSN Alumni Board’s Know Your Value Committee in 2023. He is chief nursing officer for Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital and Vanderbilt Behavioral Health. 
    • Brandy Cloud, MSN’13, was featured in West Virginia University School of Nursing News in 2024, in “Recent Nursing Graduate Aims to Transform Mental Health Care.”
    • Lydia Rice Colin, MSN’13, is a family nurse practitioner at Lawndale Cristian Health Center in Chicago (2023).
    • Courtney Cook, DNP’13, passed the certified nurse educator exam administered by the National League for Nursing and received the Sara K. Archer Excellence in Teaching Award from students in the VUSN adult-gerontology acute care nurse practitioner program, both in 2023.
    • Jon Coomer, MSN’13, presented at the Fuld National Institute Evidence-based Practice Summit in 2023.
    • Anna Langley Currid, MSN’13, is a nurse practitioner at University Cardiology in Knoxville, Tennessee (2024).
    • Kathleen Danhausen, MSN’13, co-provided insight and commentary on Nashville Public Television’s Call the Midwife blog in 2024, and authored a chapter in Varney's Midwifery, released in 2023.
    • Denise Savage Desai, MSN’13, was featured in VUMC News in 2024 in “DAISY Award Spotlight: I Saw Denise after a Sexual Assault. She Provided Kind and Sensitive Care.” She is a nurse practitioner in the Vanderbilt University Student Health Center.
    • Hannah Dodson, MSN’13, was featured in Sidelines Magazine in May 2025, for founding Leadline Wellness, a practice specializing in holistic wellness, chronic illness, food sensitivities and equine-assisted wellness, located outside of Greensboro, North Carolina. She received the Linda D. Norman Award for Innovation in Health Care presented by the VUSN Alumni Association during the school’s annual awards ceremony in November. Hannah is a clinical assistant professor at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
    • Stuart Downs, MSN’10, DNP’13, was elected president-elect of the American Organization for Nursing Leadership in August 2025, and is one of 23 nurse executives invited to attend a meeting of the Chief Nursing Officer Council hosted by Get Well in 2024. He became system chief nurse executive of the Northeast Georgia Health System in Gainesville in 2023.
    • Nancye Feistritzer, DNP’13, was inducted as a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing in October 2025. She is vice president of Emory Healthcare’s Center for Care Delivery and Innovation in Atlanta.
    • Lauren Flagg, MSN’13, DNP’20, received the Catherine Hanley Class of 1912 Rising Star Award presented by the VUSN Alumni Association during the school's annual awards ceremony in 2024. She is a clinical instructor at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.
    • Sarah Davis Gast, PMC’13, DNP’15, is lead author of “Everyone Is Listening: Podcasts as an Innovative Educational Approach in Graduate Level Education,” published in the Journal of Nursing Education in 2024, and received the Dean’s Award for Faculty Achievement in Innovation and Creativity from VUSN and welcomed a baby. That year, she received the Sara K. Archer Excellence in Teaching Award from students in the VUSN adult-gerontology acute care nurse practitioner specialty, and co-authored “Anaphylaxis to Tissue Plasminogen Activator in the Treatment of Pulmonary Embolism: A Case Report of Mixed Shock Management,” published in AACN Advanced Critical Care.
    • Sandy Greeno, MSN’92, DNP’13, of Akron, Ohio, passed away March 4, 2025 (here in VUMC News).
    • Ali Grubbs, MSN’13, was one of five Vanderbilt University Medical Center nurse managers chosen for the inaugural cohort of the Health Management Academy’s Nurse Manager Idea Labs, collaborating on a nine-month program called “Retention through Recognition: Using Challenge Coins to Recognize Exceptional Service, Valor and Teamwork,” in 2023-2024. She co-directs a bachelor’s in emergency nursing program for nurses at Georgetown Public Hospital Corp. in Guyana, in collaboration with the University of Guyana and VUMC.
    • Nate Guerette, MSN’13, was inducted as a fellow of the American College of Nurse-Midwives in 2024.
    • Christine Hallman, MSN’13, DNP’19, became co-recipient in 2023 of an ASHP Foundation Collaborative Care Grant for Nurses and Pharmacists, and contributed to the book, Managing Heart Failure in Primary Care: A Case Study Approach, published by Springer. She is a palliative care nurse practitioner at MedStar Health Washington Hospital Center in D.C.
    • Karen Hande, DNP’13, 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, and co-presented, “Transformational Change: Our Journey to Caring Science at Vanderbilt School of Nursing,” hosted by the International Association for Human Caring in March. She is lead author of “Nurse Practitioner Role Transition within an Advanced Practice Fellowship: Educational and Clinical Recommendations,” published in Nursing Administration Quarterly in July. Karen was mentioned by Oncology Nursing News in August in “How to Transition New Nurse Practitioners to Oncology,” and was named to the National League for Nursing's Outcomes and Competencies for Graduates of Nursing Programs Strategic Action Group in September. She was invited to be a facilitator for the Academic Leadership Collaborative and co-authored “Utilization of Buprenorphine for the Treatment of Cancer Pain and Transition to Survivorship,” published in the Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing in October. Karen is lead author of “Managing Cancer Pain in Patients with Opioid Use Disorder,” published in The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, and “Navigating the Pathway to Advanced Practice: A Grounded Theory of Nurse Practitioner Role Transition in a Fellowship,” in the Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, and is co-author of “Tapering Opioids in Patients with Persistent Pain after Cancer Treatment,” in Pain Medicine, all in 2024. In 2023, Karen successfully defended her PhD at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and presented her dissertation study, “Navigating the Trailway to Advanced Practice: A Grounded Theory of NP Role Transition in a Fellowship,” at the Nursology Theory conference. She was published in the Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing, the Journal of Pain and Palliative Care Pharmacotherapy and The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, and presented at the DNP Summit hosted by the University of Rochester School of Nursing and at the Oncology Nursing Society meeting. Karen was selected as a NLN Commission for Nursing Education Accreditation program evaluator, and appointed a member of the Vanderbilt Leadership Academy. Karen is chair of the Wellness, Populations and Health Systems Community at VUSN, an adult oncology pain management NP and secretary of the TNF.
    • 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. 
    • Sarah Nanney Hill, MSN’03, DNP’13, is lead author of “Promoting Utilization of EMR Strategies to Streamline Communication across Perioperative Teams,” published in the Journal of PeriAnesthesia Nursing in 2024. She is a pediatric nurse practitioner specializing in anesthesiology and perioperative services at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.
    • Teresa Hobt-Bingham, MSN’13, was elected secretary of the Tennessee Nurses Association in October 2025, and was quoted in 2024 by VUMC News in “Event Provides Crucial Trauma Training for Tennessee National Guard Personnel.” She is associate nursing officer of Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s surgical segment.
    • Linda Hughlett, MSN’04, DNP’13, was featured in the Memphis Business Journal for “Women Who Lead in Nursing: Linda Hughlett of Regional One Health,” in 2023. She is chief nursing officer and senior vice president at Regional One in Memphis, Tennessee.
    • Stephen Johnson, BS’07, MSN’13, is a nurse practitioner at the University of California San Francisco, specializing in orthopaedic surgery with a focus on foot and ankle conditions (2025).
    • 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.
    • April Kapu, MSN’05, DNP’13, authored “Facilitating the Transition from New Graduate to Practicing Advanced Practice RN: A Comparison of Orientation Programs and Fellowships,” published in JONA: The Journal of Nursing Administration, and was quoted in the Nashville Business Journal in “Vanderbilt University Selected for 2026 International Council of Nurses Conference,” both in January 2025. She delivered the keynote address at VUSN’s Sigma Iota Chapter at Large induction ceremony in April, and visited South Korea and Taiwan as part of a Vanderbilt University tour, meeting with Kuei-Ru Chou, PhD’97, dean for global engagement at Taipei Medical University. She authored “Designing the Ideal Office of Advanced Practice: Bridging Workforce Excellence and System Goals,” published in The Journal of Nursing Administration, and co-authored the chapter, “Access to Care: Assessment of Financial, Structural, Political and Social Barriers,” in the book COVID-19 Impacts on Child Health published by Springer Nature, both in April. She co-presented a podium session at the American Association of Critical Care Nurses National Teaching Institute in May. April co-presented, “Nurse Practitioner Value: Know Your Why and Know Your Worth,” at the American Association of Nurse Practitioner conference, and co-authored “Global Academic-systems Partnerships: Towards Multiprofessional International Advanced Practice Leadership Capacity and Capability,” published in the Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners in June. April was accepted into the International Council of Nurses’ Global Nurse Leadership Institute in July and represented VUSN at VU’s Policy Innovation Days in September. She was appointed to the ICN’s Nurse Practitioner Expert Advisory Group in October. In 2024, April was a panelist for the webinar, “Simulation in Competency-based Nurse Practitioner Education,” hosted by Wolters Kluwer. She is lead author of “Health System and University Leader Learning Collaboratives: Advancing Education, Regulation and Advanced Practice Nursing Care across the World,” published in The Journal of Nursing Administration, “Empowering Nurses for High-Value Healthcare: A Call for Legislative and Systemic Change,” in The Journal of Nursing Administration, and “Transforming Advanced Practice RN Compensation,” in JONA: The Journal of Nursing Administration. She contributed to the book Emergency Nurse Practitioner Scope and Standards of Practice published by Springer, and co-authored “Measures of Success: Making the Case for Advanced Practice-sensitive Quality Indicators,” in the HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine. In 2023, April and was quoted in Becker's Hospital Review and was interviewed by the Daily Nurse and Clinical Advisor. She was nominated as one of Modern Healthcare’s Most Influential Clinical Executives, and was published in The Journal of Nursing Administration, the Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, The Journal of Nursing Administration, The Journal of Nursing Administration, and the book Nurse Practitioners and Nurse Anesthetists: The Evolution of the Global Roles, published by Springer. She is on a Vanderbilt University Medical Center team that received funding from the Tennessee Department of Health to evaluate innovative models of nursing care, and presented at the VUMC ACNP/PA Critical Care Boot Camp and at the Society of Critical Care Medicine and at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center’s APP Oncology Symposium on “Advanced Practice Providers Today: Stronger Together, Stronger than Ever!”
    • Rachel Kromer, MSN’13, was elected to the board of directors of the Association for Nursing Professional Development in 2024
    • Travis McCall, MSN’13, presented, “Social Determinants of Health for the ED Provider,” and “Down on the Farm: Agriculture Illnesses and Injuries,” at the American Academy of Emergency Nurse Practitioners conference in March 2025. In 2024, he co-authored “PREPARED NP: Preparation for Emergency Care Delivery among Nurse Practitioners,” published in The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, and received the Sara K. Archer Excellence in Teaching Award from students in the VUSN family/emergency NP specialty. Travis presented, “Tick-borne Illnesses,” and, “Pearls of Documentation,” and co-presented, “Mass-casualty Incident Simulations to Promote Interprofessional Emergency Care Learning,” at the AAENP conference. In 2023, he presented at the AAENP conference and was published in Air Medical Journal. He is an assistant professor at VUSN and emergency-flight NP at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
    • Sue Melino, PMC’13, of Madison, New Jersey, passed away April 5, 2025.
    • Liz Munoz, MSN’13, DNP’21, was quoted on the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing website in 2024, in “MSN Nurse-Midwifery Pathway Graduates First Cohort,” and she authored a chapter in Varney's Midwifery, released in 2023. Liz is an assistant professor and director of clinical education for UAB’s master of science in nursing nurse-midwifery pathway.
    • Anne Pressman, MSN’13, of Dunwoody, Georgia, passed away April 18, 2025.
    • Kaitlin Neary Redd, MSN’13, was named president of advanced practice providers at Ascension Seton Medical Center in Austin, Texas, in 2023. She is a heart failure nurse practitioner on an inpatient heart failure team. 
    • Bethany Andrews Rhoten, MSN’09, PhD’13, was appointed to the Nashville Health Care Council’s Leadership Nashville 2025 cohort by the Junior League of Nashville, where she is president-elect. She is co-author of “Feasibility, Acceptability and Modification of a Post-surgical Telehealth Mindfulness-based Intervention to Enhance Recovery after Lumbar Spine Surgery: A Prospective Intervention Study,” published in Global Advances in Integrative Medicine and Health in May, and was promoted to professor at VUSN in August. She is lead author of “Lesbian and Bisexual Breast Cancer Survivors’ Post-treatment Resource Needs,” published in the Journal of Cancer Survivorship in 2024, and was selected for the Leadership Nashville 2024-2025 class. In 2023, Bethany was published in the Journal of Gerontological Nursing, BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making, Nurse Educator and the Journal of Neuroscience Nursing, and she opened Andrews Grace Behavioral Health, a boutique telehealth practice for cancer survivors and their families.
    • Lydia Rotondo, DNP’13, was inducted as a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing in 2024, and co-presented at the University of Rochester Nursing DNP Summit webinar series in 2023.
    • Michelle Ruslavage, MSN’10, DNP’13, was named VUSN Nursing Informatics Preceptor of the Year in 2024. Michelle is a Captain in the U.S. Public Health Service, a public health analyst with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and an instructor at VUSN.
    • Laurel Kagan Schaefer, MSN’13, DNP’19, received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023.
    • Megan Simmons, MSN’05, PMC’13, DNP’13, co-authored “Utilizing a HRSA Training Grant to Promote PMHNP Student Resilience: Answering the Call to Enhance Trauma-informed Teaching and Learning Practices in Nursing Education,” published in Issues in Mental Health Nursing, co-presented, “Using Trauma-informed Teaching Practices with PMHNP Students to Foster Resiliency in the Workforce,” at the American Psychiatric Nurses Association conference, and was featured in Clinical Advisor in “Trauma-informed Training Useful in Clinical Practice and Self-Care,” all in 2024. In 2023, she presented at the APNA conference.
    • Jud Smith, MSN’13, was elected president-elect of the American Academy of Emergency Nurse Practitioners for 2024-2025.
    • Renee Sommers-Beagle, MSN’13, is lead nurse practitioner at Corewell Health in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a level IV neonatal intensive care unit (2025).
    • Leslie Stoeckle Tillman, MSN’13, is a pediatric nurse practitioner specializing in bariatric medicine at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C. (2024).
    • Jade Ward Vergara, MSN’13, co-presented, “Transformational Change: Our Journey to Caring Science at Vanderbilt School of Nursing,” hosted in March 2025 by the International Association for Human Caring. She was named an inaugural VUSN Health Faculty Fellow, to expand integrated community-based social determinants of health resources for older adults in a historically Black community in Nashville, and co-presented, “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, both in 2024. She is an instructor at VUSN.
    • Tracee Williams, MSN’13, of Lagrange, Georgia, passed away March 11, 2024.
  • 2014
    • Ryan Abner, MSN’14, of Huntsville, Alabama, passed away September 26, 2024.
    • Ashley Allen, MSN’14, was featured as a Hometown Hero in 2024 by WKBO News in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
    • Julianna Provost Amorese, MSN’14, is nurse practitioner coordinator for pediatric cardiac critical care and senior NP at Johns Hopkins Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine in Baltimore (2024).
    • Ally Thompson Bateman, BA’12, MSN’14, DNP’16, joined VUSN as an adjunct instructor In January 2025. She was a panelist for MSN Know Your Value hosted by the VUSN Alumni Board in 2023.
    • Carrie Batie, MSN’14, joined the faculty of The Citadel’s Swain Department of Nursing in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2024, as assistant professor.
    • Brooklyn Beaupre, MSN’14, is a cardiology nurse practitioner at Mountain States Medical Group in Johnson City, Tennessee (2024).
    • Amanda Bercerra, MSN’14, is a nurse practitioner at University of California San Diego Health (2024).
    • Cindy Blalock, MSN’14, received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023.
    • Sarah Bloom, MSN’14, DNP’24, joined VUSN faculty as an adjunct instructor and was interviewed in VUMC News in “VUMC Nursing’s ‘Boot Camp’ Helps Hone Critical Care Skills,” both in 2024. She is a nurse practitioner in the medical intensive care center at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
    • Alyssa Nolan Carlson, MSN’08, DNP’14, is a nurse practitioner at Emory Hospital Midtown and Grady in Atlanta, both level III neonatal intensive care units (2025).
    • Alexa Clay, MSN’14, is a certified nurse-midwife at Connectus Health in Nashville (2024).
    • Beverly Cotton, DNP’14, was promoted in January 2025 to deputy director for field operations for the Indian Health Service, overseeing four of the IHS’s 12 designated areas: Albuquerque, Navajo, Oklahoma City and Tucson.
    • Ekom Essien, BS’10, MSN’14, was named president of the VUSN Alumni Board and served as moderator of “The Fundamentals of Working at a Federally Qualified Health Center,” part of the VUSN Dore to Door Alumni Forum, both in 2023. Ekom is a pediatric nurse practitioner at Maple City Health Care Center and an adjunct professor at Goshen College, both in Indiana.
    • Rachel Menders Farris, MSN’14, is an acute care nurse practitioner at Charleston Area Medical Center in West Virginia, specializing in pulmonary critical care (2025).
    • Pamela Gray, MSN’14, is a nurse practitioner at Upperline Health in Birmingham, Alabama (2023).
    • 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.
    • Brittany Hollibaugh Haskell, MSN’14, is lead author of “Diagnosis and Treatment of Adults with Attention-deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder,” published in The Journal For Nurse Practitioners in 2024, and was published in 2023 on the Health eCareers blog and in Teaching and Learning in Nursing.
    • Rachel Helms, MSN’14, co-presented, “The Not-so-sweet Hidden Threat of Diabetic Ketoacidosis,” and “Hard Truths, Soft Landings: Delivering Bad News with Compassion,” at the American Academy of Emergency Nurse Practitioners conference, and “HEENT Skills,” at its Blueprint Pre-conference, both in March 2025. She co-presented, “Pediatric Injury Care: Fusing Case Studies with Procedural Practice,” at the AAENP conference in 2024. She is an assistant clinical professor at Auburn University in Alabama.
    • Tess Huggins, MSN’14, DNP’24, joined the VUSN faculty in August 2025 as an assistant professor. She is director of surgical critical care advanced practice at the Vanderbilt University Adult Hospital.
    • Emily Humphrey, MSN’14, is a family nurse practitioner at CommUnityCare Health Centers in Austin, Texas (2023).
    • Hannah Wachtmeister Kestner, MSN’14, DNP’16, is co-author of “Addressing the Outliers: Urging Consensus in Child Sexual Abuse Evaluation,” published in the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children Advisor in 2024.
    • Christian Ketel, DNP’14, co-received the Vanderbilt Alumni Association’s Service and Community Leadership Award in November 2025, for dedication to the Nashville community with the Vanderbilt Mobile Vaccination Program. In 2024, he was named project director of a $1.5 million Health Resources and Services Administration Bureau of Health Workforce grant to create a Nurse Education, Practice, Quality and Retention Simulation Education Training Program at VUSN, and was named director of community partnerships at VUSN and is featured in a video about Urban Housing Solutions’ Resiliency Hub, a partnership with VUSN. Christian was then named assistant dean for nursing academic support and associate professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing, and featured on the Meharry-Vanderbilt Alliance website in “Nashville Bids Farewell to Dr. Ketel.” He is lead author of “Resiliency in Persons Experiencing Homelessness: A Concept Analysis Using the Evolutionary Framework,” published in JAN, and co-author of “Utilizing a HRSA Training Grant to Promote PMHNP Student Resilience: Answering the Call to Enhance Trauma-informed Teaching and Learning Practices in Nursing Education,” in Issues in Mental Health Nursing, “Closing the Provider Gap in Rural and Underserved Communities: Preparing Family Nurse Practitioner Students for Entry-to-practice,” in Nurse Educator, “Using Give-get Grids to Evaluate Community-engaged Interprofessional Education Partnerships,” in Progress in Community Health Partnerships, and “Enhancing Hepatitis C Care in Primary Care: A Nurse Practitioner-led Intervention,” in The Journal for Nurse Practitioners. He was cited in Clinical Advisor in “Trauma-informed Training Useful in Clinical Practice and Self-care.” In 2023, Christian was named program project evaluator for a $3 million HRSA grant to create a training program, standardized set of competencies and certification for community health workers in Tennessee. He presented at the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties conference, and was a panelist for “Health Care and the Homeless: A Unique Role for Nursing,” part of the VUSN Dore to Door Alumni Forum. He was named the Middle Tennessee State University True Blue Distinguished Alumni for Service to the Community, and was named evaluation coordinator of a $2.6M HRSA grant to continue its Collaborative Academic-Practice program. He was published in Public Health Nursing and on the ICE Blog, and presented at the American Psychiatric Nurses Association conference.
    • Mirini Kim, BMUS’12, MSN’14, is the head of nursing for Pocket RN, headquartered in Palo Alto, California.
    • Andrea Bodniowycz Knox, MSN’14, is a nurse practitioner at Tennessee Oncology in Nashville (2024).
    • Katie Krill, MSN’14, received the Excellence in Service Award from the University of Utah College of Nursing in Salt Lake City in 2024, for demonstrating commitment to the profession and service to the community, and was appointed clinical director—primary care within the faculty practice and community collaboration network. Katie is an assistant clinical professor in the university’s doctor of nursing practice primary care track.
    • Cindy Kumar, MSN’14, is a board member of the American Academy of Emergency Nurse Practitioners (2025).
    • Molly Lalonde, MSN’14, is featured in a Figure1 podcast recorded in 2023.
    • Nealie Lane, MSN’14, is a transplant nurse practitioner at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida (2025).
    • Buffy Lupear, DNP’14, MMHC’22, was quoted by VUMC News in September 2025 in “APP Critical Care Boot Camp Draws Attendees from across Nation,” and was interviewed in VUMC News in “VUMC Nursing’s ‘Boot Camp’ Helps Hone Critical Care Skills,” in 2024. Buffy is senior director of advanced practice and interim associate nurse executive for advanced practice at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
    • Orlin Marques, MSN’14, DNP’16, is clinical director at Centro Medico Familiar, a primary care immigrant clinic in Duluth, Georgia, and on the advisory committee of DNPs of Color (2025).
    • Matt Martin, MSN’12, DNP’14, was named division vice president for quality at Mission Health/HCA Healthcare North Carolina Division in Asheville in 2024.
    • Renate Meier, MSN’14, received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023. She is an assistant in obstetrics and gynecology at VUMC and a women’s health nurse practitioner at Fertility and Endocrine Associates in Louisville, Kentucky.
    • Rosemarie Milano, DNP’14, is an assistant professor at the Oregon Health and Science University School of Nursing and an acute care nurse practitioner at the OHSU Trauma Surgery Clinic—Marquam Hill, both in Portland (2023).
    • Keri Montgomery, MSN’14, is a nurse practitioner specializing in pediatric gastroenterology at Peyton Manning Children's Pediatric Behavioral Health in Evansville, Indiana (2024).
    • Robert Morley, MSN’14, is owner and president of Commonwealth Medical Services in Lexington, Kentucky (2024).
    • Theresa Norris, MSN’14, joined Maury Regional Medical Group’s PrimeCare Clinic in Columbia, Tennessee, in 2024 as a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner.
    • Elaine Dauwalder Porter, DNP’14, was elected to serve on the Society of Vascular Nursing’s board of directors for the 2021-2023 term.
    • Julie Randolph, MSN’14, is an instructor at Tennessee Technological University’s Whitson Hester School of Nursing in Cookeville (2023).
    • Carrie Reale, MSN’14, is co-author of “Evaluating the Safety and Usability of an Over-the-counter Medical Device for Adults with Mild to Moderate Hearing Loss: Formative and Summative Usability Testing,” published in JMIR Human Factors in January 2025, and “Inpatient Nurses’ Preferences and Decisions with Risk Information Visualization,” in 2024 in theJournal of the American Medical Informatics Association. She was published in 2023 by the Journal of Cognitive Engineering and Decision Making, the Journal of Cognitive Engineering and Decision Making and JAMA Network Open, and was named VUSN Preceptor of the Year for nursing informatics. She is an informatics nurse specialist in the Center for Research and Innovation in Systems Safety at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
    • Jennifer David Ridgway, MSN’14, DNP’17, co-authored “Interactive Simulation for Addressing Vaccine Hesitancy in Nurse Practitioner Education,” published in Clinical Simulation in Nursing in May 2025, and received the Sara K. Archer Excellence in Teaching Award in August, from students in the VUSN pediatric NP—primary care specialty. She is an assistant professor at VUSN.
    • Susanna Rudy, MSN’14, DNP’16, is lead author of “Ultrasound Education for Nurse Practitioner Students: Strategies for Curricular Integration,” published in 2024 in The Journal for Nurse Practitioners. She is on the international ultrasound team for the Society of Critical Care Medicine and has made multiple trips to Ukraine to provide frontline battlefield training.
    • Lyndsay Solimine, MSN’14, presented a poster at the American College of Gastroenterology conference in 2023.
    • Marcy Stoots, DNP’14, advocated on Capitol Hill and met with members of Congress in 2024, on behalf of Dysautonomia International. She is general manager of electronic health record applications for Geisinger Health System’s xG Health in Florida.
    • Allison Sullivan, MSN’14, 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.
    • Michele Tanz, DNP’14, joined Saint Francis Healthcare System’s Cape Gastroenterology Specialists in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, as a nurse practitioner in 2024.
    • Paula Tucker, DNP’14, was inducted as a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing in October 2025. She co-authored “Historical Evolution of Emergency Nurse Practitioner Education: A Comprehensive Review,” published in the Advanced Emergency Nursing Journal in 2024, and was a member of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners conference planning team in 2023. She is the American Association of Emergency Nurse Practitioners’ Practice Committee co-chair, AANP emergency NP special interest group co-chair, and clinical assistant professor at Emory University’s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing in Atlanta.
    • Marlena DiDonato Vyas, MSN’14, DNP’16, is a nurse practitioner at Neonatal Care Specialists in Grand Blanc, Michigan (2025).
    • Barbara Wadsworth, DNP’14, was appointed chair of Pennsylvania’s Montgomery County Board of Health by the county’s board of commissioners in January 2025. She is senior vice president, chief operating officer and chief nursing officer at Main Line Health in Philadelphia.
    • Allison Walker, MSN’14, received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023.
    • Sam Younger, MSN’14, was named chief operating officer of TriStar Greenview Regional Hospital in Bowling Green, Kentucky, in 2023.
    • Stefani Davis Yudasz, MSN’14, DNP’16, co-authored a position statement for and was published in Women’s Healthcare in 2023, and is featured in a Women’s Healthcare She is an assistant professor at VUSN.
    • Samantha Zeller, MSN’14, is a nurse practitioner specializing in pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital in Saint Petersburg, Florida (2024).

     

  • 2015
    • Marcia Spear Barnes, MSN’99, DNP’15, was published in 2024 in Tennessee Nurse. Marcia 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.
    • Elizabeth Bronson, MSN’15, is a nurse practitioner at Children’s Nebraska in Omaha, a level IV neonatal intensive care unit (2025).
    • Vania Brown-Small, DNP’15, is nurse program director for the depression and anxiety disorders division at McLean Hospital in Middleborough, Massachusetts (2025).
    • Stacey Browning, MSN’13, DNP’15, was published in Science Talks in 2023. She is an assistant professor at Tennessee Technological University Whitson-Hester School of Nursing in Cookeville.
    • Pamela Bruce, MSN’13, DNP’15, was interviewed by VUMC News in April 2025 for “VHAN Celebrates 2024 Successes, Looks forward to Further Improvement Initiatives.” She is director of quality and clinical transformation for Vanderbilt Health Affiliated Network.
    • Tina Catlett, MSN’15, is lead neonatal nurse practitioner at Warren Clinic Neonatal Specialists at Saint Francis Children’s Hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a level II and IV intensive care unit (2025).
    • Desireé Clement, PMC’15, DNP’17, received the American Association of Nurse Practitioners State Award for Outstanding Contributions in June 2025 for her work in the state of Georgia. She is assistant dean of graduate clinical programs at Emory University’s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing in Atlanta, where she has oversight of all masters of science in nursing and doctor of nursing practice advanced practice specialty programs. Desiree is a dual family nurse practitioner and certified nurse midwife at Clarkston Community Health Center and Harriet Tubman Women’s Clinic, co-director of the Ga. Coalition of Advanced Practice Registered Nurses, and chair of the NONPF conference planning committee.
    • Ali Sevilla de Cocco, BS’08, MDV’11, MSN’15, co-authored “Rise of Advanced Practice Professionals in Women’s Health,” published in Obstetrics & Gynecology Clinics in September 2025, and served as Distinguished Pinning Speaker at VUSN in 2024. She received the Alumni Award for Clinical Achievement in Nursing presented by the VUSN Alumni Association during the school’s annual awards ceremony in 2023.
    • Mary Hill Craft, MSN’15, is a nurse practitioner at West Virginia University Student Health in Morgantown (2025).
    • Jessica Criser, MSN’15,is a nurse practitioner at the University of Oregon’s University Health Services in Eugene (2023).
    • Lacey Cross, MSN’15, received the Dean’s Award for Faculty Achievement in Academics from VUSN, was promoted to assistant professor at VUSN, and co-presented, “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 2024. In 2023, she was presented the National League for Nursing Foundation for Nursing’s Education Faculty Scholarship Award and successfully defended her doctor of nursing practice project, “A Step toward Bridging the Academic-practice Gap: Evaluating Clinical Judgement in New Graduate Nurses,” at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
    • Veronica Deatrick, DNP’15, is a psychiatric nurse practitioner at Senior Medical Associates in San Diego (2023).
    • Kelly Devous, MSN’15, is a nurse practitioner at University of Texas Physicians in Spring, a level III neonatal intensive care unit (2025).
    • Kelly DeWyer, BA’10, MSN’15, is a nurse practitioner in the George Washington University Cancer Center’s department of hematology and oncology in Washington, D.C., and a clinical instructor for the GW school of nursing in Ashburn, Virginia (2023).
    • Susannah Dowling, MSN’15, is a psychiatric nurse practitioner in the autism center and neuropsychiatry program at Sheppard Pratt in Towson, Maryland (2023).
    • Emily Downs, MSN’15, was named VUSN family nurse practitioner/emergency nurse practitioner Preceptor of the Year in 2023.
    • Melissa Ehling, PMC’15, is a neonatal nurse practitioner at Children’s Mercy Adele Hall Campus in Kansas City, Missouri (2025).
    • Emily Launhardt Eiswirth, DNP’15, is an associate professor at the Loyola University New Orleans’ college of nursing (2025).
    • Misty Evans, DNP’15, was featured by the DAISY Foundation in its website spotlight in April 2025, and co-authored “Best Practices in Gene Therapy for Sickle Cell Disease and Transfusion-dependent β-Thalassemia,” published in Transplantation and Cellular Therapy in June, “Safety and Feasibility of Fertility Preservation and Fertility Outcomes in Patients with Sickle Cell Disease and Transfusion-dependent Beta Thalassemia Undergoing Gene Therapy,” in Transplantation and Cellular Therapy in November, and “Prime Editing for p47phox-Deficient Chronic Granulomatous Disease,” in The New England Journal of Medicine in December. In 2024, Misty was quoted by Healio in “Education, Workplace Culture Key to Addressing Oncology Nursing Shortage,” and the AANP SmartBrief featured her and the Healio article as its lead article. She received the Advanced Practice Provider Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy and the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research. In 2023, Misty was published in Bone Marrow Transplantation, received the Sara K. Archer Excellence in Teaching Award from students in the VUSN pediatric NP-acute care program, and was promoted to associate professor at VUSN.
    • Emily Fischer, MSN’15, is an orthopedic nurse practitioner at Medstar Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C., where she specializes in hand and upper extremities and is cross trained in total joints and spine.
    • Lindsey Furry, MSN’15, is a family nurse practitioner at Shalom Health Care Center in Indianapolis (2023).
    • Sarah Davis Gast, PMC’13, DNP’15, , is lead author of “Everyone Is Listening: Podcasts as an Innovative Educational Approach in Graduate Level Education,” published in the Journal of Nursing Education in 2024, and received the Dean’s Award for Faculty Achievement in Innovation and Creativity from VUSN and welcomed a baby. That year, she received the Sara K. Archer Excellence in Teaching Award from students in the VUSN adult-gerontology acute care nurse practitioner specialty, and co-authored “Anaphylaxis to Tissue Plasminogen Activator in the Treatment of Pulmonary Embolism: A Case Report of Mixed Shock Management,” published in AACN Advanced Critical Care.
    • Gordon Gillespie, DNP’15, was named chief program officer of the National League for Nursing in January 2025. He is an associate professor and dean of research at the UC College of Nursing and a director on the Emergency Nurses Association’s board.
    • Brenna Gillis, MSN’15, DNP’17, is co-author of “Clinical Update on Insomnia,” published in The Journal for Nurse Practitioners in November 2025, and she was published in The Journal for Nurse Practitioners in 2023. She is a psychiatric nurse practitioner at Genesis Psychiatric Services in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
    • Heather Goetteman, MSN’15, is a nurse practitioner specializing in neonatal and pediatrics at Hennepin Healthcare in Minneapolis (2023).
    • Stacy Gwatura, MSN’15, is a nurse practitioner specializing in hospice and palliative care at LifeBridge Health’s Sinai Psychiatry Associates in Baltimore (2024).
    • Natalie Johnson Hall, MSN’15, received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023. She is a neurosurgery nurse practitioner in cerebrovascular and brain tumor services at VUMC.
    • Lauren Hansen, MSN’12, DNP’15, co-authored a position statement and served as a peer reviewer in 2023 for Women's Healthcare. She is owner of Bloom Wellness and Aesthetics, a boutique private practice in Nashville focusing on a comprehensive approach to women's wellness.
    • David Henderson, MSN’15, is a nurse practitioner in the University of New Mexico’s department of pediatrics neonatology division in Albuquerque (2025).
    • Kelly Leonard Hutton, MSN’15, is a nurse practitioner at Pediatrix Centennial Neonatology of Nashville (2025).
    • Helena In’t Veld, MSN’15, is a nurse practitioner at Arizona Centers for Digestive Health in Phoenix (2025).
    • Sharon Jameson, MSN’15, is a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner at SIHF Healthcare in Alton, Illinois (2023).
    • Laura Lerner, MSN’15, is a nurse practitioner at Pediatric Cardiac Intensivists of North Texas in Dallas (2024).
    • Dana Stann Manning, BA’12, MSN’15, received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023. She is assistant clinic director at Vanderbilt Health at Metro Nashville Public Schools Employee and Family Health Care Centers.
    • Morgan McDowell, MSN’15, was featured in 2023 in The News and Advance and received recognition as one of the Virginia Nurses Association “40 Nurses under 40”. She is director of advanced practice provider education and a nurse practitioner at Centra Health in Lynchburg.
    • Hannah Wright Meurer, MSN’15, received the Linda D. Norman Award for Innovation in Health Care presented by the VUSN Alumni Association during the school's annual awards ceremony in 2024. She is founder and provider at Haven Miscarriage Clinic in the Atlanta area, the first such clinic in the U.S.
    • Heather Miracle, MSN’15, is a women’s health nurse practitioner at Mountain Area Health Education Center in Asheville, North Carolina (2023).
    • Lee Moore, MSN’15, is an assistant professor of nursing at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville (2023).
    • Raj Mukatira, MSN’15, is a psychiatric nurse practitioner at The Transformation Center in Memphis, Tennessee (2023).
    • Melissa Quarles, MSN’15, was named VUSN pediatric nurse practitioner-acute care Preceptor of the Year in 2023.
    • Shelza Rivas, BA’12, MSN’15, DNP’17, co-presented, “Education for Indigenous Guatemalan Women in the United States: Implications for Maternal Health,” and, “Traditional Birth Attendant Care in Guatemala: Challenges and Opportunities for Nurses,” at the International Council of Nurses Congress in June 2025, and co-presented, “Aligning Advanced Practice Nursing with Global Sustainable Development Goals,” in July as part of the monthly Global Collaborative series co-hosted by University of Michigan School of Nursing, Yale University School of Nursing and VUSN. In 2024, Shelza was named director of global partnerships at VUSN and is featured on the Vanderbilt Athletics website for co-leading a week-long immersion trip to Guatemala for VU student-athletes in health-related majors. In 2023, she received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center, was published in Women's Healthcare, and received the Thomas L. Christenbery Award presented by the VUSN Alumni Association during the school’s annual awards ceremony. Shelza is an assistant professor at VUSN.
    • Raymond Romano, MSN’15, was quoted in Tennessee’s Williamson Scene in January 2025 in “Brentwood Memory Care Unit Pilots Dementia Program,” and presented, “Dreaming Minds: The Interplay of Sleep, Cognition and Dementia,” during a lunch-and-learn hosted by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Vanderbilt University in September.
    • Karla Schroeder, DNP’15, is chief nursing officer and vice president of patient care at Emory Healthcare in Atlanta (2025).
    • Ben Schultze, PhD’15, is an assistant professor of nursing at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland (2023).
    • Emily Stubbs, MSN’15, is a nurse practitioner specializing in hematology/oncology at the Emily Couric Clinical Cancer Center in Charlottesville, Virginia (2023).
    • Natalie Studdard, BA’13, MSN’15, is a nurse practitioner at Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital Midtown Joint Replacement Institute in Nashville (2024).
    • Dawn Tripp, MSN’15, is a neonatal nurse practitioner at Pediatrix Neonatology Associates of Atlanta, a level III and IV surgical intensive care unit (2025).
    • Jordan Trotter-Busing, MSN’15, is co-author of “Young Adult Patient and Caregiver Perspectives on Transition Readiness in an Inflammatory Bowel Disease Clinic,” published in 2024 in Crohn’s & Colitis 360. She is a nurse practitioner specializing in gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.
    • Jessica Van Meter, MSN’07, DNP’15, was featured in VUMC News in July 2025 for being named a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, and was inducted as a fellow in October. She presented, “Advanced Practice Nursing in Guyana,” in 2024 as part of the VUSN Global Collaborative Series. Jessica co-directs a bachelor’s in emergency nursing program for nurses at Georgetown Public Hospital Corp. in Guyana, in collaboration with the University of Guyana and Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and is an associate professor at VUSN.
    • Sarah Vann, MSN’15, is a nurse practitioner at Vanderbilt Primary Care in Pleasant View, Tennessee (2024).
    • Jessica Walker, MSN’15, PMC’17, DNP’17, presented, “Homeless Health and Psychiatric-mental Health Care,” at the American Psychiatric Nurses Association's Tennessee chapter meeting in March 2025 and welcomed a baby in June. She was appointed by Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell to the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County's Behavioral Health and Wellness Advisory Council in October, and co-presented a poster, “Appreciative Evaluation SOAP Notes: Bridging Nursing Education and Clinical Practice,” at the Evaluation25 Conference in November. In 2024, Jessica was named co-recipient of a $1.5 million Health Resources and Services Administration Bureau of Health Workforce grant to create a Nurse Education, Practice, Quality and Retention Simulation Education Training Program at VUSN. That year, she co-authored “Utilizing a HRSA Training Grant to Promote PMHNP Student Resilience: Answering the Call to Enhance Trauma-informed Teaching and Learning Practices in Nursing Education,” published in Issues in Mental Health Nursing, co-presented, “Using Trauma-informed Teaching Practices with PMHNP Students to Foster Resiliency in the Workforce,” at the APNA conference, and was featured in Clinical Advisor in “Trauma-informed Training Useful in Clinical Practice and Self-Care.” In 2023, Jessica was a panelist for “Health Care and the Homeless: A Unique Role for Nursing,” part of the VUSN Dore to Door Alumni Forum, and for “Vanderbilt DNPs: Where Are They Now?” hosted by the VUSN Alumni Board’s DNP Know Your Value Committee. She received the VUSN Dean’s Award for Faculty Achievement in Clinical Practice, and presented at the Collaborating Across Borders and APNA conferences.
    • Charla Walston, MSN’15, received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023.
  • 2016
    • Trish Baise, MSN’12, DNP’16, is listed among Becker’s Hospital Review 213+ CNOs to Know, published in 2024. She is system chief nurse executive at East Carolina University Health, headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina, and has served on the board of the Tennessee Nurses Association.
    • Ally Thompson Bateman, BA’12, MSN’14, DNP’16, joined VUSN as an adjunct instructor In January 2025. She was a panelist for MSN Know Your Value hosted by the VUSN Alumni Board in 2023.
    • Briana Blackstock, PMC’16, is a neonatal nurse practitioner at Pediatrix in San Antonio (2025).
    • Leanne Boehm, MSN’09, PhD’16, co-authored “Post-intensive Care Syndrome and Caregiver Burden: A Post Hoc Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial,” published in JAMA Network Open, “Building Nurse Capacity for Implementation Science: An Introduction to the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research,” in the Journal of Nursing Care Quality, and “Clinician and Patient Responses to U.S. Health Insurers’ Policies: A Qualitative Study of Higher Risk Patients,” in Health Services Research in April 2025, and “Reducing Readmission for Sepsis by Improving Risk Prediction Algorithms,” in the American Journal of Critical Care in May. She is founder and host of The Gold Standard: Elevating Delirium and Age-friendly Health Care, an educational institute held at VUSN in June. Leanne is co-author of “Driving Behavior and Driving Outcomes after Acute and Critical Illness: A Systematic Review,” published in the International Journal of Nursing Studies, “What Measures Have Been Used to Explore the Outcomes of Family Members of Critically Ill Patients: A Scoping Review,” in Intensive Care Medicine, and “Seizing Nursing’s Opportunity to Improve Health Care through Implementation Science,” in the Journal of Nursing Care Quality, all in August. She co-authored “ABCDEF Bundle Implementation for Improved Respiratory Failure Outcomes,” published in Critical Care Nursing Clinics of North America, and “Delirium and Self-reported Driving Behaviors and Outcomes after Critical Illness,” in JAMA Network Open, both in September, and “Current Strategies and Future Directions to Enhance Recovery following Critical Illness,” in Thorax in October. In 2024, Leanne co-authored “Delirium and Coronavirus Disease 2019: Looking Back, Moving Forward,” published in Critical Care Nursing Clinics, “The Relationship between Uncertainty and Psychological Distress among Family Caregivers of Patients with Delirium in Intensive Care Units: A Cross-sectional Survey,” in Dimensions of Critical Care Nursing, “Exploring the Association of Metabolic Syndrome with In-hospital Survival of Older Patients Hospitalized with COVID-19: Beyond Chronological Age,” in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, “Long-term Outcomes after Treatment of Delirium during Critical Illness with Antipsychotics (MIND-USA): A Randomised, Placebo-controlled, Phase 3 Trial,” in The Lancet, “Understanding Intensive Care Unit Family Caregivers’ Vulnerability to Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: The Impact of Neurotic Personality Traits, Emotional Suppression and Perceptions of Unexpected Death,” in the Journal of Palliative Medicine, “Creating a Culture of an Awake and Walking Intensive Care Unit: In-hospital Strategies to Mitigate Post-intensive Care Syndrome,” in Critical Care Clinics, “Delirium and Weakness Acquired in the Intensive Care Unit: Individual and Combined Effects on 90-day Mortality in Survivors of Critical Illness,” in the Journal of Clinical Nursing, and “Mary Steps Out: Capturing Patient Experience through Qualitative and AI Methods,” in NEJM AI. She received the Dean’s Award for Faculty Achievement in Research Endeavors from VUSN. In 2023, Leanne was chosen as the U.S. Veterans Administration’s Quality Scholars Rising Star, and received a $3.6 million National Institute on Aging grant to examine the effectiveness of telemedicine services among people recovering from post-intensive care syndrome (here in Minority Nurse). She was inducted as a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing, was interviewed by the University of Melbourne Medical School and the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, and featured in Daily Nurse. She was published in Heart & Lung, CHEST Journal and CHEST Journal.
    • Sarah Bridge, MSN’16, received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023.
    • Anna Brown, MSN’08, DNP’16, is co-author of “Interactive Simulation for Addressing Vaccine Hesitancy in Nurse Practitioner Education,” published in Clinical Simulation in Nursing in May 2025. She received the Sara K. Archer Excellence in Teaching Award in 2024, from students in the VUSN pediatric nurse practitioner—primary care specialty.
    • Christina Cardy, MSN’16, DNP’17, was elected a fellow of the American College of Cardiology in August 2025. She was a panelist for “MSN Know Your Value: How to Write Your CV,” hosted by the VUSN Alumni Board in 2023. She is an associate professor and director of the adult gerontology acute care nurse practitioner program at the University of South Florida in Tampa and assistant professor in the division of cardiovascular sciences at USF Health.
    • Duke Chenault, MSN’00, DNP’16, was published in The Journal for Nurse Practitioners in 2023. He is a family nurse practitioner at Vanderbilt Health at Metro Nashville Public Schools Employee and Family Health Care Centers and an instructor at VUSN.
    • Mackenzie Davis, BA’13, MSN’16, received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award in 2023 from Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where she is a nurse practitioner specializing in pediatric primary care in Tullahoma, Tennessee.
    • Janelle Delle, DNP’16, co-authored “The Utility of Collaborative Teamwork for Nursing Students in the Acute Care Setting,” published in Nursing Education Perspectives in July 2025, and received the VUSN DAISY Award for Small Group Facilitator at the PreSpecialty Level. She is an assistant professor at VUSN.
    • Anna Goddard, PhD’16, was inducted as a fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners in 2023. She is an assistant professor at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut, and a representative on the Conn. Association of School-Based Health Centers board of directors.
    • Susan Grant, DNP’16, was named chief clinical officer of Symplr, headquartered in Houston, in January 2025, elected to the board of the American Academy of Nursing in 2024, and named chief nursing executive (in addition to her roles as executive vice president and chief experience officer) at WellStar Health System in Atlanta in 2023.
    • Bekah Hayes, MSN’16, DNP’20, co-presented, “Elevating Excellence: The Evolving Role of the Nurse Practitioner in Skilled and Long-term Care Settings,” at the Gerontological Advanced Practice Nurses Association conference in September 2025.
    • David House, DNP’16, was named board chair of the American Academy of Emergency Nurse Practitioners in March 2025 and inducted as a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing in October. He contributed to the book Emergency Nurse Practitioner Scope and Standards of Practice, published in 2024 by Springer, and is one of 22 nurse practitioners selected for the American Association of Nurse Practitioners Executive Leadership Program. He was inducted as an AANP fellow in 2023. David is an associate professor and co-coordinator of the emergency NP subspecialty in the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing.
    • Kari Hunt, PMC’16, was quoted by com in Texas in 2024, in a piece announcing the opening of The Children's Clinic of Jasper where she is a pediatric nurse practitioner.
    • Jason Jean, MSN’00, DNP’16, co-authored “A Multiple Technology-based and Individually-tailored Sit Less Program for People with Cardiovascular Disease: A Randomized Controlled Trial Study Protocol,” published in PLOS ONE, and received the DAISY Award for Small Group Facilitator at the DNP Level from VUSN, both in 2024. He received second place at the International Association of Forensic Nurses in 2023 for a poster. Jason is an instructor in the nursing and health care leadership and doctor of nursing practice programs at VUSN.
    • Mindy Johnson, MSN’16, DNP’18, is lead author of “From History Books to Headlines: Plague in Modern Times,” published in the Advanced Emergency Nursing Journal in April 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 co-authored “Utilization of Quick Response Codes for Rapid Facilitator-generated Feedback during Simulations in Nurse Practitioner Programs,” published in Clinical Simulation in Nursing, and co-presented, “Pediatric Injury Care: Fusing Case Studies with Procedural Practice,” and “Mass-casualty Incident Simulations to Promote Interprofessional Emergency Care Learning,” at the American Association of Emergency Nurse Practitioners conference. In 2023, she presented at the Momentum and Sustainability in Advancing NP Education conference, and received the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties Poster Set B award. Mindy is an assistant professor at VUSN and member of the editorial board of Evidence-Based Urgent Care.
    • Lizzy Kent, MSN’16, was named VUSN pediatric nurse practitioner—acute care Preceptor of the Year in 2024.
    • Hannah Wachtmeister Kestner, MSN’14, DNP’16, is co-author of “Addressing the Outliers: Urging Consensus in Child Sexual Abuse Evaluation,” published in the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children Advisor in 2024.
    • Brandon Lynn, MSN’16, is a nurse practitioner specializing in pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Saint Petersburg, Florida (2024).
    • Galileo Simmons Macinnis, MSN’16, is a nurse practitioner specializing in pulmonary medicine at Saint Thomas Medical Group in Nashville (2023).
    • Orlin Marques, MSN’14, DNP’16, is clinical director at Centro Medico Familiar, a primary care immigrant clinic in Duluth, Georgia, and on the advisory committee of DNPs of Color (2025).
    • Erica May, MSN’16, DNP’18, presented, “Applying a Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Acute Nontraumatic Dental Pain,” at the American Academy of Emergency Nurse Practitioners conference, and co-presented, “HEENT Skills,” at its Blueprint Pre-conference, both in March 2025. She co-presented, “Pediatric Injury Care: Fusing Case Studies with Procedural Practice,” and a poster, “Management of Burn Injuries in Backcountry and Wilderness Settings,” at the AANP conference in 2024. In 2023, she presented at the AAENP conference, was published in Clinical Simulation in Nursing and the Advanced Emergency Nursing Journal, and was promoted to assistant professor at VUSN.
    • Jessica McMillan, BA’13, MSN’16, DNP’17, is featured in the Alumni Spotlight on the American Nurses Association Minority Fellowship Program website (2023).
    • Janet Mulroy, PMC’04, DNP’16, was elected to the nominating committee of the Tennessee Nurses Association in October 2025. She is an acute care nurse practitioner at Threlkeld, Threlkeld and Omer Infectious Disease Associates in Memphis.
    • Morgan Murray, BA’14, MSN’16, is a pediatric nurse practitioner at the Elkton Clinic in Kentucky, where she provides primary care at three rural health clinics, sees mostly Medicaid and uninsured patients, and instructs family NPs in pediatric care.
    • Maggie Spreitzer O’Block, MSN’16, received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023.
    • Peter O’Donnell, DNP’16, was named inaugural director of the psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner program at the University of New England in Portland, Maine, in June 2025.
    • Hannah Proctor, MSN’16, was quoted in rewire news group in “How This Southern University Is Leading on Campus Reproductive Health,” and hosted Reproductive Health and Parenting Drop-In Day at the Margaret Cuninggim Women's Center at Vanderbilt, both in 2024. She is the university’s reproductive health and parenting coordinator.
    • Anna Richards, MSN’16, joined VUSN faculty in 2024 as an adjunct instructor.
    • Alison Fields Rookard, MSN’16, is a nurse practitioner at Medical University of South Carolina Children’s Health in Charleston, specializing in pediatric epilepsy (2025).
    • Amanda O’Malley Ross, PMC’16, DNP’16, was featured in The Northern Virginia Daily in 2024 in an article about her new business, Seven Bends Health and Aesthetics, in Woodstock. She is an assistant professor of nursing at Shenandoah University in Winchester.
    • Susanna Rudy, MSN’14, DNP’16, is lead author of “Ultrasound Education for Nurse Practitioner Students: Strategies for Curricular Integration,” published in 2024 in The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, and co-author of “Ultrasonography for Skin and Soft Tissue Infections, Noninfectious Cysts, Foreign Bodies and Burns in the Critical Care Setting,” in AACN Advanced Critical Care in 2023. She is on the international ultrasound team for the Society of Critical Care Medicine and has made multiple trips to Ukraine to provide frontline battlefield training.
    • Angie Shaffer, PMC’16, co-presented, “Medical Traumatic Stress and Neurodevelopment in Children,” at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville in 2024.
    • Vanessa Singh, MSN’16, is a nurse practitioner at University of Minnesota, Fairview Health Services in Minneapolis, a level IV neonatal intensive care unit, and four community sites (2025).
    • Sloane Sparks, BA’14, MSN’16, DNP’20, was named VUSN psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner Preceptor of the Year in 2024.
    • Rachael Sweeney, MSN’16, DNP’18, co-presented, “Pediatric Injury Care: Fusing Case Studies with Procedural Practice,” at the American Association of Emergency Nurse Practitioners conference in 2024.
    • Maggie Thompson, MSN’16, DNP’19, is an assistant professor and director of the adult-gerontology acute care nurse practitioner program at the University of Colorado College of Nursing, and senior instructor of surgical trauma intensive care in the UC School of Medicine, both in Aurora. (2024).
    • Renee Trinidad, MSN’16, is a nurse practitioner specializing in neonatology medicine for infants at CHOC Hospital in Orange, California (2024).
    • Mallary Van Tol, MSN’16, is a neonatal nurse practitioner at Sanford Health in Sioux Falls, South Dakota (2025).
    • Marlena DiDonato Vyas, MSN’14, DNP’16, is a nurse practitioner at Neonatal Care Specialists in Grand Blanc, Michigan (2025).
    • Edena Walden, MSN’16, is a telehealth psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner at Headway in New Jersey. (2025).
    • Jason Williams, MSN’16, PMC’23, DNP’23, was featured in the Little Rock Black Nurses Association of Arkansas newsletter spotlight in June 2025, is one of 39 people named to the Sigma Emerging Leaders Forum by the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity in July, and was a panelist for the VUSN Alumni Board’s MSN Know Your Value program in September. He received the Catherine Hanley Class of 1912 Rising Star Award presented by the VUSN Alumni Association during the school’s annual awards ceremony in 2023. Jason is a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner at Arkansas Children’s Hospital and immediate past president of LRBNAA.
    • Michelle Wyatt, DNP’16, is author of “Bed Shortages: How AI Can Help Reduce Length of Stay in Hospitals,” published in 2024 in HIT Consultant. She is senior director of utilization review services at Xsolis in Franklin, Tennessee.
    • Stefani Davis Yudasz, MSN’14, DNP’16, co-authored a position statement for and was published in Women’s Healthcare in 2023, and is featured in a Women’s Healthcare She is an assistant professor at VUSN.
  • 2017
    • Jennifer Bellido, BA’15, MSN’17, is a nurse practitioner at Ascension Saint Thomas Medical Partners Saint Louise Oak Creek in Murfreesboro, Tennessee (2024).
    • Magdalene Kinney Broberg, MSN’17, is a neonatal nurse practitioner at M Health Fairview in Minneapolis (2025).
    • Kaitlin Brown, BA’14, MSN’17, was a panelist for “Health Care and the Homeless: A Unique Role for Nursing,” in 2023, part of the VUSN Dore to Door Alumni Forum. She is nursing and medical assistant supervisor at Janian Medical Care in New York City, serving as primary care provider for the currently street homeless and formerly homeless now living in supportive housing.
    • Karen Brown, MSN’17, received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023.
    • Trey Brown, BA’09, MSN’17, was featured in VUMC News in November 2025 for receiving the Vanderbilt Health DAISY Award. He is a nurse practitioner in the department of orthopedic surgery and rehabilitation at Vanderbilt Adult Ambulatory Clinics.
    • Christina Cardy, MSN’16, DNP’17, was elected a fellow of the American College of Cardiology in August 2025. She was a panelist for “MSN Know Your Value: How to Write Your CV,” hosted by the VUSN Alumni Board in 2023. She is an associate professor and director of the adult gerontology acute care nurse practitioner program at the University of South Florida in Tampa and assistant professor in the division of cardiovascular sciences at USF Health.
    • Sarah Carpenter, MSN’17, welcomed a baby in February 2025. She is an instructor at VUSN.
    • Halli Carr, BA’04, MSN’07, DNP’17, was named to Dallas-Fort Worth's Great 100 Nurses in 2024. She is a clinical assistant professor at Baylor University in Dallas and a nurse practitioner at Baylor Scott and White’s The Heart Hospital in Plano, Texas.
    • Adele Caruso, DNP’17, was honored as recipient of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners State Award for Excellence for Pennsylvania in 2024. She is a urology NP in the Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine and adjunct assistant professor at the University of Penn. School of Nursing, both in Philadelphia.
    • Desireé Clement, PMC’15, DNP’17, received the American Association of Nurse Practitioners State Award for Outstanding Contributions in June 2025 for her work in the state of Georgia. She is assistant dean of graduate clinical programs at Emory University’s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing in Atlanta, where she has oversight of all masters of science in nursing and doctor of nursing practice advanced practice specialty programs. Desiree is a dual family nurse practitioner and certified nurse midwife at Clarkston Community Health Center and Harriet Tubman Women’s Clinic, co-director of the Ga. Coalition of Advanced Practice Registered Nurses, and chair of the NONPF conference planning committee.
    • Scott Clemons, MSN’17, was named medical director of the Virginia Mason Franciscan Health Clinic in Lakewood, Washington, in 2024.
    • Carly Compton, MSN’17, is a neonatal nurse practitioner at Hennepin Healthcare in Minneapolis (2023).
    • Kendra Osborn Delaney, BA’15, MSN’17, PhD’21, welcomed babies in August 2025 and in 2023. She is owner and provider at Empowered Heart Integrative Mental Health Care in Nashville, and assistant professor at VUSN..
    • Lauren Donaldson, MSN’17, is a neonatal nurse practitioner at Saint Francis Children’s Hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma (2025).
    • Madalene Dawson Drummond, MSN’17, DNP’19, received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023.
    • Anne Arbegust Eshelman, MSN’17, is a nurse practitioner at Vanderbilt Center for Women's Health in Nashville (2024).
    • Naomi Fener, MSN’17, was named director of population health at Families USA in Washington, D.C., in 2023.
    • Alison Finnerty, MSN’17, is lead neonatal nurse practitioner at Pediatrix in Athens, Georgia (2025).
    • Deirdre Fraller, DNP’17, is founder, chief executive officer and psychiatric nurse practitioner at Owl and Eagle Health and Wellness in Golden, Colorado, where she provides holistic psychiatric care to patients ages 6 and up, including diagnostic evaluations, neurocognitive testing, genetic testing, medication management, transcranial magnetic stimulation, ketamine assisted therapy, nutritional psychiatry and gender affirming psychiatry (2024).
    • Jessica Gallegos, MSN’17, is an acute care pediatric nurse practitioner at CHRISTUS Children’s in San Antonio (2023).
    • Brenna Gillis, MSN’15, DNP’17, is co-author of “Clinical Update on Insomnia,” published in The Journal for Nurse Practitioners in November 2025, and she was published in The Journal for Nurse Practitioners in 2023. She is a psychiatric nurse practitioner at Genesis Psychiatric Services in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
    • Elizabeth Gunckle, BS’15, MSN’17, is a nurse practitioner specializing in pediatric endocrinology at New York—Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center in Manhattan (2023).
    • Brice Harader-Pate, PMC’17, was featured by Cowley College in Arkansas City, Kansas, on its website in the Alumni Spotlight April 2025.
    • Katie Midkiff Heitkamp, MSN’17, joined Grand Lake Health System’s family practice clinic in Maria Stein, Ohio, as a nurse practitioner in 2024 (here in com, Sidney Daily News and WCSM).
    • Laura Hermann, MSN’17, is a pediatric cardiac intensive care nurse practitioner at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (2025).
    • Abby Howe-Heyman, PhD’17, authored a chapter in Varney's Midwifery, released in 2023. She is director of the midwifery program at University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
    • Elizabeth Howland, MSN’17, was published in Women’s Healthcare in 2023. She is a clinician at Planned Parenthood in California.
    • Dana Hughes, MSN’17, received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023. She is an assistant in medicine specializing in adult primary care and human immunodeficiency virus.
    • Lila Humbert, MSN’17, was featured in VUMC News in October 2025 in “From Steakhouse to Sanctuary: Vanderbilt Birth Center Celebrates 10 Years,” and provided episode-related blog posts for Nashville Public Television’s Call the Midwife: Season 14.
    • Abi Ibrahim, MSN’17, is a nurse practitioner specializing in internal medicine at the University of Texas Health San Antonio (2023).
    • Chinassa Iwuoha, BS’16, MSN’17, is a pediatric nurse practitioner at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, and member of the VUSN Alumni Board (2022).
    • Alvin Jeffery, PhD’17, MS’21, co-authored “Automating the Addiction Behaviors Checklist for Problematic Opioid Use Identification,” published in JAMA Psychiatry, and “School‐based Health Providers’ Approaches to Social Risk Screening for Pediatric Asthma: A Qualitative Study,” in Pediatric Pulmonology in April 2025. In May, he was named a member of the Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Academy for Excellence in Education, and was quoted on the University of California Davis’ Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing’s website in July in “Betty Irene Moore Fellows Gather in the Nation’s Capital for Sixth Annual Convocation.” In 2024, Alvin co-authored “Inpatient Nurses’ Preferences and Decisions with Risk Information Visualization,” published in theJournal of the American Medical Informatics Association, “Identifying Problematic Opioid Use in Electronic Health Record Data: Are We Looking in the Right Place?” in the Journal of Opioid Management, “Genome-wide Association Analysis of an in Silico Phenotype Sourced from Clinical Notes: The Addiction Behavior Checklist,” in European Neuropsychopharmacology, “Impact of Chronic Pelvic Pain on Quality of Life in Young Adults,” in Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics, “Changes in Postpartum Opioid Prescribing after Implementation of State Opioid Prescribing Limits,” in JAMA Health Forum, “Integrating Accessibility into a Data Storytelling Model for Health Informatics Education,” in Applied Clinical Informatics, 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. He presented the webinar, “Inpatient Nurses’ Preferences and Decisions with Risk Information Visualization,” hosted by the Journal of Medical Informatics Association Journal Club, and was quoted on the UC Davis Health website in “UC Davis Nursing School Welcomes Betty Irene Moore Fellows for Fifth Annual Convocation.” Alvin is lead author of “Use of Noisy Labels as Weak Learners to Identify Incompletely Ascertainable Outcomes: A Feasibility Study with Opioid-induced Respiratory Depression,” published in Heliyon, and “Special Issue on Informatics Education: Teaching Data Science through an Interactive, Hands-on Workshop with Clinically-relevant Case Studies,” published in Applied Clinical Informatics. In 2023, Alvin was one of 27 innovators accepted into the Kerry Murphy Healey Center for Health Innovation and Entrepreneurship L-SPRINT program, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and was chosen to attend Babson College’s L-SPRINT program. He presented webinars hosted by the Interdisciplinary Research Group on Nursing Issues and the VUMC DBMI Research Colloquium, and he was a guest speaker on The Morning Watch radio program in Jamaica. He was published in the Journal of Opioid Management, Academic Emergency Medicine: A Global Journal of Emergency Care, Applied Clinical Informatics, European Neuropsychopharmacology, and Applied Clinical Informatics. Alvin is an assistant professor of biomedical informatics at the Vanderbilt Clinical Informatics Center in Nashville.
    • Marjorie Kozlowski, DNP’17, is a clinical assistant professor in the department of population health nursing science at the University of Illinois College of Nursing in Chicago (2024).
    • Billie Ford Lancaster, MSN’17, DNP’20, co-presented at the American Association of Critical Nurses conference in May 2025, and received the Sara K. Archer Excellence in Teaching Award in August, from students in the VUSN adult-gerontology acute care nurse practitioner specialty. In 2024, she 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, and was promoted to assistant professor at VUSN.
    • Lacey Maul, PMC’17, is a nurse practitioner at Ascension Vituity in Emeryville, California (2024).
    • Jessica McMillan, BA’13, MSN’16, DNP’17, is featured in the Alumni Spotlight on the American Nurses Association Minority Fellowship Program website (2023).
    • Corinne Miller, MSN’17, is a neonatal nurse practitioner at MultiCare Health System—Capital Medical Center in Olympia, Washington (2025).
    • Alexandra Moran, MSN’17, DNP’20, received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023.
    • Hannah Nolte, BA’15, MSN’17, PhD’23, joined the University of Alabama in Huntsville College of Nursing in 2024 as a clinical assistant professor, and successfully defended her dissertation at VUSN, “Woman’s Responses to a Mindfulness-based Body Scan,” in 2023. She is a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner at Empowered Heart in Nashville.
    • Amy Rasmussen, DNP’17, is director of professional development and innovation and an assistant professor of nursing at Belmont University’s Gordon E. Inman College of Nursing in Nashville (2023).
    • Dakota Rhodes, MSN’17, DNP’21, was named VUSN adult geriatric acute care nurse practitioner Preceptor of the Year in 2023. She is a NP in the division of acute care surgery, surgical intensive care unit at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
    • Taylor Richardson, BS’15, MSN’17, is a nurse practitioner at Pediatric Associates in West Palm Beach, Florida (2024).
    • Jennifer David Ridgway, MSN’14, DNP’17, co-authored “Interactive Simulation for Addressing Vaccine Hesitancy in Nurse Practitioner Education,” published in Clinical Simulation in Nursing in May 2025, and received the Sara K. Archer Excellence in Teaching Award in August, from students in the VUSN pediatric NP—primary care specialty. She is an assistant professor at VUSN.
    • Shelza Rivas, BA’12, MSN’15, DNP’17, co-presented, “Education for Indigenous Guatemalan Women in the United States: Implications for Maternal Health,” and, “Traditional Birth Attendant Care in Guatemala: Challenges and Opportunities for Nurses,” at the International Council of Nurses Congress in June 2025, and co-presented, “Aligning Advanced Practice Nursing with Global Sustainable Development Goals,” in July as part of the monthly Global Collaborative series co-hosted by University of Michigan School of Nursing, Yale University School of Nursing and VUSN. In 2024, Shelza was named director of global partnerships at VUSN and is featured on the Vanderbilt Athletics website for co-leading a week-long immersion trip to Guatemala for VU student-athletes in health-related majors. In 2023, she received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center, was published in Women's Healthcare, and received the Thomas L. Christenbery Award presented by the VUSN Alumni Association during the school’s annual awards ceremony. Shelza is an assistant professor at VUSN.
    • David Roae, MSN’17, was featured in Olean Times Herald in 2023 for joining the University of Rochester Medicine Oncology, Rheumatology and Infusion Center in New York as a provider.
    • Jensine Russell, DNP’17, was quoted in VUMC News in “Nursing Event Takes Deep Dive into Evidence-based Practice,” in 2024. She is patient care manager for inpatient medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
    • Brooke Slater, MSN’17, is a pediatric primary care nurse practitioner at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles (2025).
    • Jodi Smith, MEd’14, MSN’17, is a psychiatric nurse practitioner at Rogers Behavioral Health in Nashville (2023).
    • Amy Stvartak, MSN’17, is a family nurse practitioner at CHI Saint Vincent in Mount Ida, Arkansas (2023).
    • Deonna Moore Taylor, MSN’07, PhD’17, was featured by NP Schools in “An Expert’s Bona Fide Guide: Life as a Transplant Nurse Practitioner (NP),” in February 2025.
    • Margaret Taylor, DNP’17, received a Distinguished Service Award from the American College of Nurse-Midwives in 2023.
    • Alexis Myers Trexler, BA’14, MSN’17, welcomed a baby in 2024. She is a certified pediatric nurse practitioner at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s Children’s Hospital.
    • Heather Venrick, MSN’15, DNP’17, was published in NASN School Nurse in 2019. She is clinical assistant professor at the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University in Atlanta (2025).
    • Jessica Walker, MSN’15, PMC’17, DNP’17, presented, “Homeless Health and Psychiatric-mental Health Care,” at the American Psychiatric Nurses Association's Tennessee chapter meeting in March 2025 and welcomed a baby in June. She was appointed by Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell to the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County's Behavioral Health and Wellness Advisory Council in October, and co-presented a poster, “Appreciative Evaluation SOAP Notes: Bridging Nursing Education and Clinical Practice,” at the Evaluation25 Conference in November. In 2024, Jessica was named co-recipient of a $1.5 million Health Resources and Services Administration Bureau of Health Workforce grant to create a Nurse Education, Practice, Quality and Retention Simulation Education Training Program at VUSN. That year, she co-authored “Utilizing a HRSA Training Grant to Promote PMHNP Student Resilience: Answering the Call to Enhance Trauma-informed Teaching and Learning Practices in Nursing Education,” published in Issues in Mental Health Nursing, co-presented, “Using Trauma-informed Teaching Practices with PMHNP Students to Foster Resiliency in the Workforce,” at the APNA conference, and was featured in Clinical Advisor in “Trauma-informed Training Useful in Clinical Practice and Self-Care.” In 2023, Jessica was a panelist for “Health Care and the Homeless: A Unique Role for Nursing,” part of the VUSN Dore to Door Alumni Forum, and for “Vanderbilt DNPs: Where Are They Now?” hosted by the VUSN Alumni Board’s DNP Know Your Value Committee. She received the VUSN Dean’s Award for Faculty Achievement in Clinical Practice, and presented at the Collaborating Across Borders and APNA conferences.
    • Kayla Walker, MSN’17, was named VUSN adult geriatric primary care nurse practitioner Preceptor of the Year in 2023.
    • Yuting Wang, MSN’17, is a nurse practitioner at Skypoint Medical in Schaumburg, Illinois (2024).
    • Kaitlyn Troftgruben Whinnen, MSN’17, is a nurse practitioner at FirstHealth Hospitalists in Pinehurst, North Carolina (2023).
    • Kimberly Woodward, MSN’17, received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023
    • Kelli Wray, DNP’17, was named chief nursing officer at Ascension Seton Medical Center in Austin, Texas, in 2024.
  • 2018
    • Sara Anderson, MSN’18, is a nurse practitioner at Children’s Wisconsin in Milwaukee, a level III neonatal intensive care unit (2025).
    • Krista Bailey, MSN’18, was named VUSN adult-gerontology primary care nurse practitioner Preceptor of the Year in 2024.
    • Kaitlyn Breiten, MSN’18, is co-author of “Evaluating Primary Amenorrhea in the Primary Care Setting,” published in The Nurse Practitioner in May 2025.
    • Kristen Bromaghim, MSN’18, is an adult-gerontology acute care nurse practitioner at Saint Thomas West in Nashville (2024).
    • Anna Caldwell, MSN’18, received the doctoral-level poster award from the Gerontological Advanced Practice Nurses Association in 2023.
    • Jade Carboy, MSN’18, is a nurse practitioner at Summit Health’s Old Mill District Clinic in Bend, Oregon (2023)
    • Kevia Reeves Carter, BA’16, MSN’18, was a panelist for “The Fundamentals of Working at a Federally Qualified Health Center,” in 2023, part of the VUSN Dore to Door Alumni Forum. She is a family nurse practitioner at Christ Community Health Services in Memphis, Tennessee.
    • Bethany Cones, MSN’18, co-authored “Managing Cancer Pain in Patients with Opioid Use Disorder,” published in The Journal for Nurse Practitioners in 2024. She is a nurse practitioner at the Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center Pain and Symptoms Management Program in Nashville.
    • Tanya Crockett, DNP’18, is a nurse practitioner at Poole and Thomas Pediatrics in Lexington, Kentucky, and a psychiatric-mental health NP student at the University of Cincinnati (2023).
    • Toni Dobson, PMC’18, presented, “A Clinician's Guide to OB Emergencies in Non-OB Settings,” at the VUSN Collaborative Academic Practice symposium “From Insight to Impact: Advancing Outcomes in Adult and Women’s Health Care,” in November 2025.
    • Liz Espinoza, PMC’18, DNP’21, is an assistant professor at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, where she teaches pediatric acute care nurse practitioner and doctor of nursing practice students, and provides pediatric intensive care (2023).
    • Keith Evans, MSN’08, PMC’18, is program manager of Vanderbilt LifeFlight Air Medical Transport in Nashville (2024).
    • Brooke Faught, DNP’18, received the Inspiration in Practice Award from the National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health in 2024. She is a women’s health nurse practitioner at Urology Associates in Nashville, specializing in female sexual and pelvic floor medicine, urology and vulvoscopy.
    • Sara Best Foote, MSN’18, married in 2024. She is a nurse practitioner at the Vanderbilt Student Health Center in Nashville.
    • Carrie Gonzalez, DNP’18, is a nurse practitioner at Baylor Scott and White Specialty Clinic in Marble Falls, Texas (2024).
    • Kallie Graham, MSN’18, is a neonatal nurse practitioner at Hennepin Healthcare in Minneapolis (2023).
    • Megan Guest, MSN’18, was awarded a Vanderbilt Nursing Education Program for Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners grant in 2024. She completed the program, is on the board of the VEP-Emergency Nurse Practitioner SANE program, and is an acute care NP in a hospitalist group in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
    • Eric Hall, MSN’18, is co-author of “An Escape Game for Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Students: Is Time on Your Side?” published in March 2025 in Nurse Educator, “Interactive Simulation for Addressing Vaccine Hesitancy in Nurse Practitioner Education,” in Clinical Simulation in Nursing in May, and “A Novel Collaborative Simulation for Emergency and Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Students,” in Clinical Simulation in Nursing in November. He is lead author of “Utilization of Quick Response Codes for Rapid Facilitator-generated Feedback during Simulations in Nurse Practitioner Programs,” published in 2024 in Clinical Simulation in Nursing, and of “Role of a Nursing Informatics Specialist in a Clinical Simulation Laboratory: The Catalytic Link,” in Nurse Educator. Eric presented at the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties conference, received its Poster Set B award, and was published by International Society of the Learning Sciences, all in 2023. He is an informatics specialist at VUSN.
    • Alexandria Harvick, MSN’18, received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023.
    • Elizabeth Blanchard Hills, MSN’18, presented, “Where Are the Psych NPs Headed?” and “PMHNPs and Psychedelics: Business Opportunity or Looming Disaster?” at the National Nurse Practitioner conference in March 2025, and was a panelist for the VUSN Alumni Board’s MSN Know Your Value program in September. In 2024, she was accepted into the Helzberg Entrepreneurial Mentoring Program, an organization dedicated to developing leaders throughout the Kansas City area, and was elected member of the VUSN Alumni Board. Elizabeth is owner and clinical director of Inspired Psychiatric Care in Overland Park, and a board member for the American Psychiatric Nurses Association Kansas Chapter.
    • Sarah Munfakh Holliday, MSN’18, is co-author of “Addressing Post-pandemic Adolescent Health in Schools,” published in Pediatric Clinics in 2024.
    • Mindy Johnson, MSN’16, DNP’18, , is lead author of “From History Books to Headlines: Plague in Modern Times,” published in the Advanced Emergency Nursing Journal in April 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 co-authored “Utilization of Quick Response Codes for Rapid Facilitator-generated Feedback during Simulations in Nurse Practitioner Programs,” published in Clinical Simulation in Nursing, and co-presented, “Pediatric Injury Care: Fusing Case Studies with Procedural Practice,” and “Mass-casualty Incident Simulations to Promote Interprofessional Emergency Care Learning,” at the American Association of Emergency Nurse Practitioners conference. In 2023, she presented at the Momentum and Sustainability in Advancing NP Education conference, and received the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties Poster Set B award. Mindy is an assistant professor at VUSN and member of the editorial board of Evidence-Based Urgent Care.
    • Brittany Kirby, MSN’18, DNP’22, became certified as a healthcare simulation educator in September 2025, and received the DAISY Award for Small Group Facilitator at the MN Level from VUSN, and became a National League for Nursing certified nurse educator in 2024. She is an instructor at VUSN.
    • Erica May, MSN’16, DNP’18, presented, “Applying a Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Acute Nontraumatic Dental Pain,” at the American Academy of Emergency Nurse Practitioners conference, and co-presented, “HEENT Skills,” at its Blueprint Pre-conference, both in March 2025. She co-presented, “Pediatric Injury Care: Fusing Case Studies with Procedural Practice,” and a poster, “Management of Burn Injuries in Backcountry and Wilderness Settings,” at the AAENP conference in 2024. In 2023, she presented at the AAENP conference, was published in Clinical Simulation in Nursing and the Advanced Emergency Nursing Journal, and was promoted to assistant professor at VUSN.
    • Rachel Short Minton, MSN’18, is a clinical nurse informaticist at University of Utah Health in Salt Lake City, supporting a comprehensive transplant program, laboratories, a national clinical and anatomic pathology reference laboratory, and Infusion therapy centers both inpatient and outpatient. It is the only academic medical center in the region providing care for people of Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, western Colorado and much of Nevada (2023).
    • Emily Giometti O’Keefe, MSN’18, is founder and psychiatric nurse practitioner at Psychiatry Elevated in Lafayette, Colorado, where she specializes in helping women through infertility, menstrual irregularities and menopause/perimenopause, using mindfulness-based and cognitive behavioral therapies to blend Western medicine with holistic practices (2024).
    • Carina Platner, MSN’18, is a psychiatric nurse practitioner at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (2023).
    • Alexa Proctor, MSN’18, is a nurse practitioner in the obstetrics and gynecology clinic in the University of Washington’s Husky Student Health Center in Seattle (2025).
    • Sonia Reyes, MSN’05, DNP’18, is a nurse practitioner at Kaiser Richmond Medical Center in California (2025).
    • Jennifer Rice, MSN’18, DNP’21, is a clinical assistant professor at the Loewenberg College of Nursing’s Lambuth Campus in Memphis, and a palliative care and hospice nurse practitioner at the Hospice of West Tennessee in Jackson. She is the first nurse practitioner to hold this position in the West Tennessee Healthcare system (2024).
    • Maggie Root, MSN’18, joined Lake Cumberland Rheumatology in Somerset, Kentucky, as a family nurse practitioner in 2024.
    • Micah Skeens, PhD’18, is co-author of “COVID-19 Impact, Resilience and Child Quality of Life: A Dyadic Analysis,” published in the Journal of Family Psychology, and “Predictors of Loneliness among Middle Childhood and Adolescence during the COVID-19 Pandemic,” in PLOS ONE, and lead author of “Enhancing Medication Adherence: A Family-centered Co-designed mHealth App for Children Undergoing Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant,” in the Journal of Pediatric Nursing, all in 2024. In 2023, she was elected a member to the VUSN Alumni Board and inducted as fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. Micah is a principal investigator and nurse scientist at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, practicing in a pediatric oncology clinic. Her research is funded by the National Institute of Nursing Research and focuses on digital health interventions to improve adherence and symptom burden in pediatric oncology and bone marrow transplant patients.
    • Susannah Spero, MSN’18, is co-author of “Evaluating Primary Amenorrhea in the Primary Care Setting,” published in The Nurse Practitioner in May 2025, and “Evaluation of Secondary Amenorrhea in Primary Care,” in The Nurse Practitioner in June. She received the Catherine Hanley Class of 1912 Rising Star Award presented by the VUSN Alumni Association during the school’s annual awards ceremony in November. Susannah is a nurse practitioner at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, in the university health center.
    • Julia Martin Steed, MSN’10, PhD’18, 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 in August 2025, and was elected to National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties’ Inclusive Excellence Committee for 2025-2027. She was selected by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing to develop its Holistic Ecosystem of Excellence in Nursing Education faculty toolkit, and co-presented, “’Soft Skills’ with AI Simulation: Integrating Bodyswaps into Competency-based Education,” at the AACN’s Transform 2025 conference in December. In 2024, Julia received the VUSN Award for Faculty Achievement in Social Justice during the school’s Martin Luther King Jr. celebration, and is co-recipient of a $1.5 million Health Resources and Services Administration Bureau of Health Workforce grant to create a Nurse Education, Practice, Quality and Retention Simulation Education Training Program at VUSN. She was interviewed by Minority Nurse for “Is the FNP Program Right for You?” and was named an inaugural VUSN Health Faculty Fellow, where she will study the impact of theoretically based inclusive teaching and learning frameworks on academic success among graduate health professional students. In 2023, Julia was named co-principal investigator on a Vanderbilt University Sesquicentennial Grant and is one of 13 U.S. NP faculty members accepted into the 2023-2024 Faculty Leadership Mentoring Program cohort sponsored by NONPF. She was published in the American Journal of Nursing, Policy, Politics & Nursing Practice, and Nurse Educator. She presented at the American Association of Nurse Practitioners conference, was promoted at VUSN to academic director of the FNP program, and was elected to the TNA’s Nominating Committee for 2023 and 2024..
    • Tiffany Street, MSN’03, DNP’18, was inducted as a fellow in the American Association of Nurse Practitioners in June 2025 (here in VUMC News in October). She presented at Cumberland University’s Jeanette C. Rudy School of Nursing and Health Professions “Notes for Nurses” event in Lebanon, Tennessee, in 2024, co-authored “Implementation of a Transition of Care Pathway for Low-risk Patients Presenting to the Emergency Department with Venous Thromboembolism,” published in the Journal of Vascular Nursing, and was elected vice president of the Tennessee Nurses Association. In 2023, Tiffany was a panelist for MSN Know Your Value hosted by the VUSN Alumni Board, and chair of VUSN Reunion.
    • Rachael Sweeney, MSN’16, DNP’18, co-presented, “Pediatric Injury Care: Fusing Case Studies with Procedural Practice,” at the American Association of Emergency Nurse Practitioners conference in 2024.
    • Michelle Terrell, MSN’01, DNP’18, co-presented, “Medical Traumatic Stress and Neurodevelopment in Children,” at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in 2024.
    • Emily Thermos, BS’17, MSN’18, is a family nurse practitioner at Penobscot Community Health Care in Brewer, Maine (2023).
    • Sarah Vaillancourt, MSN’18, chaired the National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health conference planning committee for its conference in October 2025, which yielded its highest number of registrants ever. She is outpatient clinical lead at the California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative in Stockton.
    • Ashley Vosilla, MSN’18, was named VUSN nursing and health care leadership Preceptor of the Year in 2024.
    • Jacque Weidauer, MSN’18, is a nurse practitioner at Sanford Health in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, a level IV neonatal intensive care unit (2025).
    • Amanda Whorton, MSN’18, is a nurse practitioner at Warren Clinic Neonatal Specialists in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a level IV neonatal intensive care unit (2025).
    • Ellen Williams, BA’13, MSN’18, received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023.
    • Melinda Wray, MSN’18, received the Alma Gault Award for Public Service presented by the VUSN Alumni Association during the school’s annual awards ceremony in November 2025.
    • Alan Wygant, MSN’18, is a family nurse practitioner in the Utah Navajo Health System (2023).
    • Thomas Young, MSN’18, DNP’21, received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023. He is a behavioral health nurse practitioner at Vanderbilt Health at Metro Nashville Public Schools Employee and Family Health Care Centers​.
    • Tiffinie Zellars, MSN’18, DNP’18, is an assistant professor at the Belmont University’s Gordon E. Inman College of Nursing in Nashville (2023).
    • Marci Zsamboky, PMC’18, DNP’18, is co-author of “Utilizing a HRSA Training Grant to Promote PMHNP Student Resilience: Answering the Call to Enhance Trauma-informed Teaching and Learning Practices in Nursing Education,” published in Issues in Mental Health Nursing, and “Closing the Provider Gap in Rural and Underserved Communities: Preparing Family Nurse Practitioner Students for Entry-to-practice,” in Nurse Educator, both in 2024. Marci is a clinical associate professor and director of the PMHNP program at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh.
  • 2019
    • Samantha Abbott, MSN’19, is a family nurse practitioner at Neighborhood Health Center’s Milwaukie Medical Clinic in Portland, Oregon (2023).
    • Samuel Adler, MSN’19, is a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner at Novo Healthcare in Madison, Tennessee (2023).
    • Chad Andrews, MSN’19, DNP’21, is a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner at Peninsula Community Health Services in Soldotna, Alaska (2023).
    • Shelley Atkinson, MSN’95, DNP’19, was named director of advanced practice practitioners in surgery at Vanderbilt University Hospital in Nashville in 2024.
    • Lindsey Baksh, MSN’07, DNP’19, presented, “Reducing Stigma and Building Trust: Improving Outcomes in Perinatal Opioid Use Disorder,” at the VUSN Collaborative Academic Practice symposium “From Insight to Impact: Advancing Outcomes in Adult and Women’s Health Care” in November 2025, and she received the Sara K. Archer Excellence in Teaching Award in 2024, from students in the VUSN women’s health/gender-related nurse practitioner specialty.
    • Nicole Beckmann, PhD’19, was named Pediatric Nurse Practitioner of the Year by the Minnesota chapter of the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners in May 2025. Nicole is director of the doctor of nursing practice program at Saint Catherine’s University in Saint Paul.
    • Lily Bienstock, BA’14, MSN’19, is a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner at Bartky Healthcare Center in Livingston, New Jersey (2024).
    • Lauren Larkin Bratcher, MSN’19, is a women’s health nurse practitioner at the Vanderbilt Center for Women's Health in Smyrna, Tennessee (2024).
    • Emily Brignola, BA’14, MSN’19, DNP’21, is co-author of “Short-term Effects of Lifestyle Modification on Vestibular Migraine,” published in the International Journal of Audiology in 2024, and received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023. She is a nurse practitioner specializing in otolaryngology, otology and neurotology at Vanderbilt’s Bill Wilkerson Center in Nashville.
    • Kirsten Brown, MSN’19, is a women’s health nurse practitioner at University of Kentucky Health’s obstetrics and gynecology department in Lexington (2023).
    • Gy Choi, MSN’19, is a Lieutenant with the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service in Fort Belvoir, Virginia, where he is a military treatment facility officer on the Public Health Emergency Response Strike Team, deploying in support of natural disasters and public health emergencies to provide essential clinical care to those in need, as well as to ensure sustainable health care delivery (2024).
    • Madalene Dawson Drummond, MSN’17, DNP’19, received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023.
    • Cate Enstrom, DNP’19, co-presented a poster, “Appreciative Evaluation SOAP Notes: Bridging Nursing Education and Clinical Practice,” at the Evaluation25 Conference in November 2025, and is lead author of “Anaphylaxis to Tissue Plasminogen Activator in the Treatment of Pulmonary Embolism: A Case Report of Mixed Shock Management,” published in 2024 in AACN Advanced Critical Care. In 2023, she received the VUSN Dean’s Award for Faculty Achievement in Academics, was promoted to assistant professor, and was published in Advanced Critical Care.
    • Dan Ford, MSN’19, was named adjunct instructor at VUSN in October 2025.
    • Sara Francescon, MSN’19, is a family nurse practitioner in the urology department at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (2025).
    • Jessie Gallimore, MSN’19, is an acute care nurse practitioner specializing in trauma and surgical critical care at Parkland Health in Dallas (2024).
    • Lily Guevel Garside, BS’18, MSN’19, is an inpatient nurse practitioner at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (2024).
    • Christine Hallman, MSN’13, DNP’19, became co-recipient in 2023 of an ASHP Foundation Collaborative Care Grant for Nurses and Pharmacists, and contributed to the book, Managing Heart Failure in Primary Care: A Case Study Approach, published by Springer. She is a palliative care nurse practitioner at MedStar Health Washington Hospital Center in D.C.
    • Emily Hines, MSN’19, is a family nurse practitioner at Ephraim McDowell Health in Danville, Kentucky (2024).
    • Satchel Iten, MSN’19, is an adult nurse practitioner at University of Minnesota Physicians in Minneapolis (2023).
    • Abby Jones, MSN’19, was published in 2023 in the Journal of Emergency Nursing.
    • Sarah Holden Jones, PMC’19, DNP’19, was named to the LaGrange Daily News 20 Under 40 list in 2024. She is chair of the nursing program and associate professor at LaGrange College in Georgia.
    • Selene Reyes La Marca, PMC’19, DNP’19, is a nurse practitioner at Kidney Consultants of New Mexico in Las Cruces (2025).
    • Hannah Ritter Lee, MSN’19, received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023.
    • Molly Lodigiani, MSN’19, is a nurse practitioner at InterMed in Portland, Maine (2024).
    • Aimee Madding, MSN’19, is a nurse practitioner at Seattle Children's Hospital, a regional level II and III/IV neonatal intensive care unit (2025).
    • Meghan McFarland, MSN’19, is a psychiatric nurse practitioner at Mindful Therapy Group in Seattle (2023).
    • Aisling McIvor, MSN’19, is a psychiatric nurse practitioner at Allegheny Health Network Behavioral Health Associates in Pittsburgh (2024).
    • Jennifer McNaught, MSN’19, is a nurse practitioner in internal medicine and palliative care at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (2024).
    • Jane Mericle, DNP’19, was published in The Journal of Nursing Administration in 2023.
    • Erin Miller, MSN’19, was featured in Vanderbilt Nurse Magazine and received the Early Career Professional Achievement Award from the Vanderbilt University Alumni Association Board of Directors in 2023. She is a nurse practitioner in the child protection team at the Children’s Advocacy Center of Southwest Florida in Fort Myers and one of only two board-certified pediatric sexual assault nurse examiners in the state.
    • Thomasena Moore, DNP’19, was moderator of “From Nurse to Entrepreneur: VUSN Alumni Share Their Stories,” in 2023, part of the VUSN Dore to Door Alumni Forum. She is nurse consultant in the Office of Healthcare Inspections with the Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and an advice nurse for United HealthGroup.
    • Kelly Quaine, MSN’19, is a family nurse practitioner for Oak Street Health in Berwyn, Illinois (2023).
    • Carrie Ratliff, MSN’19, is a nurse practitioner at the Dallas Veterans Affairs Medical Center (2024).
    • Lindsay Saltsgiver, MSN’19, is a family nurse practitioner at Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic in Spokane, Washington (2023).
    • Una Sammon, MSN’19, provided insight and commentary on the Nashville Public Television’s Call the Midwife blog in 2024. 
    • Laurel Kagan Schaefer, MSN’13, DNP’19, received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023.
    • Cathy Shull, BA’01, MEd’06, MSN’19, received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023. She is a family psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner in psychiatry and behavioral sciences.
    • Heather Small, DNP’19, of Greenville, North Carolina, passed away February 4, 2023.
    • Lane Smith, MSN’19, is a women’s health nurse practitioner at Medical Associates of Northwest Arkansas in Fayetteville (2024).
    • Patricia Smith, MSN’19, is a nurse practitioner at Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital in California, a level IV neonatal intensive care unit (2025).
    • Mallory Summerer, MSN’19, is a nurse practitioner at Sanford University of South Dakota Medical Center in Sioux Falls, a level IV neonatal intensive care unit (2025).
    • Lexa Taylor, MSN’19, DNP’21, was a panelist for “The Fundamentals of Working at a Federally Qualified Health Center,” in 2023, part of the VUSN Dore to Door Alumni Forum.
    • Julie Thompson, PMC’19, DNP’19, joined Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, in 2024 as a lecturer in nursing.
    • Maggie Thompson, MSN’16, DNP’19, is an assistant professor and director of the adult-gerontology acute care nurse practitioner program at the University of Colorado College of Nursing, and senior instructor of surgical trauma intensive care in the UC School of Medicine, both in Aurora. (2024).
    • Amanda Wagner, PMC’19, DNP’19, is a clinical assistant professor at Texas State University’s Saint David’s School of Nursing in Round Rock (2023).
    • Nicholas Waldhaus, MSN’19, is a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner at LifeBridge Health Medical Group in Baltimore (2024).
    • Jocelyn Duggan Wehner, MSN’19, DNP’22, is a clinical nurse practitioner at Banner University Medical Center in Phoenix (2025).