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Class Notes 2020-Present

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.

  • 2000
    • Catherine Baxter, DNP’20, is an assistant professor of community health nursing at Queens University’s Presbyterian School of Nursing in Charlotte, North Carolina (2023).
    • Jordan Bennett, MSN’20, is a nurse practitioner at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, a level IV neonatal intensive care unit (2025).
    • Alison Bradywood, DNP’20, was inducted as a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing in October 2025. She is chief nursing officer and vice president of Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle and executive director of the Washington State Board of Nursing’s Nursing Care Quality Assurance Commission.
    • Mary-Scott Bugg, BA’18, MSN’20, is a women’s health nurse practitioner at the University of California San Francisco’s Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatal Specialties at Mission Bay in San Francisco (2025).
    • Merakka Calderon, MSN’20, received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023.
    • Landon Church, MSN’20, is an acute care nurse practitioner at Centennial Heart Cardiovascular Consultants in Nashville (2024).
    • Megan-Rose Comeiro, PMC’20, is a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner at LifeStance Health in Groton, Massachusetts (2023).
    • Avaleen Davis, MSN’20, accepted a position in pulmonary hypertension at New York University Langone—Bellevue in 2024.
    • Mackenzie Jackson Davis, BS’19, MSN’20, is director of clinical operations of Triplemoon, a digital health platform transforming family wellness by addressing critical gaps in mental, behavioral and nutritional health, headquartered in Dallas (2025).
    • 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.
    • Gwen Godlock, DNP’20, was moderator of “MSN Know Your Value: How to Write Your CV,” hosted by the VUSN Alumni Board in 2023, and for “Vanderbilt DNPs: Where Are They Now?” hosted by the Alumni Board’s Know Your Value Committee. She was appointed to serve on Texas’ Bexar County Veterans Advisory Committee representing District 8 as the only nurse on the commission. Gwen is a nurse surveyor with The Joint Commission’s hospital accreditation program and a member of the Texas Nurses Association’s 8th District board of directors.
    • Ron Gray, MSN’20, DNP’23, was featured on KRQE News for saving a hiker’s life while participating in a bike race near Albuquerque in 2023. He is a registered nurse on University of New Mexico’s Lifeguard Flight Team.
    • 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.
    • Brooke Hazen, MSN’20, DNP’23, was featured on the Vanderbilt University Medical Center department of neurology’s website as its provider spotlight for October 2025. She joined the practice as a nurse practitioner in 2024, specializing in general neurology, stroke, headache and neuropathies/cognitive impairments.
    • Susan Hernandez, DNP’20, was featured by Becker’s Clinical Leadership in “Meet the Chief Nursing Officers at US News' 2023-2024 Honor Roll Hospitals,” in 2023.
    • Mylissa Hess, DNP’20, was named one of Today’s Nurse 2025 Top Chief Nursing Officers by SageWest Health Care in February 2025. She is CNO at Roosevelt General Hospital in Portales, New Mexico, a general medical and surgical acute care hospital serving a rural community.
    • Rachel Hilton, MSN’20, is co-author of “A Mixed-methods Observational Study of Strategies for Success in Implementation Science: Overcoming Emergency Departments Hurdles,” published in BMC Health Services Research in January 2025. She presented about implementing novel programs and risk stratification tools for improving emergency department treatment of acute heart failure at the Academy Health Conference in 2023.
    • Elizabeth Howland, DNP’20, was published in Women’s Healthcare in 2023.
    • Savannah Kahn, MSN’20, is a nurse practitioner at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital in Palo Alto, California, a level IV neonatal intensive care unit (2025).
    • Barbara Kiasatpour, MSN’20, received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023.
    • Kelsey Knox, MSN’20, accepted a position at Mindful Health Solutions in Seattle in 2023, specializing in medication management, transcranial magnetic stimulation and Spravato therapy.
    • Ariell Kolibas, MSN’20, is a neonatal nurse practitioner at Corewell Health Michigan in Grand Rapids, and Advent Health in Florida (2025).
    • Emily Kraus, MSN’20, is co-author of “Back to Belly: A Prone Positioning Protocol among Non-intubated Patients,” published in 2024 in the MedSurg Nursing Journal. She is a family nurse practitioner at Froedtert McKinley Health Center in Milwaukee.
    • 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.
    • Kara Cruice Leko, MSN’20, is a certified nurse midwife and hospitalist at Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital in Lebanon, Tennessee (2025).
    • Emily Longbrake, MSN’20, is an acute care nurse practitioner at Centennial Heart Cardiovascular Consultants in Nashville (2024).
    • Erica Ludtke, MSN’20, received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023.
    • Lorianne Marsh, MSN’20, is a nurse practitioner at Vanderbilt Urgent Care in Nashville (2025).
    • Hannah McGrew, MSN’20, PMC’21, co-presented at the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties conference in April 2025, and is lead author of “Telehealth Simulations with Generative Artificial Intelligence in Midwifery Education: Practice for Person-centered and Culturally Responsive Care,” published in the Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health, and co-author of “Assessing Artificial Intelligence to Support Grant Evaluation in Nursing Education,” in CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing, both in August. She received the Fall 2025 Vanderbilt University Provost’s Award to mentor immersion students, for her project, “Medical Spanish and Translation in Midwifery and Reproductive Health,” and presented at presented at the American College of Nurse-Midwives conference in October. Hannah presented, “Navigating the Perinatal Mental Health Landscape: Empowering Expectant and New Parents,” in 2024, during VUSN’s Reunion symposium, “Collaborative Academic Practice Symposium: Integrating Mental Health and Primary Care.” She is an instructor and Midwifery-Education—Access and Diversity for Optimizing Workforce (MEADOW) Grant coordinator at VUSN.
    • Gigi McNicholl, PMC’20, DNP’20, is patient safety officer at Riverside University Health System in California’s Moreno Valley (2023).
    • Stacy Miller, MSN’20, DNP’22, received second place at the International Association of Forensic Nurses conference in 2023. She is a pediatric forensic nurse practitioner in the Children’s Advocacy Center of Northeast Pennsylvania.
    • Alexandra Moran, MSN’17, DNP’20, received the Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 2023.
    • Pam Nelson, MSN’98, PMC’20, DNP’20, received the Alumni Award for Clinical Achievement in Nursing presented by the VUSN Alumni Association during the school's annual awards ceremony in 2024.
    • Laurie Nguyen MSN’20, is a neurology nurse practitioner at University of California San Francisco (2025).
    • Jeremy Paluch, MSN’20, was honored by his employer, MaxWell Clinic in Brentwood, Tennessee, with a feature on com in March 2025. He is a nurse practitioner in the functional medicine clinic.
    • Claudia Perry-Aime, DNP’20, was named among the Top 50 Women Chief Nursing Officers of the year by Women We Admire in 2024. She is vice president and CNO at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland.
    • Joy Pieper, DNP’20, was promoted to nursing department chair at Crown College in Saint Bonifacius, Minnesota, in 2023.
    • Kristina Miller Riser, MSN’20, is an advanced practice nurse at the McNabb Center in Oak Ridge, Tennessee (2024).
    • Michael Seyman, MSN’20, is a nurse practitioner in pediatric otolaryngology at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt (2023).
    • Sloane Sparks, BA’14, MSN’16, DNP’20, was named VUSN psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner Preceptor of the Year in 2024.
    • Rachel Tanner-Smith, MSN’20, is a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner at Experience Therapy Group in Nashville (2023).
    • Meghan Twomey, MSN’20, is a nurse practitioner at Malama I Ke Ola Health Center in Maui, Hawaii, a federally qualified health center (2025).
    • Lexi Vierling, BS’19, MSN’20, joined Mount Sinai Neurology in New York City in 2024 as a nurse practitioner, specializing in pediatric neurology in 2024.
  • 2021
    • Esther Adedokun, MSN’21, is a psychiatric nurse practitioner at Rebound Behavioral Health in Lancaster, South Carolina, and Gastonia, North Carolina, where her scope of practice is adults of all ages (2024).
    • Negest Alemu, BS’20, MSN’21, DNP’23, was quoted in VUMC News in January 2025 in an article about Vanderbilt Primary Care North Nashville, where she is a family nurse practitioner and the primary care provider.
    • Alison Anderson, MSN’05, PhD’21, was inducted as a fellow into the American College of Critical Care Medicine in 2023.
    • Chad Andrews, MSN’19, DNP’21, is a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner at Peninsula Community Health Services in Soldotna, Alaska (2023).
    • Stacey Bachman, DNP’21, was named vice president of advanced practice and ambulatory nursing for Nemours Children's Health—Delaware Valley in Wilmington, Del., in 2023.
    • Maria Barbagallo, MSN’21, is a certified nurse-midwife at the Vanderbilt Center for Women's Health in Pleasant View, Tennessee (2024).
    • Paige Bennett, MSN’21, is a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner at The Holiner Psychiatric Group in Dallas (2023).
    • Alec Bradbury, MSN’21, is a family nurse practitioner at the Ritter Center in San Rafael, California (2023).
    • 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.
    • Alex Buck, MSN’21, is a neonatal nurse practitioner at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt (2025).
    • Torie Burris, MSN’21, is a nurse practitioner at University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, a level III neonatal intensive care unit (2025).
    • Ari Chaskes, MSN’21, PMC’24, DNP’24, co-presented, “HEENT Skills,” at the American Academy of Emergency Nurse Practitioners’ Blueprint Pre-conference in March 2025. He is an advanced emergency medical technician and emergency NP at Sound Physicians in Frederick, Maryland.
    • Megan Cohen, MSN’21, is a maternal fetal medicine nurse practitioner at Emory Healthcare in Atlanta (2025)
    • Arthur Coons, MSN’21, is a psychiatric nurse practitioner at the Nashville Veterans Affairs Medical Center (2024).
    • Jessica Cremin, MSN’21, PMC’25, is a midwife at Danbury Midwifery Group in Connecticut (2025).
    • 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..
    • Patty Donley, DNP’21, was featured in Chief Healthcare Executive in March 2025, for her promotion to senior vice president and chief nursing executive for WellSpan Health, headquartered in York, Pennsylvania.
    • Jaimie Eisenhart, MSN’21, is a neonatal nurse practitioner at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and Pediatrix Medical Group in Columbus, Ohio (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).
    • Amy Garee, PhD’21, is co-author of “Transitions of Care in Patients with Inborn Errors of Immunity,” published in 2024 in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice.
    • Madison Green, BA’19, MSN’21, is a certified nurse-midwife in the Mayo Clinic Health System in Mankato, Minnesota (2023).
    • 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.
    • Holly Hart, MSN’21, is owner and psychiatric nurse practitioner at Motiv Integrative Psychiatry in Sandy Springs, Georgia (2025).
    • Jonathan Henzel, MSN’21, is a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner at Prairie Family Medicine in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, where he specializes in outpatient mental health for patients 16 years and older (2023).
    • Kristen Kesslar, MSN’21, is a nurse practitioner at Children’s Minnesota in Minneapolis, a level IV neonatal intensive care unit (2025).
    • Alicia Kleinhans, PMC’21, DNP’21, is an assistant professor at the Andy and Barbara Gassner College of Nursing at the University of Houston, instructor and nurse practitioner at Baylor College of Medicine, and pediatric nurse practitioner-acute care at Texas Children’s Hospital, as well as a PNP-AC at the University of Texas Southwestern Children’s Health in Dallas (2025).
    • Anna Korogodski, MSN’21, is a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner at University of California San Diego Health Psychiatry (2025).
    • Klariz Lazo, MSN’21, DNP’23, is a family nurse practitioner in the Office of Franklin Lowe, MD, in Los Alamitos, California (2024).
    • Hannah Martin, MSN’21, is a women’s health nurse practitioner at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences’ Women’s Center in Little Rock, specializing in general obstetrics/gynecology, high risk OB and gender care (2024).
    • Lauren Mattiace, MSN’21, PMC’25, is a family nurse practitioner at Amador Health Center in New Mexico (2025).
    • Anna McCracken, MSN’21, is a certified nurse-midwife at Virginia Mason Franciscan Health in Tacoma, Washington (2024).
    • Hannah McGrew, MSN’20, PMC’21, co-presented at the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties conference in April 2025, and is lead author of “Telehealth Simulations with Generative Artificial Intelligence in Midwifery Education: Practice for Person-centered and Culturally Responsive Care,” published in the Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health, and co-author of “Assessing Artificial Intelligence to Support Grant Evaluation in Nursing Education,” in CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing, both in August. She received the Fall 2025 Vanderbilt University Provost’s Award to mentor immersion students, for her project, “Medical Spanish and Translation in Midwifery and Reproductive Health,” and presented at presented at the American College of Nurse-Midwives conference in October. Hannah presented, “Navigating the Perinatal Mental Health Landscape: Empowering Expectant and New Parents,” in 2024, during VUSN’s Reunion symposium, “Collaborative Academic Practice Symposium: Integrating Mental Health and Primary Care.” She is an instructor and Midwifery-Education—Access and Diversity for Optimizing Workforce (MEADOW) Grant coordinator at VUSN.
    • Heather Hair Meissen, MSN’05, DNP’21, was inducted as a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing in October 2025. Heather is director of the nurse practitioner/physician’s assistant critical care residency program and clinical instructor at Emory University’s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing in Atlanta, and a NP in the critical care medicine-surgical intensive care unit at Emory University Hospital.
    • Francesca Mercurio, MSN’21, is a nurse practitioner at Sutter in San Mateo, California (2025).
    • Daniel Morales, MSN’21, is a nurse practitioner at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Karabots Pediatric Care Center (2025).
    • Rebecca Mulligan, MSN’21, is a neonatal nurse practitioner at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt (2025).
    • Alex Mullins, MSN’21, is a nurse practitioner at Neighborhood Health in Nashville (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.
    • Vanessa Naimoli, PMC’21, is a primary care family nurse practitioner at the Kirtland U.S. Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico (2025).
    • 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.
    • 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).
    • Eve Rodenmeyer, MSN’21, is a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner at San Diego Family Care (2025).
    • Nicole Rovang, MSN’21, is a nurse practitioner at Vanderbilt Children's Neonatology Intensive Care Clinics in Nashville (2023).
    • Jason Saucier, PhD’21, is lead author of “Trauma Patient Transitional Work: A Multidisciplinary Feasibility Survey of Planned Behavior Elements,” published in the Journal of Trauma Nursing in 2024. He was published in the Journal of Trauma Nursing in 2023.
    • Sydney Shannon, MSN’21, is a women’s health nurse practitioner at Women's Healthcare Associates in Hillsboro, Oregon (2023).
    • Nicole Skroch, MSN’21, DNP’24, is a nurse practitioner at Ascension Saint Thomas Heart West Cardiovascular Surgery in Nashville (2024).
    • Jenny Slayton, DNP’21, received the Outstanding Operational Partner Award in 2023 from Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where she is senior vice president for quality, safety and risk prevention.
    • Isabell Stolz, DNP’21, is a clinical associate professor at Baylor University’s Louise Herrington School of Nursing in Dallas (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.
    • Erin Hager Tickle, MMHC’10, DNP’21, was quoted in VUMC News in October 2025 in “WellNurse Program Launches New Framework to Tackle Nurse Burnout.” She is associate nurse executive of nursing strategy and system integration at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
    • Tip Tilton, MSN’21, is a clinical nurse informaticist at University of California San Francisco Health (2025).
    • Kaitlyn Vincent, MSN’21, is a nurse practitioner at PrimeCare Physician Partners and Integrated Healthcare Association—Trinity Health in Detroit, a level III neonatal intensive care unit (2025).
    • Jill Whitaker, MSN’21, was mentioned in VUMC News in September 2025 for co-authoring a study, “Automated Extraction of Mortality Information from Publicly Available Sources Using Large Language Models: Development and Evaluation Study,” published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research in January.
    • Brett Young, MSN’21, PMC’24, DNP’24, was elected director of government affairs for the Tennessee Nurses Association in October 2025. He was a panelist for “Nurses Who Make A Difference,” in 2024 as part of VUSN’s Nurses Month celebration. He presented at the American Nurses Credentialing Center National Magnet Conference and Pathway to Excellence Conference in 2023. He is the inaugural manager of patient care services for the Vanderbilt at Home program at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
    • 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​.
    • Stephanie Zhang, BS’20, MSN’21, is a critical care nurse practitioner at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida (2024).

     

  • 2022
    • McKayla Phillips Basham, PMC’22, DNP’24, was featured in Kentucky’s The News-Enterprise in 2024 in “Nurse Practitioner Delivering New Approach to Health Care.” She is owner and NP at Total Life Wellness and Aesthetics in Elizabethtown.
    • Karen Cantu, MSN’22, is a neonatal nurse practitioner at Pediatrix in Wichita, Kansas (2025).
    • Robert Conway, MSN’22, PMC’23, DNP’24, is owner and psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner at Pediatric Psychiatric Services in Newport News, Virginia (2025).
    • Kelli Craven, PMC’22, DNP’22, was published in AACN Advanced Critical Care in 2023.
    • Kendyl Durham, MSN’22, is an outpatient psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner in Baltimore (2024).
    • Laura Edquist, MSN’22, is a nurse practitioner specializing in pediatric surgery at the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago (2024).
    • Emily Englehardt, MSN’22, wrote a guest column for the Tennessean called “I’m a Midwife and the Ancient Practice of Midwifery Has Stood the Test of Time for Mothers,” published in 2024 (which includes a photo of Margaret McKinney Buxton, MSN’98). She was named medical manager at Hope Clinic for Women in Nashville in 2023.
    • Courtney Farmer, MSN’22, was featured by Earn the Necklace in 2023 in “Meet Twins Shortstop Kyle Farmer’s Wife Courtney Farmer.”
    • Erica Frechman, PhD’22, is co-author of “Gerontologists Combating Fraudulent Research Participants: Recommendations from Design to Dissemination,” published in The Gerontologist in September 2025, and “Essential Advance Care Planning Intervention Features in Low-income Communities: A Qualitative Study,” in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management in 2024.
    • Katherine Gilbrech, MSN’22, is an assistant in obstetrics and gynecology at Vanderbilt Center for Women's Health—Bellevue in Nashville (2024).
    • Mariam Hameed, MSN’22, is a family nurse practitioner at La Pine Community Health Center, a rural federally qualified health center in Bend, Oregon (2023).
    • 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.
    • Connie Hare, MSN’22, was cited in VUMC News in November 2025 for receiving a Vanderbilt University Medical Center Quality, Safety and Risk Prevention Pursuit of Excellence Award for the project, “Shift Happens! Shifting Attitudes to Manage Conflict within Your Team.”
    • Jessica Hernandez, MSN’22, is a nurse practitioner at the Indian Health Council and Vista Community Clinic in Oceanside, California, specializing in family medicine (2024).
    • Sam Hoffman, MSN’22, is a nurse practitioner at Trinity Health West Michigan in Grand Rapids, a level III intensive care unit (2025).
    • Megan Homer, MSN’22, is a nurse practitioner at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah (2023).
    • Amber Hopkins, MSN’22, was a panelist for “The Impact of Microaggressions on Students of Color,” presented by the VUSN Black Student Nurses Affinity Group in 2023.
    • Hailee Hunt-Hawkins, MSN’22, joined VUSN as an adjunct instructor in January 2025. She is a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner at Empowered Heart in Nashville, a practice owned by Kendra Osborn Delaney, BA’15, MSN’17, PhD’21.
    • Jennifer Johnson, MSN’22, is a nurse practitioner specializing in pediatric critical care medicine at Children’s National in Washington, D.C. (2023).
    • Caitlin Cloum Jones, BA’13, MSN’22, is a family nurse practitioner at Steel Family Medicine in Pleasant View, Tennessee (2023).
    • Brittany Kirby, MSN’18, DNP’22, became certified as a healthcare simulation educator in September 2025. She 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.
    • Stephanie Kress, MSN’22, opened her own private practice, Purple Mountains Wellness, in Franklin, Tennessee, in March 2025. She is a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner, licensed clinical social worker and certified yoga instructor; an adjunct faculty member at Galen College of Nursing in Nashville; a member of the VUSN Alumni Board; and a doctor of nursing practice student at VUSN.
    • Melissa LaFehr, MSN’22, is a women’s health nurse practitioner at Women's Medical Associates of Nashville (2025).
    • Jessica Lloyd, MSN’22, is a nurse practitioner at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Children's Hospital (2023).
    • Scott Long, DNP’22, is an acute care adult nurse practitioner at Soin Medical Center in Beavercreek, Ohio, and in a registered nurse first assistant training program. His interests are cardiothoracic practice related.
    • Sarah Maccini, MSN’22, DNP’25, was named adjunct instructor at VUSN in October 2025. She is a pediatric nurse practitioner at Premier Medical Group in Clarksville, Tennessee.
    • Kaitlin Malick-Petschulat, MSN’22, is lead author of “Enhancing Hepatitis C Care in Primary Care: A Nurse Practitioner-led Intervention,” published in The Journal for Nurse Practitioners in 2024.
    • Brianna McMinn, MSN’22, is a nurse practitioner at Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Jackson Madison County General Hospital in Tennessee, a level III neonatal intensive care unit (2025).
    • Jordan Merryman, MSN’22, is a nurse practitioner at Norton Children’s Medical Group in Louisville, Kentucky (2025).
    • Mark Miller, MSN’22, DNP’24, authored “Nursing Advocacy: Protecting Our Profession and Empowering Nurses in Tennessee,” published in Tennessee Nurse in March 2025, and received the Louise Browning Political Nurse Award from the Tennessee Nurses Association in October. He is author of “Charting a Course for Change: A New Chapter in Advocacy with the Tennessee Nurses Association Government Affairs Committee,” published in Tennessee Nurse in 2024. In 2023, Mark was featured in Vanderbilt University News for “Class of 2023: Crisis Leads Mark Miller from Business Leadership to Bedside Care and Advocacy,” and served as moderator of MSN Know Your Value hosted by the VUSN Alumni Board. He was nominated for and attended Healing Politics Inaugural Candidate School and was elected director of government affairs on the TNA board of directors. Mark is an executive nurse practitioner with Acute Care OnCall in Nashville, an adult gerontology acute care NP program co-coordinator at King University in Bristol, Tennessee, and a member of the VUSN Alumni Board.
    • Stacy Miller, MSN’20, DNP’22, received second place at the International Association of Forensic Nurses conference in 2023. She is a pediatric forensic nurse practitioner in the Children’s Advocacy Center of Northeast Pennsylvania.
    • Julie Moize, PMC’22, is a family nurse practitioner at Medical University of South Carolina’s Kershaw Medical Center in Camden (2023).
    • Karee Morgan, MSN’22, DNP’24, joined VUSN in 2024 as an adjunct instructor. She is a nurse practitioner in the department of pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, specializing in genetics.
    • Ted Morris, MSN’22, is a nurse practitioner in primary care at HarmonyCares and Priority Health Care, and in wound care at Revive Wound Care, all in New York City (2024).
    • Mike Pogge, MSN’22, is an acute care nurse practitioner at Banner MD Anderson in Phoenix specializing in complex/high-risk benign and malignant hematology, as well as an internal medicine/hospitalist (2024).
    • Maddie Potter, MSN’22, is a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner at an outpatient community health clinic in Portland, Oregon (2024).
    • Heather Prentice, PMC’22, is a family nurse practitioner at Allen Health Clinic in Oklahoma (2023).
    • Katie Ricci, DNP’22, is an assistant director at On the Rhode Anesthesia Services and on faculty at Rhode Island College, both in Providence (2024).
    • Sadie Klenk Ronhaar, MSN’22, is a nurse practitioner with Phoenix Children’s Medical Group at multiple level II, III and IV neonatal intensive care units in the region (2025).
    • Jeri Rosenbloom, MSN’22, is a pediatric hospitalist at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital in Alaska (2023).
    • Chloe Rothstein, MSN’22, is a pediatric nurse practitioner at Cone Health Piedmont Pediatrics in Greensboro, North Carolina (2024).
    • Deborah Roy, MSN’22, is a nurse practitioner at Incredicare Pediatrics in Wilmington, Delaware (2023).
    • Julia Sacha, MSN’22, is a family nurse practitioner and certified nurse-midwife at Women's Healthcare Associates in Athens, Georgia (2023).
    • Robyn Schafer, PhD’22, is lead author of “Updating and Advancing Member-checking Methods: Use of Video and Asynchronous Technology to Optimize Participant Engagement,” published in the International Journal of Qualitative Methods in January 2025, and of “Experience of Decision-making for Home Breech Birth: An Interpretive Description,” in SSM-Qualitative Research in Health, and “Maternal and Neonatal Outcomes Associated with Breech Presentation in Planned Community (Home and Birth Center) Births in the United States: A Prospective Observational Cohort Study,” in PLOS One, both in 2024. She was published in Birth and authored a chapter in Varney's Midwifery, both in 2023.
    • Rebecca Schecter, BS’21, MSN’22, is a pediatric nurse practitioner at Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx, New York (2024).
    • Keeley Sherman, MSN’22, is a pediatric nurse practitioner in the Nebraska Methodist Health System in Omaha, specializing in general pediatrics, pediatric psychiatric/mental health care and full practice authority (2023).
    • Hannah Smilansky, BS’18, MSN’22, was published in the Journal of Adolescent Health in 2023. She is a women’s health nurse practitioner at Connectus Health in Nashville.
    • Sabrina Smith, MSN’22, is a certified nurse-midwife at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s Magee—Womens Specialty Services in Farrell, Pennsylvania (2024).
    • Amanda Solomon, MSN’22, is a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner at University of California San Diego Health (2025).
    • Heather Stafford, DNP’22, was a panelist for “Vanderbilt DNPs: Where Are They Now?” hosted by the VUSN Alumni Board’s Know Your Value Committee in 2023. She is chief nursing officer at TriStar Summit Medical Center in Hermitage, Tennessee.
    • Madison Stave, MSN’22, joined Baptist Health—Fort Smith in Arkansas as a certified nurse-midwife in 2023.
    • Kirsten Garza Thomas, MSN’22, is a family nurse practitioner at MedStar’s Community of Hope in Washington, D.C. (2025).
    • Allie VanHouten, MSN’22, is an advanced practice clinician at Planned Parenthood in New York (2024).
    • Ella Von Canon, MSN’22, is the quality improvement registered nurse coordinator at the Durham Veterans Administration Medical Center in North Carolina (2023).
    • Jocelyn Duggan Wehner, MSN’19, DNP’22, is a clinical nurse practitioner at Banner University Medical Center in Phoenix (2025).
    • Kamryn Wong, MSN’22, is a nurse practitioner at Baptist Medical Group in Germantown, Tennessee (2023).
    • Tad Worku, MSN’22, was keynote speaker at California’s Loma Linda University School of Nursing commencement in 2023, and is featured on the university’s website in “The Road to Well-being Understanding the Nursing Journey of Tad Worku.” He is a professional singer and emergency nurse.
    • Erin Young, MSN’22, is a nurse practitioner at Pediatrix in Nashville, serving level III/II neonatal intensive care units (2025).
    • Allison Zemaitis, MSN’22, is a nurse practitioner at Arbor Wellness in Madison, Tennessee (2023).
    • Nina Zorzi, MSN’22, is a certified nurse-midwife at WellSpan’s Keystone Women’s Care in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania (2024).
  • 2023
    • Tirae Abernathy, BA’18, MSN’23, was featured in the Louis American in 2024, in “Affinia Healthcare Adds Midwifery Care, Increases Access to Women’s Healthcare,” about how she negotiated to reestablish a midwifery practice in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2023. She is a family nurse practitioner and certified nurse-midwife in the practice which is focused on reducing disparities in maternal health and reproductive justice.
    • Negest Alemu, BS’20, MSN’21, DNP’23, was quoted in VUMC News in January 2025 in an article about Vanderbilt Primary Care North Nashville, where she is a family nurse practitioner and the primary care provider.
    • Amaria Asghar, MSN’23, is a family nurse practitioner at Annandale Family Medicine in Virginia (2025).
    • Jitana Bagomony, DNP’23, is chief operating and clinical officer at Medical Rehabilitation Consultants in Atlanta (2023).
    • Hannah Wood Balfour, MSN’23, is a critical care nurse practitioner in Charleston, South Carolina (2025).
    • 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.
    • Alise Borne, MSN’23, is a pediatric nurse practitioner in Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt’s department of general pediatrics (2024).
    • Heather Bradford, PhD’23, is featured in the Happy Hour with Bundle Birth Nurses blog in “Challenging Weight Bias in Perinatal Care: A Conversation with Heather Bradford,” posted in January 2025. She is lead author of “Weight Bias among Certified Nurse-midwives and Certified Midwives: Findings from a National Sample,” and “Implicit and Explicit Weight Bias among Midwives: Variations across Demographic Characteristics,” published in the Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health, and “Resettlement Needs of Refugee Women in the United States: An American Academy of Nursing Consensus Paper,” in Nursing Outlook, and co-author of “Nurses in Health Policy: Lessons Learned from One Cohort of the American Academy of Nursing Jonas Policy Scholars Program,” in Nursing Outlook, all in 2024. Heather is assistant program director of the nurse midwifery/women’s health nurse practitioner and WHNP programs and assistant professor at Georgetown University School of Nursing in Washington, D.C.
    • Jon Capan, DNP’23, of San Antonio passed away August 24, 2024. He received the VUSN DAISY Award at his pinning ceremony.
    • Robert Conway, MSN’22, PMC’23, DNP’24, is owner and psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner at Pediatric Psychiatric Services in Newport News, Virginia (2025).
    • Marco Cuellar, MSN’23, is an obstetrics clinical instructor and nurse practitioner at Vanderbilt Midwives Melrose in Nashville (2025).
    • Kathryn Curtin, DNP’23, is a burn nurse practitioner and associate medical director of the burn/trauma step-down unit at MedStar Washington Hospital Center in D.C. (2023).
    • Amit Deveraj, MSN’23, is a nurse practitioner specializing in geriatrics at the Loma Linda University Family Medicine Clinic in California (2024).
    • Diana Dinkel, MSN’23, joined Trinity Health’s Grand River Emergency Medical Group in Michigan as an emergency nurse practitioner in 2024.
    • Tiffany Duncan, DNP’23, is senior director at Methodist Le Bohneur Healthcare in Memphis, Tennessee (2024).
    • James Eagens, MSN’23, is a clinical informaticist at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (2025).
    • Vanessa Garcia, DNP’23, is a nurse practitioner specializing in maternal-fetal medicine at the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and part-time lecturer at Rutgers University, both in New Brunswick, New Jersey. She is an editorial advisory board member for Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health.
    • Elizabeth Gilley, MSN’23, PMC’24, presented, “Angioedema in the ED,” at the American Academy of Emergency Nurse Practitioners conference in March 2025. She is an emergency medicine advanced practice provider fellow at University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas.
    • Ron Gray, MSN’20, DNP’23, was featured on KRQE News for saving a hiker’s life while participating in a bike race near Albuquerque in 2023. He is a registered nurse on University of New Mexico’s Lifeguard Flight Team.
    • Danielle Groot, MSN’23, is a neonatal nurse practitioner at Loma Linda Children’s Hospital in California (2025).
    • Christa Hartch, PhD’23, is lead author of “Satisfaction and Usability of a Commercially Available Medication Adherence App (Medisafe) among Medically Underserved Patients with Chronic Illnesses: Survey Study,” published in JMIR Human Factors in June 2025. She was published in 2023 in JMIR Formative Research and the Journal of Behavioral Medicine.
    • Brook Hazen, MSN’20, DNP’23, was featured on the Vanderbilt University Medical Center department of neurology’s website as its provider spotlight for October 2025. She joined the practice as a nurse practitioner in 2024, specializing in general neurology, stroke, headache and neuropathies/cognitive impairments.
    • Kathleen Heinan, MSN’23, is a family nurse practitioner in urgent care at Prevea Health and in direct primary care at Marathon Health, both in eastern Wisconsin (2025).
    • Kristen Hughes, MSN’23, was elected a member of the VUSN Alumni Association Board in 2023.
    • Dafina Ibrani, PMC’23, is a nurse practitioner at Seattle Children's Hospital, serving level III and IV neonatal intensive care units (2025).
    • Joanie Laughlin Jeannette, BSN’83, MSN’04, DNP’23, was named past president of the VUSN Alumni Board in 2023. She is administrative director of adult inpatient medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
    • Sydney Carlier Karahalios, MSN’23, is a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner and clinical instructor at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego (2025).
    • Mary Keller, MSN’23, is a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner at Solid Ground Behavioral Health in Dillard, Georgia (2025).
    • Christine Kimpel, PhD’23, is co-author of “Building Nurse Capacity for Implementation Science: An Introduction to the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research,” published in the Journal of Nursing Care Quality, “Clinician and Patient Responses to U.S. Health Insurers’ Policies: A Qualitative Study of Higher Risk Patients,” in Health Services Research, and “Recruitment Strategies in Older African American Adults with Pain: The Current State of the Science,” in Pain Management Nursing, all in April 2025. She is lead author of “Participant Perceptions of a Trauma-informed Advanced Care Planning Intervention: A Qualitative Study,” published in the Journal of Palliative Medicine in November. In 2024, she was lead 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, and “Essential Advance Care Planning Intervention Features in Low-income Communities: A Qualitative Study,” in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, and she presented at the Tennessee Public Health Association conference. Christine was published in 2023 in Palliative and Support Care was a post-doctoral fellow at VUSN.
    • Jill Kinch, MMHC’14, DNP’23, is director of advanced practice for perioperative, ambulatory and acute care services at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt (2023).
    • Heather Lawrence, MSN’23, is a nurse practitioner specializing in cardiology at TriStar Southern Hills Medical Center in Nashville (2025).
    • Hali Ledet, MSN’23, ws featured in the Louis American in “Affinia Healthcare Adds Midwifery Care, Increases Access to Women’s Healthcare,” and co-authored “Building Collective Power to Advance Maternal and Child Health: Lessons from the New Orleans Maternal and Child Health Coalition,” published in the Maternal and Child Health Journal, both in 2024. She negotiated to reestablish a midwifery practice in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2023, and is a family nurse practitioner and certified nurse-midwife in the practice, which is focused on reducing disparities in maternal health and reproductive justice.
    • Jennifer Crichton Lusty, MSN’11, DNP’23, is manager of regional hospitals utilization for Vanderbilt University Medical Center (2025).
    • Noralynn Mayer, MSN’23, is a hospice case manager with Saint Barnabas Health System in Gibsonia, Pennsylvania (2024).
    • Adriana McClure, MSN’23, is a nurse practitioner specializing in cardiology at Ascension Saint Thomas Heart Midtown in Nashville (2024).
    • Nicole McKenna, MSN’23, is a nurse practitioner specializing in critical care medicine at Our Lady of the Lake Physician Group in Baton Rouge, Louisiana (2024).
    • Tammy Miller, MSN’23, is a neonatal nurse practitioner at PMG Group in Fresno, California (2025).
    • Carlisha Moragne, MSN’23, was a speaker at the Nexus Summit hosted by the National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education in 2023.
    • Vanessa Morales, MSN’23, was featured by Vanderbilt University News in 2024 in “Class of 2024: Hope through Heartbreak Fuels Vanessa Morales’ Mission to Help Expecting Mothers.”
    • Nancy Muldowney, MAS’10, PMC’23, DNP’24, j is an adjunct clinical professor at South College and visiting professor of nursing at Belmont University’s Gordon E. Inman College of Nursing, both in Nashville (2025).
    • 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. She 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.
    • Mary Obeck, MSN’23, is a school-based nurse practitioner at Ryan Health in New York City (2025).
    • Stephanie O’Bryon, DNP’23, was the keynote speaker for the VUSN Alumni Board’s DNP Know Your Value program in September 2025, and was named a fellow in the 2025 cohort of the Nurse Innovation Fellowship Program by Johnson & Johnson, Penn Nursing and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She was elected member of the VUSN Alumni Board in 2024. Stephanie is assistant vice president at Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center Main, Mercy, and South Park adult emergency departments in Charlotte.
    • Jesse Petrucci, MSN’23, is a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (2025).
    • Cheryl Que, MSN’23, of Spring Hill, Tennessee, and Delray Beach, Florida, passed away July 19, 2025.
    • Lisa Roddy, MSN’23, DNP’25, is a clinical informatics analyst in the department of biomedical informatics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (2025).
    • Monica Sanford, DNP’23, received a $100,000 grant from AMGEN Challenge: Increasing Access to Cardiovascular Care, Improving Heart Health and Decreasing Inequities in Black Communities, in 2023, for the Hope and Health Clinic in Pensacola, Florida, where she volunteers.
    • Shawkat Shehata, MSN’23, is a nurse practitioner at Neighborhood Health in Nashville (2025).
    • Emily Slocum, PMC’23, DNP’23, was inducted as a fellow of the American College of Nurse-Midwives in 2024, and authored a chapter in Varney's Midwifery, released in 2023. She is a full-time lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing in Philadelphia and a per diem nurse-midwife at North Central Bronx Hospital in New York.
    • Tally Thompson, MSN’23, is a hospitalist at Yale New Haven Health in Connecticut (2025).
    • Michael Turner, MA’09, PhD’09, MSN’23, is a psychiatric nurse practitioner at Covenant Health, embedded in the emergency department at Parkwest Medical Center in Knoxville, Tennessee, where he oversees and triages the medical and psychiatric needs of an acute population with dementia with behavioral disturbances, Autism and intellectual and developmental disabilities with behavioral issues, overdoes, suicidal ideation, mania, and psychosis (2024).
    • Anana Upton, BS’21, MSN’23, presented to Vanderbilt University development and relations staff in April 2025 about the benefits of philanthropy on her education, and was a speaker at the Vanderbilt University Dare to Grow campaign event in Chicago in 2024.
    • Ashlyn Weninger, MSN’23, is a nurse practitioner at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, in labor and delivery and level II and IV neonatal intensive care units (2025).
    • Meredith Wilds, MSN’23, is a pediatric nurse practitioner at University of North Carolina Healthcare department of pediatric orthopedics in Chapel Hill, where she oversees preoperative patient optimization plans, hospital care including post-surgical care, and outpatient postoperative follow-up (2024).
    • 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.
    • Stacey Williams, PMC’23, DNP’23, is co-author of “Delirium and Coronavirus Disease 2019: Looking Back, Moving Forward,” published in Critical Care Nursing Clinics in 2024.

     

     

  • 2024
    • Alison Bear, MSN’24, is a neonatal nurse practitioner at Cincinnati Children's (2025).
    • McKayla Phillips Basham, PMC’22, DNP’24, was featured in Kentucky’s The News-Enterprise in 2024 in “Nurse Practitioner Delivering New Approach to Health Care.” She is owner and NP at Total Life Wellness and Aesthetics in Elizabethtown.
    • Leah Bergman, PMC’24, DNP’24, presented at the Society of Pediatric Anesthesiology conference in March 2025. She is a certified registered nurse anesthetist at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt.
    • 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.
    • Meredith Caldwell, PMC’24, DNP’24, is lead author of “Behind the Numbers: Factors Influencing Nurse Manager Satisfaction and Retention,” published in Nursing Management in 2024.
    • Amy Campbell, PhD’24, is lead author of “Breastfeeding Journeys: Comparing Mothers’ Experiences with Autistic and Neurotypical Infants,” published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders in 2024.
    • Ari Chaskes, MSN’21, PMC’24, DNP’24, co-presented, “HEENT Skills,” at the American Academy of Emergency Nurse Practitioners’ Blueprint Pre-conference in March 2025. He is an advanced emergency medical technician and emergency NP at Sound Physicians in Frederick, Maryland.
    • Chandler Chastain, MSN’24, joined CHI Memorial Family Practice Associates in Cleveland, Tennessee, in January 2025 as a nurse practitioner.
    • Helena Chiles, MSN’24, was featured in New York’s Oswego County Today in January 2025, for joining the staff of Oswego Health’s Lobdell Center for Mental Health and Wellness at Lakeview as a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner (here on com).
    • Keira Claessen-Womack, MSN’24, was featured as a student and alumnus in March 2025, by Vanderbilt University News in “Students from the Class of 2025 Strengthen Bonds in Special Ways,” (video included).
    • Robert Conway, MSN’22, PMC’23, DNP’24, is owner and psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner at Pediatric Psychiatric Services in Newport News, Virginia (2025).
    • Allison Cress, MSN’24, is a nurse practitioner at Neighborhood Health in Nashville (2025).
    • Sidney Dean, MSN’24, is a nurse practitioner at Neighborhood Health in Nashville (2025).
    • Rosalind de Lisser, PhD’24, is lead author of “The Social Ecology of Burnout: A Framework for Research on Nurse Practitioner Burnout,” published in Nursing Outlook, and “‘My Voice Does Not Matter…’ A Qualitative Analysis of Clinician Experiences with Psychological Safety, the Work Environment and Burnout,” in the Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health, both in 2024.
    • Indika DePriest, MN’24, is a registered nurse at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (2025).
    • Jenn Gardner, MSN’24, is a neonatal nurse practitioner at Parkland Health in the Dallas area (2025).
    • Mary McLaughlin Gibbs, BSN’88, MSN’90, DNP’24, was promoted to assistant professor in the department of family and community health at the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia (2025).
    • Elizabeth Gilley, MSN’23, PMC’24, presented, “Angioedema in the ED,” at the American Academy of Emergency Nurse Practitioners conference in March 2025. She is an emergency medicine advanced practice provider fellow at University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas.
    • Lauren Harlow, MSN’24, is a psychiatric nurse practitioner at Healthy Minds in Nashville (2025).
    • 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.
    • Kelsey Johnson, MSN’24, was featured in Williamson County Source in September 2025, for joining Williamson Health Medical Group in Franklin, Tennessee, as a women’s health nurse practitioner specializing in urogynecology and pelvic health.
    • Karen Jones, MSN’24, is pediatric nurse practitioner at Murfreesboro Medical Clinic in Tennessee (2025).
    • Chira Lee, MSN’24, joined Piedmont Physicians at Butler Creek in Augusta, Georgia, in May 2025 as a nurse practitioner.
    • Katie Lewis, PMC’24, is a certified nurse midwife at Ascension Saint Thomas Midtown in Nashville (2025).
    • Ben Linzey, MSN’24, is a nurse practitioner in the emergency department at Team Health in Winter Garden, Florida (2025).
    • Hannah Merriman, DNP’24, completed military professional schooling and is stationed at the Martin Army Community Hospital at Fort Moore in Georgia (2025).
    • Mark Miller, MSN’22, DNP’24, authored “Nursing Advocacy: Protecting Our Profession and Empowering Nurses in Tennessee,” published in Tennessee Nurse in March 2025, and received the Louise Browning Political Nurse Award from the Tennessee Nurses Association in October. He is author of “Charting a Course for Change: A New Chapter in Advocacy with the Tennessee Nurses Association Government Affairs Committee,” published in Tennessee Nurse in 2024. In 2023, Mark was featured in Vanderbilt University News for “Class of 2023: Crisis Leads Mark Miller from Business Leadership to Bedside Care and Advocacy,” and served as moderator of MSN Know Your Value hosted by the VUSN Alumni Board. He was nominated for and attended Healing Politics Inaugural Candidate School and was elected director of government affairs on the TNA board of directors. Mark is an executive nurse practitioner with Acute Care OnCall in Nashville, an adult gerontology acute care NP program co-coordinator at King University in Bristol, Tennessee, and a member of the VUSN Alumni Board.
    • Holly Mondloch, MSN’24, is a nurse practitioner at CentraCare Saint Cloud Hospital in Minnesota, a level III neonatal intensive care unit (2025).
    • Karee Morgan, MSN’22, DNP’24, joined VUSN in 2024 as an adjunct instructor. She is a nurse practitioner in the department of pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, specializing in genetics.
    • Nancy Muldowney, MAS’10, PMC’23, DNP’24, is an adjunct clinical professor at South College and visiting professor of nursing at Belmont University, both in Nashville (2025).
    • Michell Palacios, MSN’24, is assistant unit director at University of California San Francisco Benioff Children Hospitals (2025).
    • Olivia Reichert, MSN’24, is a neonatal nurse practitioner at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (2025).
    • Amrit Saini, MSN’24, is a nurse practitioner at Neighborhood Health in Nashville (2025).
    • Simran Saini, MSN’24, is a nurse practitioner at Neighborhood Health in Nashville (2025).
    • Bonnie Sammons, DNP’24, is co-author of “Perception of Therapeutic Music in Community Settings,” published in Global Advances in Integrative Medicine and Health in September 2025. She is medical science liaison at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, headquartered in Ridgefield, Connecticut.
    • Cassandra Samolinksi, PMC’24, is a registered nurse in the emergency department of Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin in Franklin (2025).
    • Dawn Shamkin, MSN’24, started a nurse practitioner residency at the Clement J. Zablocki Veterans Administration Medical Center in Milwaukee, in September 2025.
    • Nicole Skroch, MSN’21, DNP’24, is a nurse practitioner at Ascension Saint Thomas Heart West Cardiovascular Surgery in Nashville (2024).
    • Lydia Strutz, MSN’24, is a nurse practitioner at Driscoll Children's Hospital in Corpus Christi, Texas, a level IV neonatal intensive care unit (2025).
    • Molly Sullivan, BS’22, MSN’24, is a family nurse practitioner at Family Practice Center—Sandy Springs in Atlanta (2025).
    • Harper Sutton, MSN’24, was mentioned in com in 2024, for joining CHI Memorial Primary Care Associates—Glenwood in Tennessee as a family nurse practitioner.
    • Kate Thomas, MSN’24 is a certified nurse-midwife at Connectus Health—Vine Hill in Nashville (2024).
    • Maggie Ahlert Walker, MSN’24, is a nurse manager at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (2025).
    • Patrice Walton, PMC’24, DNP’24, is adjunct faculty at Georgia Gwinnett College in Lawrenceville (2025).
    • Sarah Worm, MSN’24, is medical clinical care director of Choptank Health in Denton, Maryland (2025).
    • Bethany Young, PhD’24, is co-author of “A Focused Update to the Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Prevention and Management of Pain, Anxiety, Agitation/Sedation, Delirium, Immobility and Sleep Disruption in Adult Patients in the ICU,” published in Critical Care Medicine in March 2025, and co-author of “Delirium and Coronavirus Disease 2019: Looking Back, Moving Forward,” in Critical Care Nursing Clinics of North America in 2024.
    • Brett Young, MSN’21, PMC’24, DNP’24, was elected director of government affairs for the Tennessee Nurses Association in October 2025. He was a panelist for “Nurses Who Make A Difference,” in 2024 as part of VUSN’s Nurses Month celebration. He presented at the American Nurses Credentialing Center National Magnet Conference and Pathway to Excellence Conference in 2023.

     

     

     

  • 2025
    • Cassie Bowman, MSN’25, is a neonatal nurse practitioner at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital in Saint Petersburg, Florida (2025).
    • Jessica Cremin, MSN’21, PMC’25, is a midwife at Danbury Midwifery Group in Connecticut (2025).
    • Katherine Della Rocco, PMC’25, DNP’25, is a family nurse practitioner at Virginia Commonwealth University Health System’s Urgent Care in Tappahannock (2025).
    • Grace Fulton, MSN’25, was featured in com in November 2025, for joining the staff at CHI Memorial Primary Care Associates—Glenwood in Tennessee.
    • Aly Garrett, PMC’25, is a nurse practitioner at Olympic Dermatology in Olympia, Washington (2025).
    • Sarah Maccini, MSN’22, DNP’25, was named adjunct instructor at VUSN in October 2025. She is a pediatric nurse practitioner at Premier Medical Group in Clarksville, Tennessee.
    • Lauren Mattiace, MSN’21, PMC’25, is a family nurse practitioner at Amador Health Center in New Mexico (2025).
    • Lisa Roddy, MSN’23, DNP’25, is a clinical informatics analyst in the department of biomedical informatics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville (2025).
    • Jose Silva, PMC’25, was cited in Clinical Advisor in October 2025 in “Steps NPs Can Take to Address Nutrition Concerns in People with ADHD.”