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 with any updates, or call 615-322-4836. And, when posting on social media please tag us! #VUSN

Look below for news from your classmates as of December 31, 2022. Items received since July 1, 2022 are shown in red font.

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Rodney Adams, MSN'01, received an Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center in October 2021.

Terrah Foster Akard, MSN'01, PhD'08, is co-author of "Protocol of a Pilot Study of the Effects of Animal-assisted Interactions (AAI) on Quality of Life in Children with Life-threatening Conditions and Their Parents," published in December 2021 in the International Journal of Palliative Nursing , and lead author of "Ethical Considerations in Oncology and Palliative Care Research during COVID-19," in the Journal of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nursing in February 2022. That month, she was named associate dean for academic affairs at the Vanderbilt University Graduate School, news of which was covered by Nashville Post and Women in Academia Report . Terrah co-authored "Factors Affecting COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in Parents of Children with Cancer," published in April in Pediatric Blood & Cancer , and "Postoperative Opioid Administration and Post-traumatic Stress Symptoms in Preschool Children after Cardiac Surgery," in the November issue of the  Journal of Pediatric Nursing . Terrah was appointed director of Vanderbilt University's PhD in Nursing Science program in 2021. That March, four articles she co-authored were published: "Associations of Age, Gender and Family Income with Quality of Life in Children with Advanced Cancer," in the Journal of Pediatric Oncology Nursing ; "Parental Posttraumatic Growth after Pediatric Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant," in the Journal of Hospice & Palliative Care Medicine ; "Parent Caregiving Experiences and Posttraumatic Growth following Pediatric Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant," in the Journal of Pediatric Oncology Nursing ; and "Facebook Recruitment for Children with Advanced Cancer and Their Parents: Lessons from a Web-based Pediatric Palliative Intervention Study," in Progress in Palliative Care . She was a panelist for "How the Media and Entertainment Industry Perpetuate Stereotypes of Nursing (and Why That Hurts Everyone)," in May, part of the VUSN Dore to Door Alumni Forum. Terrah is co-author of "Impact of End-of-life Circumstances on the Adjustment of Bereaved Siblings of Children Who Died from Cancer," published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings in June, and "Parenting Surviving Children after the Death of a Child from Cancer: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis," in the Journal of Child & Family Studies . She co-authored "Hemoptysis Associated with Percutaneous Transthoracic Needle Biopsy: Development of Critical Events Checklist and Procedure Outcomes," in the Journal of Radiology Nursing in September, and, in October, "Animal-assisted Interventions for Children with Advanced Cancer: Child and Parent Perceptions," published in Palliative Medicine Reports . That month, Terrah received the Alumni Award for National Leadership, presented by the VUSN Alumni Association during the school's annual awards ceremony. She is co-author of "Digital Storytelling for Bereaved Individuals in a Virtual Setting," published in Omega–Journal of Death and Dying , and "The Effects of Animal-assisted Interactions on Quality of Life in Children with Life-threatening Conditions and their Parents," in the International Journal of Palliative Nursing , both in December. Terrah co-authored "'Connection': The Integration of a Person-centered Narrative Intervention into the Electronic Health Record: An Implementation Study," in the January 2020 issue of the Journal of Palliative Medicine , and "Transforming a Face-to-face Legacy Intervention to a Web-based Legacy Intervention for Children With Advanced Cancer," in the Journal of Hospice & Palliative Nursing in February. She is lead author of "Randomized Clinical Trial of a Legacy Intervention for Quality of Life in Children with Advanced Cancer," published in the Journal of Palliative Care Medicine , and co-authored "Toward a Better Understanding: An Exploration of Provider Perceptions in Pediatric Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Adherence," published in Pediatric Transplantation , both in September. She is lead author of "Improved Parent-child Communication following a RCT Evaluating a Legacy Intervention for Children with Advanced Cancer," in Progress in Palliative Care in October, and "Research Cooperative Groups in Pediatric Palliative Care Research," published in December by Palliative Medicine Reports . Terrah was named a Vanderbilt University Chancellor Faculty fellow in May 2019. She co-published "Parent and Child Preferences and Styles of Communication about Cancer Diagnoses and Treatment," in the Journal of Pediatric Oncology Nursing , and co-presented a poster, "Exploration of Parent and Child Preferences for Communication about Cancer," at the Sigma Theta Tau Congress that July. She co-authored "The Influence of Parent Distress and Parenting on Bereaved Siblings' Externalizing Problems," published in the Journal of Child and Family Studies in December. Terrah received the March of Dimes Tennessee Chapter 2018 Nurse of the Year Award for nursing education, and was invited to participate in the Vanderbilt Leadership Academy, the university's program to identify and develop academic and administrative leaders. In 2017, Terrah was named a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, was featured in The Vanderbilt Hustler  for her work with children with life-threatening conditions, and was named Nurse of the Week by The Daily Nurse. She was approved for tenure in 2016 as an associate professor at Vanderbilt. Terrah and her team are studying the effects of songwriting intervention for children with serious illnesses and their family members.

Tina Sheridan Allocco, MSN'01, received an Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center in October 2021.

Dalisa Barquero, MSN'01, is lead author of "Intrahepatic Cholestasis of Pregnancy: New Insights on an Old Issue," published in Women's Care in October 2021.

Keeley Roberts Bowman, MSN'01, moved to Nome, Alaska, in July 2019 to become manager of forensic nursing services at Norton Sound Health Corporation, where her patients are pediatric and adult victims of sexual or physical violence. The organization serves 10,000 people, including those of 15 Native Alaskan villages. A poster she co-presented received first place at the International Association of Forensic Nurses conference in September.

Marlee Crankshaw, MSN'01, DNP'10, was interviewed for the Academy of Neonatal Nursing ANNTalks podcast, "Leadership: Workforce Engagement," recorded in July 2021, and was a panelist for "Compassion Fatigue during COVID-19: How Nurses and NPs Can Stay Grounded," in November 2020, the first VUSN Dore to Door Alumni Forum. She co-presented posters, "Implementing the Couplet Care Model When Not Every Baby is a 'Well Baby'" and "Neonatal Staff Engagement Strategies," at the 2019 Vanderbilt University Medical Center Nursing Research Day, and received the Alumni Award for Clinical Achievement in Nursing presented by the VUSN Alumni Association during the school's annual awards ceremony that October. Marlee is administrative director of the neonatal intensive care unit at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital.

Kimberly Arnold Currier, MSN'01, received the Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center in November 2022, and an Excellence in Patient Experience Award from VUMC in October 2021. She is a nurse practitioner specializing in gastroenterology, hepatology, nutritional deficiencies and weight loss at the Vanderbilt Center for Human Nutrition.

April Clements DeMers, MSN'01, was featured on the Vanderbilt University Medical Center's website in its Advanced Practice Provider Spotlight. She is a nurse practitioner in VUMC's adult kidney and pancreas transplant unit in Nashville (2018).

Monica Deshpande, BS'95, MSN'01, is a nurse practitioner and instructor of otolaryngology at the Oregon Health and Science University School of Medicine in Portland (2020).

Caroline Duley, MSN'01, received the Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center in November 2022, and an Excellence in Patient Experience Award from VUMC in October 2021.

Becky Edwards, MSN'01, is a nurse practitioner at Dermatology & Skin Care Center of Birmingham in Alabama (2021).

Marcos Fernandez, MSN'01, is chief nursing officer at Saint Thomas Midtown Hospital in Nashville (2020).

Sarah Fogel, MSN'94, PhD'01, retired in June 2021 from her role as professor and director of the Associate of Science in Nursing-Masters of Science in Nursing PreSpecialty program at VUSN. She received the Spotlight Award from the Vanderbilt University Office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex Life in May 2020 for her advocacy of LGBTQI health, and co-authored "Perceptions of Sexual and Gender Minority Content in Graduate Nursing Curricula," published that month in Nursing Education Perspectives . Under Sarah's leadership, the ASN to MSN program was ranked by RN to MSN as the top registered nurse to MSN program in the United States in 2019.

Ceree George, MSN'01, is a certified nurse-midwife at CentraCare in Long Prairie, Minnesota (2019).

Genevieve Hofmann, MSN'01, is co-author of "Intrahepatic Cholestasis of Pregnancy: New Insights on an Old Issue," published in Women's Care in October 2021. She is a nurse practitioner at University of Colorado Health Women's Care Clinic-Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, specializing in obstetrics and gynecology.

Sally Humphrey, MSN'01, DNP'19, is an associate professor in the pediatric nurse practitioner primary care program at University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center in Memphis (2019).

Jean Markie, MSN'01, is an assistant professor at the Jeanette C. Rudy School of Nursing and Health Professions at Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee (2017).

Ashley McFarland, MSN'01, is the owner of Ashley McFarland Aesthetics in Murfreesboro, Tennessee (2020).

Gerald Meredith, MSN'01, DNP'10, was elected by colleagues to a three-year term as an at-large member of the U.S. Veterans Administration Medical Executive Board. He is a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner with the VA in East Tennessee.

Colleen Reilly Moss, BS'00, MSN'01, became director of the Neonatal Nurse Practitioner specialty at VUSN in January 2022, and published "Fluid and Electrolyte Management in the Neonate: Sodium and Chloride," in Neonatal Network in May. She was named to the neonatal editorial board for the Journal of Perinatal and Neonatal Nursing. In July, she co-presented "Growing from What We Learned… VUMC Preceptor Assessment," during Vanderbilt University Medical Center advanced practice grand rounds, and published, "Fluid and Electrolyte Management in the Neonate: Potassium and Phosphorus," in the July/August issue of Neonatal Network: The Journal of Neonatal Nursing . Colleen is lead author of "Evaluation and Nonsurgical Treatment of Neonatal Ear Anomalies: A Case Report," published in Advances in Neonatal Care , and recipient of the Sara K. Archer Award from the students in the VUSN neonatal nurse practitioner specialty, both in August. She is co-author of "Perceptions of Motivating Factors and Barriers to Precepting," published in the  Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners , in November, and lead author of "Neonatal Fragile Skin: Novel Use of Simulation to Improve Knowledge and Confidence for Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Student," in Nurse Educator , in December. Colleen was promoted to assistant professor at VUSN in June 2021 and named to the 2021-22 Junior Faculty Teaching Fellows program in the Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching, and received the VUSN Sara K. Archer Excellence in Teaching Award from students in the NNP specialty in August. She is author of "Examining Job Satisfaction and Intent to Stay for Neonatal Nurse Practitioners: The Impact of Mentoring," published in Advances in Neonatal Care in September, and "Utilization and Meaningfulness of National Association of Neonatal Nurse Practitioners' Mentoring Toolkit Activities," in its November issue. Colleen received funding from the VUSN Faculty Scholarship Program in March 2020 for her project "Evaluating the Impact of a Formalized Mentoring Program Using the National Association of Neonatal Nurse Practitioners Mentoring Toolkit." She authored "Neonatal Hypocalcemia in the Infant of a Diabetic Mother," in Neonatal Network , July/August, and received the Sara K. Archer Award. Colleen published "Mentoring New Graduate Nurse Practitioners," in the May/June 2019 issue of Neonatal Network: The Journal of Neonatal Nursing, and was invited to present her doctor of nursing practice project on the same subject at the National Association of Neonatal Nurses conference that October. She wrote "Mentoring New Graduate Nurse Practitioners," which was chosen as a Manuscript of Exceptional Merit by Neonatal Network: The Journal of Neonatal Nursing. That year, she received the DNP Outstanding Student of the Year Award from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and second place for her poster, "Mentoring New Graduate Nurse Practitioners in the NICU," at the VUMC Nursing Research Day. Colleen completed her doctor of nursing practice from the UTC that December.

Brittany Huffman Nelson, BA'00, MSN'01, co-authored "Child Abuse Response Simulation for Advanced Practice Nursing Students," published in the July/August 2020 issue of Clinical Nurse Specialist . She received the VUSN Sara K. Archer Excellence in Teaching Award from students in the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Primary Care specialty in August 2018. 

Jeannie Noblitt, MSN'01, is a nurse practitioner at the Asthma, Allergy and Sinus Center in Knoxville, Tennessee (2017).

Cara Osborne, MSN'01, was featured in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette in February 2022 for "High Profile: Cara Blaize Caskey Osborne Creates Businesses to Solve Problems," and was profiled by Talk Business & Politics for founding, expanding and selling Baby + Company. She is a professor in the Department of Strategy, Entrepreneurship and Venture Innovation at the Walton College of Business, University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, where she became an assistant professor in the university's college of education and health professions in September 2018. Cara was featured in January 2017 by The Blount County Daily Times (Tennessee) in a story about Baby + Company.

Liz Peck, MSN'01, and her husband were featured in a January 2016 Maryland Capital Gazette story about their healthcare work in Africa. 

Heather Quaile, MSN'01, was named treasurer of the National Association for Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health in January 2022. She was a panelist for "SANE: Improving Outcomes for Survivors of Sexual Assault (Part 2)," in April, part of the VUSN Dore to Door Alumni Forum, and was inducted as a fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners in June. She was a panelist for "SANE: Improving Outcomes for Survivors of Sexual Assault," in October 2021, part of the VUSN Dore to Door Alumni Forum. That month, her manuscript, "Trauma-informed Care Part 2: Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Individuals," was published in Women's Healthcare . She received the Alumni Award for Clinical Achievement in Nursing presented by the VUSN Alumni Association during the school's annual awards ceremony in October 2020. Heather is medical administrator and nurse practitioner at Wellspring Living for trafficked youth, founder and chief medical officer of The SHOW Center for sexual medicine, and clinical nursing faculty at Georgia State University in Atlanta. She is listed on the ProfNet network website as an expert in women and aging.

Peter Richards, MSN'01 , of Rock Island, Illinois, passed away November 23, 2016.

Bedelia Russell, MSN'01, was promoted to full professor at Tennessee Technological University's Whitson-Hester School of Nursing in Cookeville, and appointed as the associate provost for online education and faculty development in the university's division of academic affairs in July 2022. She received the Tennessee Tech Outstanding Faculty Award for Professional Service. 

Joshua Squiers, MSN'01, PhD'12, is director of the acute care nurse practitioner program and assistant professor at the Oregon Health and Science University School of Nursing in Portland, and assistant professor of anesthesiology and perioperative medicine in the OHSU School of Medicine (2020).

Michelle Terrell, MSN'01, DNP'18, is co-author of "Development and Testing of an Advanced Practice Clinical Advancement Program within an Academic Medical Center," published in the Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners in September 2021, and was a panelist for the VUSN Alumni Board's annual DNP Know Your Value in January 2019. Michelle presented at the Acute Care Nurse Practitioner/Physician Assistant Critical Care Bootcamp at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in August 2018 and at the VUMC Pediatric Critical Care Boot Camp in September 2017.

Pamela Thompson, MSN'01, is a family nurse practitioner at Precision Pain Care in Nashville and Smyrna, Tennessee (2020).

Julianne Wagnon, MSN'01, received the Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center in November 2022, and an Excellence in Patient Experience Award from VUMC in October 2021. She is a nurse practitioner specializing in asthma, rhinitis, sinusitis, immunology, gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition for adults and children at the Vanderbilt Inflammatory Bowel Disease Clinic.

Bob Weber, MSN'01, is a family nurse practitioner at Middle Tennessee Family Medicine in Murfreesboro (2017).

Allyson Hilton Yanni, MSN'01, joined the Lake Norman Medical Group in Mooresville, North Carolina, as an adult nurse practitioner in neurology/neuro-ophthalmology in February 2020.