Alumni

Here are ways you can stay connected to VUSN

• Update Class Notes: Every VUSN graduate has exciting things happening, both professionally and personally. Class Notes is an opportunity to learn what other alumni are doing and share news about yourself. We’d love to hear from you! To submit news, contact us at vusn-alumninursing@vanderbilt.edu or call 615-322-4836.
• Follow and tag VUSN on social media: The School has a presence on:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
• Register for VUConnect: Vanderbilt’s online alumni community offers directory services and opportunities to stay connected to your classmates. Activate your account and build alumni networking relationships, explore nursing job postings and find a VU alumni chapter near you for fun and educational events. Contact Alumni Relations for help registering.
• Be a preceptor: Sharing your knowledge and experience is an invaluable way to contribute to the education of Vanderbilt nursing students. Please email our Clinical Placement Office or call 615-322-3684 when you are interested in serving as a preceptor to a current MSN student.
• Help a student find placement in your area: No matter when you graduated from VUSN or what your degree is, you probably know people in your town or field who would be excellent preceptors. Please refer those individuals or organizations to our Clinical Placement Office, 615-322-3684.
• Nominate graduates and friends for Alumni Association awards: The Alumni Board presents nine awards at Reunion. Chances are that you know an outstanding graduate or friend of the profession of nursing who deserves to be recognized. More information can be found here.
• Host/attend regional activities: There are VUSN graduates all over the globe, maybe even close to you. And they love an excuse to get together! If you’re interested in organizing and/or hosting an event in your area, please click here or call 615-322-4836.
• Hire a graduate: If you’re aware of openings in your business or community, please contact Alumni Relations at vusn-alumninursing@vanderbilt.edu or 615-322-4836, or post listings at vuconnect.com.
• Speak to a class about your expertise and experiences: There’s nothing like real world experience! What knowledge can you share that not found in books or videos? Consider presenting to a class in person or online. Click here or call 615-322-4836 to volunteer.
• Be a VUSN AmbassaDore: Support the activities of the Alumni Association as well as the offices of Alumni Relations, Enrollment Management, Student Affairs and the Dean, by committing to at least one of the following projects. Apply here.
  • Speak with a prospective student via email, phone or in person to answer questions and share experiences as a student and alumnus.
  • Attend an on-campus Alumni Board event (such as Know Your Value) to greet and mingle with attendees, and support the event’s objective.
  • Join an event hosted by the School (Admitted Student Day, Orientation, Pinning, a reception at a national conference, etc.) to help with registration and socialize with attendees.
  • Welcome and assist an alumnus who is new to your area by email, phone or in person.
  • Identify three (3) strong candidates as preceptor sites for students.
  • Lend your name to letters and contact class/specialty-mates to encourage attendance at Reunion events and support of class giving goals.
  • Promote VUSN news like award nominations, Giving Day, Reunion and alumni speakers on social media.
  • Assist the Alumni Office by researching employment status and contact information of 50 class/specialty-mates.
• Join the Alumni Board: All School of Nursing graduates are members of the VUSN Alumni Association, which advocates for the success of the School, its alumni and students, as well as the nursing profession. 

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

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

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

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