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 at Maple City Health Care Center, and adjunct professor at Goshen College in Indiana
• President Elect: Stephanie Abbu, DNP, MSN’12, manager of neonatal services at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt
• Past-President: Joanie Laughlin Jeannette, DNP’23, MSN’04, BSN’83, associate nursing officer in the Adult Ambulatory Clinic at Vanderbilt University Medical Center
• Nancy Sinclair Brook, MSN’91, orthopedic surgical oncology nurse practitioner at Stanford Hospital and Clinics in Los Altos, California
• Valerie Griffin, DNP, MSN’95, director of nurse practitioner specializations and associate professor at 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
• Elizabeth Blanchard Hills, MSN’18, co-founder and clinical director of Inspired Psychiatric Care and board-certified psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner in Overland Park, Kansas
• Kristen Hughes, MSN’23, pediatric nurse practitioner in Palmdale, California
• Chinassa Iwuoha, MSN’17, BS’16, pediatric nurse practitioner at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt
• Scott Johnson, DNP, MSN’02, advanced practice provider in thoracic surgical oncology at AdventHeath Medical Group in Orlando, Florida
• Stephanie Kress, DNP/PMC student, MSN’22, board certified psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner and licensed clinical social worker at Freeman Health Partners in Dickson, Tennessee, and PMHNP at Brightside Health in Franklin
• Matt Martin, DNP’14, MSN’12, division vice president for quality at Mission Health/HCA Healthcare North Carolina Division in Asheville
• Mark D. Miller, DNP’24, MSN’22, executive nurse practitioner at Acute Call OnCall in Nashville, nursing faculty/AGACNP co-coordinator at King University in Bristol, board director of Government Affairs for the Tennessee Nurses Association (2024-2025), and adjoint assistant professor at VUSN
• Alexis Myers, MSN’17, BA’14, adolescent medicine nurse practitioner at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, and PhD student at Marquette University College of Nursing
• Hannah Nolte, PhD’23, MSN’17, BA’15, psychiatric nurse practitioner at Empowered Heart Integrative Mental Health Care in Nashville, and clinical assistant professor at University of Alabama in Huntsville College of Nursing
• Stephanie O’Bryon, DNP’23, assistant vice president of patient care services—Adult Emergency Departments: Central Area at Atrium Health in Charlotte, North Carolina
• Imelda Reyes, DNP’12, dean of nursing at the Tanner Health System School of Nursing at the University of West Georgia in Carrollton
• Micah Skeens, PhD’18, principal investigator at 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 at Duke University School of Nursing in Durham, North Carolina
• Shamonda Strother MSN’99, founder and chief of fun for You Can Fit Out 2, and founder of Project Life N' ATL Style in Atlanta
• Kelli Wray, DNP’17, chief nursing officer at Ascension Seton Medical Center in Austin, Texas
• Liaison from VUSN Graduate Council: Clay Gaddis, chair and adult-gerontology acute care NP student
• Representative on Vanderbilt Alumni Board: Tiffany Street, DNP’18, MSN’03, associate nursing officer at Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute