Susan E. Sherman, MA, RN, FAAN
Susan Sherman has served as President & CEO of the Independence Foundation since 1996. The Independence Foundation is a private foundation dedicated to supporting programs in Philadelphia and the surrounding Pennsylvania counties that provide services to people who ordinarily do not have access to them.
After graduating with her Master’s Degree in Nursing from New York University, Susan first taught nursing at NYU, later at Bronx Community College. She then worked for the National League for Nursing, Council of Associate Degree Programs. In 1980, she moved from New York to Pennsylvania, becoming both the Chairperson of the Department of Nursing for the Community College of Philadelphia and the mother of two beautiful daughters. In 1993 she joined the Independence Foundation as a board member, and in 1996 named President & CEO. It was under her tenure the Foundation began its mission of supporting nonprofit organizations that provide services to people who ordinarily do not have access to them in the areas of nurse-managed health care, public interest legal services and arts & culture.
Susan is a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing, National League for Nursing, and The College of Physicians of Philadelphia. She has served on Advisory Committees for the American Academy of Nursing, the Metropolitan Aids Neighborhood Nutrition Alliance Inc., the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program and Students Run Philly Style. Previously, she served as chair of the Philadelphia Award Committee, the Council of Associate Degree Nursing Programs for the National League for Nursing, was a board member of Project HOME, the Philadelphia Zoological Society, Philadelphia Health Management Corporation and the Academy of Vocal Arts, and served as a National Advisory Committee member for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Colleagues in Caring Project, and their local funding initiative.
Susan currently serves as a Trustee for Eisenhower Fellowships and on their Philadelphia Leadership Initiative Steering Committee.
Related News
-
Matthew D. McHugh, PhD, to Receive the 17th Claire M. Fagin Distinguished Researcher Award
The biennial award honors the best scholarly qualities that Dr. Fagin, the School’s third Dean, exemplified. It is given to a Penn Nursing faculty member, or a graduate from the School’s doctoral program, who has made a distinguished contribution to nursing scholarship. Matthew D. McHugh, PhD, JD, MPH, RN, CRNP, FAAN, The Independence Chair for Nursing Education, Professor of Nursing, and Director of the School’s Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research, is a stellar nurse scientist with national and international stature and impact. He is renowned for his program of research that addresses critical problems that affect the nursing profession and enhances health system quality. The award presentation will be on April 13, 2023.
-
Making Meaning from the Loss of a Child
Research by Penn Nursing’s Diane L. Spatz, PhD, RN-BC, FAAN, Professor of Perinatal Nursing and the Helen M. Shearer Term Professor of Nutrition in the Department of Family and Community Health, and colleagues reveals how donating milk served as an important part of the grieving process for some parents who had lost a baby before or at birth.
-
Terri Lipman, PhD, FAAN, CRNP Transitions from Standing Faculty at Penn Nursing After More Than Three Decades of Service
Terri Lipman, PhD, FAAN, CRNP, the Miriam Stirl Endowed Term Professor of Nutrition and Assistant Dean for Community Engagement, will be transitioning on June 30, 2022, after an incredible 33 years of service to the University and School. Terri has held a clinical practice in the Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and has been a strong voice for nurses and children in her service to the School, the University, and our West Philadelphia community.