Class Notes, 2023 Fall

  • Joan Segal Trachtenberg, Nu’65 GNu’81 and Jill Sheridan Slattery, Nu’65

    Joan, writes, “Recently, my dear classmate Jill, and I got together to celebrate our longtime ‘Penn pal’ friendship and her 80th birthday.”

  • Laura Lucia Hayman, HUP’68, Nu’70, GNu’75, GR’82

Laura, was honored by Nurses With Global Impact, Inc. at a ceremony commemorating International Nurses Day at the United Nations on May 12, 2023. Nurses With Global Impact recognizes and honors nurses in front line roles who demonstrate exemplary practice by impacting the global delivery of health care, celebrating their work, and supporting their programs. Dr. Hayman is a full professor in the Manning College of Nursing & Health Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Boston and an Adjunct Professor of Medicine, Division of Preventive and Behavioral Medicine, at the University of Massachusetts T.H. Chan School of Medicine in Worcester, Massachusetts.Abi Schnapf, GNu’11

  • Paula Resnick Colb, Nu’70

    Paula, is a volunteer docent in archeology and judaica at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. She says, “I’ve been there now for 22 years and love it.”

  • Barbara Sheer, Nu’71

Barbara received the Fellow of American Association of Nurse Practitioners (FAANP) Legacy Award for a lifelong career that has had a profound and enduring impact on the profession and the Nurse Practitioner role. Dr. Sheer is professor emeritus at the University of Delaware and continues to be involved with the International Council of Nursing (ICN) Advanced Practice Network and the history committee of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP).

  • Lillee S. Gelinas, GNu’79

Lillee serves as the Editor-in-Chief of American Nurse Journal. Dr. Gelinas has over 30 years of experience as a nursing and health care executive. She currently holds a faculty appointment as Assistant Professor and Patient Safety Section Director at the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine, where she designed, developed, and implemented the only Patient Safety Course in the United States being taught to medical students and university faculty resulting in certification as a Patient Safety Professional.

  • Kathleen Brewer-Smyth, GNu’85, GR’01

    Kathleen who serves as an Associate Professor at the University of Delaware, authored a book titled Adverse Childhood Experiences: The Neuroscience of Trauma, Resilience and Healing throughout the Life Course, published by Springer Nature 2022.

  • Michelle Larkin, Nu’90

Michelle serves as the Vice President of Program Management at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. With more than 27 years as a leader in health policy and practice and as an attorney committed to using law and policy to improve health, she provides leadership to the executive vice president, senior management team, and staff on strategy and all program, policy, communications, research, evaluation, and learning activities. In this role, she helps shape the Foundation’s vision to build a Culture of Health in America, where everyone has a fair and just opportunity for health and well-being.

  • Linda Stolte Steinkrauss, Nu’92, GNu’97

Linda is a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner in Endocrinology at Nemours Children’s Hospital, Delaware. She is also the President of the Pediatric Endocrinology Nursing Society and volunteers at Innocence Project Delaware.

  • Dawn Nair, GNu’94

Dawn is a Cardiology Nurse Practitioner at Yale University Hospital

  • Allison Squires, Nu’95

Allison founded the Global Consortium of Nursing and Midwifery Studies, an international research consortium focused on research capacity building and collaboration, especially with low- and middle-income country researchers. To date, 70 countries have joined the consortium. Their current study is examining the long- term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the nursing and midwifery workforce. Dr. Squires also received the outstanding mentoring award from the Interdisciplinary Research Group on Nursing Issues of Academy Health at their annual research meeting in June of 2023.

  • Margaret Curtis Berreth, Nu’00, GNu’01

Margaret was inducted as a fellow in the American College of Nurse Midwives at their annual meeting in May. This honor has been bestowed to only approximately seven percent of nurse midwives. Meg has worked to improve women’s health care throughout her 21- year career. She has worked at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the Department of OB/GYN for the past 14 years, during which she established the Centering Pregnancy program.

  • Cypress LaSalle, GNu’00

Cypress is a Senior Nurse Practitioner at University Health KC.

  • Benjamin Katz, Nu’02, W’02

Benjamin serves as Chief Executive Officer at Happy Head, the online leader in prescription hair loss medicine. Ben shared that Happy Head is his first return to health care since his time at Penn, and he uses his nursing education and experience in his everyday work.

  • Angela Amar, GR’03

Angela was named the new dean of NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing. She began her new role on August 1, 2023. Dean Amar joins NYU from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) School of Nursing, where she had been dean and a tenured professor since 2018. Prior to her tenure as dean of the UNLV School of Nursing, Dean Amar joined the faculty of Emory University’s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing in 2012, where she served as an assistant and then associate dean between 2013 and 2017. She developed forensic nursing programs for Emory, Boston College, and Georgetown, establishing an educational model on forensic nursing for nursing schools nationwide. Dean Amar’s scholarship on sexual and partner violence focuses on improving care and support for survivors of violence and trauma when they enter the health care system.

  • Bridgette Brawner Rice, GNu’05, GR’09

Bridgette, has been named Associate Dean for Research and Innovation at Villanova University M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing. Dr. Rice is also the Richard and Marianne Kreider Endowed Professor in Nursing for Vulnerable Populations at the College of Nursing.

  • Sandra Rodgers, GNu’05

Sandra is a Nurse Practitioner at Nemours Children’s Health.

  • Jessica Savage Jones, Nu’08

Jessica is the CEO & Founder of the non-profit Stand Up 2 Breast Cancer, Inc. The mission of the organization is to provide education regarding breast cancer and awareness about clinical trials for women with breast cancer who lack access and resources. In her current role, she works with individuals who are in various stages of their cancer diagnosis, from those who are newly diagnosed to those with metastatic breast cancer.

  • Samantha Wood, Nu’08, GNu’12

Samantha is a Nurse Practitioner at Jefferson Health.

  • Mary Daley, GNu’10

Mary is the Chief Director and Compliance Officer at Envision.

  • Amelia Cataldo, Nu’11, GNu’15, GRN’22

Amelia presented her work “Development of an Advanced Practice Provider Fellowship at an NCI-Designated Cancer Center” at the 2023 American Association of Nurse Practitioners in New Orleans. Amelia (right) is pictured with her colleague Sincere McMillian.

  • Jenna Rae Perkins, Nu’11, GNu’14

Jenna founded DiscovHER Health, which opened its doors in Old Town Alexandria in February 2022. She is aboard-certified Women’s Health and Gender- Related Nurse Practitioner specializing in complex urology, urogynecology, sexual health, and pelvic floor disorders, with almost 15 years of experience. For more information on Perkins’ practice.

  • Saumya Ayyagari, Nu’13, GNu’18, GR’18

Saumya is a Nursing Workforce Development Manager at National Nurse Led Care Consortion.

  • Grace Eckels, Nu’18, GNu’22

Grace recently began a new job as a Neurology Nurse Practitioner at Lenox Hill Hospital after graduating with her Family Nurse Practitioner degree from the University of Pennsylvania in December 2022.

  • Christina Hartwell, GNu’19

Christina serves as a Clinical Director at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital Systems.

  • Yamslee Vega, GNu’19, GNu’21

Yamslee is a Trauma Nurse Practitioner at Lakeland Regional Medical Center.

  • Patricia Abiog, Nu’20

Patricia is a Registered Nurse at Baylor Scott & White Health.

  • Kallie Brown, GNu’20, Nu’20

Kaillie is a Registered Nurse Emergency Department at University Health KC.

  • Alyssa Loftus, GNu’20

Alyssa is a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner at Delaware Behavioral Health.

  • Angela McNulty, GNu’20

Angela is a Nurse Practitioner at Christiana Care Health Services.

  • Tatjana Muwwakkil, GNu’20

Tatjana is a Midwife at Los AngelesCounty+USCMedical Center.

  • Kim Wanner, GNu’20

Kim is a Nurse Practitioner at Christiana Care Health Services.

  • Charvette Shumaker-Kirk, GNu’21

Charvette is an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner at City of Hope Medical Center.

  • Alyssa Aboff, GRN’22

Alyssa is a DNP-Anesthesia at Temple University Health System.

  • Natalie Olender, Nu’22

Natalie is a Registered Nurse at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

  • Nia Akins, Nu’20

Nia finished sixth in the 800-meter distance race at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, her first global championship. She ran a personal- best of 1:47:73 and finished under two seconds behind the winner.

Penn Nursing Magazine, Fall 2023 Issue