Rose Mary Carroll-Johnson (M.N. '82)
Rose Mary has been a nurse since 1964. Her career has included 5 years as a Navy Nurse, she has been an operating room nurse, and since 1975 an oncology nurse. Following graduation from the Master’s program at UCLA as a clinical nurse specialist in oncology she went to work for a nursing publisher in Pacific Palisades and has been involved in nursing publishing since then. She has been involved in recruiting and developing nursing texts and has been privileged to be the editor of three different nursing journals through the years including the International Journal of Nursing Terminologies and Classifications, the Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing, and the Oncology Nursing Forum where she is beginning her 20th year as editor. In addition she is a coeditor of Psychosocial Nursing Care along the Cancer Continuum along with her cherished colleagues Nancy Jo Bush and Linda Gorman. Currently, in addition to her editing duties, Rose Mary works part time at the City of Hope with Dr. Rebecca Crane-Okada in the Nursing Research Department as a Senior Research Specialist on two studies with patients with breast cancer. Valued mentors along the way have included Margo Neal, MN, RN, one of UCLA’s 60 distinguished graduates and the late Sally Galbraith Thomas, faculty member at UCLA.

UCLA School of Nursing 2010 Distinguished Alumnae Rose Mary Carroll-Johnson (M.N. ’82) died peacefully at home in February after a long illness. A pioneer in the specialty of oncology nursing, Carroll-Johnson was the editor of Oncology Nursing Forum, one of the leading oncology nursing journals in the world, for nearly 20 years.


Lorraine S. Evangelista (Ph.D. '93)
Lorraine S. Evangelista is an Associate Professor at the UC Irvine Program of Nursing Science. She completed her baccalaureate training at the University of the Philippines in 1985 and received her Master’s and doctoral degree from the UCLA School of Nursing in 1993 and 2000, respectively. Dr. Evangelista is a skilled clinician, researcher and educator. She has worked in the critical care setting in several nursing roles for over 15 years.  As a researcher, she is recognized nationally and internationally for her investigation into the care of patients with heart disease and the effects of this disease on the patients and family members. She has numerous publications in medical and nursing journals on adherence, self-care, psychological distress, quality of life, and health literacy. She received a 2.1 million grant (NIH-NHLBI) to examine the effects of macronutrients on delaying the progression of heart failure and is part a UC system-wide consortium that was awarded 9.9 million to examine the impact of wireless technology on reducing variations in care of patients hospitalized with heart failure.  As an educator, Dr. Evangelista’ is dedicated to using innovative educational techniques to enhance the utilization of nursing knowledge and promote the legacy of nursing to educate the next generation of scholars in creative and exciting ways. She recently made tenure within the UC system and was also inducted as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing.


Dr. Vivien Dee (DNSc, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN)
Dr. Vivien Dee is Professor and Director of the PhD Nursing Program at Azusa Pacific University. She is a 1974 UCLA School of Nursing MN graduate and earned her BSN from Loma Linda University. Upon graduation from UCLA, she served as nurse consultant at Western Regional Center for Developmental Disabilities in Santa Monica and then as Assistant Director for Child Services at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Hospital from 1977-1987. She earned her DNSc from the University of California, San Francisco in 1986. 

Dr. Dee was Associate Hospital Administrator and Director of Nursing at UCLA Neuropsychiatric Hospital (now Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital), and Assistant Dean of Clinical Affairs at the UCLA School of Nursing from 1987 to 2005. During this period, she was instrumental in establishing the Los Angeles chapter of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, serving as a founding member. She also served as Nursing Administration Commissioner, Region 6 of the California Nurses Association.  In 1997, Dr. Dee was appointed Director of Nursing Research, Education and Clinical Affairs at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. Retiring in 2005, she continued in this position until 2010. Her strong belief in the importance of professional development for nurses at all levels was the driving force for the founding of the Institutes of Learning for UCLA Health System in 2008 as its Executive Director. Dr. Dee was inducted as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing in 1992.

Dr. Dee has been an active member on the expert panel on Nursing Theory-Guided Practice for the American Academy of Nursing since 1997 and a referee panel member for Nursing Science Quarterly since 2008.  She continues to consult nationally and internationally and most recently was the keynote speaker at the February, 2011 International Nursing Conference in Riyadh, sponsored by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Ministry of Health.


Sandra Rome (RN, MN, AOCN)
Sandra Rome is a clinical nurse specialist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. She received her BSN from UCLA in 1984 and returned to the UCLA School of Nursing to obtain her MN degree specializing in the oncology clinical nurse specialist program in 1988. Upon graduation she worked as a staff nurse on a medical and surgical oncology floor. She worked as a CNS at St Mary’s Medical Center in Long Beach and in 1991 was recruited to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center to develop their Bone Marrow Transplant Program, where she currently practices. She interacts with patients, nursing staff, physicians, and other interdisciplinary team members on a daily basis, to ensure quality care to all medical oncology patients. 

Ms. Rome serves on the UCLA School of Nursing’s faculty as an assistant clinical professor, through which she frequently mentors graduate students and provides guest lectures.  She ignites and challenges nurses through formal classes, by developing posters, and providing education.  Recognized for her expertise in oncology, new residents gain critical knowledge from Sandra both formally and informally on daily rounds and throughout the Cedars Sinai organization. Her manner of mentoring staff always affords their feeling comfortable to ask questions and take pride in learning.
Ms. Rome has also provided lectures and clinical experiences to more than 50 graduate students both in the CNS/NP track and MECN program at the UCLA School of Nursing, receiving outstanding evaluations and accolades. As a result, the oncology unit is one of the preferred units of employment at Cedars Sinai for recent MECN graduates.
Ms. Rome is a member of several professional organizations, including the International Myeloma Foundation Nursing Leadership Board, Sigma Theta Tau and the Oncology Nursing Society. She has impacted nursing on a national level through membership, speaking, and publishing several articles and book chapters in national recognized journals and texts, including Multiple Myeloma & Lewis, Medical Surgical Nursing.

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Peggy Berwald, M.S.N. ’00
Berwald is senior vice president of patient services and chief nursing officer of Torrance Memorial Medical Center, a 401-bed, not-for-profit community hospital in Torrance, Calif. In that role she is responsible for the provision of high-quality and cost-effective patient care, as well as for the standards of nursing care and professional practice across the organization, working closely with the senior executive team, physician leadership and hospital board of directors. Berwald has 36 years of experience in an acute care environment, the last 31 of them at Torrance Memorial Medical Center. She began at the medical center as a direct patient care staff nurse in the intensive care unit and went on to become intensive care unit supervisor, followed by positions as supervisor and then director of coordinated care. Berwald has also worked in medical surgical services and nursing education.
 



Aaron J. Strehlow, Ph.D. ’01
Since 1986, Strehlow has practiced full time as a nurse practitioner at the UCLA School of Nursing’s academic nursing center at the Union Rescue Mission, and since 1995 he has served as the center’s administrator. The clinic provides primary healthcare to the homeless and indigent on Los Angeles’ Skid Row and is part of the National Health Care for the Homeless Program. In his professional career Strehlow has been involved in all aspects of homeless healthcare, mostly at a clinical practice level. He has worked with all levels of students in the clinic over the years, and has been actively involved with the National Health Care for the Homeless Council and Clinician’s Network, serving in both member and officer roles. Strehlow has lectured nationally on homeless healthcare issues, has conducted patientcentered research and serves on several advisory boards focused on health-related problems of vulnerable populations. He also serves as an assistant clinical professor at the UCLA School of Nursing, lecturing on pharmacology and other topics.



Capt. Lori S. Frank, M.S.N. ’ 02
Frank has served as a general duty staff nurse in a large healthcare facility and in medium-sized ambulatory centers, both in the United States and overseas. She has taught and designed curricula for the medical basic school (Corps school), having twice served with the Marine Corps and in a joint assignment with the Army. She returned in March 2007 from deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. While in Al Asad, Iraq, she was the senior nurse and officer-in-charge of ancillary services at a busy Level II surgical hospital. In early 2008 Frank was transferred from Naval Health Clinic in Corpus Christi, Texas to the Medical Education and Training Command in San Antonio. She is currently the Navy representative to the Base Closure and Realignment Commission initiative to move all service-enlisted medical training to San Antonio. Frank’s many awards include the Fleet Marine Force Qualification, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, and the Humanitarian Service Medal.



Lorna Kendrick, Ph.D. ’03
Kendrick, an associate professor of nursing at Loma Linda University, has had a wide variety of experiences during her 31-year nursing career, from positions in critical care and neuro-ICU to director of nursing and associate dean of an undergraduate program. Since 1995 she has maintained a private practice as a child/adolescent nurse practitioner, particularly focusing on mental health issues. Kendrick has conducted research on disparities in the health and mental health care of young African American men. While attending the UCLA School of Nursing for her doctorate, she was the first nursing student to receive the UCLA Graduate Division Chancellor’s Award. She went on to join the Vanderbilt University faculty as an assistant professor, then served as associate dean of the B.S.N. program at Tennessee State University before joining the Loma Linda University faculty in 2006.

 


Cecilia Mendoza, B.S. ’03, M.S.N. ’05
In September 2008, Mendoza, a family nurse practitioner who had graduated with her master’s degree from the UCLA School of Nursing’s Bridge Program three years earlier, was mobilized in support of Operation Enduring Freedom to provide medical support to the wounded sailors, marines, soldiers, and airmen who were injured or became ill in Afghanistan or Iraq. It was a dramatic experience that taught Mendoza much about evidence-based care of patients with multiple trauma, traumatic brain injuries, and post-traumatic stress disorders. Previously, Mendoza had worked three years for the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department as a family nurse practitioner providing care for the male and female inmates. After starting her career as a medical assistant before becoming first an L.V.N. and then an R.N., she worked as an emergency room nurse until applying to the UCLA School of Nursing for her advanced education and training.




Charles Griffis, Ph.D. ’05
After graduating in 1981 with a Master’s in Nurse Anesthesia from the UCLA School of Medicine, Griffis spent the next two decades working as a clinician and clinical educator for the UCLA Nurse Anesthesia Program, part of the Department of Anesthesiology. In 2001 he entered the UCLA School of Nursing’s doctoral program and the following year, under the guidance of his adviser and committee chair Dr. Peggy Compton, he began research into some of the mechanisms by which pain may influence the immune system and the entire human organism. Since graduating in 2006 he has sought to apply his knowledge and research skills to helping patients. In addition to his continuing research and clinical activities, Griffis teaches nurse anesthesia students as well as nurse practitioner and B.S.N. students at the School of Nursing as an assistant clinical professor in UCLA’s Department of Anesthesiology.




Sarah L. Miller, M.S.N. ’05
While a student in the M.S.N. program at the school, Miller served as class president and president of the Graduate Students in Nursing Association. She is a member of the Sigma Theta Tau Nursing Honor Society and has achieved her national board certification as a critical care clinical nurse specialist and acute care nurse practitioner. Miller is currently working as an acute care nurse practitioner and clinical educator at Valley Presbyterian Hospital in Van Nuys, Calif. She remains active in various nursing organizations throughout the Greater Los Angeles area. Miller recently completed her term as president of the UCLA School of Nursing Alumni Association, during which she was instrumental in the association’s revitalization. She is a past membership chair and current president of the California Association for Nurse Practitioners, West Los Angeles Chapter. Miller is also an associate clinical professor in the UCLA School of Nursing.

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Stephanie Mearns, M.N. ’90
Mearns is a nurse executive whose experiences have spanned the spectrum of healthcare delivery arenas, from large teaching institutions to small community hospitals. She is currently vice president of patient care services and chief nurse executive at Seton Medical Center in Daily City, Calif., following a stint as senior vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer for California Hospital Medical Center in Los Angeles. Throughout her career she has also been committed to mentoring and developing future nursing leaders. Mearns has been an active fundraiser and voice for nurses on legislative issues affecting the profession. She has served as a nursing leader in a number of organizations, including the Healthcare Association of Southern California, the Association of California Nurse Leaders, and the California Healthcare Association. In 1997 she was selected for the Johnson & Johnson Wharton School of Business Fellowship program, a prestigious program offered to chief nursing officers from around the world.



Anita Bralock, M.N. ’91, Ph.D. ’03
Bralock, a practicing nurse for 29 years, completed her midwifery training in 1995 and set out on a mission to provide culturally competent care to women from underserved communities. For the past 18 years, she has also taught various courses for both undergraduate and graduate students at USC, Charles R. Drew University and Azusa Pacific University. She was an assistant professor of clinical nursing and coordinator of women’s health care at USC, where she initiated the nurse midwifery master’s program; assistant professor of the Nurse Midwifery Education Program at Charles R. Drew University; and since 2004 has been on the faculty at Azusa Pacific University School of Nursing, where she is currently department chair of Second Degree Programs. Bralock’s interest is in reducing health disparities among young African American and Hispanic women. Her research examines factors that decrease risky sexual behaviors among female adolescents and young adults. Bralock received the Outstanding Clinical Nurse Educator Award from USC three times and the Outstanding Nurse Educator Award once.



Barbara Bates-Jensen, M.N. ’92, Ph.D. ’98
For her master’s thesis at the UCLA School of Nursing, Bates-Jensen developed a tool for measuring the status of chronic wounds, the Bates-Jensen Wound Assessment Tool. She went on to receive her doctoral degree from the school and to further her research in improving the quality of pressure ulcer and related care in nursing homes using technology, and methods of translating and maintaining effective research interventions into daily nursing home practice. Bates-Jensen is currently an associate professor at the school and in the David Geffen School of Medicine’s Division of Geriatrics. In addition to authoring numerous research papers on pressure ulcers, she is co-editor of the book Wound Care: A Collaborative Practice Manual for Health Care Professionals, now in its third edition, and has been a consultant for the U.S. Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services on pressure ulcer related areas. She is currently evaluating a non-visual method of detecting early pressure ulcers using a device that measures skin and tissue water.



Nancy Jo Bush, M.N.’92, M.A.
Bush, a lecturer and assistant clinical professor in the school’s Oncology Nursing program, has held joint clinical practice and faculty positions teaching graduate oncology nursing at the school since 1988. She has experience as an oncology clinical nurse specialist and nurse practitioner in private practice. Bush’s clinical expertise is in the psychosocial impact of cancer for patients, families, and caregivers. She is on the Board of Directors of The Wellness Community Valley/Ventura in Westlake, Calif., where she has also volunteered as a support group therapist and medical educator. Bush has published extensively in the area of psychosocial oncology; among others, she is co-editor of Psychosocial Nursing Along the Cancer Continuum, published in 2006 by the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS). Among her awards, she received ONS’s Advanced Practice Nurse of the Year in 2002 and a Nursing Excellence Award in Teaching from Nurseweek.



Anna Gawlinski, D.N.Sc. ’93
Gawlinski, a cardiovascular clinical nurse specialist since 1979, has since 2002 served as the first director of evidence-based practice at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and adjunct professor at the UCLA School of Nursing. In the former capacity, she has developed and implemented an infrastructure that supports research and evidence-based practice initiatives in the Department of Nursing. Her work in mentoring staff nurses, advanced practice nurses and clinical and administrative leaders has helped clinicians apply research findings in day-to-day practice situations to improve patient outcomes. Gawlinski’s own research focuses on accurate measurement of hemodynamic and oxygenation variables, as well as the associated clinical outcomes when using various methods of measurement in advanced heart failure patients. Gawlinski is also known for her collaborative work with cardiologists for improving care of patients with acute myocardial infarctions and acute coronary artery syndromes. In her role as an adjunct professor, Gawlinski teaches students in training to become clinical nurse specialists who work with medical center clinical nurse specialists on research based practice changes at the hospital.



Kelly Guzman, M.N. ’94
Guzman’s more than two decades of healthcare experience include administrative positions with responsibilities for acute care, interventional and ambulatory services, as well as skilled nursing facility and sub-acute service lines. She currently serves as executive director for transition planning at Healthcare Technical Services, a Westwood-based consulting firm, working with hospitals to assemble and implement project plans and coordinate the logistics of their moves when they are either adding a wing or replacing their facility. Previously she was transition planning director for the UCLA Westwood Replacement Hospital Project – the project that resulted in the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. Guzman is an active member of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses, having served as president of the Los Angeles Chapter for two years and continuing to serve as a board member focusing on fundraising efforts for nursing scholarships. She is also a clinical faculty preceptor with the school’s Nursing Administration program.



Jane Blood-Siegfried, D.N.Sc. ’95
Blood-Siegfried, an associate clinical professor at Duke University School of Nursing, has been concerned with the health of infants and children in the clinical setting for more than 30 years. Over the course of her clinical career as a nurse practitioner she became interested in the developmental changes in neonates following birth and how they are affected by environmental insults. Her current focus of study involves the immune and neurobiologic factors associated with sudden infant death syndrome. Blood-Siegfried was a fellow and guest researcher at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences from 1998 to 2004 and currently has a major grant from the National Institute of Nursing Research to examine the effects of perinatal nicotine exposure on the development of protective autonomic responses in suckling rats. In addition to her research, she teaches pathophysiology and pediatric primary care to graduate nursing students at Duke and maintains a clinical practice as a pediatric nurse practitioner in a rural community in North Carolina.



Suzette Cardin, D.N.Sc. ’95
Cardin, the school’s assistant dean for student affairs, has been an adjust associate professor in the Nursing Administration program since 1998. Prior to that, she was director of the cardiac care unit and cardiac observation unit at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center for 14 years. Cardin is well known in the field of critical care nursing administration and practice, particularly in the areas of family-centered critical care nursing and successful leadership and management styles in today’s healthcare environment. In 1997 she was inducted into the American Academy of Nursing in recognition of her contributions as nursing unit director as well as her numerous publications, national nursing affiliations and ability to share her knowledge with others in a variety of ways.






Bernice L. Coleman, Ph.D. ’95
Coleman has 25 years of advanced practice nursing experience as a clinical nurse specialist and, currently, as a board-certified acute care nurse practitioner in the heart transplantation and ventricular assist programs at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. As a doctoral student at the school under the direction of Dr. Donna Vredevoe, she cultivated her clinical and bench interest in transplant immunology, and went on to complete postdoctoral studies in the Histocompatibility Laboratory at Cedars-Sinai. Coleman has presented and published on the topics associated with care of the cardiac surgical patient, critical care nursing issues and ethnic immunogenetics of heart transplantation. She was awarded the 2008 Distinguished Alumna/I Award from the Yale School of Nursing, from which she received her M.S. degree; and the GE Healthcare and American Association of Critical Care Nurses 2009 Pioneering Spirit Award.




Cathy Rodgers Ward, D.N.Sc. ’95
Ward, director of nursing at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and an assistant clinical professor at the UCLA School of Nursing, is responsible for nursing care in all inpatient and observation areas in the hospital, which has 24 nursing units and 445 licensed beds. More than 2,000 employees, including 1,400 registered nurses, are under her supervision. Ward has provided leadership and direction at UCLA for the past 23 years in a variety of management roles. Prior to her appointment at UCLA, she was assistant professor at Boston University School of Nursing; a clinical nurse specialist at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston; and cardiovascular nurse clinician in cardiac surgery at the University of Alabama. Ward also served as a member of the executive transition team for the planning and opening of the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in June 2008.



Mark Sevilla, M.S.N. ’97
Sevilla, assistant vice president of patient care services for Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, N.C., has 28 years of experience in nursing administration, education, and inpatient/outpatient services. Prior to his position at Carolinas Medical Center he spent four years as vice president of patient care services at Presbyterian Hospital in Charlotte, where he was responsible for a $132 million operating budget and 1,200 full-time employees. He was also executive director of critical care services at Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center in Mission Viejo, Calif. from 2001 to 2005. Sevilla began his career as an emergency department technician at Saddleback Memorial Medical Center in Laguna Hills, Calif. After completing a B.S.N. program at Cal State Dominguez Hills, he enrolled in the UCLA School of Nursing’s M.S.N. program in Nursing Administration. Through a variety of healthcare roles he has been particularly interested in creating organizations and cultures in which nurses can thrive.



Shelly S. de Peralta, M.S.N. ’98
For the last decade, de Peralta has been a cardiology nurse practitioner at the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, with responsibilities for managing outpatients and inpatients with cardiac and internal medicine needs. The VA system offers extensive support for nurse practitioners, affording a great deal of autonomy. De Peralta serves as co-chair for advanced practice nurses at the VA, and co-chairs an advanced practice nurses review board overseeing the credentialing and peer-review process for the system’s 80-plus nurse practitioners. She has also been involved as a statewide legislative liaison for the California Association for Nurse Practitioners. De Peralta has been active in research, presenting abstracts at national and regional meetings; and lectures on cardiac conditions to residents, fellows, nurse practitioners, and other nurses both within the VA and in the community. She has served as a preceptor for nursing students at UCLA and Case Western University.



Peter Anderson, B.S. ’99, M.S.N. ’01
Anderson is board-certified as a family nurse practitioner, holds an Advanced AIDS Certification from the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care and is an HIV specialist certified by the American Academy of HIV Medicine. He works as a nurse practitioner in private practice with several physician colleagues in West Hollywood providing primary care and HIV/AIDS specialty care to approximately 750 patients. Anderson also conducts clinical research in HIV therapeutics as a sub-investigator, and currently has approximately 80 patients enrolled in Phase II, III and IV clinical research trials. Anderson is an assistant manager of 4SE, a 31-bed inpatient nursing unit at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center that provides acute inpatient care for a diverse mix of oncology, palliative, and HIV/AIDS patients. In 2005 he completed an American Association for the Study of Liver Disease nurse practitioner hepatology fellowship at USC’s Hepatitis Research Center and subsequently managed patients with chronic hepatitis at L.A. County-USC Medical Center. He is the current president of the UCLA School of Nursing Alumni Association.



Isabell B. Purdy, M.S.N. ’99, Ph.D. ’04
Purdy has been a neonatal nurse for more than 32 years. The first 20 were devoted to clinical nursing care of the most fragile infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU); over the last decade-plus, she has expanded her clinical focus to providing follow-up care for high-risk infants among this vulnerable population. She joined the Division of Neonatology and Developmental Biology at UCLA in 2004, and became clinical director of the NICU Research Data Center and NICU High Risk Infant Follow-up Clinic. In pursuing her doctorate as a fellow in the UCLA School of Nursing’s Center for Vulnerable Populations Research, she studied relationships between biophysiologic stress, higher cumulative perinatal glucocorticoid exposure and neurobehavioral outcomes of preterm infants. As a psychoneuroimmunology postdoctoral fellow, she discovered that maternal/infant immune factors were also influential. Drawing on her training as well as her undergraduate studies in music, she is conducting a randomized controlled trial with an NICU classical music intervention to examine influences on preterm infant stress reactivity, immunity, and development.

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Linda Searle Leach, M.N. ’80, Ph.D.
An assistant professor in the UCLA School of Nursing who also has an appointment as a nurse scientist with the Nursing Research Program at Kaiser Permanente Southern California, Leach is a health services researcher who examines healthcare organizations, nursing administration and leadership, the professional role of the registered nurse, and care delivery issues including patient safety. She coauthored a policy report, California’s Nursing Workforce: Increasing Capacity in Schools of Nursing for the California Institute for Nursing and Health Care, outlining recommendations to address nursing educational capacity issues for the State of California. Prior to joining the faculty at UCLA, Leach was involved with the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Versant RN Residency, where she designed and evaluated a version of an innovative approach to advanced education for nurses. Leach was the national president of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN), the world’s largest specialty nursing organization, and president of the AACN Certification Corporation in 1988-89.



Sherri Rasmussen, M.N. ’80
Rasmussen was a nurse manager of the coronary care (critical care) unit at UCLA Medical Center, where she was considered an expert clinician and leader in the care of cardiac and critical care patients, exerting her influence over clinical practice through her leadership, publications, and presentations. She went on to become nursing director of the critical care units at Glendale Adventist Medical Center, a position she held when, tragically, she was murdered in 1986. She was a tireless advocate for patients, ensuring that they received the highest-quality professional and compassionate care possible. Rasmussen’s leadership and guidance created an environment in which there was a sense of common purpose, high morale and teamwork. Whether delivering care herself or supervising others, she was dedicated to the highest principles of nursing practice. Rasmussen, who entered college at age 16, was described as “brilliant” by her peers at the UCLA School of Nursing, where she obtained her master’s. She also taught at the school and lectured internationally on critical care nursing.


Syd Whalley, M.N. ’80, J.D.
With encouragement from a public health nurse she met while in high school, Whalley enrolled in Cornell University School of Nursing, graduating in 1975. After three years as a pediatric nurse, she decided to specialize in pediatric oncology nursing and applied to the UCLA School of Nursing for graduate education. Whalley started the Bone Marrow Transplant Program at Children’s Hospital-Los Angeles, and served as the program’s clinical nurse specialist for seven years. Later, Whalley became interested in politics and healthcare policy, enrolling at the UCLA School of Law and graduating in 2001. In March 2005 she joined the Western Center on Law and Poverty, the state’s oldest and largest legal services support center, as a foster care benefits advocate, and later became the organization’s executive director, a position she held until early 2009.





 Barbara J. Riegel, M.N. ’83, D.N.Sc. ’91
Riegel was part of the school’s first doctoral class, graduating in 1991. After earning the degree, she worked as a clinical researcher for Sharp HealthCare in San Diego, then as a member of the faculty at the School of Nursing at San Diego State University. In 2002 she joined the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, where she is currently a professor of nursing as well as an editor of the Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing. An active nurse scientist who studies adults with cardiovascular disease, Riegel focuses her research in the self-care of adults with heart failure. She has lectured around the world on the issues faced by these patients and has written more than 150 scholarly publications in peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary, and international journals. She is a fellow in the American Heart Association and American Academy of Nursing.





Mary E. Bowen (Roth), M.N. ’84, J.D., D.N.Sc.
Since January, Bowen has been professor of nursing and director of the School of Nursing at Ohio University. Previously, she was associate dean for research and faculty development at Thomas Jefferson University, Jefferson School of Nursing in Philadelphia. In addition to extensive involvement in teaching and curriculum development, Bowen has launched an online Master’s in Nursing degree program and has published and presented papers nationally and internationally in online education. After her UCLA School of Nursing education, Bowen went on to earn her doctorate and J.D. degrees from the University of San Diego. In addition to experience in teaching, administration of higher nursing education, grant writing, and curriculum development, she has nearly two decades of clinical experience. Bowen was appointed by Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell to the Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing in September 2003 for six years. In 2004 she was elected to the nominating committee of the National Council State Boards of Nursing.



Elizabeth D. Tate, M.N. ’85
A board-certified family nurse practitioner and clinical instructor in the Department of Neurology at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Tate has for the last 19 years specialized in pediatric movement disorders, serving as clinical director and co-founder of the National Pediatric Myoclonus Center. In 2007 she received the national Claire Chee Award for Excellence in Child Neurology Nursing from the Association of Child Neurology Nurses. The annual award “recognizes and honors the nurse who has rendered distinguished service within the profession of child neurology nursing, and who demonstrates, through strength of character and competence, a commitment to the care of children and their families with neurological disorders.” Tate was first author of Unforgettable Faces: Through the Eyes of a Nurse Practitioner (Atheneum Press, 1999), an exploration of the bonds between a nurse practitioner and her patients and her professional role.




Lynn V. Doering, M.N. ’86, D.N.Sc. ’94
During her tenure as a professor at the school – including chair of the school’s Acute Care Section since 2002 – Doering has been instrumental in the implementation of the Acute Care Nurse Practitioner program. She has also developed a research program focusing on the evaluation of physiologic and psychosocial adaptation in high-risk patients with cardiac disease. Most recently, Doering’s work has focused on the relationship of inflammatory biomarkers for depression and its treatment in patients recovering from coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Doering took an unusual route to nursing. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English literature from Stanford University, then took a position as a ward secretary at UC San Francisco’s Moffitt Hospital. There, she saw firsthand how important nursing care was to patients’ physical and emotional recovery. She went on to become a cardiology clinical nurse specialist under the mentorship of Dr. Kathleen Dracup, then a professor at the UCLA School of Nursing and now dean of the UC San Francisco School of Nursing. After earning her doctorate, Doering joined the UCLA School of Nursing faculty for the 1994-95 academic year.



Debra K. Moser, M.N. ’88, D.N.Sc. ’92
Moser, known for her expertise in heart failure and acute myocardial infarction patient care, is professor and holder of the first endowed chair in nursing at the University of Kentucky. In addition to her academic position, she is co-editor of the Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, co-director of the RICH Heart Program, and director of the Center for Biobehavioral Research in Self-Management of Cardiopulmonary Disease. She has published more than 180 journal articles and three books, and lectures extensively. Moser’s research concentrates on improving morbidity, mortality, and quality of life outcomes in patients with heart failure and acute myocardial infarction. She also studies different healthcare delivery models for improving heart failure patient care. Moser’s research program includes more than $20 million in funding. Her work has been recognized with more than 23 awards, including the Lembright and Heart Failure Research Awards from the American Heart Association Council on Cardiovascular Nursing.




Deborah A. Rice, M.N. ’88
For more than 20 years Rice has been a family nurse practitioner in a private practice clinic in Lancaster, Calif., and since 1992 she has been a family medicine lecturer at the UCLA School of Nursing. In 1998 she was appointed by California’s governor to serve as a commissioner on the California Healthcare Workforce Policy Commission of the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development. The commission, on which Rice continues to serve, allocates funds from the Song-Brown Act – financially supporting family practice training programs in order to increase the supply of physicians, physician assistants, and family nurse practitioners, especially to medically underserved communities of California. Rice was also publicly elected to the Antelope Valley Hospital Board, serving two terms (1996 to 2004) and being elected board chair in 2001-2002. The board is responsible for the planning and provision of short- and long-term healthcare services. Antelope Valley Hospital has service areas that are designated as medically underserved. The hospital has an annual budget of more than $220 million, maintains a 334-bed facility and operates the second-busiest emergency room in the state.



 Mary A. Woo, M.N. ’88, D.N.Sc. ’92
Woo’s research has focused on investigations into autonomic-cardiac interactions in relation to sudden death risk, particularly in advanced heart failure patients. In her early studies focusing on heart rate variability as an independent predictor of sudden cardiac death risk in advanced heart failure patients, she used both traditional techniques and a new method she developed – called Poincare plots – that was the first heart rate variability technique to be an independent predictor of sudden death risk in advanced heart failure patients. More recently, she was the first investigator to report specific sites of gray matter loss in heart failure patients, and is currently funded by the National Institutes of Health to verify these findings in a larger sample of subjects. Woo has continued to examine predictors of sudden death risk as well as the influences of sleep and hemodynamics on heart rate variability and mortality in heart failure. After graduating from the school’s doctoral program Woo joined the school’s faculty, where she is currently a professor. She served as associate dean for research from 2001 to 2006.



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Dianne S. Moore, M.P.H., M.N. ’70, Ph.D.
Throughout her career, Moore has been an innovator and leader of change, using best practices and new ideas to help provide patients, students and communities what they need in a manner that serves them best. She is currently the founding dean of nursing at West Coast University and vice president for nursing academics for the three WCU campuses. West Coast University nursing started in 2005 and now admits approximately 80 undergraduate students to each of three campuses every 10 weeks. After obtaining her M.N. from the UCLA School of Nursing, Moore worked as the first clinical nurse specialist at Saint John’s Hospital in Santa Monica, Calif. She later moved to Oregon, where she was the state’s first perinatal clinical nurse specialist and played a key role in developing the regional perinatal helicopter transport system. Moore also became a certified nurse midwife while attending New York University for her doctorate.
 
 

Trisha G. Zagha-Bear (Patricia Gordon), B.S. ’71
In response to what she saw as the diminished focus on deaf pregnant women and deaf families with young children, Zagha-Bear established and became CEO of Perinatal Foundation for the Deaf. The nonprofit organization provides in-home education in a culturally appropriate milieu for the deaf to understand pregnancy, childbirth, child development, parenting skills, nutrition, and health. Goals include encouraging healthy birth outcomes; reducing Cesarean sections; decreasing hospital stays; increasing breastfeeding; improving child physical, mental, and emotional health; reducing obesity in children; and decreasing child abuse. After a varied career that included work as a childbirth specialist for hospitals in New York and Arizona and as the nurse for the consulates and their families at the American Embassy in Guadalajara, Mexico, Zagha-Bear returned to California in 1989 to study American Sign Language and ultimately became a certified interpreter for the deaf.
 
 

Linda Burnes Bolton, M.N. ’72, Dr.P.H.
Burnes Bolton is vice president for nursing, chief nursing officer and director of nursing research at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Her areas of research, teaching, and clinical expertise include nursing and patient care outcomes, improving organization performance, quality care, and cultural diversity within the health professions. Burnes Bolton is co-investigator of the Collaborative Alliance for Nursing Outcomes research team. She is a past president of the American Academy of Nursing and the National Black Nurses Association, and has provided leadership for several state and national programs, including service as chair of the National Advisory Committee for Transforming Care at the Bedside, VA Commission on Nursing, and the California AHEC Health Professions Committee. Currently Burnes Bolton serves on multiple nursing and health services advisory boards and is a trustee of the Case Western University board. In 2009 she was appointed vice chair of the Institute of Medicine Commission on the Future of Nursing. Burnes Bolton is the recipient of numerous awards for her scholarly work and community service.
 

Irashel P. Fitzgerald, M.N. ’73, M.P.A.
In the early 1970s Fitzgerald was involved in developing and implementing pediatric nurse practitioner programs for 11 health districts of Los Angeles County, as well as maintaining her own weekly pediatric nurse practitioner clinic. She was a founding member of the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Associates and Practitioners and served as a member of the American Nurses Association committee that established the first pediatric nurse practitioner examination. Fitzgerald later spent 12 years with the Los Angeles County Probation Health Services Department as an assistant administrator to three detention and 13 camp youth facilities in operations functions of payroll, personnel, procurement, plan, and policy for the San Fernando Valley Juvenile Health Infirmary. Since 1990 Fitzgerald has worked as a consultant, including as principal writer for the Cameroon, Africa Association of University of Women’s AIDS Project.
 
 
Anayis Derdiarian, M.N. ’74, M.P.H., D.N.Sc.
Derdiarian joined the UCLA School of Nursing faculty in 1974, when cancer-nursing content in curricula was lacking nationwide. In 1976 she obtained a three-year National Institutes of Health grant to implement, as a demonstration project, a graduate curriculum in cancer nursing based on the Johnson Behavioral System Model (JBSM). She then received a second three-year NIH grant to develop and operationally define the JBSM’s theoretical framework in order to measure its efficacy as a research and practice instrument for use in cancer care; this instrument became known as the Derdiarian Behavioral System Model (DBSM). The DBSM instrument was also tested on patients with AIDS and cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Derdiarian’s other research focused on newly diagnosed cancer patients and their informational needs. Her works were published and replicated in 11 nations. As director of nursing research at the L.A. County-University of Southern California Medical Center, Derdiarian developed and implemented a nursing care quality measurement and improvement program as the basis for a quality improvement information data system that became a national model.
 

Kathleen Dracup, M.N. ’74, D.N.Sc.
The dean and Endowed Professor in Nursing Education at the UC San Francisco School of Nursing, Dracup is recognized nationally and internationally for her investigation in the care of patients with heart disease and the effects of this disease on spouses and other family members. She has tested a variety of interventions designed to reduce the emotional distress experienced by cardiac patients and their family members and to reduce morbidity and mortality from sudden cardiac death. Dracup has also been an influential mentor for cardiovascular nursing researchers for the past three decades. Many of her students hold key leadership positions in university schools of nursing in the United States as well as in Australia and Europe; additional students are clinical nurse specialists, nurse practitioners, and nurse administrators who are instrumental in influencing the care of cardiovascular patients in hospitals and clinics. Dracup has published her research in more than 300 articles and chapters, and recently published the textbook Intensive Coronary Care.
 

Carol Greene, B.S. ’74, M.N. ’89
An advanced practice nurse with many years of experience in clinical practice and leadership roles, Greene currently serves as regional ANP manager for Pediatrix Medical Group, a leading national provider of maternal-fetal, newborn and pediatric subspecialty physician services. After graduating from the UCLA School of Nursing with her baccalaureate degree, Greene spent 10 years working as a nurse in acute care. She then returned to UCLA to earn her master’s degree and begin a career as a neonatal nurse practitioner. Along with her clinical experiences, she became involved in management. Greene is currently director of advanced practitioners for the western region of her national medical group. As an active member of the Continuing Nursing Education team for Pediatrix Medical Group, Greene presents at conferences and reviews materials for Webbased education.
 
 

Margo Creighton Neal, M.N. ’74
After graduating from the UCLA School of Nursing, Neal was part of the first wave of psychiatric/ mental health nurses to be certified by the American Nurses’ Association. She was also the first independent provider of continuing education for nurses in the United States, starting in 1970. Neal began with one program, Nursing Care Plans, and worked with another nurse, Mary Jensen, to develop the process and content and to present workshops. She worked with two coauthors – Phyllis Cooper and Pat Cohen, also graduates of the school – to produce the first volume of Nursing Care Planning Guides and ended up publishing five more volumes in several editions. In 1985, Neal sold her education and publishing enterprise to Williams & Wilkins, medical and nursing book publishers in Baltimore. Four years later she and a partner started Nursecom Inc. to publish nursing journals and clinical books and engage in association management.
 
 

Sharon M. Valente, M.S. ’74, Ph.D.
Valente, associate chief nurse for research and education at the Greater Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Healthcare System and holder of a faculty appointment at the UCLA School of Nursing, conducts research in the areas of mental health, human sexuality, suicide, and end-of-life care. She is the coauthor of three books, including Suicide: Assessment and Intervention andHuman Sexuality, as well as approximately 120 peer-reviewed articles. Among her many honors, Valente received the 2008 GLA Nursing Hero award and has been featured with an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Innovation Profile. Her teams also received two national VA Innovation Awards in 2008. Valente served on the American Psychological Association End of Life Task Force and has received the American Association of Suicidology Shneidman Award. She has led a People To People delegation on suicidology to Russia and Estonia. After earning her master’s degree at the school, Valente obtained her Ph.D. in Psychology from USC.
 

Salpy Akaragian, B.S. ’75, M.N. ’80
As director of UCLA’s International Nursing Center, Akaragian leads the international outreach program for the Department of Nursing with multiple countries: She has hosted visitors from more than 20 different nations and coordinated education and training experiences for more than 2,000 international visitors. Akaragian is also director of UCLA’s Competencies, Students, Credentialing and Teaching Institute, which includes the performance-based development system for the department. As the U.S. partner representative for United States Agency for International Development/American International Health Alliance grants from 1995 to 2004, she directed multiple health care projects and initiated reforms in Armenia. In 2004, Akaragian established The Cochlear Implant Regional Center in Yerevan, Armenia with the AIM Fund and the UCLA medical team. She is the founder and first president of the Armenian-American Nurses Association in California and in 1996 facilitated the formation of the Armenian Nurses Association in Armenia.
 

Carol J. Alexander, B.S. ’75, M.A.
As director of clinical services for Stat Home Health Care for the last 24 years, Alexander has spearheaded the agency’s success, culminating in its designation as one of the HomeCare Elite, a listing of Medicarecertified agencies whose performance is among the top 25 percent of providers nationwide. In addition, as a member of the California Association for Health Services at Home and the National Association of Home Care, Alexander has been instrumental in shaping policy for new state and federal regulations on the delivery of home health services. In response to the demand for knowledgeable professionals in the area of home health care, Alexander in 1985 started Spectrum Health Care Consultants, which specializes in the interpretation and application of regulations governing Medicarecertified home health agencies. Alexander has testified in Washington, D.C. and provided insight on Medicare and home health care issues in other state and national forums. As president of the Nurses Ministry and national vice president of the National Missionary Baptist Association Nurses Auxiliary, she has developed policies and procedures for the delivery of care to congregations.
 
 
Sister Callista Roy, M.N. ’75, Ph.D.
Roy, a professor and nurse theorist at the William F. Connell School of Nursing in Boston College, is best known for development of the Roy Adaptation Model of Nursing and leadership for knowledge-based practice. At least 350 research publications are studies based on the model. Lecture commitments have taken Roy to 31 countries on five continents, and the Roy Adaptation Association has five international chapters. As early as 1987, an estimated 10,000 nurses had studied in schools where the curricula used the Roy Adaptation Model. The impact of the model on practice continues, with healthcare agencies using it in designing the strategies for Magnet Status. Roy has more than 150 publications, including 11 books (two of which are award-winning) with translations in 12 languages. She has received 42 research and training grants covering a wide range of topics, including neuroscience. At the Connell School of Nursing, she was part of a team initiating a Ph.D. program in nursing that graduated 130 students in the first 17 years. Among her many honors, Roy was named a Living Legend by the American Academy of Nursing.
 
 
Jan Fredrickson, B.S. ’76, M.N. ’80
Fredrickson has been a pediatric nurse throughout her career – as a staff nurse in the pediatric ICU and the pediatric emergency department; as a pediatric nurse practitioner at a school-based clinic, community health center, pediatric private office, for the county health department and as a community volunteer; and as a clinical nurse specialist in pediatrics/maternal-child health, the pediatric ICU, and the pediatric emergency department. She has been on the UCLA School of Nursing faculty since 1987, with major teaching responsibilities for pediatric nurse practitioner and pediatric clinical nurse specialist students. Fredrickson has taught in 20 courses and given guest lectures in seven others; these have included the physical assessment course as well as pediatric pre-licensure courses. She was one of six nurses chosen by the Emergency Nurses Association to develop the emergency nursing pediatric course. As a testament to her impact as a teacher, Fredrickson has seen many former students go on to serve as clinical preceptors and mentors of current students.
 

Linda Sarna, M.N. ’76, D.N.Sc.
Sarna, professor in the UCLA School of Nursing, has been a leader in addressing the critical public health issues of lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer death; and tobacco use, the leading cause of preventable death. A pioneer in oncology nursing education, she helped to establish one of the first graduate oncology nursing specialty programs at UCLA more than 30 years ago. As the lead investigator for the Tobacco Free Nurses (TFN) initiative, Sarna led the first-ever national program helping nurses to quit smoking and promoting nursing involvement in tobacco control. TFN was selected as an exemplar by the World Health Organization for The Role of Health Professionals in Tobacco Control. Sarna’s scholarship includes more than 100 peer-reviewed publications; more than 50 book chapters, monographs or commentaries; and 10 policies/position statements. She is an editor of the 2009 volume of the Annual Review of Nursing Research focused on nursing research in tobacco control. Among her many awards, she was honored as the 2009 Oncology Nursing Society’s Distinguished Researcher.
 
Linda M. Gorman, M.N. ’77
As a clinical nurse specialist for palliative care at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, Gorman is part of an inpatient consultation team that provides and coordinates palliative and end-of-life care services to patients throughout the medical center. She is coauthor/editor of several books, including Psychosocial Nursing Care Along the Cancer Continuum, published by Oncology Nursing Press (second edition published in 2006), which received the American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year award for psychiatric/mental health nursing in 2007; Psychosocial Nursing for General Patient Care (third edition published in 2008), which received the American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year Award for psychiatric/mental health nursing in 2008; and Compendium of Treatment of End Stage Non-Cancer Diagnoses: Renal, published in 2005. Gorman lectures extensively on topics related to end-of-life care, symptom management, and promotion of quality psychosocial and palliative care. In 2009 she was named CNS of the Year by the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists.
 

Kay Baker, M.N. ’78
Baker served as associate dean for student affairs at the UCLA School of Nursing until her retirement in 2006. In that role she assisted students with their financial, personal and professional issues and facilitated their progress in school. She continues to work as a consultant to other schools of nursing for curriculum and student issues and has served on numerous committees involved with advancing the profession of nursing at the local, state, and national levels, including as a member of the University of California Office of the President’s advisory committee for establishing future growth in the health professions for the UC system.
Baker obtained her M.N. from the UCLA School of Nursing with a specialty in cardiovascular nursing. She was a clinical nurse specialist at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in charge of education, research, and teaching for a medical unit. She has also had a group consultation practice for patients with heart disease and their families.
 

Lora E. Burke, M.N. ’78, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Burke, professor of nursing and epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing and Graduate School of Public Health, received her M.N. from the UCLA School of Nursing with a cardiovascular specialty, then completed her Ph.D. in nursing and M.P.H. in epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh, followed by a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in cardiovascular behavioral medicine at the same institution, where she has been a member of the faculty since 1999. Starting with a National Research Service Award as a doctoral student, Burke has had continuous National Institutes of Health funding to support her research program, which has included a series of clinical trials focused on behavioral strategies to improve compliance to treatment regimens targeting cardiovascular disease risk reduction and long-term weight loss. She has incorporated the use of technology to validate self-report measures, and was the first to document actual patterns of self-monitoring among participants in behavioral treatment for weight-loss studies. An active mentor of junior faculty members and students, Burke has also maintained leadership positions in the American Heart Association and the Society of Behavior Medicine.
 

Gayle Giboney Page, B.S.N. ’78, M.N. ’82, D.N.Sc. ’92
Page is professor and Independence Foundation Chair in Nursing Education, and director for the Center of Nursing Research, for the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing. Her research investigates the biologic consequences of unrelieved pain, specifically with regard to cancer resistance and alterations in neuroendocrine and immune function. Page has moved from studying the biobehavioral consequences of acute surgical pain in animal models to exploring the long-term negative biological consequences of painful stress in the early neonatal period, to her most recent efforts to develop a chronic pain model for exploring risk and protective factors in chronic pain development. She also co-directs a National Institutes of Health Roadmap Initiative postdoctoral training program to prepare interdisciplinary researchers to address the complex challenge of pain.
 
 

Nancy W. Fawzy, M.N. ’79, D.N.Sc. ’91
Fawzy, part of the first graduating class of the UCLA School of Nursing doctoral program, has worked with cancer patients for more than 35 years, always with an interest in the importance and impact of psychosocial issues faced by patients and family members. She participated in landmark research demonstrating that a short-term structured psycho-educational intervention helps newly diagnosed cancer patients cope more effectively and feel better emotionally, as well as providing a small but statistically significant survival benefit. Fawzy was the founder and director from 1991 to 2002 of the John Wayne Cancer Institute Psychosocial Care Program at Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif. She was the co-founder and supervisor of the Positive appearance Center at Saint John’s, one of the first hospital-based boutiques catering to the cosmetic and comfort side effects of cancer treatment. Fawzy has received the “Excellence in Supportive Care” Award from the Oncology Nursing Society and the “Three Tyler Psychosocial Service Award” from Chapter II of the John Wayne Cancer Institute Auxiliary.

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