Jonas Alumni

Q & A

How has being a Jonas Scholar shaped your leadership journey since completing the program?
As a first-generation college student who grew up in and works in West Virginia, I’ve seen firsthand how access to care, and the presence or absence of a strong healthcare workforce, can shape entire communities. That perspective has always driven my work, but becoming a Jonas Scholar helped me turn that passion into purposeful leadership. The program challenged me to think bigger and more strategically, while also giving me the confidence, perspective, and network to pursue and achieve the leadership goals I had set for myself. Since completing the program, I’ve stepped more intentionally into leadership roles within Vandalia Health and the CAMC Institute for Academic Medicine, particularly in areas where workforce, education and system design intersect. The biggest shift for me has been moving from focusing on immediate needs to building long-term, sustainable solutions that strengthen both the workforce and the systems that support them.

What is one accomplishment or initiative since your Jonas experience that you are most proud of, and why?
I’m most proud of helping lead the development of the Critical Care APP Fellowship Program. This work has been incredibly meaningful because it addresses a high-acuity, high-need area where the transition to practice can be especially challenging. Through my role, I’ve been able to bring together clinical leaders, educators, and operational teams to build a structured, supportive training environment for advanced practice providers entering critical care. Working alongside the team at CAMC Institute for Academic medicine, we’ve created a program that not only strengthens clinical competency but also supports retention and confidence in one of the most demanding areas of healthcare.

In what ways are you currently advancing health equity, innovation, or systems change within your practice, research, or community?
My work is centered on advancing health equity through workforce development, education, and system-level innovation. At Vandalia health, I’ve had the opportunity to help build foundational structures that support learners and clinicians across the continuum. This includes creating the Office of Learner Affairs to better support trainees and standardize the learner experience, as well as expanding continuing education accreditation to include medical imaging and radiological sciences professionals, broadening access to professional development opportunities across disciplines. I also completed a Leadership Development Program grounded in the Baldrige Excellence Framework, which has shaped how I approach quality, performance improvement, and sustainable system change. Through the CAMC Institute for Academic Medicine, I continue to integrate simulation, continuing education, and emerging technologies like telehealth into training models, helping to make them more accessible, scalable, and impactful.

What challenges have you encountered along your path, and what lessons might you share with current Jonas Scholars navigating similar spaces?
One of the biggest challenges has been navigating the tension between vision and reality. There are always competing priorities, limited resources, and moments where progress feels slower than you’d like. What I’ve learned is that meaningful change takes time, and it takes people. Building strong relationships across clinical, academic, and administrative teams has been critical to moving any initiative forward. My advice to current Jonas Scholars would be to stay grounded in your “why,” be willing to have difficult conversations, and don’t be afraid to step into leadership before you feel completely ready. Growth happens in those moments.

How do you continue to stay engaged with the Jonas community, and what does “paying it forward” look like in your current role?
I stay connected to the Jonas community by mentoring and supporting others who are navigating similar paths in healthcare leadership and education. “Paying it forward” for me means creating opportunities that I may not have had early in my career, whether that’s developing fellowship programs, building new learner support structures, expanding access to continuing education, or advocating for workforce investment. In my role at Vandalia Health and the CAMC Institute for Academic Medicine, I can help shape those pathways, and I take that responsibility seriously. If we want to see lasting change in healthcare, especially in West Virginia, we must invest in people, and that’s something I try to do every day.

Q & A

How has being a Jonas Scholar shaped your leadership journey since completing the program?
Being a Jonas Bob Woodruff Veteran Healthcare Scholar and American Academy of Nursing Jonas Policy Scholar fundamentally shaped my leadership journey by providing me with opportunities to connect with inspirational mentors who guided my career and provided me with a network of fellow Jonas Scholars with whom I still connect and collaborate with regularly. The program strengthened my confidence to lead beyond traditional clinical and academic roles and provided opportunities for me to step fully into advocacy for Servicemembers, Veterans, and military families. Being a Jonas Scholar challenged me to think strategically about equity, policy, and workforce development, particularly for populations whose needs are often invisible once the uniform comes off. It allowed me to be more intentional about using my leadership positions to bridge gaps between nursing education, clinical practice, and policy as it pertains to the lived realities of military-connected communities. The Jonas experience also reinforced the importance of mentorship and succession planning to develop the next generation of nurse clinicians, researchers, and policy leaders.

What is one accomplishment or initiative since your Jonas experience that you are most proud of, and why?
One accomplishment I am most proud of that came out of my Jonas Scholar experience is the creation of the I Serve 2: Pocketcard for Healthcare Providers Caring for Military Children© and the intentional identification of military-connected children in civilian healthcare settings. What began as a simple, practical tool to prompt clinicians to ask, “Does your child have a parent(s) who has served in the military?” evolved into a meaningful shift in awareness of a population that is often invisible in civilian clinical practice. By identifying military-connected children, we created space for more culturally competent, trauma-informed, and military family-centered care.
 
This work illuminated a critical gap in provider education and system-level recognition of military-connected children, which directly informed the development of my PCORI-funded award. Through I Serve 2 Teen Talks with military-connected teens, we are creating an evidence-informed toolkit designed to equip healthcare providers with the knowledge, guidance, and resources needed to care for military-connected children more effectively.

In what ways are you currently advancing health equity, innovation, or systems change within your practice, research, or community?
My current work advances health equity through education, research, and systems change focused on military-connected populations. I am committed to integrating military-informed care into healthcare curricula and provider education, ensuring that nurses, APRNs, and other healthcare professionals understand the lasting physical and psychological impacts of military service on Service Members, Veterans, and their families.
 
Through collaboration with an incredible team, we have developed several key resources: I Serve 2: Pocketcard for Healthcare Providers Caring for Military Children© and Serving on the HomeFront: Caring for Military Connected Spouses, Partners, and Caregivers©, both of which complement the American Academy of Nursing's Have You Ever Served in the MilitaryTM? pocket card to provide comprehensive screening and culturally competent care for military-connected populations. We also authored the first-of-its-kind book, Caring for Veterans and Their Families: A Guide for Nurses and Healthcare Professionals, which serves as a foundational resource for healthcare providers.
 
Finally, I am part of a founding team creating a national organization, the Association of Military-Veteran Nursing, to provide leadership, advocacy, scholarship, and promotion of best practices in healthcare for uniformed Service Members, Veterans, and their families across all care settings and communities.

What challenges have you encountered along your path, and what lessons might you share with current Jonas Scholars navigating similar spaces?
One of the biggest challenges I faced as a new nurse faculty member was balancing competing professional demands—teaching, scholarship, service, clinical practice, and leadership responsibilities—and a personal life. This can lead to role strain and burnout if boundaries are not intentionally established early on.

My advice to a new nurse faculty member is first, seek mentorship early and often. No one thrives in this role alone. Identify mentors who can guide you in teaching, scholarship, and leadership. Look for mentors who you aspire to be at one, three, five, ten, and twenty years in your career, and seek them out. Ask questions, observe how they navigate both academic systems and personal life, and remember that growth takes time. 
 
Second, protect your purpose and set boundaries. Be clear about why you chose academic leadership and let that purpose guide your decisions. Remember your why and remain focused—learn to say yes and no, strategically, and to pace yourself. 
 
Finally, lead with authenticity and courage. You will not have all the answers, and you are not expected to. What matters most is your willingness to advocate for students, model professionalism and compassion, and lead with integrity.

How do you continue to stay engaged with the Jonas community, and what does “paying it forward” look like in your current role?
Remaining engaged with the Jonas community is an essential part of my professional identity, and it has been an honor to serve in numerous roles during and after my time as a Jonas Scholar, including serving as a Jonas Philanthropies Board Member, as Vice-Chair of the Jonas Scholar Alumni Council, as a Jonas Scholars Program Reviewer, and as a Jonas Scholar Faculty Advisor. For me, paying it forward is an intentional act of leadership rooted in service. It means taking the knowledge, access, and opportunities I have been given and using them to open doors for others. At a broader level, paying it forward is about stewardship. I see it as my obligation to leave the profession stronger than I found it. When we intentionally prepare the next generation of nurse leaders to lead with purpose, cultural humility, and a commitment to service, we create a ripple effect that benefits patients, families, communities, and the profession.

Q & A

How has being a Jonas Scholar shaped your leadership journey since completing the program?
Being a Jonas Scholar reshaped how I think about leadership and scholarship, specifically as a responsibility to advance equity and drive systems change. It pushed me to look beyond individual care and focus on the policies and structures shaping outcomes for families. Since then, I’ve stepped more intentionally into roles that bridge research, practice, and policy, with a clearer focus on impact and accountability.

What is one accomplishment or initiative since your Jonas experience that you are most proud of, and why?
I’m especially proud of leading a statewide initiative to improve care for pregnant and parenting women affected by substance use. This work goes beyond clinical care to address stigma, documentation, and care pathways that support families staying together. It’s meaningful because it connects research to real-world change and centers dignity in how systems respond.

In what ways are you currently advancing health equity, innovation, or systems change within your practice, research, or community?
My work focuses on how policies and clinical practices shape outcomes for families affected by substance use. I’m studying how documentation, drug testing, and reporting practices influence care and child welfare involvement, while also building community-engaged partnerships to co-develop more equitable approaches. For me, innovation is about rethinking how systems operate, and ensuring that they are rooted in trust, transparency, and justice.

What challenges have you encountered along your path, and what lessons might you share with current Jonas Scholars navigating similar spaces?
A major challenge has been working within systems, including healthcare, that are often rooted in surveillance and punishment. Change can be slow and sometimes resisted, especially when addressing health disparities. My advice is to stay grounded in your purpose, but be strategic by building authentic relationships, finding leverage points across diverse audiences and partners, and being patient. Community work takes time, and having the right people around you make a difference.

How do you continue to stay engaged with the Jonas community, and what does “paying it forward” look like in your current role?
I stay engaged through mentorship and collaboration, and by supporting the next generation of nurse leaders. Paying it forward means creating space for students and early-career scholars to do meaningful, equity-focused work, and modeling leadership that is grounded in purpose. The Jonas community is a reminder that we’re all part of something bigger, and responsible for moving it forward.

Q & A

How has being a Jonas Scholar shaped your leadership journey since completing the program?
Being a Jonas Scholar expanded how I think about leadership - from individual achievement to collective responsibility. The program reinforced a systems-level mindset and affirmed that nursing leadership belongs in spaces where strategy, technology, and policy decisions are made. Serving on the Jonas Alumni Council further strengthened that commitment by allowing me to help shape pathways for future nurse leaders and remain deeply connected to a community that values mentorship, service, and impact.

What is one accomplishment or initiative since your Jonas experience that you are most proud of, and why?
One accomplishment I am most proud of is building a career that bridges academia, health systems, and national policy work. Serving on the National Academy of Medicine’s Future of Nursing 2030 committee as the nursing informatics expert was a particularly meaningful opportunity to help shape recommendations for nursing workforce at a national level by envisioning the nurse’s role in using technology to tackle disparities, promote health equity, and create healthier communities. In parallel, my role as a Without Compensation (WOC) nurse scientist at the George E. Wahlen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, collaborating with VA and Military Treatment Facility (MTF) researchers, reflects the Jonas mission in action - using nursing expertise to drive system-level change across complex care environments.

In what ways are you currently advancing health equity, innovation, or systems change within your practice, research, or community?
My current research involves the computational modeling of nursing workload to improve the systems, structures, and policies that support a diverse nursing workforce. Through research, academic leadership, and federal collaboration, I aim to advance innovation that supports the nursing workforce, improves care delivery, and informs equitable system design.

What challenges have you encountered along your path, and what lessons might you share with current Jonas Scholars navigating similar spaces?
A recurring challenge has been navigating interdisciplinary and technology-focused environments where nursing expertise is acknowledged but not consistently positioned with the visibility or authority needed to shape system-level outcomes. My advice to current Jonas Scholars is to resist the urge to shrink or soften your nursing perspective. Be fluent across disciplines, but stay grounded in nursing’s rigor and values - your lens is critical and so needed in shaping meaningful systems change.

How do you continue to stay engaged with the Jonas community, and what does “paying it forward” look like in your current role?
I stay engaged with the Jonas community through ongoing mentorship, collaboration with other nurse scholars that I met during the program, and service, including my past role on the Jonas Alumni Council. I intentionally bring another nurse with me to leadership tables whenever possible. Paying it forward means creating opportunities for emerging nurse leaders to be visible, supported, and confident in pursuing leadership across practice, academia, and national spaces - just as Jonas did for me!