CNC's CNL Innovation in Practice Award Winners

Congratulations to this year's award recipients! The Commission on Nurse Certification’s CNL Innovation in Practice Award recognizes current CNLs, faculty, and practice partners who have showcased innovate practice projects. Each project receives a monetary award of $5,000. Winners are recognized during the opening session at the CNL Summit.

2022 CNL Innovation in Practice Award Winners

Project: International Study of Pediatric Nurses Caring
for Adult Patients During COVID 19 Pandemic

Anita Catlin

Anita Catlin, PhD, FNP, CNL, FAAN is Manager of Nursing Research at Kaiser Permanente, Vallejo, California. Anita taught in the CNL programs at both Touro University and University of San Francisco, becoming a CNL by challenge exam. Anita uses her CNL skills daily as mentor to nurses at all levels, and in several countries, in advancing their academic and clinical careers. Anita’s role includes writing grants to obtain funding for projects and she has multiple publications in research, ethics and in clinical care.  She is currently the Editor of the Journal of Pediatric Surgical Nursing.  She is an active member of Sigma Theta Tau in California and In Portugal. She thanks the Commission on Nursing Certification for this award. 

Project: Early Progressive Mobility in the Intensive Care Units
at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center

Brianna Bagalio

Brianna Bagalio, MSN, RN, CCRN, CNL started at Dartmouth-Hitchcock (D-H) Medical Center in the nurse residency program in the Intensive Care Unit in 2012. When the ICU expanded and divided service lines, Brianna was able to choose to continue her career in the Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU). She loved providing nursing care to complex medical patients and working to solve the ‘puzzle.’ Brianna became certified in her specialty as a Critical Care Registered Nurse (CCRN) in 2014 and  became a Clinical Nurse Supervisor in the MICU in 2016 with a special interest in quality improvement. Brianna was a recipient of a D-H scholarship that supported her graduate study at Colby-Sawyer College where she graduated with a Master’s of Science in Nursing in 2018 and achieved her Clinical Nurse Leader certification (CNL). Brianna became the CNL for the MICU in 2019 and has loved her role since!

Kimberly Hill

Kimberly Hill, MSN, RN, CNL, CCRN is a 2009 graduate of the University of New Hampshire. She began her career at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) in 2010 with the Nurse Residency Program in the Adult Intensive Care Unit. She attended Colby-Sawyer College and became part of their first cohort of students to achieve a Master’s of Science in Nursing in May of 2018 with Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL) Certification and Critical Care Registered Nurse (CCRN). She has proudly served as CNL in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU) at DHMC since 2019. Kim is passionate about critical care, quality improvement, and best practice initiatives to enhance patient care and elevate the nursing practice. 


2021 Winners

Project: Alcohol Withdrawal management on the Inpatient Adult
Medical-Surgical Units Using a Symptom-Triggered Approach

Elizabeth Gall

Elizabeth Gall, MSN, RN, CNL, CHPN is a Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL) on an inpatient Oncology-Medical unit in Stamford Hospital. She has been a nurse for 12 years and practiced as a CNL for the past 3 years. Elizabeth has helped initiate several quality driven projects with optimal outcomes, including preventing pressure injuries on high-risk patients and the care for alcoholic withdrawal patients. She has earned the Clinical Nurse Leader certification, as well as certified in Hospice and Palliative Care and Chemotherapy and Biotherapy administration. Elizabeth is currently an adjunct nursing clinical instructor at a local community college and has authored a chapter in a recent CNL certification review book. She is passionate about increasing nursing autonomy, mentoring and interprofessional collaboration.

Daniela Tripodi

Daniela Tripodi, MSN, RN-BC, CNL is a Clinical Nurse Leader on a Medical-Surgical Unit at Stamford Hospital in Stamford, CT. She has been in this role for 2.5 years and has been a registered nurse for 11 years. Over the years, Daniela has achieved her Medical-Surgical Certification and Clinical Nurse Leader Certification. During her time as a CNL, she has worked on various quality improvement projects including hypoglycemia management, pressure injury prevention, safety and injury prevention measures for patients with dementia/delirium, and alcohol withdrawal management. Daniela is passionate about nurse mentorship and nurtures new graduate nurses during the first 2 years of professional practice. She has had the privilege of working as the Interim Nursing Quality Manager between October 2020 through present. In this role, she had the opportunity to review and monitor quality trends at the macro-level.