Meet the Team

Dr. Arrell is an active member of ANA Minnesota and works in a pediatric NICU.  She is also the THRIVE project leader for her employer, the Mayo Clinic.

As Press Ganey’s Associate Chief Nursing Officer and Partner, Strategic Consulting, Dr. Mary Jo Assi is responsible for leading strategies to achieve nursing and caregiver excellence by delivering compassionate connected care, strengthening caregiver resilience and engagement, and improving the health care practice and work environment, within a framework of high reliability and safety.  During her more than 35 years of nursing experience, she has worked as a clinician, nurse educator, advanced practice registered nurse and nurse executive.  More recently, Mary Jo held the position of Director of Professional Practice and Magnet Program Director for ten years in both community hospital and academic medical center settings, and during that period was appointed to the Commission on Magnet Recognition-a position she held for six years.  As the Vice President for Nursing Practice and Innovation at the American Nurses Association, she led several groundbreaking nursing initiatives at the national level, including the creation and launch of the Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation Grand Challenge, a social movement aimed at improving the health of the nation’s 4.0 million nurses, and the development of position statements and white papers focused on critical issues for nursing including workplace violence, incivility and bullying, nurse fatigue, and optimal staffing for safe patient care. Mary Jo was appointed as a fellow to the American Academy of Nursing in 2016.

Dr. Katie Boston-Leary is Senior Vice President of Equity and Engagement and former Director of Nursing Programs at the American Nurses Association, overseeing the Nursing Practice and Work Environment Division as well as Healthy Nurse Healthy Nation. She was also the Co-Lead for Project Firstline, a multi-million-dollar grant collaborative with the CDC for training on Infection Prevention and Control.  As a Chief Nursing Officer and Senior Executive, Katie has led organizations to obtain numerous accolades for quality and safety including an ANCC Pathway to Excellence designation and to win the coveted annual ANCC Pathway to Excellence award in 2017. 

She was recently identified August 2019 Health Leaders Journal as “One of Five Chief Nursing Officers Changing Healthcare”.  Her most recent research was a qualitative study on nurses’ perceptions of power dynamics in the hospital setting.  She is a well-known speaker nationally and internationally with many publications and podcast guest invitations.  She recently completed her PhD at Walden University in Health Services, obtained a dual degree MBA and MHA from the University of Maryland Global Campus and her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Bowie State University in Maryland.  She is a board-certified Nurse Executive and obtained a nurse executive leadership certificate from Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.  She has been interviewed for stories in numerous print, online and televised media outlets namely CNBC, Cheddar TV, HR Maximizer and Bloomberg News. She recently co-authored an article titled, The US COVID‐19 Crisis: Facts, Science and Solidarity, which was published in the International Nursing Review (INR), the official journal of the International Council of Nurses (ICN).

Holly Carpenter, BSN, RN is a Senior Policy Advisor for the American Nurses Association’s (ANA) Nursing Practice & Work Environment department.  Her portfolio at ANA includes developing resources, policies, and educational programs on nurse health, safety, and wellness including the Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation™ program, nurse suicide prevention, immunizations, and other occupational health and work environment issues.  Prior to ANA, she was employed at the Maryland Nurses Association and the State of Maryland’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.  Holly has presented nationally and internationally at conferences held by APHA, the Royal College of Nursing, International Council of Nursing, the Chinese Nursing Association, and many others.  A registered nurse, Holly graduated from Salisbury University with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing.

Dr. Andrea Coyle is a nurse leader and expert in creating structures and processes that improve performance outcomes.  She is recognized for her passion and ability to inspire, motivate, and empower teams to advance the profession of nursing.  As the Chief Clinical and Innovation Officer, Dr. Coyle is deeply committed to influencing positive culture change to ensure high quality and safe care delivery.  Additionally, Dr. Coyle has consulted with international leadership teams to enculturate nursing excellence.  Dr. Coyle works collaboratively with patient advocates, physicians, and industry partners to create healthy work environments.

Dr. Alison Cuccia is a public health researcher who has worked extensively in the field of health promotion.  She has supported projects that promote healthy eating, physical activity, and tobacco-free living in the past, and has general expertise and interest in health behavior. As a Research Manager at the American Nurses Association, her role is to lead the research, evaluation, and analysis of Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation data.

Heather Farkas, RDN, LDN is a member of Morrison Healthcare’s Wellness & Sustainability Team.  Her current responsibilities include facilitating population health strategies and solutions and managing various environmental initiatives, such as foam and plastic removal, food waste reduction, and sustainable food purchasing.  Prior to her current role, Heather worked as a Clinical Dietitian, Clinical Nutrition Manager, and a Regional Clinical Nutrition Manager.  Her personal interests include yoga, strength training, meditation, fashion, design, and plant-based cooking.  Originally from Pittsburgh, PA, Heather now resides in Northampton, PA. 

Joyce J. Fitzpatrick, PhD, MBA, RN, FAAN, FNAP, FAANP(H) is Director of the Marian K. Shaughnessy Nurse Leadership Academy and Elizabeth Brooks Ford Professor of Nursing, Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) in Cleveland Ohio where she was Dean from 1982 through 1997. She earned a BSN (Georgetown University), MS in Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing (The Ohio State University), PhD in Nursing (New York University), and MBA (CWRU). Dr. Fitzpatrick received an honorary doctorate, Doctor of Humane Letters, from Georgetown University (1990), and an honorary doctorate, Doctor of Humane Letters, from the Frontier University of Nursing (2011). In 2020 she was appointed a Distinguished University Professor at CWRU.

Dr. Fitzpatrick is widely published in nursing and health care literature with over 400 publications, including 85 books. She has received the AJN Book of the Year Award 22 times. In 2021, with Dr. Mary Beth Modic, she published a book: Luminaries of the Past: Stories of Fifty Extraordinary Nurses, to share stories of nurses who have changed healthcare.

From 1997-99 she served as President of the American Academy of Nursing. From 2010-2015 she served as Board Chair of the American Nurses Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the American Nurses Association. She has received numerous honors and awards, including recognition as a Living Legend by AAN (2017) the ANA Jessie M. Scott award (2018) that recognizes leadership in demonstrating interdependence between education, practice and research. In 2019 she was awarded the International Council of Nurses and Florence Nightingale Foundation International Achievement Award recognizing her contribution to advancing international nursing education through research, innovative conceptual models, and theory development. 

Erin Gilfenbaum is a Program Manager at the American Nurses Foundation. She manages the day-to-day operations of the Nurse Well-Being: Building Peer and Leadership Support program, which was developed by nurses for nurses to offer evidence-based tools and resources to improve stress recovery. With over 15 years of non-profit project management and grants administration experience, Erin enjoys building strong relationships with a broad range of stakeholders to bring initiatives from conception to implementation.

Prior to joining the Foundation, Erin led partnership engagement for the Ceca Foundation’s innovative health caregiver recognition program. As an Account Manager at the National 4-H Council, she managed the daily implementation of a $6 million grant-funded program that delivered computer science education to youth nationwide. She has a master’s degree in communication from Johns Hopkins University and lives in the Annapolis, MD area with her family.

Dr. Debora Hess is a Clinical Strategy and Practice Lead for Human under the office of the Chief Nursing Officer.  She has had over 35 years of experience in various positions within nursing homes, hospitals (medical and surgical floors, as well as Pediatric ICU and PACU) and has been Director of Nursing over several Medicare Certified and private pay home care companies.  Recently as clinician, nurse educator and nurse management leader, her work has focused on strategies to provide clinical and quality excellence to all aspects of the private pay portion of Humana’s organization ensuring compliance with Federal and State regulations as well as CHAP Standards.  Her current focus is to lead the enterprise-wide mission to improve the health and well-being of the nursing population.  She is excited to partner with the American Nurses Association through the ANA Foundation and the Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation Initiative and to join the Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation Advisory Committee.  Debora has been instrumental in developing Humana’s Nurses Mentor Nurses program that pairs mentors and mentees to work together to develop leadership skills and to further their own growth and development.  She also works closely with experienced Nurse Ambassadors and supports newly hired nurses through the Nightingale Outreach Program to ensure nurses feel connected, engaged, and empowered to have their voice and opinions heard.  Debora is an RN, licensed in Connecticut, New York, and Texas, and holds a PhD in Organization and Management with a specialization in Leadership, MSN degree from the University of Rochester NY, and has a certification in Certified Professional Healthcare Quality, and is Care Management Certified.

Dr. Heidi Holtz is a nurse leader and nurse scientist conducting research designed to promote a healthy work environment, support nurses’ well-being, and improve patient outcomes by creating models of high-quality patient care in critical care settings. Dr. Holtz was a research fellow at Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics. As a postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Holtz collaborated with and was mentored by experts in the field of researching moral resilience and moral distress in healthcare. She has special interest in researching the construct of moral resilience and applying that research to develop innovative approaches to foster moral resilience in healthcare environments. Dr. Holtz’s observations of nurses’ adversity, along with her own experiences as a nurse led to her aspirations to support nurses in building resiliency and fostering a safe environment to practice. Dr. Holtz’s current research is focused on providing interventions to support nurses healing and overall well-being following moral injury and trauma experienced during the COVID pandemic. Her goals include supporting nurses and healthcare clinicians and empowering them to be able to maintain their professional identity, protect themselves and their well-being, and prevent the frequency of burnout.

Rasheda Jones is a PhD prepared registered nurse leader with 20 years of experience. She holds experience in the clinical, academic, research, and executive domains. Her clinical background is in Adult Intensive Care. Her research interests are in the areas of social & environmental justice, adverse childhood experiences, adolescent behavioral and emotional functioning, social competence and youth in foster care. She has designed curriculum for and instructed bachelor’s and master’s degree level nursing courses. As a healthcare executive she has led a system and departments of research, education, and professional development; with success in innovative strategic education development, employee engagement, quality, and process improvement. She is passionate about advancing the nursing profession, mentorship, diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Dr. Jones earned her Bachelor's from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro, NC. She earned a Master's and a Doctorate of Philosophy in Nursing from the University of California, at San Francisco in San Francisco, CA, where she was a recipient of the Nursing Leadership in Adolescent and Young Adult Health (NLAYAH) and the Occupational and Environmental Health Nursing (OEHN) National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) grants.

Currently Dr. Jones is CEO, Chief Encouragement Officer to her 5 year old daughter and Program Manager for the American Nurses Association’s (ANA) Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation program. 

Dr. Patrick Laird is the Chief Clinical Officer at Nexus Specialty Hospital.  Dr. Laird has held various leadership positions in health care administration in acute and long-term acute care organizations.  Prior to returning to hospital administration, he was the Master of Science in Nursing Program Director and Coordinator of the Adult/Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner program at the Cizik School of Nursing at UTHealth.  Dr. Laird is a board-certified Acute Care Nurse Practitioner with previous clinical experience in internal medicine and pulmonary/critical care.

Dr. Erica Martinez is a passionate nurse leader dedicated to creating high performing healthy teams.  She currently splits her time between Arizona College of Nursing’s campus in Ontario, CA (Dean of Nursing) and a small community hospital in Southern California (Rapid Response Nurse).  Her specialties are critical care nursing, servant leadership, and moving through compassion fatigue and burnout.  Erica was drawn to higher education as it allows her to combine her passion for nursing and learning while giving back to a new generation of nurses.  She is originally from the Chicago area, but decided to move to California in 2014 with her husband and 2 children to escape the winters. She also has a rescue dog named Maddie. 

Dr. Bernadette Melnyk is Vice President for Health Promotion and Chief Wellness Officer (CWO) for The Ohio State University. She also is the Helene Fuld Health Trust Professor of Evidence-based Practice, Founder of Helene Fuld Health Trust National Institute for Evidence-based Practice and Fromer Dean, the College of Nursing, Professor of Pediatrics and Psychiatry at the College of Medicine.  Dr. Melnyk is globally recognized for her expertise and work in mental health, evidence-based practice, clinician health and well-being, and intervention research as well as her innovative approaches to population health and wellness.  She has received numerous national and international awards and is a frequent invited keynote speaker at professional conferences throughout the U.S. and globe.  Dr. Melnyk has over $36 million dollars of sponsored funding, is an editor of eight books, and has authored over 590 publications.  In her role as Chief Wellness Officer at Ohio State, which was the first CWO role at an institution of higher learning in the U.S., she spearheads population health and well-being for 40,000 faculty and staff, and 66,000 students.  Dr. Melnyk served a term on the United States Preventive Services Task Force, the National Advisory Council for the National Institute of Nursing Research, and the behavioral health standing committee for the National Quality Forum.  She is an elected fellow of the National Academy of Medicine, the American Academy of Nursing, the National Academies of Practice, and the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.  She also is a current member of the National Academy of Medicine’s Action Collaborative on Clinician Well-being and Resilience, Editor-in-Chief of the journal Worldviews on Evidence-based Nursing and is Chair of the National Forum for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention. 

Lisa Deffenbaugh Nguyen, MS, CAE is the Executive Director of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association (APNA), an organization that provides leadership to promote psychiatric-mental health nurses, improve mental health care for culturally diverse individuals, families, groups, and communities, and shape health policy for the delivery of mental health services.  With membership inclusive of PMH nurses at all levels and in different settings, APNA champions psychiatric-mental health nursing and mental health care through the development of positions on key issues, the dissemination of current knowledge and developments in PMH nursing, and collaboration with stakeholders to promote advances in recovery-focused assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and evaluation of persons with mental health disorders.  Lisa Nguyen assumed the role of APNA Executive Director in January 2020 after more than 12 years with APNA, most recently as Associate Executive Director, Operations.  She graduated from the University of Virginia with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and Music, holds a Master of Science Degree in Forensic Psychology from Tiffin University, and is a Certified Association Executive through the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE).

Cynthia Peterson, PhD, RN, NE-BC, CCRN-K is a Nurse Scientist at Baystate Medical Center, and an Assistant Nurse Manager and Nurse Scientist at The University of Vermont Medical Center. She completed her PhD in Nursing from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her professional areas of focus are nursing leadership, well-being and resilience programming, evidence-based practice program development, and global health service-learning to enhance cultural humility among nurses. She recently completed the Nurse Coach program through the Integrative Nurse Coach Academy.

Judith Schmidt (Judy) is the CEO of the New Jersey State Nurses Association and the Institute for Nursing.

Judy received her Associate’s Degree in Applied Science from Ocean County College, a Bachelor’s degree in the Science of Nursing from Richard Stockton State College, a Master’s degree in the Science of Nursing from Seton Hall University and a Doctoral Degree in Healthcare Administration from Capella University/

Judy has worked in various roles at Community Medical Center in Toms River NJ from Staff Nurse to Administrative Director; most recently as the nurse educator for the night shift staff.  She has also worked has a Clinical Instructor in Ocean County College and Seton Hall University’s nursing programs. 

She has presented on various topics including nursing politics to nursing schools, nursing associations and health care facilities.

She has been active in the community and has served as a board member for several Nursing School Advisory Boards and Community Medical Center’s Board of Directors and Community Medical Center’s Foundation Board of Trustees.  NJ Governor Murphy appointed Judy to the NJ Coronavirus Taskforce Professional Advisory Committee from March of 2020 to February of 2022. Additionally, Judy was invited to join the American Nurses Association, American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN), Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), American Organization for Nurse Leaders (AONL), and the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) Nurse Staffing Task Force from 2022 to 2024.

Evan Thoman currently serves as the Chief Well-Being Officer for Emory Healthcare in Atlanta, GA. In this role, he leads the Office of Well-Being, focusing on fostering a culture that promotes both individual resilience and organizational well-being. His work is centered on addressing systemic challenges, improving communication, and creating healthier workplace environments. Throughout his career, Evan has developed and led well-being programs for leading organizations in the federal government, healthcare, and non-profit sectors. His work has earned him numerous awards and distinctions, including Excellence in Worksite Wellness, Fit-Friendly Worksite, Worksite Innovation Award, and Best and Brightest in Wellness. Evan holds a Bachelor's Degree in Exercise Science and a Master of Science in Organizational Training and Development from Marshall University. He is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) through the Project Management Institute (PMI) and a Certified Wellness Practitioner (CWP) through the National Wellness Institute (NWI). Additionally, Evan is pursuing his Ph.D. in Healthcare Leadership, furthering his commitment to advancing organizational well-being through evidence-based research and strategic leadership.  Evan currently serves as co-chair for the Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation Advisory Committee.

Dr. Mamie Williams holds a PhD in Nursing from the University of Kansas, a Master of Public Health from the University of Illinois, and a Master of Nursing with a concentration as a Family Nurse Practitioner from Tennessee State University. She currently serves as the Senior Director for Nurse Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. In this role, she is the Executive Sponsor for the VUMC Nurse Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee. Additionally, Dr. Williams is the Board President for the Nurses Middle College-Nashville and Co-Chair of the American Nurses Association Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation Advisory Committee. She is also the Co-Director and Co-Founder of the Vanderbilt Academies for Aspiring and Emerging Nurse Leaders. In her spare time, Dr. Williams enjoys gardening.

Dr. Cheryl Woods Giscombe is a social/health psychologist, a psychiatric nurse practitioner, and the LeVine Distinguished Term Professor of Quality of Life, Health Promotion, and Wellness at the UNC Chapel Hill School of Nursing.  Dr. Giscombe is Associate Dean of the PhD Program at the UNC-CH School of Nursing, and she is director of the LeVine Wellness Program for students, faculty, and staff.  She also serves as an adjunct professor in the Department of Social Medicine at UNC, and she is an Inaugural Fellow/Design Partner for the Harvard Macy Institute’s Art Museum-Based Health Professions Education.  As a Josiah Macy Faculty Scholar, Dr. Giscombe developed the Interprofessional Leadership Institute for Behavioral Health Equity.  Dr. Giscombe’s research focuses on biopsychosocial and contextually relevant factors to prevent and eliminate health inequities using mind-body interventions, such as mindfulness-based stress reduction.  Dr. Giscombe’s research has been consistently funded since 2004 by the American Psychological Association, NIH, SAMHSA, HRSA, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation.  Most recently, Dr. Giscombe was awarded an R01 grant funded by the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities to examine a culturally relevant self-care intervention to reduce cardiometabolic risk in African American women.  Dr. Giscombe is the co-director of two distinct, HRSA-funded behavioral health integration projects.  One focuses on educating nursing and social work graduate students to resolve behavioral health inequities in underserved primary/behavioral healthcare settings.  The second is a behavioral healthcare integration project with a large federally qualified healthcare system in NC to address Quadruple Aim priorities, including provider well-being. 

Dr. Giscombe graduated from the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, and she completed a BA in psychology from North Carolina Central University and a BSN from Stony Brook University in New York.  She earned MA and PhD degrees in social and health psychology from Stony Brook University and an MSN from the psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner/clinical nurse specialist program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  Dr. Giscombe completed certification in holistic health from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition in Manhattan, New York.  In addition, she completed postdoctoral training at UNC Chapel Hill (Interventions to Prevent and Manage Chronic Illness funded by NIH/NINR and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Minority Fellowship Program in collaboration with the American Nurses Association).  Dr. Giscombé was selected as a “Leader in the Field” by the American Psychological Association when she was awarded the Carolyn Payton Early Career Award. 

Dr. Giscombe is the President of the International Society of Psychiatric Nurses, and she serves as a research collaborator for a WHO/PAHO project investigating nursing research capacity in the Caribbean.  Dr. Giscombe engages in a range of national scientific and clinically-based initiatives; she was appointed to a National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine Review Committee and the AAMC commissioned committee on the Fundamental Role of the Arts and Humanities in Medical Education. She also serves on the American Nurses Foundation Well-Being Initiative Advisory Board.  Dr. Giscombe directs the Giscombe Health Equity and Arts Lab at the UNC School of Nursing, and she publishes and presents her research nationally and internationally.  She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and the Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research.