Alumni Profiles

Occupation:
Infection control nurse coordinator for Harborside-Arden House in Hamden, Ct.

APCHSN Area of Study/Subspecialty:
Occupational and Environmental Health

Occupation:

APCHSN Area of Study/Subspecialty:

Brief Bio:
Hi, I'm Stephanie Connor. I finished my undergrad at USF in 2001 and spent three years in San Francisco working ER and ICU. In 2004 I volunteered with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps as a public health nurse in Yakima, WA, fell in love, got engaged, and decided Washington was home. I worked as a public health nurse in Yakima. I chose the APCHSN program because I want to improve people's access to quality health care.

Occupation:

Education Specialist, Monitored Unit Residency, Virginia Mason Medical Center

APCHSN Area of Study/Subspecialty:
Cross-Cultural

Brief Bio:
Hi, I'm Tamara. I moved out to the PNW from Washington, DC to attend UW. I have have practiced most types of bedside nursing as well as some research and international work. I am a first generation Ukrainian-American and cherish my cultural traditions. I speak Ukrainian and Russian and hope to use those languages someday for health promotion and health care delivery. I hope that I can use my training to channel my interests of preventative health care for communities, women's health (specifically immigrants and refugees), international health and nursing education both in the US and abroad, into rewarding professional endeavors.

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Brief Bio:
I grew up outside of Pittsburgh. In 1979 I graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in nursing. I want to make a difference in the health of our nation and I can't do it one person at a time, so I wanted to learn how to affect population health through program and policy development. I'd love to end up working on national policy but realistically I'd be happy changing things right here on a local level!

Occupation:
Program Manager at the Cancer Information Service for the grant Spirit of Eagles: The American Indian and Alaskan Native Leadership Initiative on Cancer

APCHSN Area of Study/Subspecialty:
Cross-Cultural

Brief Bio:
Teresa came the the APCHSN program as an oncology hospice nurse. Teresa wanted to her skills to the advantage of communities. She spent her APCHSN clinical in the Nooksack tribal community in Snohomish county and under her current job is able to combine her oncology nursing skills and APCHSN skills in serving Native communities by carrying out leadership initiatives under the grant. "I received a lot of education and mentoring and actually being prepared to go out and work with a diverse community. The curriculum is laid out step by step-there's a lot of support and mentoring along the way." Click here to view the video interview. (See Help/Viewing Requirements)

Occupation:
Clinic Manager, Puget Sound Neighborhood Health Centers, Rainier Park Medical Center

APCHSN Area of Study/Subspecialty:
Infant and Children in Community

Brief Bio:
My name is Julia, I am from the UK, where I started my career, and then traveled to the United Arab Emirates, working in peds units and specialty clinics.This is where I met my husband. We returned to the UK and after about 5 years became restless again and went to help build a hospital and school of nursing in Beirut, Lebanon. Following a family tragedy, we came to Seattle to support my extended family. I have 4 brothers-in-law and their families all within 10 minutes of where we live, and my father-in-law next door. I have no kids but 20 great nieces and nephews, ages 2 - 27years, and my oldest niece has a little one! I love having fun and this extends to the patients I serve--remind me to tell you about the torso and the 90-year old (that should keep you guessing for a while). I have a particular interest in health education for all and love working with multiple cultures.

Occupation:

APCHSN Area of Study/Subspecialty:
Occupational and Environmental Health

Brief Bio:
Hi! My name is Luiza Marinescu and I moved from Romania in Seattle area with my husband and wonderful daughter. Since we falling love with beautiful Pacific Northwest, we decided to establish our permanent residence here, where I figure out I could continue my professional career in public health which I have started many years ago in Bucharest. I was trained and worked over there as MD, Specialist in Public Health and Management, being mainly involved in projects aimed at reforming the Romanian health system. After a throughout research of the local health system, I came to the conclusion that following the nursing professional path is the way to go for me here so, I went back to school, graduated from BCC, and applied right away for the APCHSN master program. My academic endeavor was to pursue education in OEHN focal area and to apply also for the MPH, for the dual degree MN/MPH. As you could see, I love to go to school! More than this, I really hope that, when I finish my graduate education at UW, I will be able to fulfill my professional goal of contributing to improving the health of the population at least at local level. Something fun about me until I moved here I had no idea I speak English with an accent. So, I was wondering, why on Earth are people asking me where I am from as soon as I open my mouth to say something?

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APCHSN Area of Study/Subspecialty:

Cross-Cultural and Global Health

Brief Bio:

I have been a nurse for more than 10 years now although my path in nursing has been varied. I have worked in Oncology/Bone Marrow Transplant, NICU, Pediatric ICU, general pediatrics with drug addicted newborns and as a nurse in the correctional system. Internationally I have worked in Nicaragua and in Uganda with Medecins Sans Frontieres. The APCHSN program allows me to further develop my training in research and epidemiology as it applies to ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in population health. When not in school I'm in the mountains climbing or abroad playing and learning in other countries.

Occupation:
System Manager of Occupational Health and Safety for Providence Health Systems Headquarters

APCHSN Area of Study/Subspecialty:
Occupational Health Nursing

Brief Bio:
Noreen has been a CCU nurse, worked at an infusion clinic for AIDS patients, and has worked with cancer patients. Noreen focused on Occupational Health Nursing in the APCHSN program. Today Noreen uses program and policy development in her 4 areas of responsibility at Providence-workers compensation, occupational health, safety, and infection control. "My program at the UW wan an excellent preparatory environment for this job I have now. I came out well prepared, had ample opportunity for dialogue, and the professors were always available." Click here to view the video interview. (See Help/Viewing Requirements)

Occupation:

Virginia Mason Medical Center

APCHSN Area of Study/Subspecialty:

Brief Bio:
I was born in Rhode Island and got my undergraduate degree in Anthropology. I joined the Peace Corps in Panama with my husband right after graduation and lived in a remote indigenous village for the next 2 ½ years. It was there that I developed my interest in nursing and community health by working on local and regional nutrition, sanitation and maternal/child health. I continued working with Latinos on public health issues upon my return and subsequently came to the UW nursing program. The APCHSN masters and Cross-Cultural focus allows me to combine my interests in health disparities among ethnic communities. The community health program also allows for a switch to population-based health from individual-care on the transplant/neurology floor where I currently work. I hope to eventually return to work abroad, possibly with the same traditional indigenous group in Panama.

Occupation:
Seattle King County Dept. of Public Health, Personal Health Services Supervisor

APCHSN Area of Study/Subspecialty:
Cross-Cultural and Occupational and Environmental Health

Brief Bio:
I was born and raised in the Seattle area and have the majority of my family here. I have worked as a clinic and public health nurse for SKCDPH at a community clinic in the Rainier Valley. My interests are primarily working in Maternal and Child Health in the community health setting and with the Latino population. I am very interested in chronic disease and health disparities/ access to health care in under served populations. In my free time I enjoy spending time with my family and running (which I don't always enjoy tremendously).

Occupation:
Occupational Health Nurse Educator at Group Health Cooperate

APCHSN Area of Study/Subspecialty:
Occupational & Environmental Health

Brief Bio:
Hi, I'm Linda. I grew up in New Jersey. At 17, I got a wild idea to go to college in Utah. I was tired of New Jersey's clouds & humidity. Utah sounded sunny & snowy. So I packed up my skis & off I went. It was quite an adventure. Very different socially from New Jersey. This got me interested in the impact of our environments on our personalities and outlooks. I ended up getting a degree in Sociology. I made this choice in the days when most women went to college to meet a man & then retire to housework. Little did I realize that I would actually have to find a job with that degree! Which brings me to why I went back to school to become a nurse. After an 8 year stop in Coos Bay Oregon, we moved to Seattle & here we are. Overall it's been a great experience, although my skis are bored. I have 2 children who are now old enough to take care of themselves, so I could get back into school. This was something I had been wanting to do for a long time. I chose occupational health as my specialty area because it involves some sociology and psychology, but it also brings one into contact with many different types of people. Plus it doesn't involve working night shift.

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APCHSN Area of Study/Subspecialty:

Brief Bio:
Greetings! My name is Janelle Zamora and I'm a part of the 2005 entering class of the APCHSN program. I received my undergraduate degree in comparative religion here at UW and focused my study on early Christian history (something I miss dearly!). I was a graduate of the inaugural class of the Masters Entry Program in Nursing (MEPN) here at the School of Nursing that squeezes 2 years of BSN coursework into a crazy year and two months. The fact that I'm here proves that, yes, it can be done and, yes, I survived it. So a green nurse I was, but I'd always set my mind to getting a Master's degree in Nursing so I was back in school, doing what I do best.

I discovered my niche for planning, leadership, and collaboration through many faith-based seminars and retreats and decided to direct those abilities toward health promotion and disease prevention in Community Health Systems Nursing. Training in leadership, advocacy, and program planning that Il gained from my study, I feel, is necessary in educating the public by promoting health risk reduction and prevention that directly influences their health status. I hope to bring my ambition of community health education to the state level advocating to legislators the importance of health promotion in the public sector among diverse communities.