While working as a police officer, Mariah received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from UNM. She left law enforcement in 2006 to pursue a career in nursing and has worked in the Pediatric Emergency Room at the UNM Hospital (UNMH) since that time. Mariah received her Master of Science in Nursing degree, with an emphasis in Nursing Education, from UNM in 2009. While working at UNMH, Mariah received recognition for her work as a preceptor for new nurse graduates. She also taught both didactic and clinical nursing courses to nursing students. Mariah currently serves as Chair of Breckinridge School of Nursing at ITT Technical Institute. She is a member of the American Nurses Association and the National League for Nursing. Mariah believes that participating in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Nursing and Health Policy Collaborative will allow her the opportunity to network with leaders who currently influence health policy at local, state, and national levels while helping her build a strong foundation in nursing research.

Beyond the bedside, LisaMarie has conducted studies of coordination of care, with the goal of quality improvement in managed care. Through her work in managed care, she realized the important role of health policy in impacting health care and health outcomes. In 2010, LisaMarie was awarded a Hearst Foundation Scholarship, which supported her participation in policy leadership activities. She co-organized a community health forum in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, and participated in educating policymakers about state health insurance exchanges.

In 2011, LisaMarie was awarded a Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities training fellowship, which supported preliminary research into policies that affect children, adolescents, and families impacted by neurodevelopmental disabilities. In 2012, she completed a health policy internship at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration focusing on program evaluation of the Bureau of Health Professions’ Division of Nursing’s Nursing Workforce Diversity portfolio. She used her experience from this internship to contribute to conceptualization of a local Institute for Nursing Diversity, Empowerment, and Health Equity affinity group of the New Mexico Nurses Association. In 2013, LisaMarie completed a health policy fellowship within the New Mexico Legislature, focusing on health policy analysis and legislation development within the Office of Senator Jacob Candelaria.

LisaMarie brings experiential knowledge associated with her upbringing in a rural town in northern New Mexico, which has faced many of the health disparities that challenge the state. She applies this knowledge in combination with her education and interests in health care workforce diversity and federal and state-based policy to health policy analysis and research focused on policy, politics, health services, systems change, and quality improvement toward advancing the health of vulnerable populations.

LisaMarie is a PhD candidate whose dissertation research will combine systems science, complexity science, and network analysis to examine political factors associated with state-based coordination of care systems. She believes that her integration of nursing and the social sciences will empower her to address the complexities associated with our nation’s health needs.

A desire to pursue advanced studies led Mark to return to New Mexico in 1998 and pursue a master’s degree in public health at the University of New Mexico (UNM). During his studies, Mark worked for the Pueblo of San Felipe Special Diabetes Grant Program and remained there for 10 years to help the tribal administration increase self-governance of tribal health care programs under Public Law 93-638, the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act. Mark was the Pueblo of San Felipe Health & Wellness Department Director from 2000 to 2008.

In 2006, Mark completed a dual Master in Public Health and Community Health Nursing at UNM. A year later, he entered the Doctorate of Philosophy program at UNM, and in 2008, he received a fellowship with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Center for Health Policy.

Mark’s dissertation research examined the impact of state certification of community health workers (CHWs) on the perceptions of team climate among registered nurses who work with CHWs in states with and without CHW certification programs

Through his fellowship, Mark has leveraged opportunities to interact with UNM scholars in other disciplines to both further his understanding of health policy and disseminate important findings from his research in health care innovation and diffusion. Mark also taught undergraduate community health nursing classes at UNM from 2010 to 2013. Mark accepted a tenure-track position as an Assistant Professor with the Boise State University School of Nursing in 2013.

Fran has also served in advocacy roles for the nursing profession in Colorado. She was Executive Director for the Colorado Nurses Association (CNA) from 2007-2013. For two years she served as the professional lobbyist for the association at the Colorado Legislature. She has been recognized for her advocacy for advanced practice nurses, and nursing workforce issues (AANP State Advocacy Award). Nursing workforce policy issues that she has been involved with directly include: Sunset Colorado Nurse Practice Act and subsequent regulations, 2009-2011, CRNA Opt Out litigation – Colorado, coordination of CNA nursing representatives on Governor’s Task Force Nurse Workforce, and Patient Care (2007). She was involved in representing the association on issues regarding access to care and the state insurance exchange legislation in Colorado.

A state legislated research study in Colorado on nurse involvement in decision making was authorized after the Governor’s Task Force had submitted the final report. Fran served as Co-Chair for the research committee of diverse nursing stakeholders for three and a half years. The study findings were published in the Journal of Nursing Administration (July/August 2012).

Fran’s long range goals include teaching health policy to health care professionals, health program planning, and advocacy for health care issues. She currently is on the nursing faculty at Platt College in Colorado where she teaches nursing leadership, cultures, and fundamentals in nursing to BSN students. She is a current member of ANA, and NLN.

Abigail has an undergraduate degree in Cultural Anthropology and Latin American Studies from Princeton University, and a Master of Science in Nursing degree from Yale School of Nursing. After completing her midwifery training at Yale in 1998, Abigail worked at a freestanding birth center on the U.S.–Mexico border. Then she continued to serve a largely Mexican immigrant population at a community health center in Chicago, where she maintained both a hospital and home-birth practice. Later, Abigail gained state and federal health policy experience working for the Vermont Medicaid Program and the Northeastern Vermont Area Health Education Center, where she served as the coordinator of a federal women’s health grant.

Abigail is enthusiastic about the opportunity to combine her diverse clinical practice experience with advanced academic training in health policy through the UNM College of Nursing PhD Program’s health policy concentration. She strongly believes that nurse clinicians have an important role to play in addressing health disparities within the policy arena. In particular, her clinical and research interests converge around women, pregnancy, addiction, and the care of immigrant women. She is grateful to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Nursing and Health Policy Collaborative for providing resources, support, and access to an inspiring cohort of peers. Abigail intends to use this opportunity to obtain the skills and the forum needed to address health disparities that affect women in New Mexico and beyond.

Beret serves as Vice President of the Graduate Student Nurses Association and is a member of the Health Sciences Student Council and Graduate and Curriculum Committee at the College of Nursing. She was a trainee in the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities program in the 2013–2014 cohort. Beret benefits from the mentorship of Ruth McCorkle, PhD, RN, FAAN, of the Yale School of Nursing in refining her interests in law, ethics, equity, and health policy into research involving prison policies and practices, and strategies for pursuing her research career.

To ensure that children, older adults, and disabled adults in New Mexican communities maintain access to services that meet their needs, Stacie has been involved in advocacy and dialogue with the administering state departments and the state legislature on policy changes and cost-containment initiatives. In her advocacy for continued funding of the Medicaid program, her hope is that the state and federal government will continue to provide access to services such as intervention and primary care through health promotion, disease prevention, chronic care management, and behavioral health. Stacie has served or currently serves on several committees, including the Coordination of Long-Term Services Advisory Committee, PCO Administrative Task Force Workgroup, Government Relations Committee for the New Mexico Association for Home and Hospice Care Board of Directors (of which she was co-chair), and several managed care organizations’ provider advisory boards.

Stacie’s educational and professional goals are to expand her knowledge through research and build a foundation that will enable her to provide nursing leadership and advocacy for the underserved populations whose healthcare needs are currently not being met. She plans to use this knowledge to influence health policy at the local, state, and federal levels to positively affect health outcomes. She believes the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Nursing and Health Policy Collaborative will allow her the opportunity to network with researchers and nurse leaders as they embark on healthcare reforms at the state and federal levels and act as liaisons and advocates for health improvement, lobbying for funding and proposing and advising culturally appropriate research studies in American Indian communities. The challenge is to develop meaningful research and to document how these changes are beneficial to the health and well-being of the population. This undertaking will provide unique opportunities for nurses to develop evidence-based patient care, engage in research, influence policy, and serve in leadership and teaching roles.

The North East Independent School District employs 90 nurses who manage the needs of over 68,000 students.  The school district serves a high Hispanic population, and as a member of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses she has developed her skills in working with and assisting Hispanic families with resources to help them improve health outcomes. The leading cause of students visiting the school clinic is related to asthma issues.  Due to the high student absence rates among student with asthma problems, Maria’s department has a full-time Asthma Educator to assist with educating students and families. As a member of the Texas School Nurse Administrators Association Maria has developed leadership skills that allow her to implement health related policies and procedures to improve student health. Her goal is to help families with appropriate resources that will assist them in managing their health, reduce illness, and improve outcomes.

Maria’s educational and professional goals are to continue working with nursing students to develop their skills in community health as they train and work with school nurses.  She enjoys working with students, and upon completing her PhD in nursing with a concentration in Health Policy, would like to teach in a nursing program at both the undergraduate and graduate level.  Maria has already completed her training in Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities, with an interest in continuing immunization legislative improvements.  As a member of The Immunization Partnership, Maria has assisted in following legislative changes that help individuals at a high risk remain protected from vaccine preventable illnesses.