New Member Spotlight

Welcome to the following NurseTRUST New Members! 

Wanda Montalvo, PhD, RN, FAAN, FADLN
Executive Director
Leonard A. Lauder Community Care Nurse Practitioner Program at Penn Nursing

Dr. Wanda Montalvo is the Executive Director of the Leonard A. Lauder Community Care Nurse Practitioner Program at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. She champions public and community health, emphasizing the vital role of nurses in advancing Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion to help advance health for all. She has led national initiatives at the National Association of Community Health Centers, supported by the CDC, HRSA, and Johnson & Johnson Foundation, focusing on reducing disparities, improving healthcare access, and nursing workforce. She serves on the boards of Prevent Blindness and the Social Mission Alliance and has received honors, including two U.S. Surgeon General awards, induction into the American Academy of Nursing, and recognition from the Association of Diversity Nurse Leaders. Dr. Montalvo emphasizes the need for more nurses to become strategic communicators, actively countering health misinformation and safeguarding public trust in science. Fun fact, she found her French Bulldogs are her spirit animal and has a family of six.

Katie Huffling, DNP, RN, CNM, FAAN
Executive Director
Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments

Dr. Katie Huffling is a Certified Nurse-Midwife and the Executive Director of the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments (ANHE), the only national nursing organization whose primary focus is on the intersection of health and the environment. With ANHE, Huffling works with nurses and nursing organizations to elevate environmental health issues amongst the nursing profession. Under her leadership ANHE has grown into a global leader in environmental health. Huffling is a passionate supporter of nurse led advocacy in support of healthier environments for all and strongly believes in the power of nursing to create positive change. She lives in Maryland with her husband, an Italian greyhound, and two cats. She enjoys knitting, live music and dancing, gardening, and DIY home improvement projects.

Cara Cook, MS, RN, AHN-BC
Deputy Director
Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments

Cara Cook, MS, RN, AHN-BC (she, her) is the Deputy Director for the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments. Her work focuses on elevating environmental health as a national priority by engaging nursing organizations and individual nurses in environmental health advocacy, education, and practice change. Cara has experience in critical care and public health nursing. She holds a Master’s in Community/Public Health Nursing through the University of Maryland.

Nelda Godfrey, PHD, ACNS-BC, RN, FAAN, ANEF
Professor, Professional Practice and Director, Nurse Career Success, Identity and Innovation
University of MIssouri Sinclair School of Nursing

Nelda Godfrey is Professor, Professional Practice, and Director, Nursing Career Success, Identity and Innovation at the Sinclair School of Nursing, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO. A thought leader in nursing innovation and nursing education, Dr. Godfrey writes often on new care delivery models that can be influenced by a stronger emphasis on the nurse within—researching and developing strategies to create the whole person experience in nursing practice going forward. Her work with the International Society for Professional Identity in Nursing is transforming the way nurses, health care professionals and society understanding what it means to “think, act and feel like a nurse.” This work offers new language and new knowledge for the journey—helping nurses heal, flourish and expertly care for others.Dr. Godfrey serves on the American Nurses Association Ethics and Human Rights Advisory Board and on the Board of Directors of the International Society for Professional Identity in Nursing.

Kristin Cross, BSN, RN
Nurse Manager-MSICU
MultiCare

Hi, my name is Kristin Cross, and I have been a Critical Care RN for the past 18 years and 10 of those years I have worked as a ANM and a Manger of the ICU. I enjoy nursing as I get to support people through some of the hardest times of their life's, while supporting their loved ones too. It is a very fulfilling career to be able to help and advocate for patients as a nurse, whether it is for a critical intervention or their first meal after being extubated. At this time in my career, I enjoy supporting the growth of my core nurses by advocating and educating them on best practice. I am very proud to say that I have helped mentor CNAs into RNs, RNs to the advanced degrees, wrote many letters of recommendation for amazing nurses on my teams to advance in their careers, and to mentor and grow fellow leaders within MultiCare!

Linda Alderson, MSN, RN, NEA-BC
CNO
MultiCare Tacoma General Hospital

 
High-performing Nurse Executive with over 25 years of healthcare leadership experience in diverse settings. In-depth knowledge of healthcare operations at all levels. Currently practicing as a Chief Nursing Officer for a tertiary medical center in Tacoma WA. I thrive in transformational leadership roles and love to mentor other aspiring nurse leaders. Outside of work I enjoy sunny climates and quiet days. I have 3 lovely daughters and 2 grandchildren. Looking forward to collaborating and being part of this organization.

Heather Shlosser, DNP, FNP-BC, PMHNP-BC
Dean, Chief Nursing Administrator, Associate Professor
Simmons University

Carey Ellis, RN, MSN
Nurse Manager
MultiCare 

Melissa Kelley, PhD, RN
Assistant Professor
University of Texas at Austin, School of Nursing

Dr. Melessa Kelley is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at Austin in the School of Nursing. Dr. Kelley is a Native American (Keetoowah-Cherokee) doctoral prepared nurse within the United States (US). Dr. Kelley’s overall program of research focuses on conducting culturally congruent research to improve the health and well-being among Native Americans and Indigenous populations focusing on climate change and the environmental impact on overall health and well-being. Understanding and eliminating health disparities among Native Americans and Indigenous populations is the first step toward achieving health equity.

Anne Derouin, DNP, APRN, CPNP-PC, PMHS, FAANP, ANEF
Clinical Professor, Vice Dean, Academic and Student Affairs
Duke University School of Nursing

Tara Cortes, PhD, RN, FAAN
Executive Director
Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing 

Mary Prybolo, Phd, RN, FACHE
Chief of Research and Innovation
Community Care Partnership of Maine

I have been a nurse for 47 years, and it is the lens through which I view the world. My career has taken me from the bedside to executive leadership roles in hospitals, health systems, and accountable care organizations, always guided by a belief that we need to focus on what matters to an individual and to partner with them to keep them healthy and out of the hospital, a difficult challenge in our current healthcare system. I completed my PhD in Nursing Science at the Medical University of South Carolina in August 2025, focusing on self-reported health and hospitalization risk in older adults. I believe nurses must lead research that will drive clinical practice and policy formation.Originally from the Midwest, I have worked in urban settings over the last 15 years and in rural settings in Maine, the oldest state in the nation, where providing healthcare is incredibly challenging. I now live in Harpswell, Maine, where I enjoy being on the water, spending time with family, and exploring Maine’s coastal communities. Outside of work, I love to read, travel, and supporting local organizations that strengthen community health and well-being. 

Rachel Zeiger, EdD, RN, CNE
Assistant Professor
University of Nebraska Medical Center

I am a passionate nurse educator who enjoys facilitating student learning and preparing students for lifelong careers in nursing. I am dedicated to helping nursing academia and nursing practice collaborate to close the practice gap. I enjoy employing neuroeducation, narrative pedagogy, and innovative learning strategies in the classroom. I live in central Nebraska with my partner and our four children. In my free time, I enjoy keeping bees and gardening.Input I Connectedness | Ideation | Restorative | Woo

Cathy Philpott, DNP, MHA, MBA, CENP, NEA-BC, CEN, CCRN-Alumnus
VP ILS/EAS
Kirby Bates Associates

Cathy is a graduate of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where she received her BSN in 1991. She also has a Master of Science in Healthcare Management and a Master of Business Administration from Columbia Southern University in Alabama. In 2019, she obtained her Doctoral of Nursing Practice degree from Texas Christian University. Her areas of expertise include leading complex operations, disaster preparedness including emergency/trauma response, and change management projects involving strategic goal accomplishment and operational efficiencies-including LEAN methodology and Magnet Accreditation strategies. Cathy’s accomplishments include improving patient experience and nurse satisfaction scores, decreasing nurse vacancy rates and turnover while reducing premium pay and contract labor utilization, decreasing clinical variation, implementing computerized documentation systems, and contributing to the strategic planning and management of long-term construction projects. She serves as a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Graduate Programs, College of Nursing, University of Tennessee, Knoxville. 

Ethan Cicero, PhD, RN, FAAN
Assistant Professor
Emory University

Dr. Cicero’s program of research is focused on evaluating the interrelationship between social inequities and the effects of adverse and affirming social conditions on the health and well-being of transgender, nonbinary, and other gender expansive adults, with a particular interest in promoting healthy aging and reducing the risk for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. 

Robin Schaefer, MSN, RN, CAE
Executive Director
Arizona Nurses Association

Forgive Avorgbedor, PhD RN
Assistant Professor
UNC Greensboro

Debra Thompson, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN
CEO
Debra N. Thompson, LLC

Debra N. Thompson, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN is a seasoned executive who is committed to high quality, safe and effective health care delivery via system thinking and human development. Moreover, she develops and mentors future nurse leaders. She has held leadership positions in both academic and community health systems from the frontline to the boardroom.. She is adjunct faculty in Nursing at the University of Pittsburgh and Saint Vincent College where her teaching focuses on leadership development, patient safety and system thinking. She is engaged in the Future of People at Work Initiative, which explores with practitioners, leaders and thought pioneers on how emerging trends and technologies impact the workplace and workforce. As a fiber arts enthusiast and reader, she actively collects yarn, knits and is always looking for new books.