New Member Spotlight
Welcome to the following NurseTRUST New Members!
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
Abigail Reese, PhD, RN, CNM
Assistant Professor & Nurse-Midwifery Program Director, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of NM Endowed Professor in Nursing
University of New Mexico College of Nursing
I am certified nurse-midwife who made my home in New Mexico after following my passion for community-based midwifery practice through a number of states with varying cultural contexts and practice climates. I am a passionate advocate for the midwifery model of care as a life-saving, culturally grounded resource, and I am humbled by the opportunity to educate the next generation of nurse-midwives to serve their communities in a state where midwifery practice is recognized and strong. My research is focused on preserving access to perinatal care in rural communities through workforce innovation that centers the role of midwives in high performing systems. I believe that nursing and midwifery leadership is essential to improving health outcomes across the lifespan. My daughter and son, Luna and Jude, give me hope and keep me grounded. Live music and long walks give me joy. Partnership with community-based leaders gives me purpose.
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.
Louis Kaplan, PhD, RN
I moved from Boston, MA to Monterey, CA during the first half of 2020 (before there was a COVID-19 vaccination) to begin a teaching position in a nursing program on the beautiful Monterey Peninsula. I suppose I am a coastal person. My main love has been critical care nursing. I was a computer programmer before becoming a nurse so I expected to love the technical (nerdy) side of the work. Wrong! I ended up loving the connection with families and patients. I later discovered that I loved teaching nursing even more. I am new to the world of leadership but hope to find my leadership role within nursing education. My family is just two of us. I love bicycling and music. Judy Beal was my dean when I taught at Simmons University (Boston). She continues to be a role model and I thank her for introducing me to NurseTRUST.
Joanna Saville, RN, MSN, CCM
Regional Director Clinical Operations
Alante
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