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Champions

Billy-Rosa

Billy Rosa

PhD, MBE, NP-BC, FAANP, FAAN is Chief Research Fellow, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) Cancer Center, New York

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Billy-Rosa

Billy Rosa

PhD, MBE, NP-BC, FAANP, FAAN is Chief Research Fellow, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) Cancer Center, New York

He received his BSN magna cum laude from NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing (2009); was valedictorian of his MSN class, Hunter College (2014); and completed his PhD and Master of Bioethics as an RWJF Future of Nursing Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania (2020). Dr. Rosa spent one year with the Human Resources for Health Program in Rwanda, East Africa (2015-2016), contributing to the curriculum content for the first Masters-prepared nursing cohort in the country and completed an interprofessional palliative care clinical fellowship at MSK (2017). He is the editor of four books and has contributed more than 150 academic publications. Dr. Rosa has been recognized with numerous distinctions, including the international Spirit of Renewal Award from Sigma (2017); national Public Health Service Award for Distinguished Practice in Nursing from the American Nurses Association (2020); and the national Advanced Certified Hospice and Palliative Nurse of the Year Award from the Hospice & Palliative Credentialing Center (2021). He serves on the editorial boards for the Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing and Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, and as a board member for multiple global health and palliative care organizations. Dr. Rosa is an International Council of Nurses Global Nursing Leadership Institute Scholar, an American Psychosocial Oncology Society Health Equity Scholar, and the International Association for Hospice & Palliative Care U.S.A. Advocacy Focal Point. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, the American College of Critical Care Medicine, and the New York Academy of Medicine.

Elizabeth-Ndungu

Elizabeth Ndungu

RN, BSN, MPH, is a nurse educator and a researcher

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Elizabeth-Ndungu

Elizabeth Ndungu

RN, BSN, MPH, is a nurse educator and a researcher

She is currently working as a Lecturer and a digital/eLearning Coordinator for the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (Upgrading) Program at the School of Nursing in Mount Kenya University. She has 7 years working experience in academia, where she has assumed various administrative roles like Head of Nursing Skills Laboratory and acting School of Nursing Registrar. Elizabeth is also an Ethics Reviewer in the University Institutional Research Board. In addition, she is a consultant for the eLearning Leadership, Management and Governance for Health System Strengthening in Africa project implemented by Amref Health Africa. Elizabeth’s passion in community service is immense. She is a Board Member in a High School Institution; she is an active member in her local church where she supports the Health Board Committee and the Church Development Committee. Elizabeth has been involved in extensive community social responsibility activities organized by Mount Kenya University. She is a co-lead for the International Junior Nurse Fellowship Programme whose aim is to support young nurses in leadership and research.

Joao-Marcal-Grilo

João Marçal-Grilo

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Joao-Marcal-Grilo

João Marçal-Grilo

João is a British Portuguese mental health nurse and the founding director of Jaya Mental Health, a UK-based NGO dedicated to improving standards of mental health care in low income countries through the training and empowerment of nurses and other health professionals.

João’s interest in nursing started when after finishing his Geography degree and a Masters in International Development in 1994, he backpacked across India and spent several months volunteering in a small hospital in Uttar Pradesh. There, he saw how skilled, resourceful and adaptable nurses are, but also how their contribution to healthcare is often misunderstood and undervalued.

Following this experience, João studied at King’s College London to become a mental health nurse. He then worked for several years across the South of East of England in a variety of inpatient and community mental health care settings. Later on and driven by his enthusiasm for travelling, João moved to Sri Lanka, where he worked as a volunteer dementia nurse consultant for two years. There João was reminded of how health inequalities are a global problem that affect the populations of the poorest countries and how nurses can have a central role in improving standards of care across the world. Once back in the UK, João founded Jaya Mental Health, an NGO that supports and encourages nurses to lead and transform mental health care where it is absent and most needed.
Advocating for and with nurses has never been as relevant and meaningful as today. As someone who believes in the potential of nurses and the power in them to bring sustainable change to healthcare systems across the world, João is absolutely delighted to work with the Nursing Now Challenge.

Debbie-Cromack

Debbie Cromack

Learning, Education and Nursing Development Manager at Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust.

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Debbie-Cromack

Debbie Cromack

Learning, Education and Nursing Development Manager at Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust.

With a career history spanning Older Adult Nursing, Intermediate Care and quality improvement I have spent the last 12 years within the education arena within a Mental Health and integrated community nursing service provider. Passionate about nuturing and supporting learners in a gold standard practice learning environment which enables them to flourish, I have been fortunate to have been involved in developing a number of teaching innovations including virtual community placements and blended learning packages.

As Operational Preceptorship Lead I support early career nurses through the delivery of a 12 month InsideOut transitional support package and associated pastoral support and have recently engaged with International Nurse Recruitment to open up opportunity for employment into mental health services with associated education and pastoral support packages.
As a Queens Nurse I am committed to learning, leadership and excellence in community nursing and promoting nursing as a career with young people as a Nurse Ambassador .
I lead on the implementation of the Nursing Now Challenge within my organisation to provide a bespoke leadership programme to early career nurses. As part of this challenge a partnership with Elizabeth Ndungu at Mount Kenya University has resulted in a collaborative International Junior Nurse Fellowship.

The first cohort will be made up of 10 BDCFT nurses (post preceptorship) and 10 senior nursing students from Mount Kenya University learning together across a virtual platform. They will each as part of the fellowship develop and produce a robust research proposal or practice-based study (which they will implement during the 12 month programme) enabling a fantastic opportunity to feed findings/outcomes back into their respective organisations and across the wider Nursing Now global community.

Prof Sheila Tlou (1)

Professor Sheila Tlou

Nursing Now Challenge Champion for Student Engagement

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Prof Sheila Tlou (1)

Professor Sheila Tlou

Nursing Now Challenge Champion for Student Engagement

Professor Sheila Tlou is the former Nursing Now Co-Chair and today is the Nursing Now Challenge Champion for Student Engagement.

Professor Tlou is former UNAIDS Director of the Regional Support Team for Eastern and Southern Africa, and former Member of Parliament and Minister of Health of Botswana. As Minister of Health, she led a successful AIDS prevention, treatment, care and support programme whose achievements are still some of the best in Africa. She was previously a Professor of Nursing at the University of Botswana and Director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Nursing and Midwifery Development in Primary Health Care for Anglophone Africa.

She holds a PhD in Nursing Science from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and has Membership of the American Academy of Nursing and the US National Academy of Medicine.

IMG-20201116-WA0063

Zipporah Iregi. B.Sc.N, RN and Nurse Advocate

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IMG-20201116-WA0063

Zipporah Iregi. B.Sc.N, RN and Nurse Advocate

Zipporah is a member of the Challengers' Committee and a Board Member at the Royal Youth Mentorship Program, Kenya.

Zipporah graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing from Kenya Methodist University (KeMU) in 2021. Following her passion for nursing leadership and mentorship, she served as the 1st Vice Chairperson for the Kenya Students and Novice Nurses (KESNNUR), where she coordinated mentorship, leadership training, and professional development programs for young nurses in Kenya. She was also a Global Associate in the Global Leadership Development Programme, North Ireland Nightingale
Challenge.

She has worked as a Nursing Officer Intern at Kitui County Referral Hospital and Volunteer Nurse at Kerugoya Medical Centre, where she was directly involved in the provision of Nursing Care to patients in different departments.

Zipporah is passionate about the development of her community and has been involved in various projects such as Sanitary Towel Drives, Blood Donation Campaigns, and distribution of hand sanitisers and soaps during the COVID-19 pandemic. She also served as a County Ambassador (Kirinyaga) with the Global Peace Foundation – Kenya, promoting peace initiatives and
entrepreneurial development of the youth in Kirinyaga County, Kenya.

Screenshot 2022-01-24 at 12.15.03

Professor Sue Haines

Assistant Director of Nursing, Professional Development

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Screenshot 2022-01-24 at 12.15.03

Professor Sue Haines

Assistant Director of Nursing, Professional Development

Sue is Assistant Director of Nursing (Professional Development, Education and Workforce) at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, a large acute National Health Service (NHS) Trust in England and is Honorary Professor, University of Nottingham, School of Health Sciences and visiting lecturer Nottingham Trent University. Her clinical background is in acute and critical care, before moving into professional and clinical leadership development. She has specific experience and interest in supporting and coaching nurses in career development and inclusive talent management through doctoral research. Post-doctoral research interests include nursing workforce development, nursing careers, retention, preceptorship and shared governance. She leads on education, practice placements, clinical leadership development and post-registration education for nurses. Post-doctoral work includes a successful Economic and Social Research Council Impact Leaders Award, working in partnership with Nottingham University Business School, evaluating the local Integrated Health and Social Care System’s (ICS) ‘legacy mentor’ project, a late-career retention initiative for the Registered Nurse workforce.

Sue is an active member and previous Chair of the Nursing and Midwifery Professional Cabinet in the local ICS, working to develop high-quality care across health and social care settings. She sits on the Royal College of Nursing’s national Professional Nursing Committee as elected member for the East Midland’s region, working actively to influence national professional and policy direction for the advancement and development of nursing, nursing careers and stratgey.

Elazar 1

Elazar Tadesse (RN, MSc, PhD)

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Elazar 1

Elazar Tadesse (RN, MSc, PhD)

Elazar Tadesse is a registered nurse since 1997 and holds a master’s degree in public health and a PhD degree in public health nutrition from Uppsala University, Sweden. She is former Vice President for Research and Community Service (2017-2020) at Kotebe Metropolitan University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She is also a former academic and research dean (2014-2016) at the school of
nursing in Wolaita Sodo University, Southern Ethiopia. From 2002 to 2004 Elazar led the establishment and expansion of the Tuberculosis and Leprosy prevention programme throughout the 12 districts of Wolaita Zone, Southern Ethiopia. She successfully implemented capacity-building programme for nurses in rural health centers so that they can diagnose and manage tuberculosis and leprosy cases on their own. Since, 2005 Elazar has worked in three public Universities (Jimma University, Wolaita Sodo University and Kotebe Metropolitan University) in Ethiopia at different managerial positions. She is also a former member of the administrative board for two other universities in Ethiopia.

Elazar has extensive research experience in the area of management of childhood severe acute malnutrition in rural areas and she has published 15 original research articles. Currently, she is leading a research project that seeks to identify alternative therapeutic foods and medications for malnourished children using locally available ingredients. She is also involved in different
research projects on nursing care in public hospitals in Addis Ababa. Besides academia and research, Elazar started a charity organization in 2021 in rural south of Ethiopia to support women and children in precarious livelihood.