Celebrating faculty and staff

Outstanding Graduate Advisor Award: Sarah Brumberg

Clinical Assistant Professor Sarah Brumberg goes the extra mile in her advising of DNP students. She took on additional advising projects later in the year, working tirelessly to assist these students in completing their projects through the transition. She advises with an eye to each student’s unique needs and provides resources along the way.

Commitment to the Understanding of Social Determinants Award: Lauren Martin

With her collaborators and students, Associate Professor Lauren Martin elevates the commitment to understanding the social determinants of health within the School of Nursing and beyond. Her community-engaged work with diverse groups has been acknowledged locally and nationally.

Exceptional Mentorship Award: Anne McKechnie

Associate Professor Anne McKechnie goes above and beyond to provide exceptional, caring and generous mentorship. She cares about her students’ personal and professional development while modeling the importance of family and work-life balance in her own life.

Out of the Box Thinking Award: Erica Timko Olson

Clinical Assistant Professor Erica Timko Olson’s work exemplifies creative and novel ways of understanding nursing. She integrates nature, mindfulness, and metacognition and brings this synthesis to the classroom and care environments. She is reimagining our understanding of humanity, nursing and nature.

Scholarship in Practice Award: Carrie Neerland

Assistant Professor Carrie Neerland’s midwifery clinical work inspires her research related to birth outcomes. She puts into action what she’s learning from her research and shares her findings willingly and graciously with fellow faculty and students.

Teaching of Social Engagement Award: Jane Anderson

Clinical Assistant Professor Jane Anderson demonstrates mastery of social engagement and represents the nurse practitioner profession in her work with many different entities. She has developed collaborative relationships with M Health Fairview and several recovery programs while supporting students as a preceptor and DNP project adviser.

Inclusivity, Diversity & Equity Award (Staff): Martha Scott Johnson

Senior Academic Adviser Martha Scott Johnson is a strong advocate for inclusivity, diversity and equity at the School of Nursing. She shares information and guidance while building meaningful connections and relationships with her advisees. Her innovative approaches to required advising and student affinity groups create equity and inclusivity among School of Nursing students.

Inclusivity, Diversity & Equity Award (Faculty): Diana Drake

Clinical Professor Diana Drake sets a standard of threading health equity and social justice throughout the women’s health/gender-related nurse practitioner program. Under her leadership, the program has increased representation of diverse students over the last four years and provided committed support for students throughout their studies.

E. Louis Grant Award: Joanne Donnelly

Clinical Assistant Professor Joanne Donnelly is an expert nurse educator, significantly contributing to the advancement of nursing through nursing education. Her dedication to patient safety exemplifies her commitment to the field. She has developed many instructional safety activities that benefit students and the nurse anesthesia profession as a whole.

Innovator Award: Annie Koolen

Operations Administrator Annie Koolen consistently develops solutions to increase productivity and accessibility across a large number of committees and units at the School of Nursing. Her reinvention of documentation and communication for the Honors, Awards and Recognition Committee exemplifies her innovation and success.

Leadership Award: Alicia George

As the assistant director of Student and Career Advancement Services and Doctoral Programs coordinator, Alicia George is an innovative contributor and communicator. She is dedicated to the School of Nursing students, working tirelessly to support students academically and personally. One such achievement is her development of a Canvas onboarding process for DNP students.

Faculty Public Service Award: Linnea Benike

Clinical Assistant Professor Linnea Benike is a trusted leader and a calming presence. At the Rochester campus, she has transformed the look and energy of the nursing skills lab and developed new ways of helping students understand the many aspects of patient care. She has also led several projects in the BSN program to improve student experience and academic success.

Keystone Award: Caitlin Pine

Online Course Content Development Assistant Caitlin Pine provides excellent support for faculty, staff and students around Canvas and online learning. She collaborates with faculty and the Disability Resource Center to identify Canvas media accommodations. She also assists the cooperative units with their Canvas responsibilities during times of staff transition.

Outstanding Service Award: Shannon Dahl

Through staff transition over the last year, Shannon Dahl has provided calm and steady leadership in her role assistant director of Student and Career Advancement Services. She is a reliable and outstanding contributor to both her team and her students, who credit her support as essential to their success.

Outstanding Service Award: Matt Benson

In his role as pre-licensure coordinator, Matt Benson assigns approximately 400 students to more than 1500 placements. He demonstrates exemplary problem solving skills, organization and a deep commitment to student success. He also serves as the chair for the Staff Leadership Council and is a member of the Honors, Awards and Recognition Committee.

The Dean’s Award: Strategic Communications and Honors, Awards and Recognition Committee (HARC)

Dean Delaney presented the Dean’s Award to the Strategic Communications team and HARC. These groups reflect a dolphin’s characteristics, contributing to the school in caring, intuitive, peaceful and intelligent ways.