Class notes

Nancy Schamber, MS ’75, BSN ’70, and Claire Nelson, MS ’75, participated in the oral history project Origins and Achievements of the Nurse-Midwife Service at Hennepin Healthcare coordinated by the Hennepin Healthcare History Center. They discussed how they shepherded the Hennepin County Nurse-Midwife Service for 25 years as co-directors.

Martha Turner, PhD ’98, BSN ’75, received a 2025 National Nursing Ethics Leadership Award. The award recognizes leaders whose practice has been exemplary and paved the way for nurses to deepen their knowledge of ethics, to be prepared to engage in ethical dialogue, to provide mentorship and role modeling, and to inspire the next generation of nurse and ethics leaders.

Carmela Nyemetz, BSN ’98, serves as an integrative health practitioner at Methodist Hospital on the oncology and hospice unit. She provides integrative therapies to support whole-person health and healing of patients and families.

Wyn Huynh, BSN ’00, was honored with a Humanitarian Award by Minnesota Association for Nurse Anesthetists for medical mission works in Africa, Asia and South America. Huynh is the owner of Wyn Anesthesia, LLC.

Angela Mund, DNP ’08, MS ’99, BSN ’90, was named the 2025-26 President of 1,600-member South Carolina Association of Nurse Anesthesiology. This is her second term as president, having also served 2012-13. In 2024, Mund was inducted as a Fellow of the American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology and as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing.

The family of Gretchen McGuire, BSN ’08, accepted the Gretchen McGuire Advanced Practice Provider Clinical Excellence Award, which honors Gretchen’s legacy as a trailblazer who revolutionized pediatric cardiac critical care at Children’s Minnesota. In June 2025, Gretchen passed away after battling cancer.

Mandy Huber, MS ’09, Post-Bacc ’06, was inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Nurse-Midwives at its Annual Meeting. Huber also passed The Menopause Society’s national certification exam and became a Menopause Society Certified Practitioner.

Wanda Baker, DNP ’18, received the 2025 Susan R. Allen Excellence in Nursing Leadership Award from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in recognition of her accomplishments leading and expanding Integrative Care across care settings and campuses.

Debbie St. Anthony, DNP ’20 BSN ’78, received the Daisy Award at St. Catherine University–College for Adults.

Kelly Landsman, MN ’20, was interviewed on The Smart Care Team Spotlight podcast episode Nurses Hold the Key to Next-Level Healthcare Innovation. Landsman, a biomedical engineer and registered nurse, discussed the benefits of merging nursing insights with engineering solutions to drive patient-centered health care.

Gertrude Thomas, DNP ’22, started a new role as a regional director at Essentia Health.

Aria Daly, BSN ’22, recently started the Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia program at Florida International University.

Anna Pirsch, PhD ’23, BSN ’12, received the American Public Health Association’s Public Health Nursing Section 2025 Emerging Investigator Award. This award honors an early career member’s work since completing doctoral education.

Jenna Damico, BSN ’23, will begin the Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists program at the Minneapolis School of Anesthesia.

Maura Talwalkar, BSN ’23, will begin the Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice Program at the Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences.

Lyndsay Thompson, DNP ’23, BSN ’16, started a new position as special projects officer RN at Minneapolis VA Health Care System.

Kent Boyd, DNP ’24, MN ’18, is a new board member for the Health Professionals for a Healthy Climate. Boyd also co-chairs the Global Nurses Climate Change Committee for the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments.

Jessica (Rakos) Chapman, DNP ’24, BSN ’17, published Promoting Behavioral Health Integration in Pediatric Primary Care Practices using a Quality Improvement Project in Clinical Practice in Pediatric Psychology.

Caillyn Costello, DNP ’24, started postgraduate education at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, specializing in tropical nursing and midwifery. The program will provide knowledge and practical skills needed to deliver effective care in low-resource and global health settings.

Maria Christina Gallup, DNP ’24, was inducted as a Fellow of the Clinical Nurse Specialist Institute.

Wendy Worden, DNP ’24, began serving as an advanced practice provider supervisor for the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Mayo Clinic Rochester.

Tumani Jackson, DNP ’25, started a new role as RN program manager for Accreditation and Regulatory Affairs at Duke University Hospital for the Durham and Raleigh Campuses.

Jennifer Tucker, DNP ’25, started a new position as Health Services coordinator at South Washington County Schools.

Keep us up to date

Have you recently received a promotion, hired for a new position or honored with an award? Or have you moved or changed email addresses? Keep us up to date and let us know by visiting www.nursing.umn.edu/alumni.