2005 Founders Award Winner

Praise for the 2005 Founders Award winner’s work reveals a repetition that warrants sharing. It comes from numerous colleagues and APSNA members who have had the great fortune to work with her. She is hailed as a leader, an innovator, a mentor, and above all, a human of great integrity and courage. Many describe her unique capacity to provide support from afar for friends and colleagues struggling with personal or professional issues. Her warmth, compassion, and wisdom seep through phone and internet wires on a regular basis – whether to keep the spark alive for APSNA research projects, or on a more intimate level during personal crises, so many of us have benefited. In her term as president she is credited with developing APSNA’s first strategic plan based upon the direct feedback she garnered from the membership.

One of her most outstanding characteristics is her ability to do the ‘big thinking.’ ... [she] was developing strategic plans, building bridges, developing future leaders, instilling confidence in those of us she believed in... She has a gift few mentors possess: to see individual potential and encourage that potential in others. For me it changed my life and my view of my ‘professional’ self.” Said another nursing colleague: “She brought an excitement to nursing that was contagious. She expected each of us to hone our critical thinking skills and refine our practice daily.”