SCHOLAR DIRECTORY

Maha Habre is a Masters-prepared registered nurse specialized in and passionate about advanced practice emergency and high acuity nursing care. She is currently academically and clinically teaching at the Alice Ramez Chagoury School of Nursing at the Lebanese American University. After completing her BS in Nursing at the University of Balamand, she worked as a Staff Nurse at the Emergency Department of the American University of Beirut Medical Center. In 2009, she received the Magnet Champion of the Year award. She later became the first American Board-Certified Emergency Nurse in Lebanon in 2009. She gained her Masters degree in Nursing, Adult Care, with a Minor in Education at the American University of Beirut in February 2012 after completing a summer residency on Advanced Practice Emergency Nursing at the Johns Hopkins University and Hospital. Her areas of practice, teaching, and research experience include but are not limited to: triage, trauma care, sepsis and shock care, brain injury, other emergency and high acuity nursing care, use of simulation in nursing education, and inter-professional health and social care education. Maha is currently admitted into the Post-MSN Doctor of Nursing Practice program at the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. She is eager to advance the nursing profession and education in her home country Lebanon.

Ms. Halloway is a BSN to PhD student at Rush University College of Nursing (RCON). Her research focus is on identifying modifiable health behaviors that can help stabilize or decrease the onset of cognitive impairment in community-dwelling older adults. Her interest in the older adult population was sparked when she was selected by the faculty to be a nursing scholar as part a Robert Wood Johnson funded Comprehensive Gerontologic Education Partnership at Pacific Lutheran University to produce more qualified nurses committed to the care of the older adult. She graduated summa cum laude and was awarded the Ruth Carlson Award in Clinical Excellence, and was accepted into RCON soon after. Under the guidance of Dr. JoEllen Wilbur, her chairperson, Ms. Halloway has published and presented research both regionally and nationally on older adults and physical activity. Current honors include the Diane Cronin-Stubbs Memorial Award, Sigma Theta Tau and Psi Chi honor societies, and the Mary Oakley and Kellog Scholarships (RCON). Her clinical experiences have been focused on the care of older adults in multiple settings, including critical care and home health. Her current clinical position is as the Wellness Nurse for independent seniors living in residential apartments on the Rush campus. A relatively recent addition to the nursing community, she hopes that her fresh prospective will positively impact preventative health care of at-risk older adults.

Aimee V. Hamel received her Masters of Nursing from the University of Minnesota School of Nursing after completing her undergraduate degree in Biology at Hamline University. She is currently pursuing the PhD in nursing at the University of Minnesota. Throughout her nursing career Ms. Hamel has focused on cardiovascular patient populations, beginning her work at Abbott Northwestern’s Heart Hospital. Subsequent work in heart failure research at the University of Minnesota provided an opportunity to learn about and care for patients in advanced stages of heart failure, including ventricular assist device and cardiac transplant care. Ms. Hamel currently works at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center, as a member of the heart failure research team. Her work at the VA has continued to deepen her understanding of heart failure, while bringing a new understanding of the additional challenges it brings to the Veteran population. Ms. Hamel’s research interest is in the area of decision-making in the advanced heart failure population. She is particularly interested in the supportive needs and processes of Veterans who are facing advanced heart failure therapy decisions. She is also interested in increasing the participation of nurses in research and supporting bedside and clinical nurses in developing their ideas into research projects.

Born and raised in Mississippi, Laurie spent her childhood providing health care to reluctant pets, dolls, and family members. After high school she decided to make it official by attending nursing school, where she was awarded the Circle of Excellence, the highest honor given students at the college. After gaining experience in a in a rural hospital until it closed, she moved to the challenging and compassion demanding positions of hospice care while working part-time in ICU/CCU to keep abreast of acute care changes. Palliative care proved to be a particular forte so she obtained certification to establish expertise. Laurie served as Director of Nursing for an outpatient hospice where she gained expertise in communication and honed her leadership skills. Through a series of events she found herself working in other areas of nursing eventually settling in Native American Correctional healthcare where she worked full time and pursued a degree in Ministry, and then Master of Science in Nursing. She is currently working with an under served Native American population as a Certified Family Nurse Practitioner.

Julie Hammatt is currently part of the inaugural DNP class at Idaho State University. She holds a Bachelor’s of Arts in English which she received in 1998 from the University of Hawaii, and a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing from Idaho State University in 2006, graduating with high honors. Her career has been dedicated to emergency nursing, in both urban and rural communities. She is a Certified Emergency Nurse, and served as the pediatric nurse liaison in the ED. Julie has a passion for rural and community health and improving health maintenance, to include childhood immunization rates. She looks forward to sharing her knowledge and experiences with future nurses through teaching and mentoring. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing, the Emergency Nurses’ Association, and a student member of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.

Heather Harker Ryan is a third-year student enrolled in the Nursing BS-to-PhD Population Health program at the University of Massachusetts Boston. She received a BA in Anthropology from the Barnard College in 2006, and a BS in Nursing from Columbia University in 2008. She currently works as Program Nurse for the Preventive Cardiology Program at Boston Children’s Hospital, focusing on treatment of children with cardiovascular risk factors such as hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, and obesity. Heather is a member of Sigma Theta Tau International, the American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing, and the Preventive Cardiology Nurses Association. She has been elected President of the PhD Nursing Student Collaborative at UMass Boston for the 2014-2015 academic year, and will begin serving on the STTI Theta Alpha Chapter Board of Directors as Webmaster in September 2014. Heather’s particular interests lie in the social experience of children and families treated for cardiovascular risk factors, as well as medical professional behavior related to diagnosing and treating cardiovascular risk in their patients. Her professional goals relate to ensuring that patient understanding of cardiovascular risk and preference for screening and treatment are fully understood, and specifically incorporated into practice protocols and medical education. Heather also has a passion for nursing theory and theory development, and she hopes to actively incorporate this into future nursing leadership roles.

Eboni Harris is a second-year doctoral student from Simpsonville, SC attending the University of South Carolina. She received her BSN from the University of South Carolina in 2004. During her BSN program she served as the South Carolina SNA State Board Nominations and Elections Committee Director. She completed her Master’s of Science in Nursing program at Clemson University in May 2009. While completing her masters program, she was selected to complete a medical mission in Macas, Equador. She was honored as a Natural Medicine Comprehensive Database Scholar upon degree completion. Eboni is a Board Certified Family Nurse Practitioner. She currently works as a full time instructor of nursing at the University of South Carolina Upstate. Eboni serves as an advisor for the Student Nurses Association and is passionate about student success. Her commitment to education led her to pursue her terminal degree. She currently serves on the University of South Carolina Dean’s Advisory Board. Her research interest is to developed culturally tailored interventions addressing obesity in African American women.