SCHOLAR DIRECTORY

Kathleen Kennedy is a PhD in Nursing student at Azusa Pacific University (APU). Ms. Kennedy earned a BSN degree and Public Health Nurse certificate also from APU. From California State University Fullerton, she earned a MSN in Nursing Leadership & Administration with a concentration in nursing education. During that time, she was named a MSN GAANN (Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need) Fellow. Her Master’s research topic was Influences of Knowledge, Attitudes, and Beliefs on Student Nurses’ Intention to Promote Breastfeeding. Kathleen is an Assistant Professor of MSN and RN to BSN students at Concordia University Irvine (CUI) in Irvine, California. One of her passions is to encourage and support the next generation of nurses to be excellent in practice, inspirational in nursing education, and exemplary in nursing research. Academically, Ms. Kennedy is an outstanding scholar with a 3.9 GPA in her doctoral studies and has been a member of Sigma Theta Tau International since 2006. Her research interest is in the importance of exclusive breastfeeding in public health locally and globally, and how nurses can make a difference. The title of her proposed study is Examining the Influence of Nurse Caring Behaviors on Optimal Breastfeeding Practices: A Case-Control Study. Kathleen is married, with four children and eight grandchildren whom she enjoys very much!