SCHOLAR DIRECTORY

Tiffany Purcell Pellathy earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from The Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing in Baltimore, Maryland and a Master of Science, in the Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (ACNP) program, from Georgetown University School of Nursing and Health Studies in Washington, DC. Ms. Pellathy has maintained an active clinical practice since 2001. She began practicing as a critical care nurse in the adult intensive care unit (ICU) and after obtaining licensure as an ACNP in 2006, continued to focus her practice on the care of acute and chronically ill adult and geriatric patients. Ms. Pellathy currently works part-time with the Advanced Practice Provider Service within the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), providing care for patients with advanced critical illness across the health care continuum. She has been engaged as nursing faculty at Georgetown University since 2004, and currently serves as the Program Director for their Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner program. As program director she has overseen implementation of delivering curriculum via an online distance-learning platform. Ms. Pellathy presents regularly at national nursing conferences including the National Organization for Nurse Practitioner Faculty (NONPF) and American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). Ms. Pellathy is a member of the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing (STTI), the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) and the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN). She is presently enrolled in the University of Pittsburgh PhD program with a research interest in preventing failure-to-rescue in critically ill patients.

Laura Penalo is a second year Nursing Ph.D. students at The Graduate Center of The City of New York. She was born in Colombia (South America) but completed all her nursing education in the United States. She earned her BSN, MS and Post Master’s degrees at The Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing in New York City. She is currently a full-time nurse educator at Monroe College School of Nursing. In her educator role, she has been able to combine her passion for clinical leadership, nursing informatics, nursing simulations, minority health, and community nursing. She is a millennial who better understands the needs of current nursing students and is eager to integrate nursing simulations, virtual patients and electronic medical records in undergraduate nursing education. As a Latina, she is role model and advisor for many young minority students who struggle to complete nursing school due to academic and socioeconomic barriers. She is a proud member of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses and has served on several community outreach committees and programs locally and internationally. Her goal is to continue her career in nursing academia and conduct research in minority health and innovative teaching strategies in undergraduate nursing education. Also, she will continue to serve minority populations through community service, leadership, and research.

MaryAnn Perez-Brescia received an Associates degree in nursing from Greater Hartford Community College, followed by her BSN and Masters in Nursing Science from the University of Hartford. Her clinical background has been in critical care as well as community nursing, psychiatric nursing, and nursing education. Currently, Ms. Perez-Brescia serves on the board of the Connecticut Health Foundation focusing on improving the health and well being of people across the state through a systems change approach in health equity initiatives. She is the President of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses-Hartford Chapter, a non-profit nursing professional organization that concentrates on the promotion of diversity in nursing and closing gaps in healthcare to Hispanics in the community. Ms. Perez-Brescia co-chairs the Diversity Subcommittee for the Connecticut Nursing Collaborative-Action Coalition to implement the recommendations of the Institute of Medicine Report, The Future of Nursing. She is employed by Three Rivers Community College as an Assistant Nurse Professor. Ms. Perez-Brescia is currently enrolled in the PhD program at the School of Nursing at the University of Connecticut. Her research will focus on issues surrounding health equity for underserved populations such as veterans, people of color, and people from low socioecomic backgrounds.

Georgia State University PhD program I’m interested in primary prevention in Africa Americans with a family history of stroke as it relates to diet behaviors. Graduated from University of Michigan and Medical College of Georgia

Shannon O’Connell-Persaud received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Briar Cliff College in 1987 in Business Administration. While managing a private medical practice for 28 years in Sioux City, Iowa, and North Sioux City, South Dakota, Shannon also retained leadership roles in the local medical community. As former President of Make-A-Wish Foundation Sioux City Chapter and the Siouxland Medical Managers group, Shannon pursued interests in various aspects of medical care and medical practice issues. Following career aspirations in nursing, Shannon completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from Briar Cliff University in 2013 with Honor distinction of Cum Laude. Shannon received various accommodations and awards to include: student representative to the Briar Cliff University Board of Trustees, Academic Dean list for three consecutive years, and the Distinguished Senior Continuing Education award. Additionally, Shannon was elected by the faculty to provide the student remarks at commencement service. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau. She has authored two articles. After graduation, she obtained a position in the intensive care unit specializing in trauma and neurology. She holds an adjunct position at Western Iowa Tech Community College educating students in clinical skills. After graduating with honors from South Dakota State University with a Ph.D. in nursing, she is an Associate Professor in Nursing at Briar Cliff University. She is married with two children, one granddaughter and a furry canine friend, Lilly.

Frances “Frankie” Peterson-Burch is a pre-doctoral student at the University of Pittsburgh and is currently supported by the NIH T32 Targeted Research and Academic Training Program for Nurses in Genetics. Frankie graduated summa cum laude with her BA in English from West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia in 2009 and magna cum laude with her accelerated BSN from West Virginia University in 2015. Before attending nursing school, she spent two years working for an ophthalmic practice based in Morgantown, West Virginia, where she became fascinated with ocular diseases. Her current research focuses on the impact of persistent viral infections in the development of age-related macular degeneration.