2019 Distinguished Alumni

Donald Boyd ’06 ’17 has made immediate contributions to the nursing profession as a policy advocate and educator, particularly in his specialty of nurse anesthesia. These contributions mark him as an individual who displays the emerging leadership that is the hallmark of a Columbia University School of Nursing alumnus.

Boyd received his bachelor of science in nursing degree from the University of Pittsburgh and a master’s in nursing specializing in nurse anesthesia and a PhD from Columbia University School of Nursing. He currently serves as associate director of Columbia Nursing’s Nurse Anesthesia Program.

As a certified registered nurse anesthetist, Boyd passionately advocates for the scope of practice of CRNAs. He served the New York State Association of Nurse Anesthetists in multiple roles including committee member, committee chair, Political Action Committee chair, member of the Government Relations Committee, board member, vice president, president, and board advisor. He also served as the CRNA representative to the Regional Action Coalition Subcommittee on Scope of Practice. In 2015, with a team of four Columbia student colleagues, he received the American Association of Colleges of Nursing Grassroots Prize at AACN’s Annual Policy Summit for designing a project to engage individuals in policy and advocacy. He continues to hold legislative appointments advocating for state and national legislation to support nurse anesthesia practice.

As an educator, Boyd is highly regarded as a mentor who nurtures future nurse anesthetists. He influences the education and assessment skills learned by students in Columbia Nursing’s Helene Fuld Health Trust Simulation Center. Boyd has also served in various roles on the school’s alumni association board of directors including vice president and president. In these roles, Boyd positively influenced the collaboration between Columbia Nursing and CUPHSONAA to establish a joint annual nursing reunion as a new tradition for both organizations. He is a founding member of two special interest groups at the school—the Doctoral Student Organization and Columbia University Men in Nursing.

Elizabeth Cooper ’71 is a graduate of Columbia University School of Nursing’s Nurse Midwifery program. Upon graduation in 1971, under the tutelage of Dorothea Lang, CNM, MPH, FACNM, Cooper joined the Maternal Infant Care and Family Planning Project in New York City to improve access to care in impoverished communities. This autonomous practice enabled Cooper to improve maternal and infant care, thereby reducing mortality and morbidity.

Cooper’s experience providing care in underserved communities strengthened what she already knew, that health care delivery change was needed. Cooper joined the then newly formed (1967) American College of Nurse Midwives (ACNM) and began a long-term commitment to implement state regulations within midwifery practice. During her tenure, she helped organize the Workshop of the Legal Status of Nurse Midwifery, which eventually led to the current pre-accreditation process.

Cooper’s determination and leadership led her to become the first midwife to practice in upstate New York, at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, now the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC). As the founder and director of the URMC midwifery practice, Cooper realized that she needed to disseminate the benefits of midwifery and thus initiated the University of Rochester Midwifery Group and later assisted in the development of the University of Rochester’s School of Nursing Midwifery educational program. As a professor, Cooper provided education to burgeoning clinicians and was actively engaged in research. Her areas of expertise included care of adolescents, the developmentally disabled, women in peri-menopause, as well as group prenatal care.

Cooper’s impetus for change has shaped what midwifery is today. The ACNM is now recognized as the standard for excellence in midwifery education and practice in the United States. Cooper has been bestowed the title of Professor Emeritus in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Rochester and although retired from clinical midwifery practice since 2014, Cooper’s dedication and innovation will always be recognized by colleagues.

Nessa Coyle ’81 is a renowned nurse clinician and nurse scientist who has made significant and sustained contributions to nursing, especially in palliative and hospice care. Coyle completed a diploma in nursing from St. Bartholomew’s Hospital in London, a bachelor of arts from Marymount Manhattan College, a bachelor of science in nursing from Cornell University, a master of science in nursing from Columbia University School of Nursing, a doctor of philosophy from New York University, and completed a certificate in bioethics and medical humanities from Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Cardozo Law School.

Since 1969, Coyle has practiced at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York and currently serves as a consultant in palliative care, end-of-life-care, and clinical ethics. As an adult nurse practitioner and mentor to other nurses, she has improved the nursing care provided to patients with serious illnesses. With two other colleagues, she published the Oxford Textbook of Palliative Nursing that provides nurses the best evidenced-based practices in palliative nursing. Additionally, she actively engaged in the development of the End-Of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) curriculum used to educate nurses and nurse practitioners.

A prolific writer, Coyle has more than 140 publications and has presented her research to nurses and other health care professions nationally and internationally. She has presented on pain and symptom management, ethical dilemmas at the end-of-life, communication, and the moral distress of caregivers. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and has been recognized by her peers as being one of thirty leaders and visionaries in hospice and palliative nursing in the United States.

For advancing palliative and hospice care nursing, Coyle has been selected to receive the 2019 Distinguished Career in Nursing Award.

Linda Kivowitz Glazner ’64 has had a career as an occupational health nurse clinician, educator, administrator, public health care leader, advocate, mentor, and entrepreneur. Glazner has dedicated her life and career to the health and safety of others. She truly exemplifies what it means to be a neighbor by creating and inspiring a caring environment for the most marginalized and needy individuals. The Neighbors Humanitarian Award is given for sustained and dedicated services to underserved populations without regard to personal gain, recognition, or compensation while promoting public recognition of nursing as a human service - all characteristics that Glazner embodies.

While others in her class were in the process of retiring, Glazner was the driving force in establishing The Open Door, a non-profit volunteer organization based in Wisconson. The Open Door provides charitable and educational services to meet the immediate needs of those who are incarcerated and/or who have been released from jail or prison, significantly impacting the recidivism rate. In a letter to Glazner, one of the recipients of The Open Door said: "Many of my initial needs were met by The Open Door, including personal hygiene items, clothing, information, and referrals. With your help, I was able to work on things beyond self-care, such as securing government assistance and contacting local landlords…I was able to review my goals, count on daily support, and have a base of operations from which I could accomplish the steps needed to find income and housing.” Located across the street from the county jail, The Open Door opens each day at 5 a.m. to accommodate the typical early release times when the need is the greatest and other agencies are not available, to offer services and friendship and make it possible to transition back into the community. Glazner continues as President of The Open Door, inspires others, writes grants, provides case management, and helps develop programs.

For her humanitarian work, in particular through the creation of the Open Door, Glazner has been selected to receive the 2019 Neighbors Humanitarian Award.

Elaine Larson, PhD, RN, FAAN, CIC, is an extraordinary leader who has demonstrated her remarkable skills in nursing and epidemiology across clinical, academic, and policy settings for over five decades. Her steadfast leadership, prolific program of research and scholarship, and generous commitment to nursing education are unsurpassed. She has supported students and faculty, she has conducted groundbreaking research, and served on important school, university, regional, national, and international policy setting committees. Larson has facilitated the goals of Columbia University School of Nursing, our alumni, and the profession of nursing as well as enhanced the image of nursing at all levels.

Larson has built a highly dynamic program of epidemiologic research, serving as principal/multiple investigator for more than 80 funded projects with significant and sustained NIH funding. Many of her co-investigators and collaborators on these projects include members of the Columbia Nursing community. Moreover, in addition to her 400+ publications, she has authored a combined total of 29 book chapters, monographs, and books and is the Editor in Chief of the American Journal of Infection Control. Larson is a distinguished nurse researcher and has given keynote presentations around the world.

Larson is committed to nursing education. Prior to her present role as senior associate dean of scholarship and research at Columbia Nursing, she served as Dean of Nursing at Georgetown University. Larson is unequivocally invested in the success of the alumni, faculty, and students of Columbia Nursing. Under her leadership, Columbia Nursing is now ranked 5th in NIH funding for schools of nursing. She has also contributed to our alumni pool by mentoring PhD students, many of whom have gone on to successful academic and nurse leadership careers. Larson has shared her expertise and served on hundreds of local, regional, and national committees to improve health care practice and policy. Her research has directly influenced national and international infection control practice guidelines and policies.

Larson exemplifies the ideal qualities of a distinguished nurse leader in the 21st century and her work at Columbia Nursing (and beyond) provides a magnificent vision for students and alumni of what they can achieve with their education and a commitment to excellence. Larson truly deserves this recognition of her passionate commitment to Columbia Nursing, its alumni, and the profession of nursing as our Honorary Distinguished Alumni.

Judith Mercer ’74 is an internationally recognized research scholar and nurse midwife who has provided continuous contributions to midwifery since her graduation from Columbia Nursing in 1974. Mercer has educated nurse midwives, maintained midwifery practices, and served as Director of Midwifery at prestigious medical centers in her extraordinary career. In 1998, Mercer joined the University of Rhode Island’s faculty where there was excellent support for a researcher with a mission.

A clinical experience was the impetus for Mercer’s research career. While attending a distressed infant’s birth, Mercer waited before clamping the umbilical cord. By waiting just those few minutes, the infant who was born limp and pale quickly transitioned and became pink and vigorous. Leaving the umbilical cord undisturbed allowed the infant to receive a placental transfusion returning to the infant up to 30% of its blood volume. The idea that the delayed cord clamping could be beneficial to all infants became the center of her research in the years to follow.

Through her own and collaborative efforts, Mercer became a relentless advocate for the simple procedure of cord clamping to improve birth outcomes on infants of all gestational ages. Grants for her work total over $4 million including NIH K and NIH RO 1 funding to study cord clamping in both term and pre-term infants. Support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundations provided funds to study the long-term effects of this simple intervention on early brain development. Her research has influenced the development of professional guidelines for the World Health Organization, ACOG, and the American College of Nurse Midwives. Alongside her research in placental transfusion, Mercer has also mentored, consulted, and written on many areas in midwifery with numerous articles, chapters, and presentations at conferences here and abroad. In 2014, Mercer was awarded the ACNM’s highest honor, the Hattie Hemschemeyer Award, for her continuous and many contributions to midwifery.

In recognition of her pioneer work as a nurse scientist and excellence in clinical practice which has had an impact on babies across the globe, we honor her with the Distinguished Alumni Award for Research.

Sarah Collins Rossetti ’09 is an outstanding nurse and scientist. She holds an undergraduate degree in nursing from the University of Pennsylvania and a PhD from Columbia University School of Nursing. Her career began as a staff nurse on critical care units before and during her completion of her PhD. Her work since that time has made an outstanding contribution to nursing informatics research to improve patient/family safety and engagement in the hospital setting. She has done so by developing tools that patients and their caregivers can access directly, as well as nursing informatics innovations utilizing electronic health record (EHR) data in acute and critical care settings. Her innovative data science and knowledge discovery investigations work to support collaborative interprofessional clinical care and decrease missed information.

Rossetti has received numerous grants for her research, including a five-year, multi-site R01 grant from the National Institutes of Nursing Research, which will work to identify predictors of mortality from EHR documentation for use in a real-time clinical decision support tool.

She has directed a highly innovative program of clinical informatics in only 10 years since completing her training. Following a post-doctoral fellowship in the Department of Biomedical Informatics at Columbia, she was jointly appointed at Harvard Medical School and Partners Health Care. In 2018, she returned to Columbia as an assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical Informatics and School of Nursing.

In addition to her research efforts, Rossetti has widely disseminated her work in peer-reviewed publications and presentations and is a reviewer of the same. She is a sought-after mentor for informatics students of all backgrounds including physicians, nurses, and nonclinicians. Rossetti has a strong national and evolving international reputation in the field of biomedical informatics. She is on the Board of Directors for the American Medical Informatics Association and was elected as a Fellow of the American College of Medical Informatics in her first year of eligibility.

Her work continues to advance nursing and clinical informatics knowledge, both within and beyond the hospital setting, to enable achievement of a safer and more patient-centered learning health system. She is an exceptional Columbia Nursing graduate and most deserving of the Distinguished Alumni Award in Nursing Research.

Tener Veenema ’80 is an internationally recognized expert in disaster nursing and public health emergency preparedness and has served as a senior scientist to the DHHS Office of Emergency Preparedness and Response, Department of Homeland Security, FEMA, and VA Emergency Management Evaluation Center. An accomplished researcher, Veenema is an elected Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing, the National Academies of Practice, and the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin, Ireland. She was a Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellow and Senior Fellow in Nursing Policy and Health Leadership.

Her completion of a bachelor’s degree in nursing at Columbia (1980) was the turning point of her distinguished career in nursing for nearly 40 years. Veenema went on to earn master’s degrees in nursing administration (1992), pediatrics (1993), and public health (1999), and a PhD in health services research and policy (2001) from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. Veenema is currently a Professor of Nursing and Public Health at Johns Hopkins University. A trailblazer, visionary, and influential thought leader in disaster preparedness she is the editor of Disaster Nursing and Emergency Preparedness for Chemical, Biological, and Radiological Terrorism and Other Hazards, 4th Ed., the leading textbook in the field and developer of Disaster Nursing, an innovative "App."

Veenema was awarded the Florence Nightingale Medal of Honor by International Red Crescent, the highest international award in Nursing for her professional service in disasters and a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award. Notably, she served as the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) 2018 Distinguished Nurse Scholar-in-Residence and is member of several NAM standing committees including the CDC Strategic National Stockpile, CDC Committee on Evidence-Based Practices for Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response, and the CDC/NIOSH Committee on the Use of Elastomeric Respirators in Health Care. Veenema has educated hundreds of students over the years. In recognition of her stellar accomplishments as a teacher and mentor, she has been awarded the JHSON Faculty Shining Star Award, the Association of Community Health Educator’s Award, and the Johns Hopkins University Global Advising Award. Veenema’s significant contributions to nursing education, research, and practice, as well as her broad leadership and influence in health policy, exemplify a distinguished career in nursing. We honor Veenema with this most deserved award.