Betty Irene Moore Fellowship National Advisory Council
Meet our council members
The Fellowship National Advisory Council is a diverse group of leaders with exceptional impact in health and health care. The council provides inspiration and aspiration for strategies and planning, with input on all aspects of the Betty Irene Moore Fellowship for Nurse Leaders and Innovators. Council leaders meet with fellows at the annual convocation and serve as mentors or help facilitate mentorship connections for fellows.
*Denotes program faculty who facilitate sessions during convocation
Dawn M. Aycock, Ph.D., R.N., A.N.P.-B.C., F.A.H.A., F.P.C.N.A., F.A.A.N.
Professor, Byrdine F. Lewis College of Nursing and Health Professions, Georgia State University
Dawn Aycock is an accomplished cardiovascular and stroke nurse scientist who is passionate about expanding the ranks of diverse nurse scientists in the nursing field. She is a professor with the Byrdine F. Lewis College of Nursing and Health Professions at Georgia State University and is a graduate of the inaugural cohort of the Betty Irene Moore Fellowship for Nurse Leaders and Innovators. Previously, she served as the Ph.D.in Nursing Program director at Georgia State University and has led initiatives in professional organizations such as the American Heart Association and the Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association. Her research is focused on stroke prevention and her innovative Stroke Counseling for Risk Reduction (SCORRE) intervention is designed to increase awareness and promote healthy lifestyle behaviors among young African American adults.
Alice Bonner, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N.
Adjunct Faculty and Director of Strategic Partnerships, CAPABLE Program, Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing
Senior Advisor for Aging, Institute for Healthcare Improvement
A nurse practitioner for more than 30 years and an expert in health care for older adults, Alice Bonner is adjunct faculty and director of strategic partnerships for the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing Community Aging in Place — Advancing Better Living for Elders (CAPABLE) Program. Her research is focused on home and community-based programs, nursing home quality, nursing workforce development, preventing and ending elder mistreatment, as well as preventing and ending homelessness for older adults. Previously, she served as secretary of the Executive Office of Elder Affairs for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and director of the Division of Nursing Homes for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in Baltimore.
Christine Cassel, M.D.
Professor and Presidential Chair, UCSF School of Medicine
A leading expert in geriatric medicine, biomedical ethics and quality care, Christine Cassel is a professor with the UCSF School of Medicine. Previously, she was the president and CEO of the National Quality Forum and prior to that served as president and CEO of the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) and the ABIM Foundation. She was one of 20 scientists chosen by President Barack Obama to serve on the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Modern Healthcare recognized her among the 100 most influential people in health care and among the 50 most influential physicians in 2013 and 2014. Her research focuses on geriatrics and aging, ethical patient care, Medicare and quality care.
Bernice Coleman, Ph.D., A.C.N.P.-B.C., F.A.H.A., F.A.A.N.
Assistant Professor and Research Scientist III
Director, Nursing Research Department
Nurse Practitioner, Heart Transplantation and Mechanical Circulatory Support Programs, Smidt Heart Institute
Cedars-Sinai
A nurse researcher known for her expertise in cardiac surgical care and transplantation, Bernice Coleman is the director of Nursing Research and an assistant professor for Cedars-Sinai. She is also a nurse practitioner at Cedars-Sinai’s Smidt Heart Institute. Her research is dedicated to improving health disparities and exploring the racial outcomes of post-heart transplantation in African American and Caucasian communities. Previously, she served as a member of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Advisory Committee on Organ Transplantation. She also served as chair of the Genomic Nursing and Health Care Expert Panel for the Academy of Nursing and chair of the Nursing Health Science and Allied Health Council of the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation.
Martha A. Dawson, D.N.P., R.N., F.A.C.H.E., F.A.A.N.
Associate Professor, University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing
Immediate Past President, National Black Nurses Association
A global thought leader in the fields of nursing, health systems administration, nursing education and translational research, Martha A. Dawson is an associate professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing and recently served as the 13th president of the National Black Nurses Association. Previously, she served as vice president of clinical affairs and operations and chief nursing officer at the University of Louisville and associate chief operating officer at Duke University. She was a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Executive Nurse Fellow. Dawson was co-convenor of the 2020 National Black Coalition Against COVID and a co-lead of the 2020 National Commission on Racism in Nursing. Her research focuses on administrative systematology, career progression, organizational injustices and barriers, and anti-racism in nursing.
Rosa Gonzalez-Guarda, Ph.D., R.N., M.P.H., C.P.H., F.A.A.N.
Associate Professor and Faculty Lead, Population Health Research, Duke University
As an associate professor at Duke University School of Nursing and the faculty lead for the Population Health Research Area of Excellence for the school’s Center for Nursing Research, Rosa Gonzalez-Guarda is committed to building and nurturing the next generation of nurses to promote health equity. She is also co-director of the Community Engagement Core for Duke’s Clinical Translational Science Institute. Previously, she was the Gannet Healthcare Group’s Nursing Excellence Regional Winner in the Advancing and Leading the Profession category. She is an alumna of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Nurse Faculty Scholars Program. Her research focuses on describing the intersection of intimate partner violence, substance abuse, HIV and mental health among Latinos in the U.S. and the development of culturally tailored interventions.
J Taylor Harden, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N., F.G.S.A.
Visiting Professor, University of Texas Austin School of Nursing
Executive Director Emeritus, National Hartford Center of Gerontological Nursing Excellence
Conducting research and mentoring future generations of gerontologists is among J Taylor Harden’s expertise as the executive director emeritus of the National Hartford Center of Gerontological Nursing Excellence and visiting professor at the University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing. Her research focuses on clinical interventions and Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, risk and resilience in older women, and minority health and health disparities. Previously, she served as the assistant to the director of the National Institute on Aging in the Office of Special Populations and acting deputy director of the National Institute on Aging within the National Institutes of Health. She also served as a member of the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing National Advisory Council.
Misha Pavel, Ph.D.*
Professor, Khoury College of Computer Sciences
Professor, Bouvé College of Health Sciences
Professor, Northeastern University Consortium on Technology for Proactive Care
An expert in technology-based solutions that transform health care, Misha Pavel is a joint faculty member of the Northeastern University’s Khoury College of Computer Sciences and Bouvé College of Health Sciences and is a professor with the Northeastern University Consortium on Technology for Proactive Care. Previously, he served as program director for the Smart and Connected Health program at the National Science Foundation and was a technology leader at AT&T Laboratories. He also founded the Point of Care Laboratory in the Biomedical Engineering Department within the School of Medicine at the Oregon Health and Science University. His research leverages advances in sensor technology, computational modeling machine learning, and artificial intelligence in the care for older adults, traumatic brain injury and stroke survivals. He is a senior life member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
Gail Powell-Cope, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N.
Visiting Professor, Betty Irene Moore Fellowship for Nurse Leaders and Innovators
Director Emerita, Center of Innovation on Disability and Rehab Research and Safe Patient Handling and Mobility Center of Excellence, Veterans Administration
Gail Powell-Cope is passionate about mentorship, leadership, assistive mobility and community reintegration for veterans in post-acute rehabilitation. In July 2022, she joined the Betty Irene Moore Fellowship for Nurse Leaders and Innovators as a visiting professor. She retired in 2019 from 21 years in health services research at the James A. Haley Veterans Administration Hospital, where she served as the director of a Veterans Administration Health Services Research and Development Center of Innovation on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, section chief of Rehabilitation Outcomes Research, and chief of Nursing Research. She also served as director of the first nurse-led Patient Safety Center of Inquiry at the James A. Haley Veterans Health Administration Hospital in Tampa, Florida. She received special recognition from the Veterans Health Administration for Leadership in the Nursing Research Advisory Group. Her research and training program expertise includes community reintegration for persons with disabilities, patient falls, safe patient handling and mobility, implementation research and program evaluation.
Susan Reinhard, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N.
Visiting Professor, Betty Irene Moore Fellowship for Nurse Leaders and Innovators
Former Senior Vice President and Director, AARP Public Policy Institute
Chief Strategist Emeritus, Center to Champion Nursing in America
A nationally recognized expert in health and long-term care policy in various settings, Susan Reinhard’s background includes extensive experience in conducting, directing and translating research to promote policy change. In November 2024, she joined the Betty Irene Moore Fellowship for Nurse Leaders and Innovators as a visiting professor. Previously, Reinhard served as the senior vice president and director of AARP’s Public Policy Institute, professor and co-director of the Rutgers Center for State Health Policy, deputy commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Health, and a former faculty member at the Rutgers School of Nursing. She also served as a member of the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing National Advisory Council. Her research and policy expertise include health care workforce, caregiving, consumer choice, community care options and quality.
Harold Schmitz, Ph.D.*
Founding Partner, The March Fund
Senior Scholar, UC Davis Graduate School of Management
Harold Schmitz is a senior scholar in the UC Davis Graduate School of Management and founding partner with The March Fund – a food technology venture capital fund focused on improving global consumer health and environmental sustainability. Previously, he was the chief science officer for Mars, Inc. and director of the Mars Advanced Research Institute. He was also a U.S. Department of Agriculture National Needs Research Fellow at North Carolina State University’s Department of Food Science. He is active in the Executive Committee of the Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable at The National Academies. A former Art and Carlyse Ciocca Visiting Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Graduate School of Management, he is a lifetime member in the Council on Foreign Relations.
Antonia Villarruel, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N.
Professor and Margaret Bond Simon Dean of Nursing
Senior Fellow, Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics
University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing
A pioneering nurse researcher and champion for Latino communities, Antonia Villaruel is the Margaret Bond Simon Dean of Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. She co-chairs the National Strategic Advisory Committee of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation/AARP Future of Nursing Campaign for Action and is an active member of the Health and Medicine Division of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. Previously, she served as president of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses and developed the widely-used intervention Cuídate, meaning “Take Care of Yourself,” for Hispanic teens, which promotes abstinence and safer sex within the frame of Latino culture. Her research focuses on health promotion, risk reduction and culturally relevant population health interventions.
Mary Wakefield, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N.
Professor LJB School of Public Affairs
University of Texas Austin School of Nursing
Former U.S. Acting Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services
An internationally recognized expert in health and public policy, Mary Wakefield’s background includes eight years in the United States Senate as chief of staff to North Dakota senators and deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – a senior executive position not previously held by a nurse. She is a visiting professor at Georgetown University School of Nursing and Health Studies, as well as the University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing. She served as administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration and also on the Institute of Medicine’s committee that produced the landmark “To Err is Human” report. Her research and policy expertise include health care workforce, underserved populations, access to primary care, quality and health professions education. She is a member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.
Emeritus council member
Sarah Szanton, Ph.D., A.N.P., F.A.A.N.
Dean, Endowed Professor in Health Equity and Social Justice and Director, Center for Innovative Care in Aging
Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing
A health policy advocate dedicated to helping older adults “age in community,” Sarah Szanton is the first nurse to receive a Health Care Innovation Award from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Innovation Center. As the dean, Health Equity and Social Justice Endowed Professor and director of the Center for Innovative Care in Aging at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, she tests inventions and researches the role of the environment and stressors in health disparities in older adults. She holds a joint appointment in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Previously, she received an Edge Runner Award from the American Academy of Nursing, was a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Nurse Faculty Scholar and was awarded a John A. Hartford Foundation Claire M. Fagin Fellowship in geriatric nursing research.
