National Advisory Committee
April 9, 2010 - The New Jersey Nursing Initiative mourns the passing of National Advisory Committee member Representative Bob Franks. A true champion of nurses and a trusted advisor, his insight and leadership will be greatly missed.
Mary Ann Christopher
Mary Ann Christopher is president and CEO of Visiting Nurse Association of Central Jersey (VNACJ) and has been a registered nurse for 27 years. VNACJ is the largest Visiting Nurse Association in the state and among the largest in the nation. It provides comprehensive care to individuals and families in the Monmouth and Middlesex region. Christopher is president of the Home Care Association of New Jersey and a member of the Executive Advisory Committee to the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Human Services. She has an M.S. in Nursing from Seton Hall University and a B.S. in Nursing from Fairfield University.
Sonia Delgado
Sonia Delgado is a consultant with the Princeton Public Affairs Group. She has held public policy and business development positions at HIP Health Plans, the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) Hospital, and Mercy Health Plan of New Jersey. Delgado was a senior policy analyst for Health and Human Services at the New Jersey State Senate Democratic Office and staffed Governor James Florio’s Commission on Health Care Cost Reduction. Delgado has an M.G.A. and a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania.
Catherine Alicia Georges
Catherine Alicia Georges is an educator, practitioner and community activist. Alicia, as she is known to most people, is currently Associate Professor and Chairperson of the Department of Nursing at Lehman College of the City University of New York. Dr. Georges’ professional career spans more than three decades. She received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Seton Hall University College of Nursing, a Masters of Arts degree in Community Health Nursing Administration and Supervision from New York University School of Education, Division of Nursing, and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Vermont. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Honor Society, Golden Key Honor Society, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, and an honorary member of Chi Eta Phi Nursing Sorority and is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing.
Bob Franks
Former U.S. Representative Bob Franks is president of the HealthCare Institute of New Jersey (HINJ), a trade association of research-based pharmaceutical and medical technology companies. HINJ advocates on behalf of New Jersey’s health care industry with the general public, opinion leaders, and other stakeholders in the health care field. Franks represented New Jersey’s 7th district in Congress from 1992 to 2001 and was a member of the New Jersey General Assembly from 1979 to 1992. He has served as the New Jersey Republican State Chairman and managed several political campaigns. Franks has a J.D. from Southern Methodist University and a B.A. from DePauw University.
Peter Inverso
Former State Senator Peter Inverso is president and CEO of Roma Financial Corporation. Inverso was a member of the New Jersey State Senate from 1991 to January of 2008, representing the 14th legislative district in Mercer and Middlesex counties. He is the immediate past chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Robert Wood Johnson Health Care Corporation at Hamilton. During his time in the state Senate, Inverso sponsored “Megan’s Law,” which requires sex offenders to register on an Internet database, as well as the School Breakfast Program and the Outstanding Scholars Recruitment Program. Inverso is a trustee of Project Freedom, which provides housing assistance for people with disabilities, and was a board member of Angel’s Wings, which provides respite care for at-risk children under the state’s care. He has a B.S. in Commerce and Accounting from Rider University and an Honorary Doctor of Law degree from the College of New Jersey.
Penelope Lattimer
Penelope Lattimer is assistant director for the Rutgers University Institute for Improving Student Achievement (RIISA), a program that works with community Pre K–12 school districts to further the success of New Jersey students. Lattimer is the former Assistant New Jersey State Commissioner of Education and served as Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction in a large urban district, a high school principal, and teacher.
Marcella McKay
Marcella McKay is vice president for Nursing and Professional Affairs for the Mississippi Hospital Association (MHA) and an alumna of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Executive Nurse Fellows Program. She is also CEO for the Mississippi Hospital Association Health, Research & Educational Foundation, which addresses Mississippi’s health care workforce issues. McKay co-authored the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Colleagues in Caring grant, from which the Mississippi Office of Nursing Workforce (ONW) evolved in 1996, and continues to serve on the ONW Advisory Board. She served on a number of nurse shortage task forces and nursing education councils. McKay has a Ph.D. in Clinical Health Science and an M.S.N. in Maternal-Newborn Nursing from the University of Mississippi Medical Center. She also has an M.Ed. in Special Education, a B.S. in Biology and an ADN in Nursing from Mississippi University for Women.
Mary Sibley
Mary Sibley is executive director of Global Policy and External Affairs for Novartis Oncology, an organization dedicated to fighting cancer worldwide. She has been president and CEO of the Visiting Nurses Association of Staten Island and deputy commissioner of Human Services for New Jersey. Sibley is a past member of the New Jersey Board of Nursing and has taught nursing at the graduate level at area colleges. She has an M.B.A. from the Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth and is a graduate of the Georgetown University School of Nursing.
Nelson Tuazon
Nelson Tuazon is senior vice president and chief nursing officer for New Jersey’s East Orange General Hospital and is currently a member of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Executive Nurse Fellows Program. Tuazon teaches nursing at the graduate level at area colleges and is former president of the New Jersey Board of Nursing. He has an M.S. in Nursing Administration from Seton Hall University, an M.B.A. from Monmouth University, an M.Ed. in Education Management and a B.S. in Nursing from Angeles University in the Philippines.
Mary Wachter
Mary Wachter is chief strategy officer for the Visiting Nurse Association of Central Jersey, which is the largest, non-profit visiting nurse association in the state dedicated to the promotion, restoration and maintenance of the health status of individuals and the community. She has served as acting director of State Government Affairs for Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc., deputy director of the New Jersey State Nurses Association and chief of staff for the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services. She has an M.S. in Nursing Health Policy and Community/Public Health Nursing, an advanced certificate in Health and Public Policy from the University of Maryland and a B.S. in Nursing from Rutgers.
Susan Walsh
Susan Walsh is the Deputy Commissioner for the Public Health Services Branch in the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services where she oversees the Divisions of HIV/AIDS Services, Family Health Services, Epidemiology, Environmental and Occupational Health Services, as well as the Office of the State Epidemiologist. Prior to joining the Department of Health and Senior Services, Dr. Walsh had a long service career in primary care and public health. Dr. Walsh earned her medical degree from the University of Medicine and Dentistry-New Jersey Medical School and completed her residency at University Hospital in Newark.
Linda Johnson Wurtz
Linda Johnson Wurtz is associate state director for advocacy for AARP North Dakota. Johnson Wurtz helped reestablish a chapter of the League of Women Voters in Bismarck–Mandan and served as its first president. She is vice president of the Ruth Meiers Hospitality House board and an executive committee member of the North Dakota Disability Advocacy Consortium. She has an M.S. in Speech Communication from North Dakota State University.