Captain Jason Crosby, BSN, RN
BSN ‘00 - Upon graduation, Jason was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant into the United States Air Force. Moving his way up the ranks, he spent seven years as a Registered Nurse and Officer. While in Iraq he served as a Staff Nurse in the trauma intensive care unit where he delivered nursing care for the critically ill from the U.S. Military, Coalition Forces, Iraqi Military, detainee and civilian populations. Throughout his career in the Air Force he was decorated with numerous medals for his service to the global war on terrorism.

After being honorably discharged in 2007, Jason applied his nursing expertise in the civilian world. He accepted a job as an Assistant Nurse Manager at Kaiser Permanente’s Intensive Care Unit in Vallejo, CA. He was later transferred to a 24 bed Intensive Care Unit as an Assistant Nurse Manager at the newest Kaiser Permanente Hospital. In this role Jason manages the day to day clinical operations and supervises over 25 employees while ensuring the highest quality of care is provided.

Dean Carpenter, MSN, FNP-BC
MSN ‘02 - Dean provides healthcare to adult homeless populations in Detroit at the Neighborhood Service Organization – Tumaini Center. He serves as a Nurse Practitioner helping to manage their diabetes, treat wounds, deliver immunizations, test for TB, and other specialty referrals.

Honors include Crain’s Detroit Business Health Hero of 2008 for his work with the homeless. When diagnosing a woman with trench foot he was surprised because the condition can be prevented by simply having dry feet. Trench foot was first found in U.S. soldiers in World War I. When left untreated, severe cases develop into gangrene and can require amputation.

Dean started a socks box collection that provides 100’s of socks to the homeless each year. Recently, he coordinated efforts for Detroit to become a part of the National Homeless Death Prevention Study. Dean also works in the chest and pain center in the emergency department at the University of Michigan Health System.

Sarah Bergman, MA, RN
BSN ‘02 - Sarah is the recipient of the 2009 Recent Graduate Achievement Award. While at MSU, Sarah was awarded the Lorene R. Fisher Award for Student Nurse of the Year and was also recognized as an Outstanding Undergraduate Student at graduation.

She has worked as a Staff Nurse, a School Nurse, and provided care for children as a contingency registered nurse. Currently, Sarah is working at Rush University Nursing Facility Practice. She is the coordinator of the Asthma Center where she educates patients on how to lead healthy lives while also leading community outreach programs.

Sarah has a strong history of active engagement in the nursing profession. She organized a Nurses Week Fundraiser in Chicago for the College’s new building in the Life Sciences complex and has been a volunteer for the Himalayan Health Exchange Primary Care in India.

Sarah Witt, BSN, RN
BSN ‘03 - Sarah has been a Staff Educator at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago for four years. In this position she coordinated educational experiences for nurses and ancillary staff by caring for the hematology / oncology and transplant department. As the co-chair of the patient education committee, she provided classes for patients and their families. Sarah established the "Oncology Nursing Forum” which brings nurses, staff, and leadership together to increase patient care and satisfaction.

Sarah has worked as a Staff Nurse providing care to acutely ill oncology and immune-suppressed patients and recently returned to this position to focus her energies on pursuing a master’s degree in an Oncology CNS/NP program at Loyola University, Chicago. Much of her work has been with stem cell transplant patients where she monitored patients throughout the course of treatment.

Sarah was co-chair for the 2008 Annual Oncology Nursing Conference and volunteers with the American Red Cross. For her dedication, she received the 2008 Recent Graduate Achievement Award.

Captain Grace Rodgers Matthews, BSN, RN
BSN ‘03 - Grace is a Critical Care Nurse to the 86th Combat Support Hospital at Blanchfield Army Community Hospital in Ft. Campbell, Kentucky. As a nurse for the United States Army, Grace treats patients from active and reserve component units, Army civilians, Army Families, retirees and veterans.

In the midst of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Grace served adult and pediatric populations caring for traumatically wounded Americans, Coalition Forces, local nations and Third Country workers. As a Critical Care/Trauma flight nurse she transported the critically wounded from Baghdad to higher levels of care via MEDEVAC/rotary wing transport.

Prior to deploying to Iraq, Grace worked as an RN in surgical/Thoracic ICU at Walter Reed Hospital where she cared for severely wounded patients from Iraq and Afghanistan. She was also deployed in Joint Task Force Katrina after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans. During her deployment in Louisiana she provided nursing services to civilians left in the city, as well as recovery workers, volunteers, and soldiers.

Paula Sherwood, PhD, RN
PhD ‘04 - Paula works as a tenured Associate Professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing with a secondary appointment in the School of Medicine, Department of Neurosurgery. Paula is the first graduate of the PhD in nursing program at MSU. In 2007, her excellence in research earned recognition with the APOS New Investigator Award.

Her program of research investigates persons with a primary malignant brain tumor that suffer significant functional and neurological morbidity causing caregivers to assume the care of the recipient’s familial, social, and financial obligations. Research has shown that caregivers of persons with other chronic diseases develop negative consequences as a result of providing care. Paula’s aim is to identify and improve caregivers’ physical and emotional health to improve the delivery of care and quality of life for patients struggling for survival against malignant brain tumors.

Paula has provided financial support alongside other alumni from the doctoral program to fund a research workstation in the new building.

Susan Dunn, PhD, RN
PhD ‘05 - Susan is the Chairperson and Associate Professor for the Department of Nursing at Hope College. Her leadership helped to institute a partnership between MSU and Hope College. A new BSN to PhD program began in 2009 to help increase the pool of highly qualified nurse researchers and scholars.

Susan’s research emphasis focuses on cardiovascular nursing, cardiac rehabilitation, exercise participation, physical function and symptoms of hopelessness and depression. In 2008, a paper she co-authored about the symptoms of hopelessness experienced by some patients hospitalized for coronary heart disease received the New Investigator Award from the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation. Additional accolades include the Excellence in Nursing Education Award, Excellence in Nursing Research Award and the Best Research Presentation by a Practitioner Award.

Shawn Malburg Dunn, BSN, RN
BSN ‘05 - Instead of tailgating with her undergraduate classmates, Shawn collected returnable cans around campus on football Saturdays. Through her humanitarian leadership and initiative to make a difference, she established the Helping Other People Excel (H.O.P.E.) Scholarship prior to graduation.

Today Shawn works at the Oakland County Medical Examiner’s Office as a forensic pathologist assistant. In this position she gives a voice to the deceased and provides closure to family members as she helps find the cause and manner of death while honoring a life.

Shawn has continued her legacy of giving by providing financial support to fund a research workstation in the new building.

Judi Fouladbakhsh, PhD, APRN, BC, AHN-BC, CHTP
PhD ‘06 - Judi has been a faculty member at Wayne State University for three decades. Her research examines the prevalence, predictors and patterns of complementary and alternative medicine therapies in diverse populations. Her current research projects include: A Pilot Study of Gentle Yoga for Lung Cancer Patients, Patterns and Predictors of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use in Cancer Population, and Gender, Symptom Experience and CAM Practices Among Cancer Survivors.

Judi has received the Oncology Nursing Society Excellence in Cancer Nursing Research Award and the WSU College of Nursing Excellence in Teaching Award. She joined the College of Nursing Alumni Board in 2009 as the Southeast Michigan State Champion. She has provided financial support to help fund a research workstation in the new building with her fellow alumni board members.

Wanda Gibson-Scipio PhD, APRN-BC, FNP, BC
PhD ‘06 - Wanda is an Assistant Professor-Clinical at Wayne State University in the College of Nursing. She serves as the President of the Board of Directors for the Asthma & Allergy Foundation of America, Michigan Chapter and is the chair elect of the American Thoracic Society’s Nursing Assembly Program Committee.

Wanda’s current research population of interest is urban African American adolescents and emerging adults with asthma. Her research focus is factors that influence the transition of care within this population between pediatric and adult medical services. Wanda’s over arching goal is to make a significant impact on the lives of urban adolescents with asthma and help decrease their disparities in terms of health outcomes.