My name is Tami Jakubowski, and I am the current North America Region 12 Coordinator and a candidate for Region 12 Coordinator.
My nursing background includes a variety of settings including hospital-based, advanced nursing practice outpatient primary care, advanced nursing practice specialty care, and nursing education at the BSN and MSN levels. I began my nursing career at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), where I worked pediatric ICU, surgery/ trauma, and float pool. I have also worked in the home care setting, caring for medically fragile children, the maternal-child population and school health. After completing my MSN, I transitioned to working as a pediatric nurse practitioner in outpatient primary care pediatrics and eventually pediatric surgical specialties at CHOP. I continue to practice in outpatient pediatric primary care, and supervise nursing students in the clinical setting at CHOP. For the past 17 years, I have worked as a nursing faculty member, teaching undergraduate and graduate students pediatric nursing content.
I was inducted into Sigma as a Nurse Leader, and have been involved in Sigma at the chapter level since 2009. During this time, I have held a variety of positions, including Leadership Succession Committee Member and Chair, Counselor, Governance and Chapter President. These positions were held in two different chapters, allowing me the opportunity to understand differences between chapters. I have served on the Sigma Charter Review Task Force for the past four biennials, reviewing new Chapter applications for Sigma membership. This volunteer opportunity has provided me with a clearer understanding of chapter requirements and an opportunity to work collaboratively with other members and Sigma staff. For the past biennium, I have served as North America Region 12 Coordinator for Sigma.
I have served in multiple roles on two Sigma Chapter boards, including Chapter President. I am currently Secretary of Sigma TriState Consortium, a role I have held since 2022. TriState is the largest chapter consortium of Sigma and includes chapters from DE, NJ, MD, PA, and the DC area. I am the faculty advisor for TCNJam, a student group at The College of New Jersey that raises funds for the B+ Foundation, an organization focused on providing support to families of children affected by pediatric cancers. Lastly, I serve on the Nurse Residency Advisory Board for The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).
If elected to the position of Region 12 Coordinator, I would like to continue to build on prior successes, mentoring and supporting the chapters in the region. I am passionate about involving our new members early in chapter committees and events. This strategy will help keep them engaged in Sigma, provide them with the mentoring opportunities they need to assume leadership positions in the future, and allow them to continue to develop their nursing careers. I will continue to share announcements and important information from International on Regional Social Media Platforms. I will encourage inter-chapter collaboration and networking by using other social media platforms in addition to the Circle to publicize events and chapter achievements to all Region members. I also plan on continuing to connect with chapters through the Tristate Consortium. I will make myself available as a resource for any chapters needing advice or experiencing difficulties and help plan a solution.