MEET THE CANDIDATES

Dear Region 14 Members,

My name is Amita Avadhani, and I am seeking re-election as the North America Region-14 Coordinator. Since my election as Region-14 Coordinator in 2021, I have collaborated with the Region-14 Chapter leaders to improve engagement in the region. With my vision and many of our chapter leader's support and efforts, we have maintained 5 regional committees: 1. Chapter Leader's Work Group (CLWG), 2. Communications and Engagement, 3. Awards and Recognition, 4. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), and 5. Conference Committee.

To serve the needs of geographically widespread chapters in the region, I conducted our region's first hybrid regional conference. In addition to the 70+ members who attended the conference in person, about 50 members attended the conference via Zoom. We also used the regional conference as the forum for recognizing our chapters for their outstanding work through our Region-14 Awards. Our ongoing committee work and collaboration through our CLWG has allowed us to sustain Region 14 as a strong and viable region of SIGMA. Chapter leaders have collaborated on various philanthropic and scholarship initiatives through CLWG.

I am a dedicated Sigma member for the past 22 years and have established a record of accomplishments as a nurse and nurse leader for the past 36 years. During my Presidency of the Alpha Tau Chapter, I created the Chapter's first mentorship program and collaborated with the school's alumni association to celebrate Alpha Tau's 50th anniversary to fund nursing student scholarships. I also spearheaded and earned the Chapter its very first key award in 50 years of its existence.

I believe that based on my track record as your regional coordinator for the past four years along with my years of hard work, I am well-positioned to continue to serve as your Region-14 coordinator. I have navigated my nursing journey from India with my basic nursing education and through international nursing practice experience in India, Saudi Arabia, Canada, and the United States (US). The quality of my contributions to nursing education and clinical practice is evident from my esteemed fellowships in the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP), the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) and the National Academies of Practice (NAP).

I believe that I have built the foundation for strengthening Region-14 as an engaged group of SIGMA chapters but much more needs to be done. If given an opportunity to serve again, I will build on the work from the previous four years and further strengthen our region through hard work, collaboration, and engagement during the upcoming biennium.

Thank you!