MEET THE CANDIDATES

I am Professor Emeritus at Bournemouth University, England, passionately committed to Sigma and honored to have been selected for a position on the ballot for Vice President. I have spent 12 years privileged to have held international Sigma leadership roles on Governance, Board of Directors and the Leadership Succession Committee, then most recently member of a Presidential Task Force and I’ve learned so much.  As a founder member of Sigma’s Global Leadership Mentoring Community, I continue to mentor Sigma’s global leaders to achieve their goals.  In 2021, I was honored to receive Sigma’s international Mary Tolle Wright award for Excellence in Leadership. 

At the local level I was privileged to lead the creation and development of the all-England Chapter at a time when Sigma was little known in England and lead as its first President, actively contributing to the work of the European Region.  As Board member, I remain committed to the Chapter and for the past 7 years, privileged to facilitate a year-long leadership program for Sigma leaders with great success. I have learned hugely from all my experiences and feel equipped now to serve Sigma as Vice President.   

External to Sigma, I have enjoyed many leadership roles in my 40 year career in higher education.  At Bournemouth University, I was Professor of Nursing, holding many different roles, retiring as Dean of Faculty. During my tenure, I was elected to the University Board, appointed Adjunct Professor in Norway, introducing curriculum innovations, and I have had research and teaching responsibilities in Brazil, Latin America and in Malta with an earlier 6 years professional practice leading a 30-bedded hospital in a remote community in Colombia, South America. In 2020 I was invited to edit and write a new Leadership textbook which was published in 2023. Collectively, these experiences have helped me develop my own leadership skills as an authentic thought leader, recognizing the value of data to drive decision-making, yet compassionate and collaborative, and a team player, keen to empower emerging nurse leaders grow and excel in clinical practice, research and education, at home and abroad. 

I was inspired to apply for Vice President to give back to Sigma and support the organisation from the front to drive forwards its sustainability and vision to connect nurses globally and empower them to transform global healthcare. As an educationalist, I am passionate about learning, teaching and scholarship, not as entities in themselves but expressly to achieve excellence and impact on the transformation of healthcare. With the massive global shortage of nurses and the looming 5-year trajectory to achieve the WHO’s Sustainable Development Goals, Sigma is ideally positioned to equip nurses to innovate through its resources, its connections with industry and its partnership working across the world. I am well published and if selected as Vice President, keen to work with the Board to make Sigma more visible, to enhance its relevance and accessibility globally and, assisted by data and technology, support nurse leaders’ own visibility, to innovate and expand healthcare accessibility more widely.