Connect with us

REMINDER: Final few days to vote in the State Board UAPRN Election!

Posted over 6 years ago by Cynthia Rinehart

Hello UAPRN Membership,

Just a reminder we are in the last 48 hours of voting for our State Officer election. For your convenience, I have copied/pasted the original message with the candidates bio and the link to Survey Monkey for voting. Please take a few minutes and review these WONDERFUL candidates and make your selection for the leadership you want to see over the next two years.

Thanks for your attention to this matter.

Cynthia Rinehart, State Secretary.

It is time for our annual UAPRN State Officer Election. We have many wonderful volunteers who are running in this year’s election for Vice President, Treasurer, and Member-at-Large. I would like to express my personal thank you to each and every one of them for their willingness to serve advanced practice nurses and the citizens of Georgia. Here are your candidates and their bios for your consideration before casting your votes. The election will run through October 31st, 2359 EST. As a reminder, only current UAPRN members can vote. Please click on this link to Survey Monkey to place your vote: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BQF3RLD

Thank you,

Cynthia Rinehart

State Secretary

 

Vice President Candidates:

Ashley Margaret Roth Blackman, MS, CCRN, FNP-C

Ashley Blackmon is a board-certified APRN, Family Nurse Practitioner who practices at Piedmont Heart Institute and the Samsky Heart Failure Clinic seeing advanced heart failure patients. She enjoys this subspecialty because it includes heart transplants, in addition to internal medicine management. She is passionate about all aspects of medicine and has previous APRN experience in pediatrics, family practice, as well as gastroenterology.

Ashley earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a Master’s of Science in Nursing from Georgia State University in Atlanta. As a student, she published work in the Georgia Association of Nursing Students newsletter. As an RN Ashley worked for several years in trauma ICU. As an ICU nurse, she participated in multiple continued education projects as well as precepted new nurses. She also worked as a clinical research nurse testing new ways to administer medications. During her nursing career, she earned her Critical Care RN certification and completed the Trauma Nursing Core Course.

During her nursing tenure, she has been active in many teaching roles including teaching assistant as well as a part-time instructor at GSU. She has precepted several APRN students as well as led education sessions for RNs. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau International, American Association of Nurse Practitioners, Georgia Nurses Association, and American Association of Critical Care Nurses. She is also co-administrator of the Atlanta Nurse Practitioner Facebook page which helps facilitate networking, student preceptorship, and disseminating information among APRNs and APRN students.

Ashley lives in the eastern suburbs of Atlanta with her husband of 10 years and two daughters. Her husband works in Stone Mountain for a woman-owned small business as both an archaeologist and historian. She grew up just south of Atlanta and has lived in Atlanta all her adult life. She has interest in comprehensive access to medical and mental health care for all patients, especially in rural Georgia. She is eager to continue to see APRN growth in Georgia and fewer restrictions on APRN practice. She looks forward to any way she may be able to serve UAPRN of Georgia.

  

Wanda Jones, MSN, BSN, RN, FNP-BC

Wanda Jones has been a long-standing member of the UAPRN of Georgia. She previously served as UAPRN State President (2011 -2014) and UAPRN Vice President (2014 – 2016). As a retired Nurse Practitioner who served at the Department of Army Urgent Care Clinic, she will have the time to commit to the UAPRN to help it be the best organization for all of Georgia’s Advanced Practice Nurses. She understands the importance of having strong leadership, as well as the time commitment required to lead this growing organization. She would feel honored to again be the Vice President of UAPRN.

Her other volunteer positions include Georgia Nurses Association: Treasurer (1997-2003), Director of Nursing Practice (2009-2011), and Secretary (2011-2015). She also served on the Georgia Nurses Foundation as Treasurer (2015 to present).

 

Jennifer C. Weeks, MSN, CCCC, CEN, FNP-C

Jennifer Weeks has been employed in healthcare since 2005 with her current position as EMS Liaison/Cardiovascular Coordinator at University Hospital, Augusta, Georgia. She earned her Master of Science in Nursing, Family Nurse Practitioner, from Albany State University. She is currently enrolled in the Doctor of Nursing Practice program at Delta State University with expected graduation in 2018.

Ms. Weeks is a member and volunteer for numerous professional organizations including, Georgia's Coalition of Advanced Practice RNs (CAPRN), serving as a Board Member and Website Coordinator; Georgia Association of Nursing Education (GANE), serving as a Board Member and Nominating Committing;  United Advanced Practice RNs of GA (UAPRN); American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP); Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society; and the Region 6 EMS Council, Health Care System, serving on numerous subcommittees for Region 6. She is also a community volunteer in the Girl Scouts of the USA, the Medical Reserve Corps, and at Journey Community Church.

She has earned numerous awards during her educational and nursing career, such as the “Excellence in Nursing Practice Award Recipient”, 2017 and the “Joe Lane Cox Excellence in EMS Award”, 2016

 

Treasurer Candidate:

Ashley Radke, BSN, RN, PNP Student

Ashley Radke started her background in healthcare 16 years ago as a medic at Landstuhl Army Regional Medical Center in Germany. As a veteran, she served in both the Air Force active duty and the Army National Guard. After the military, she received her BSN from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with Honors. She was the leader of an honors research project where they developed and conducted a study on the impact of military experience on the resilience of college students. She had the opportunity to present this research at the Undergraduate Research Symposium. Her RN experience includes six years in the CVICU, ambulatory surgery, pediatrics, NICU and home health. She is currently finishing graduate studies in the Child Health/ Primary Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioner program at Georgia State University.

 Ms. Radke serves the community by volunteering as a coach for the nonprofit organization Girls on the Run. This organization empowers young girls through an active curriculum that cultivates positive emotional, social, mental and physical development leading to successful female leaders.

 Ms. Radke is an active member of UAPRN of Georgia, the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP), and Sigma Theta Tau Honor Society. She has a passion for advancing nursing practice in Georgia and addressing legislative issues, which started two years ago while providing care to medically fragile children. The desire for progressing and securing APRN’s a seat at the legislative table is one of the reasons she is volunteering to run for Treasurer and serve on the UAPRN State Board.

  

Director-at-Large Candidates:

Desireé Clement, DNP, APRN, CNM, FNP-BC

Dr. Clement is both a Certified Nurse Midwife and Family Nurse Practitioner with over 21 years total of experience in nursing working in a variety of healthcare roles within academe, hospital, and outpatient clinical settings. She has experience providing instruction and precepting students from a variety of educational backgrounds to include midwifery, nurse practitioner, and medical school programs. She currently teaches fulltime at Emory University in their Midwifery and Family Nurse Practitioner programs. Dr. Clement is also a Navy veteran who served in the hospital corps.

 Dr. Clement recently completed her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree from Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, where she had previously a few years ago completed a postgraduate program for Family Nurse Practitioner to achieve a second APRN specialty certification. She has also a dual specialty Master of Science degree with a dual specialization in Nurse-Midwifery and Nursing Education and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Maryland in Baltimore. She received her initial nursing diploma at Sentara College of Health Sciences in Virginia.

 Dr. Clement currently serves at the national level for the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) on their CEU Program Review committee and as a Co-Chair of the 2018 national convention local planning committee for Savannah. At the state level, she has previously served the Georgia Affiliate of the American College of Nurse-Midwives in the roles of State Vice-President, State Secretary, and nominating committee member. Dr. Clement remains also actively involved with Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing by currently serving as both the Pi Gamma (Mercer University) Chapter President and National Voting Delegate for the organization. She is an organization ambassador and serves on the medical rescue team for the Out of Darkness ministry on anti-sex trafficking and anti-sexploitation of females.

 If elected to Director-At-Large, she plans to focus her efforts on supporting UAPRNs state board of directors as specified in the bylaws and other duties assigned. In addition, in this role, she plans to serve as a conduit for communication between the UAPRN leadership and academic institutions, healthcare entities, the media and Legislators as requested of her.

 

Barbara J Hill, MSN APRN AGCNS ACCNS CCRN

Barbara Hill’s nursing practice of 28 years consists of critical care, emergency, and general medicine populations. She graduated from UMASS Boston with a BSN and University South Alabama with MSN CNS. She currently works as an APRN Clinical Nurse Specialist at Emory University Hospital with a specialty focus in Hospital Medicine Teaching Service.

 Ms. Hill’s volunteer service includes Co-chair of the EHC system Clinical Leadership Council, CNS Council, and the Emory Legislative Team. She currently serves as Organization Leader for Georgia CNS & CAPRN. She is enrolled in the Georgetown University DNP program Clinical Leader Population Health Management track.

 

Dwayne Hooks Jr., PhD, APRN, FNP-BC, NEA-BC, AAHIVS, FACHE

Dr. Hooks is a Nurse Practitioner in a pulmonary specialty practice located in Atlanta and Douglasville. He is currently Assistant Dean for Community Partnerships and Associate Professor, Department of Biobehavioral Nursing at Augusta University College of Nursing. His responsibilities include oversight of Faculty Practice and the development of a new clinic within the College of Nursing. He was previously employed as the Coordinator of FNP Program at Kennesaw State University. 

 His prior volunteer service includes the Georgia Association of Nurses in Long Term Care, Georgia Nurse Association, NONPF, and the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners.

 

Orlin Márquez, DNP, MBA, FNP-BC, CMI-Spanish

Orlin Márquez is an APRN, board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Brenau University in Gainesville, Georgia and a Master of Science in Nursing—Family Nurse Practitioner as well as a Doctor of Nursing Practice from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. He also has a Bachelor of Arts in Interpersonal and Organizational Communication from Toccoa Falls College in Georgia and a Master of Business Administration from Keller Graduate School of Management.

He is a part-time nurse practitioner at Consultorio Médico Hispano, which is a community clinic serving the underserved immigrant and underinsured population of DeKalb and Gwinnett counties in the Atlanta metropolitan area. He is also a clinical instructor in the Bachelor of Science in the nursing program at Georgia Gwinnett College. He has a passion for providing readily accessible and quality medical care for underserved populations as well as for the enhancing and strengthening of the nursing profession through the establishment of quality mentorship programs and mutually enriching preceptorship experiences.

He is a member of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, the United Advanced Practice Registered Nurses of Georgia—Gwinnett/Forsyth chapter and Sigma Theta Tau International.  Over the years he has been involved in training and research in delivering culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Care (CLAS) and has been invited to speak at national conferences including the Society of Gastroenterology Nurses and Associates (SGNA).

He lives in Buford, GA with his wife, Maria and his three sons, Jared, Brian and Emmanuel. He speaks fluent Spanish and Portuguese and is a nationally certified medical interpreter. In his spare time, he trains new prospective medical interpreters seeking to enter the profession.

 

UAPRN MEMBERS: As a reminder, Please click on this link to Survey Monkey to place your vote: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BQF3RLD

Once again, the current UAPRN Board of Officers would like to say "thank you" to all of these talented candidates for volunteering to serve at the state level.

Cynthia Rinehart