Fall 2025 Edition
Dear Ƶ Nursing Alumni,
Welcome to the latest edition of our Ƶ Nursing Alumni Newsletter! We’re absolutely thrilled to celebrate all the incredible things happening within our nursing community.
I am honored and excited to join Ƶ as the new Chair of the Nursing Department. With more than 20 years of experience as a nursing professional, my career has been dedicated to advancing patient care, leadership, and education. I have had the privilege of serving as a nurse manager at Kaleida Health and Kenmore Mercy Hospital, as well as a clinical safety specialist at Catholic Health. My areas of specialty include critical care, nursing leadership, and quality improvement, and I am currently certified as both a Nurse Executive and Nurse Educator. I am deeply involved in professional service, serving on the Education Committee of the American Nurses Association-NY and as a member of several organizations including the National League for Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau, and the Professional Nurses Association of WNY. Dr. Valazza serves as a board member of the Northeast Multistate Division. My research and scholarly work focus on leadership, evidence-based practice, and communication among interprofessional teams—areas reflected in my DNP project, “Delirium Assessment in the Medical-Surgical Population: A Quality Improvement Project.” I am to share my passion for nursing leadership, education, and innovation to Ƶ and look forward to working together to empower our students and continue advancing excellence in nursing education.
These past few months have also brought some wonderful new changes to our Nursing Department team!
We’re thrilled to share that Carol Renner, formerly our Administrative Assistant, has stepped into her new role as Clinical Coordinator — congratulations, Carol! Joining us as our new Administrative Assistant is Crystal Fox, who brings great energy and enthusiasm to the department. And rounding out our leadership updates, Ƶ alumn - Nicole White - is now serving as the Director of the 1+2+1 Nursing Program, guiding students toward success from the very start of their nursing journey. We’re so grateful for the dedication and fresh perspectives these talented individuals bring to our team!
Our faculty have had an outstanding year filled with accomplishments worth celebrating!
Nicole White, Director of the 1+2+1 Nursing Program, recently presented at the Nurse Educator Conference in the Rockies on the innovative topic, “Leveraging AI to Increase Student Engagement.”
Adjunct faculty member Alexandra Sanders was appointed as the Patient Advocate for the Wilm’s Tumor Panel with the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) — an incredible honor recognizing her expertise and commitment to patient-centered care.
Suzanne Stoklosa, Clinical Assistant Professor, presented at the New York State Practitioners Conference on “What’s New in COPD and Asthma,” sharing valuable insights with her peers. She also achieved certification in ACLS for Experienced Providers, further demonstrating her dedication to clinical excellence.
As Dr. Mandy Park, Assistant Professor, shared, “I’m so proud of our students’ resilience and determination to reach their goals.” Our entire faculty shares in that pride and joy — watching our students grow and go on to make a difference in the field is the heart of what we do.
Janice Hobba-Glose, Associate Professor of Nursing, recently authored an article accepted for publication in JANANY titled “Crisis Standards of Care: We Don’t Teach What We Don’t Know!” The study explores how community health nurse educators adapted their teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic and examines their knowledge of Crisis Standards of Care (CSC). Findings revealed a need for greater professional development and curriculum integration of CSC concepts to better prepare the nursing workforce.
As we look ahead, we want this newsletter to be more than an update — we want it to be a conversation. We’d love to hear from you! Share your career highlights, accomplishments, or reflections — we’ll be featuring alumni spotlights in upcoming issues.
Thank you for continuing to be an essential part of the Ƶ Nursing family. Your achievements inspire us, your stories connect us, and your support keeps our community strong. Together, let’s continue building a network that celebrates our shared passion for nursing, learning, and leadership.
With gratitude and excitement,
— Dr. Veronica Valazza, Chair of the Nursing Department
and The Ƶ Nursing Team