SONAA Board of Directors

Ricarte Jin “RJin” Atienza is a first-generation college student who graduated from Carolina Nursing with highest honors and highest distinction, and was the student speaker representing the BSN/ABSN class during the School’s Groundbreaking Ceremony. RJin has just started his career in nursing at a medical surgical floor at Aurora Health and is excited to continue keeping in touch with his beloved alma mater!

Why are you proud to be a Carolina nurse? 

I am proud to be a part of an institution with a long, rich history of producing nurses who actively aim to make a difference at both the large and small scale! I am privileged to be given the opportunity to give back to the school, who gave me so many opportunities and an environment that allowed me to become a nurse! 

What is your favorite part about serving on the Alumni Association Board for the School of Nursing?

I love how there are opportunities to continue being involved with the school, even if I am residing out of state! I am happy to continue to be a part of Carolina Nursing even after I graduated, and hope to give back to the school that gave me so much!

Best advice I have ever been given:

Your environment makes a whole lot of difference in molding how you see and approach life, so always seek out opportunities to be with the people who share and see the same dream as you do!

How has your Carolina Nursing education impacted your life and career? 

As a first generation college student and immigrant who moved to the country with not much when I first arrived here six years ago, it is no exaggeration to say that it was Carolina Nursing who gave me all the opportunities I need to build something for myself and start my life here. I met a lot of good people here, got involved with a lot of opportunities that helped me grow as a person, and gave me so many fond memories! 

My proudest accomplishment: 

I am proud to be able to graduate from Carolina with both highest distinction and highest honors, while being able to be actively involved with opportunities outside of our classroom and clinical rotations! I feel so fulfilled graduating with being able to achieve so much, and I owe these successes to loved ones, friends, and mentors within Carolina Nursing 

If I had a superpower, it would be: 

Predicting the future! I feel like anticipating challenges well in advance helped me a lot during my time as a student at Carolina, and has something that helped me transition to being a new graduate nurse! 

Dr. Vinisha Flavia Dsouza earned her PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in May 2025. She has been a nurse since 2003, gaining extensive academic and clinical experience, and has become an innovative nurse leader who forms wellness-focused teams to improve nursing outcomes. Her main goal is to expand her research into a sustainable, evidence-based intervention she developed during her PhD studies to reduce mental health risks and improve outcomes for individuals, both young and old, experiencing grief. She is also a passionate nature lover, known for her culinary skills, enjoys lattes, and has a warm, welcoming personality. 

Why are you proud to be a Carolina nurse?

I am proud to be a Carolina Nurse because I am carrying on the legacy of some of the bereavement experts and pioneering nurses who shaped and influenced the field of nursing science and continue to make an impact.

What is your favorite part about serving on the Alumni Association Board for the School of Nursing? 

Ah, this is a wonderful question! I’ve always enjoyed attending the discussion meetings among the board members as they head into a room to present real-life scenario problems in their areas of work and discuss solutions by sharing their ideas to develop and support the organization that provided them with the opportunity. 

Best advice I have ever been given: 

Always remain open to opportunities, since they present themselves and gradually influence and shape your identity for the world. – Dean Valarie Harvard, during my PhD graduation, in a one-on-one conversation about my future goals and aspirations. 

Reid grew up in Chapel Hill. She always dreamed of attending UNC-CH. Her father, Jim Tatum, moved the family from Maryland to Chapel Hill when she was 3. Jim Tatum returned to UNC to bring the UNC football team back to a winning team as the head coach. Her desire to work in the health care field perhaps began when both her parents became very ill, and the doctors and nurses at UNC could not save her father but worked diligently to find the treatment to save her mother, who remained in Chapel Hill for the next 50 years. 

Reid graduated with a BSN in 1975 and an MPH in 1981 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her nursing career has focused on all aspects of maternal-child health nursing. She has worked in perinatal nursing in high-risk obstetrics, labor and delivery, and neonatal intensive care, as well as community health, focusing on education and care of high-risk mothers and infants. After attaining her MPH, Reid became a perinatal nursing consultant with the NC Department of Health, Maternal Child Health Division, where she helped develop and oversaw the Perinatal Nurse Educator program at the seven NC Level 3 maternity care and neonatal regional hospitals.

She used her background and experience to teach in BSN and bridge programs at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and Michigan State University, where she lectured and led clinicals in community health, pediatrics, and obstetrics.  

Best advice I have ever been given:

Listen to the patient, touch your patient, and look at your patient. Don’t always rely on monitors and technology. 

How has your BSN from UNC impacted your life and career?

Receiving a BSN from one of the highest ranked nursing schools helped me in finding leadership positions in teaching and clinical settings in four states.  

If I had a superpower, it would be:

If I had a superpower, I would use it to change maternal child health care so every mother, infant and child would have access to prenatal and well child care in their own community. I would bring back public health clinics in each county to provide rural health care and outreach education. 

Schquthia has been in private practice as a Family Nurse Practitioner at a primary care practice that she co-owns since 1999. She worked as a Registered Nurse at Durham Regional Hospital and a Clinical Instructor at Watts School of Nursing before she returned to UNC for a Master’s Degree in Advance Practice Nursing. Schquthia remains involved with the School of Nursing by serving as an Adjunct Clinical Faculty for the MSN/DNP program. She was selected as a Fellow for the American Nurses Association Nurses Advocacy Institute from 2015 to 2016. She has served on the North Carolina Nurses Association Council Executive Board since 2012 and is currently the chair of the North Carolina Nurses Association Council of Nurse Practitioners (NCNA NP), a role she has held since 2016. In 2014, the NCNA recognized her as the Practice Nurse of the Year, and in 2017 the NCNA awarded her with the Legislative Nurse of the Year Award. In 2020, she was chosen as the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Advocate State Award for Excellence for North Carolina.

What is your favorite part about serving on the Alumni Association Board for the School of Nursing?
I’ve enjoyed reconnecting with the School of Nursing since graduation and helping move the School toward its vision. My favorite part has been my involvement with mentoring students.

Best advice I have ever been given:
Lean into your fear! You may surprise yourself with what you can accomplish!

My proudest accomplishment:
Celebrating 20 years of practice ownership as a Nurse Practitioner in April 2020.

If I had a superpower it would be:
Listening with a non-judging ear!

As a nurse practitioner for three decades, Crystal has had career practice experience in the areas of Psychiatric-Mental Health, Women’s Health and Family Medicine. She works for a field-based extension of the Medical Affairs department for a biopharmaceutical company, where she leads a team of dynamic NPs and PAs. Her team bridges the gap between medical science and research through education and scientific exchange with other APPs (NP, PA, CNS) and nurses in the therapeutic area of movement disorders. To advance her desire for interdisciplinary professional collaboration to improve patient care outcomes, Crystal recently completed a Doctor of Health Sciences (DHS) degree from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS) with a concentration in Educational Leadership and was promoted to Associate Director, Field Medical Affairs at Neurocrine Biosciences. Crystal feels honored to serve on the UNC School of Nursing Alumni Association Board of Directors. She is the proud mom of two young adult men, wife to Mike, and enjoys their life on Lake Norman.

Why are you proud to be a Carolina nurse?
Serving on the Alumni Association Board feels like I’m coming HOME! I have so many fond memories of my days as a Carolina student but as we all know, if you were a nursing student, your longest and most intensive days were spent in the halls of Carrington. As an undergraduate nursing student, I took an active role in our professional organizations and greatly enjoyed the networking and rich relationships that developed. I fully expected I would stay intimately connected to the SON and its mission; however, other life priorities kept me from actively “giving back” to the SON until now. I am excited for the opportunity to come “home” to work with other proud UNC-SON alumni!

My proudest accomplishment:
Seeing my children grow up into awesome young men!

If I had a superpower, it would be:
To have “eyes like an eagle.” The world in sight would be laser focused and brilliantly colored. As I have gotten older and my eyes no longer see at 20/20, I long even more for super-human vision. But beyond the advantage of enhanced physical sight, my ideal super-power vision would allow me to “see” situations with greater clarity. It would allow me to “see” the super-powers of others (family, friends, colleagues) to help them positively leverage their individual superpowers in their own lives. Plus, having eyes like an eagle would enable me to see a caterpillar crawling on the sidewalk from a 10-foot building and to make out the expressions of our beloved UNC athletes from the stands. That sounds pretty cool to me!

Mary is a Carolina nurse who is “Tar Heel born and bred” but spent 34 of her 35 years working as a nurse outside of North Carolina. Mary’s career was surgery focused and she retired in 2018 after 15 years as an FNP solely in Hand Surgery where she worked in the UVA Department of Plastic Surgery. Though she went to UVA for graduate school to get my MSN, she shares that the UNC School of Nursing set the foundation for her continued professional growth. She now resides in Chapel Hill and loves staying involved with the

School and serving on the School of Nursing Alumni Association board.

Why are you proud to be a Carolina nurse?
I am proud to be a Carolina Nurse as the reputation of our program and our fellow alumni have impacted patient care and the health of populations nationally. Employers are aware of the strength of our degrees.  My practice was strong from the start and continued to grow throughout my 35-year career.

What is your favorite part about serving on the Alumni Association Board for the School of Nursing?
As a member of the Alumni Association board, I am fortunate to interact with the SON administration, faculty, alumni and current students. From this vantage point, I have the opportunity to hear first hand what is going on within the school and with nursing practice throughout the world among our alumni. I am humbled by our collective achievement. I am honored to say we are connected together through this outstanding university.

Best advice I have ever been given:
As a new graduate nurse working in my first job, an older, experienced diploma program nurse had this to say to me as we gathered meds for our patients’ morning doses:  I can work faster than you and you are half my age. I can do everything you can do more efficiently. But you can outthink me. You make care decisions based on evidence practice. You see the bigger picture. Her words stuck with me as I pursued graduate degrees in nursing always recognizing being a leader.

Cheryl Brewer is the Associate Vice President of Nursing for the Duke Health Integrated Practice of Duke Health. She also serves as Clinical Associate Adjunct Faculty at Duke University School of Nursing. In her role she provides oversight for the practice and professional development of nurses across 120+ clinics and is a nurse scientist whose research includes strategies to improve quality of life & decrease stigma in individuals with sickle cell disease. She is a member of several professional organizations including the International Association of Sickle Cell Nurses & Professional Associates, the American Organization for Nursing Leadership, NC Nurses Association, National Black Nurses Association Sickle Cell Disease Committee, Central Carolina Black Nurses Council and the American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing. She is also the proud recipient of several awards including: the UNC Chapel Hill School of Nursing Outstanding Alumni Service award, Duke University School of Nursing Distinguished Alumna, & the NC Central University Nursing Distinguished Alumna. Cheryl received her BSN Degree in Nursing from NC Central University, a MSN Degree in Nursing Administration from Duke University and a PhD in Nursing from UNC-Chapel Hill. 

Why are you proud to be a Carolina Nurse? 

I am extremely grateful and proud to be a Carolina nurse as I continue to benefit from the rigorous education, training and skills received during my tenure. This has prepared me to make valuable nursing contributions regarding high quality and compassionate patient care, research and leadership. I am also now part of a community and network of UNC nursing alumni who provide support & opportunities for professional growth, advocacy, and lifelong learning. 

Best advice I have ever been given: 

The best advice I have ever been given is that one does not have to be in a leadership position to be a leader. As nurses, we are expected to lead. 

My proudest accomplishment: 

My proudest accomplishment to date was leading the launch and formal establishment of the COVID-19 Nurse Triage Center during the COVID pandemic. This endeavor resonates because it was nurse-driven and encompassed many of the concepts, and skills that we learn throughout our education. It provided an opportunity to work collaboratively with professionals, engage with staff and patients while moving through a framework of change, crisis leadership, resilience and innovation. 

Nancy Crutchfield graduated with a BSN in 1967 and an MPH in 2000 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has had a varied career in wellness, Hospice, medical/surgical unit and community college freshmen student instructor. She completed her nursing career as a school nurse, a position she held for 22 years. She has served more than nine years on the National Board for Certification of School Nurses. She has also served on her local Board of Health for 9+ years, with some of those years as chairman. 

Emily Murray, originally from Winston-Salem, is a double Tar Heel, having graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2012 with a double major in Psychology and French. After spending eight years in Charleston working in a corporate environment, Emily’s passion for nursing led her back to school during the pandemic. She completed the Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program in 2021. Currently, Emily serves as a bedside nurse on the Surgical Trauma Critical Care Unit, where she is also part of the unit’s leadership team. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, listening to live music, and spending time with her dog, Stevie. 

Why are you proud to be a Carolina nurse? 

I’m extremely proud to be a graduate of a university known for its excellence and its drive to advance the nursing profession. 

How has your Carolina Nursing education impacted your life and career? 

My UNC nursing degree prepared me to enter to workforce with confidence, has opened the door for a fulfilling career, and helps me care for patients with empathy, professionalism, and a focus on evidence-based practice. 

My proudest accomplishment: 

Completing the rigorous ABSN program during the global pandemic! 

Braxton Nowell, BSN, RN, PCCN, is a Clinical Nurse III in the Medicine Progressive Care Unit at UNC Medical Center, where he serves as a charge nurse, preceptor, and member of the hospital-wide policy committee. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2022 with highest honors and highest distinction and was the recipient of the Class of ‘56 George Livas Award. Braxton began his nursing career in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at UNC Health before transitioning to his current role. 

Braxton’s honors thesis, ”Assessing an Undergraduate Nursing Program’s Curriculum of Teaching LGBTQ+ Health,” earned the Highest Honors and led to the integration of his case study into the School of Nursing’s curriculum. His additional research interests include family support systems for individuals with advanced heart failure and improving equitable healthcare practices. These interests were inspired by his experience as a primary caretaker and advocate for his late grandmother, Esther Smith, whose journey with advanced heart failure shaped his dedication to patient advocacy and family-centered care. 

Why are you proud to be a Carolina nurse? 

I am proud to be a Carolina Nurse because I had the privilege of learning in one of the top nursing programs in the country, where education, research, and clinical preparation were the main focus. Our professors truly invested in us—not just as students, but as individuals—which created a supportive and meaningful environment. The strong sense of community, along with the incredible resources and opportunities, made my time at Carolina both rewarding and inspiring. 

How has your Carolina Nursing education impacted your life and career? 

My Carolina Nursing education has provided me with opportunities I once thought were out of reach and allowed me to build meaningful connections. It has also instilled in me the value of advocating for others and reinforced that with hard work and determination, I can achieve any goal I set for myself. 

My proudest accomplishment: 

One of my proudest accomplishments is earning my degree as a Carolina Nurse and having the honor of being pinned at graduation by my grandmother, making the moment even more meaningful. 

Dr. Kim Crickmore Osborne is a native of eastern NC and currently resides in Greenville, NC. She is a seasoned senior healthcare nurse executive with 25 plus years of service in both acute and community healthcare. She is the founder and executive director for KCO Strategies, LLC where she provides consultative services and board services for non-profits relative to community services, healthcare needs, as well as civic and growth services. In addition, she serves as a mentor for women in leadership or aspiring leadership roles. 

A graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill and East Carolina University, Dr. Osborne spent the most recent years as the SVP for Maynard Children’s Hospital, Women’s Services and Community Health Programs at ECU Health. Dr. Osborne serves as an advocate for her community and is very passionate about access to care for all. In addition, Dr. Osborne serves on the Salvation Army Advisory Board and the Heart for ENC non-profit board in her community. She enjoys spending time with her family, especially her husband Brad and daughter Ellie, and traveling. Pickleball and water sports are some of her favorite pastimes. 

Why are you proud to be a Carolina nurse? 

Carolina nursing has a rich history of academic rigor, commitment to excellence, community impact, research, compassion, and much more.  These attributes have been recognized in many of our UNC School of Nursing graduates and this instills pride and honor as a Carolina nurse! 

What is your favorite part about serving on the Alumni Association Board for the School of Nursing? 

Serving on the Alumni Association board for the School of Nursing allows me to stay connected and to give back to our great university.  Being able to connect and integrate with the great work that Carolina nurses are engaged in is fulfilling and meaningful. In addition, the ability to support the university in this way is an intrinsic opportunity to provide insight and feedback for our stakeholders and to recognize the great work of the many alumni of the nursing school. 

Best advice I have ever been given: 

Build relationships!  Relationships are the foundation for work, life, and education. Authentic relationships are critical for success, especially in today’s progressive digitalized environment. Human interaction and connection are the keys to physical, mental, and spiritual health. This is truly why nursing is so critical in all aspects of healthcare. 

How has your Carolina Nursing education impacted your life and career? 

The prestige associated with a nationally ranked, highly successful, research based school of nursing certainly opened doors for career opportunities. I will forever be grateful, not only for the education, but the rich culture of the university that has allowed me to thrive from the bedside to the board room in my career. 

My proudest accomplishment: 

On a personal level, my proudest accomplishment is being a mother to a highly successful 21-year-old daughter. The blessing and challenges of parenting and impacting another person’s life is indescribable. 

On a professional level, obtaining a PhD, a terminal degree, in the science of nursing and utilizing that experience to promote and advocate for nursing is definitely a highlight. The future of healthcare is truly found in nursing! 

If I had a superpower, it would be: 

If I had a superpower, it would be to impact the healthcare system so that everyone had equitable access and care which would lead to a disease free world. 

Megan Ross, EdD, RNC-MNN, has served as a nurse educator at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill since 2017, teaching primarily in the prelicensure nursing division. She also serves as an academic coach, supporting prelicensure nursing students through individualized coaching focused on academic success, professional identity development, and holistic well-being. Her work centers on providing holistic student support, developing inclusive learning environments, and advancing nursing education to prepare future nurses for excellence in person-centered care. Megan earned her BSN in Nursing from UNC Wilmington, her MSN in Health Care Systems with a focus in Nursing Education from UNC Chapel Hill, and her EdD in Nursing Education from the University of West Georgia.

Gwen D. Sherwood, PhD, RN, FAAN, is a Professor Emeritus and was the Associate Dean for Academic

Affairs at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Nursing. Her program of scholarship evolved from a model for caring relationships which led to the examination of patient satisfaction with pain management, particularly from a multicultural perspective and the development of a Spanish Language tool, the Houston Pain Outcome Instrument. She also applied the caring model to spiritual dimensions of care and the impact on healthy work environments and helped develop the Methodist Caring Tool to examine patient satisfaction with caring. At the University of Texas at Houston School of Nursing, she was a co-investigator with the Medical School’s Center for Patient Safety to examine teamwork as a variable in patient safety.

Dr. Sherwood is a co-investigator on Phases I, II, III, and IV of the award-winning Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) initiative funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to transform nursing curriculum to prepare nurses in quality and safety for redesigned health care systems. She was a nursing leader for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University Inter-professional Patient Safety Education Collaborative to measure the effectiveness of teaching modalities for interdisciplinary teamwork training involving nursing and medical students. She participates in the annual Telluride Science Institute on interprofessional education with the University of Illinois at Chicago and is a member of the National Patient Safety Foundation Research Committee. She has been a leader in developing nursing education across borders, working with nursing faculty in China, Thailand, Macau, Mexico, England and Kenya.

She is the Past President of the International Association for Human Caring and served two terms as Vice President of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society for Nursing. She recently published the third edition of Quality and Safety in Nursing: A competency approach to improving outcomes also translated into four languages. She is Visiting Professor for Hong Kong University, visiting faculty for Taipei’s National Defense University, and Fulbright Specialist in South Africa.

Why are you proud to be a Carolina Nurse?

UNC has always had a sterling reputation in nursing. In studying for my MSN (’70), we had access to national leaders who shared their knowledge and inspirations with us. I was inspired to continually seek lifelong learning and development and always push for nursing advancements. Returning to Carolina in a faculty role provided unique opportunities to build on the legacy of so many who invested in making Carolina First in Nursing

Favorite part about serving on the Alumni Association Board?
I want to help others cherish the experience of a Carolina education for the potential to make a difference in nursing by improving patient care outcomes. Serving is an opportunity to share not just my story, but to collate other stories to share with alums, potential students, and the public. It is a way to share the image of what nursing truly is. I want to insure others have opportunities to continue their professional development through resources we can provide.

How has your Carolina Nursing education impacted your life and career?
It has opened doors, and always been a point of pride to say I am an alum.

Yolanda M. VanRiel, PhD, RN, MEDSURG-BC, OCN, CNE, ANEF, FAAN, is an Associate Professor and Department Chair of Nursing at North Carolina Central University (NCCU), where she leads an HBCU nursing program dedicated to health access, workforce readiness, and student success. She earned her PhD in Nursing from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; BSN and MSN degrees in Nursing Education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro; and a Post-Master’s Certificate in Nursing Administration from Queens University of Charlotte.

Dr. VanRiel’s scholarly work focuses on health communication, cancer care, health disparities, and nursing education. Her research and publications examine physician–patient communication, health literacy, and disparities in cancer screening and survivorship, as well as innovative strategies to prepare practice-ready nurses through competency-based education, simulation, and resuscitation quality improvement.

She has secured extramural and foundation funding, including a UNC System Workforce Expansion Grant and multiple NIH collaborations, to strengthen clinical training capacity, expand nursing pathways, and promote culturally responsive care in historically marginalized communities.

A nationally recognized nursing education leader, Dr. VanRiel serves as Chair of the National League for Nursing (NLN) Board of Governors and is a Fellow of both the NLN Academy of Nursing Education (ANEF) and the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN). She has held influential roles on state and national boards, including the North Carolina Board of Nursing, the NC Future of Nursing Action Coalition, Duke University advisory boards, and the American Diabetes Association’s State of Diabetes Executive Leadership Team, advancing policy, regulation, and academic–practice partnerships that center health access and excellence in nursing.

Frequently sought after by national media and professional organizations, Dr. VanRiel is a prominent voice on the nursing workforce, diversity in the profession, and the vital role of HBCUs in preparing the next generation of nurse leaders.

Why are you proud to be a Carolina nurse? 

Being a Carolina nurse means that my education reflects a dedication to excellence in healthcare. In addition, I am proud to be graduate of a university known for its reputation for research, mentorship, and teaching. 

What is your favorite part about serving on the Alumni Association Board for the School of Nursing? 

My favorite part about serving on the Alumni Association Board for the School of Nursing is a combination of several factors, such as giving back, mentoring future nurses, and advocating for excellence. I have the opportunity to participate in discussions that will continue to move the School of Nursing forward. 

Best advice I have ever been given: 

The best advice that I was given is to stand up when you talk. Your viewpoint is important.