Carolina Nursing recognizes Alumni Award recipients

Outstanding Alumni Award recipient

Dr. Ethan Collin Cicero, BSN ’14

This award recognizes a Carolina Nursing graduate who is known for their outstanding leadership and service to the field of nursing, either through scholarly efforts in research or teaching, promotion of health care or excellence in patient care and practice.

A smiling man with a bald head and a gray-and-black beard wearing a light blue and white checkered button-down shirt, posed in front of a plain, neutral background.

Ethan Cicero, PhD, RN, FAAN, is an Assistant Professor at Emory University’s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Future of Nursing Scholar and a Butler-Williams Scholar. Before joining Emory in 2020, Dr. Cicero completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Biobehavioral Research Training in Symptom Science Program at the University of California, San Francisco. He earned his PhD from Duke University School of Nursing in 2018 and a BSN with Highest Honors from the UNC School of Nursing in 2014.

Dr. Cicero’s research focuses on evaluating the interrelationship between social inequities and the effects of adverse and affirming social conditions on the health and well-being of transgender, nonbinary and other gender expansive (TNGE) adults, with an emphasis on promoting healthy aging and reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. 

A nationally recognized transgender health scholar, Dr. Cicero advances methodological approaches around conducting studies with TNGE communities. He is among the first researchers to document health differences and disparities among TNGE communities and has shared his expertise through invited presentations with the National Institute on Aging (NIA), Alzheimer’s Association and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health. His leadership includes standardizing TNGE-inclusive measurement tools for over 35 NIA-funded Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centers and contributing to clinical guidelines for gender-affirming care. 

Dr. Cicero’s scholarly work, funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Alzheimer’s Association and RWJF, has garnered national and international recognition. Their groundbreaking work informs policy development, advances inclusive nursing care for TNGE individuals, and provides critical guidance for nursing curricula, healthcare education and clinical guidelines. Their research has been cited in numerous U.S. Supreme Court cases, which resulted in transgender people being able to serve in the military, access medically necessary gender-affirming healthcare and be protected from employment discrimination. The most notable case, Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board, set legal precedent that Title IX protections extend to transgender students.

Outstanding Alumni Service Award recipient 

Dr. Paul Allen Gray Jr., MSN ’73

This award recognizes a Carolina Nursing graduate who has demonstrated outstanding voluntary leadership or public service on a local, national or global level.

An older man with short white hair wearing a black suit, white shirt, and red tie, poses against a plain dark background, looking directly at the camera with a neutral expression.

P. Allen Gray, Jr., RN, PhD, a Carolina Nursing Johnston Scholar, completed his MSN at the UNC School of Nursing in 1973. He joined the School’s staff in 1977, and he progressed through assignments as clinical instructor, undergraduate and graduate curriculum developer, assistant to the collective department chairs, and faculty member. He was a member of the School’s Foundation Board of Directors from 2011 to 2019 and a member of the School’s Board of Visitors from 2020 to 2023, of which he served as chair. 

Dr. Gray went to UNC Wilmington in 1984 to establish the RN to BSN program. A key developer of the UNCW Family Nurse Practitioner MSN program in 1998, he coordinated making the RN to BSN program the first online degree program at UNCW in 2001.  

A U.S. Navy Nurse Corps Reserve Officer since 1969, Dr. Gray was Nursing Education Instructor at Naval Hospital Pensacola in Florida from 1969 to 1971.  He completed two tours as Commanding Officer in the Navy Reserve Medical Unit in Wilmington and returned to active duty at Naval Hospital Cherry Point during Operation Desert Storm. Following promotion to Captain in 1998, he served from 1999 to 2002 as Commanding Officer at the Naval Reserve Naval Hospital at Camp Lejeune.  With 35 years in the Navy Reserve and 20 years at UNCW, Dr. Gray retired in 2004.

In 2008, Dr. Gray helped establish Elderhaus PACE (Program of All Inclusive Care Program) in the first PACE in North Carolina. His board of director service includes Coastal Connect Health Information Exchange, Physicians Healthcare Collaborative, chair for Elderhaus during its merger with EveryAge, and, currently, for EveryAge.  A HIMSS Global Conference Reviewer for six years, Dr. Gray is manuscript reviewer for three professional journals: CIN:  Computers, Informatics, Nursing; Nursing Education Perspectives; and Military Medicine.

In addition to his degree from the School, Dr. Gray was the first male graduate from Mercy School of Nursing in Charlotte, NC (‘68). He holds an AB (’66) from UNC, a BSN from North Carolina Central University (’70) , a PhD (‘82) from the UNC School of Education and MS in Medical Informatics from Duke University (‘97).

Outstanding Nurse Innovator Alumni Award recipient 

Dr. Tonya Rutherford-Hemming, BSN ’93, MSN ’01

This award recognizes a School of Nursing graduate who is applying new ideas and methods to the field of nursing to improve patient experiences, health outcomes and nursing practice, research and/or education.

A woman with straight, light brown hair in a bob cut is smiling at the camera. She is wearing a beige blouse with ruffled trim. The background is softly blurred in pastel tones.

Tonya Rutherford-Hemming, EdD, RN, ANP, CEN, CHSE-A, FAAN, bleeds Carolina blue. She is a two-time UNC School of Nursing alumnus, receiving her BSN in 1993 and MSN in 2001. Dr. Rutherford-Hemming began her career in surgery-trauma ICU and was a flight nurse for EastCare Critical Care Transport in Greenville, NC, and Carolina Air Care in Chapel Hill, NC. After receiving her MSN, she worked as an Adult Nurse Practitioner in cardiovascular and internal medicine. She went back to school to receive her EdD from Northern Illinois University in 2011, where she found her passion for simulation and nursing education.

Dr. Rutherford-Hemming’s scholarship has focused on translational research to increase patient safety. Her research has had a significant impact in understanding the link between simulation and quality patient care. She published one of the first studies in nursing that investigated the transfer of learning from the simulation laboratory to the patient bedside. The National Council of State Boards of Nursing cited her research as evidence for replacing clinical hours with simulation in prelicensure nursing education. Dr. Rutherford-Hemming’s work in translational research has also focused on graduate nursing education, specifically nurse practitioner education. Her research is reflected in the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties simulation guidelines and best practices.  

Dr. Rutherford-Hemming also developed and published the first guidelines for prebriefing in simulation. Her article was cited by the International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning Healthcare Simulation Standards of Best Practice^TM:  Prebriefing, which is internationally recognized as the standard for prebriefing. Dr. Rutherford-Hemming created and published the first tool to determine a content validity index for simulation scenarios. This tool helps establish the validity of the simulation scenario in clinical assessment, high stakes simulations and research to ensure that findings can be interpreted accurately. The tool and article helped define the criterion for developing a valid and reliable simulation scenario in the Healthcare Simulation Standards of Best Practice^TM: Simulation Design.  

Dr. Rutherford-Hemming has one daughter, Bailey Elizabeth, and three miniature dachshunds. In addition to rooting for the Tar Heels, she enjoys reading, jigsaw puzzles and whitewater rafting.

Honorary Alumni Award

Dr. Shielda Rodgers

Awarded to a professional who possesses distinction in the nursing profession and has demonstrated outstanding support to the School of Nursing. This person is a non-graduate of the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Nursing.

A smiling woman with short curly gray hair, wearing hoop earrings, a maroon sweater, and a necklace, stands in front of a blurred indoor background.

Shielda Rodgers, PhD, RN, received her BSN with high honors from North Carolina Central University and her MSN and PhD degrees from the University of Maryland at Baltimore School of Nursing. She has been a nurse educator for the past 43 years, joining the UNC School of Nursing in July 2002. Since coming to the School, she has served as a full-time faculty member, academic counselor and coach, Assistant and Associate Dean for Inclusive Excellence and is currently a Professor and Associate Dean for Collective Well-being.

Dr. Rodgers is a member of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) Diversity Leadership Network and for four years served as a mentor for participants in the AACN Diversity Leadership Institute. Throughout her academic career, her work has focused on diversity and inclusion, as well as issues related to student retention and success, with specific attention to minority students. Her student success efforts were enhanced with the receipt of a $1.98 million-dollar Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) grant to support a key program she developed and directs – Meeting Educational Needs Through Optimization of Retention Strategies for Students (MENTORS2) – which supports underrepresented ethnic minority students and students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Dr. Rodgers has received several awards for her dedicated service to students, specifically multiethnic students. Since coming to UNC, she has received the UNC Hospital Faculty of the Year award, the School’s HOPE award twice, the School’s Educational Excellence Award and the University’s Excellence in Academic Advising Award. In 2014, the nursing department at her alma mater, NCCU, recognized her with their Distinguished Alumnus Award, and the Chi Eta Phi Nursing Sorority recognized her with their Living Legend Award.

In her current role, Dr. Rodgers attempts to create and maintain a welcoming inclusive environment for staff, faculty and students using a variety of strategies including educational sessions around bias, communication and creating a sense of belonging.

Nominees

It is an honor to recognize all of our esteemed Carolina Nurses nominated for a 2024 Alumni Award:

Patrica Joyner Babcock, BSN ‘74
Lunise Benjamin, DNP ‘17
Susan Howard Catchings, MSN ‘93
Catherine Emigholz Drozd, MSN ‘98
Jennifer C. Ferguson, BSN ‘98
Jill Marie Forcina Hill, BSN ‘01, PhD ‘08
Caroline Marie Kraft, BSN ‘14, MSN ‘18, DNP ‘20
Jeanne Edmiston Martin, BSN ‘85
Christopher N. Riggan, MSN ‘19
Alicia Siam Sechrist, BSN ‘02
Yolanda VanRiel, PhD ‘09
Shawne Taylor Llewellyn, BSN ‘96, MSN ‘99
Leslie Louise Davis, BSN ‘85, MSN ‘89, PhD ‘11
Betsy Newton Herman, BSN ‘72
Sarah Nantz Francis, BSN ‘08
Tara McGee Walker, BSN ‘04
Becky G. Fox, BSN ‘92

For a list of past recipients, please visit our Alumni Awards page.