UNC School of Nursing faculty complete AACN Diversity Leadership Institute training

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Nursing is pleased to announce that three of its faculty members—Susana Barroso, PhD, RN, Latonia Clark Chalmers, DNP, APRN, PMHNP-BC, NC-BC, and Stephanie Fisher, DNP, MSN, RN—have completed the 2024 Diversity Leadership Institute training. This six-month program, sponsored by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, equips leaders to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in nursing organizations.

Susana Barroso, PhD, RN

Assistant Professor

LaTonia Chalmers, DNP, APRN, PMHNP-BC, NC-BC

Assistant Professor

Stephanie Fisher, DNP, MSN, RN

Assistant Professor

The Diversity Leadership Institute offers a rigorous curriculum that prepares participants with strategies to enhance DEI impact, self-awareness, and leadership skills. Each participant completes a capstone project focused on a critical need within their organization. Dr. Barroso’s project, titled “The Nursing Shortage: Strategies to Recruit and Retain Minority Faculty,” tackles efforts to bring and keep more diverse faculty members in nursing. Dr. Chalmers’ project, “Relationship-Centered Care and Allyship in Action,” focuses on fostering allyship within nursing practice, while Dr. Fisher’s project, “Elevate: A Nurse Faculty Mentoring Program,” emphasizes mentorship to support nurse educators.

Selection for the AACN Institute is highly competitive, with only 40 participants selected from across the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. “The challenges to DEI nationwide require new, broad approaches to enhance teaching, curriculum development, and management within diverse workplaces,” said the Shielda Rodgers, Associate Dean for Collective Well Being.

The School of Nursing congratulates Dr. Barroso, Dr. Chalmers, and Dr. Fisher for their commitment to fostering diversity and inclusion in nursing, reinforcing the School’s mission to advance health and create an inclusive future in healthcare.