The following are among the many honors received recently by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) leaders, scholars, fellows, grantees and alumni.

The Chicago Parenting Program, an innovative program that supports healthy parenting and reduces behavioral problems among children, was recently added to the National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices, run by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. RWJF Executive Nurse Fellow alumna Deborah Gross, DNSc, RN, FAAN, was a driving force behind the program, which is used by Head Start centers in Chicago and New York City, among others.  RWJF Nurse Faculty Scholar Susan Breitenstein, PhD, RN, PMHCNS-BC, and Executive Nurse Fellow alumna Sharon Tucker, PhD, RN, joined with Gross and others to conduct a study on the program, published in Research in Nursing & Health. It was recently named the journal’s Best Research Article award for 2012.

David Kindig, MD, PhD, RWJF Health & Society Scholars program director at the University of Wisconsin, and Health & Society Scholars program National Advisory Committee (NAC) member George Isham, MD, MS, co-chaired the Institute of Medicine’s Roundtable on Population Health Improvement, which is exploring factors beyond medical care that affect people's health. Among other participants in the Roundtable: RWJF Senior Program Officer Pamela Russo, MD, MPH, and Health & Society Scholars NAC Member James Knickman, PhD.

RWJF Health Policy Fellows alumna Carmen R. Green, MD, was appointed the University of Michigan Health System’s inaugural Associate Vice President and Associate Dean for Health Equity and Inclusion. In the position, Green will find and address inequalities in care, education and research, and promote health care careers to those from groups that are underrepresented in the field.

Sylvia Garcia, JD, a member of the RWJF Community Health Leaders program NAC, was elected to the Texas State Senate (District 6) in a run-off election to fill the seat previously held by the late state Sen. Mario Gallegos.

The following are among the many honors received recently by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) leaders, scholars, fellows and grantees.

Lindsay Chase-Lansdale, PhD, a member of the RWJF Health & Society Scholars program National Advisory Committee, was elected to the National Academy of Education.

RWJF Clinical Scholars alumnus David J. Shulkin, MD, has been named chair of the board of the New Jersey Council of Teaching Hospitals. Shulkin is president of Morristown Medical Center and vice president of Atlantic Health System.

Flavia Peréa, PhD, an alumna of the RWJF New Connections program, was recognized by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education as a “2013 Emerging Scholar.”

Health & Society Scholars alumna Janxin Leu, PhD, joined HopeLab as Director of Product Innovation, where she will direct the Lab’s “new initiative to promote human resilience and inner values through social-tech innovation.”

The University of North Carolina Board of Governors has approved the UNC School of Nursing’s proposal to add the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree to its graduate clinical offerings. Two RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows alumnae were instrumental in ensuring the proposal’s approval: School of Nursing Dean Kristen M. Swanson, PhD, RN, FAAN, and newly-appointed DNP program director Debra J. Barksdale, PhD, RN, CFNP, CANP.

Kevin B. Johnson, MD, MS, the Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor, chair of Biomedical Informatics, and a professor of pediatrics at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, has joined the RWJF Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program National Advisory Committee.

The following are among the many honors received recently by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) leaders, scholars, fellows and grantees.

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) named 70 new members and 10 foreign associates at its 42nd annual meeting. Among the new members with RWJF connections: RWJF Clinical Scholars alumni Christopher J. Elias, MD, MPH, and Tracy A. Lieu, MD, MPH; RWJF Investigator Award in Health Policy Research recipients Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, Jens Ludwig, PhD, Jack Needleman, PhD, FAAN, and Sara Rosenbaum, JD; and RWJF Scholars in Health Policy Research alumnus Paula M. Lantz, PhD.

Sally S. Cohen, PhD, RN, FAAN, director of the RWJF Nursing and Health Policy Collaborative at the University of New Mexico (UNM), has been named to the UNM School of Nursing’s newly created Virginia P. Crenshaw Endowed Chair in Nursing—the School of Nursing's first endowed chair.

Anisha Patel, MD, MSPH, an alumnus of the Clinical Scholars program, was awarded the 2012 American Academy of Pediatrics Outstanding Achievement Award in the application of epidemiologic information to child health advocacy.

Robin Newhouse, an Interdisciplinary Nursing Quality Research Initiative (INQRI) grantee, was appointed vice-chair of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute’s Methodology Committee.

The following are among the many honors received recently by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) leaders, scholars, fellows and grantees.

RWJF President and CEO Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, MD, MBA, was named to Forbes’ annual list of the “World’s 100 Most Powerful Women.” The list includes political leaders, corporate executives, top government officials, leaders of nongovernmental organizations, and a first lady.

Susan Hassmiller, PhD, RN, FAAN, RWJF senior adviser for nursing and director of the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action, is one of the recipients of the National League for Nursing President’s Award. The award recognizes Hassmiller’s “significant contributions to advancing the health of the nation through excellence in nursing education and practice.”

As part of its Injury Center’s 20th Anniversary, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has launched the "20 for 20 Project" to honor those who have been innovators in the field of violence and injury prevention. Among those honored: Jacquelyn Campbell, PhD, RN, FAAN, Nurse Faculty Scholars program director, and three alumni of the Clinical Scholars program: David Grossman, MD, MPH, Art Kellerman, MD, MPH, FACE, and Fred Rivara, MD, MPH.

David Blumenthal, MD, MPP, recipient of an Investigator Award, has been named the next president of the Commonwealth Fund. His term will begin January 1, 2013.

RWJF Community Health Leader Dana Harvey, MS, has been honored as a White House “Champion of Change” for her work providing organic and locally grown foods in a neighborhood without a full-service grocery store.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Executive Nurse Fellows program alumna Debra Toney, PhD, MS, BSN, FAAN, was one of 22 people selected by the Coca-Cola Company to carry the Olympic torch in Kirtlington, England, in a relay across the country leading up to the opening ceremonies for the 2012 Olympics. Here, Toney, director of nursing for Nevada Health Centers and immediate past president of the National Black Nurses Association, writes about the experience.

Have you ever done something that changes your life? Have you met people who inspire you to do more? These are just a few of the many feelings I have experienced after participating as an Olympic Torchbearer! They are certainly great feelings to have and I have been on cloud nine since returning home.

The opportunity to participate in this international event which celebrated the accomplishments of some very amazing people was a proud and humbling moment. Humbling because I never expected something this significant would happen to me. However, it is an experience that could happen to anyone.

While flying home I had plenty of time to pinch myself to wake up, but I was awake. Did this really just happen to me? The opportunity to spend time with people from different parts of the country and hear their stories of giving has given me the drive to do more. We came from different cultures, spoke different languages and enjoyed different food, yet we had a lot in common. We want to make the world a better place to live.

The Flame was finally delivered to London, after being transferred from one Torchbearer to another, spreading the message of peace, unity and friendship. It ended its journey as the last Torchbearer lit the cauldron at the opening of the Olympic Games. I experienced a feeling of honor and joy as I watched in awe the opening on television, knowing I played a role in this great history making event.

Read more about Toney’s experience as a torchbearer in the latest issue of Sharing Nursing’s Knowledge.
Learn more about the RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows program.

The following are among the honors received recently by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) scholars, fellows and grantees.

Several RWJF scholars were named to the 2012 class of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellows. They include: RWJF Investigator Awards in Health Policy Research recipients Amy Finkelstein, PhD, MPhil, and Joseph Fins, MD; RWJF Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program alumni Griffin Rodgers, MD, MACP, and Emery Brown, MD, PhD; and RWJF Scholars in Health Policy Research alumnus Vincent Hutchings, PhD.

Amy Finkelstein was also named the 2012 recipient of the John Bates Clark Medal in economics, regarded as economics’ most prestigious award. Read an RWJF Human Capital Blog post by Finkelstein.

Debra Ann Toney, PhD, MS, BSN, FAAN, an alumna of the RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows program, is one of 22 Americans selected by Coca-Cola to carry the Olympic Flame in the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay. The torchbearers will carry the flame in and around Oxford, England, July 9 to 11 before the opening ceremony on July 27.

As the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) celebrates its 40th anniversary, the Foundation wants to reflect on what has been achieved and renew its commitment to tackle the challenges ahead. RWJF wants to know: How has its work affected you or someone you know?

Share your story. Entries can be short essays, a photograph or a video describing a particular event or impact. Throughout the summer, RWJF will review every story that comes its way, and share the best of the bunch on the website.

To learn more, and to submit your story, click here. This will take you to MyRWJF. Register or sign in with an existing account, and click on the "apply" button next to tell your story.

Learn more here.

Read more about RWJF’s 40th anniversary.

Linda Cronenwett, PhD, RN, FAAN, is the Beerstecher-Blackwell Professor and former dean, School of Nursing, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Since its creation in 2005, she has led the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) project at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

In Tucson last week, more than 400 educators from nursing education and practice settings celebrated a transition in leadership for the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) website and National Forum. As of August 2012, support for these important resources will transfer from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to Case Western Reserve University’s (CWRU) Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing.

Seven years ago, a small committed group of people began work aimed at altering nursing professional identity formation so that a new type of nursing school graduate would be developed—someone who would come into the workforce with the knowledge and skills necessary to both deliver excellent care to individuals and continuously improve the health care systems in which they work. We worked hard to build the will to change, generate ideas about how to develop each of six quality and safety competencies, and support execution through changes in accreditation of programs. And just before our third QSEN National Forum, publishers Wiley-Blackwell released the new book, Quality and Safety in Nursing, edited by Gwen Sherwood, PhD, RN, FAAN, and Jane Barnsteiner, PhD, RN, FAAN.

The following are among the honors received recently by RWJF Scholars, Fellows and Grantees.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Clinical Scholars program alumnus Christopher Elias, MD, MPH, has been named president of The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Global Development Program.

RWJF Executive Nurse Fellow Kim Moore, RN, MSN, assumed the role of president and chief executive officer of Saint Elizabeth Regional Medical Center in Lincoln, Nebraska, in September. Previously, Moore served as the Medical Center’s chief operating officer and chief nursing officer.

Judy Berry, a RWJF Community Health Leader and founder of Lakeview Ranch, is a 2011 Purpose Prize fellow for her work with people suffering from dementia. The Purpose Prize is awarded by Civic Ventures, and recognizes extraordinary contributions in “encore” or second careers.

RWJF Nurse Faculty Scholar Alison Colbert, PhD, APRN, BC, received the Junior Investigator Award from the Public Health Nursing Section of the American Public Health Association (APHA), at the organization’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C. Read more about the meeting and the RWJF scholars who were featured there.

Jacquelyn Taylor, PhD, PNP-BC, RN, FAAN, also a Nurse Faculty Scholar, was presented with the 2011 International Society of Nurses in Genetics Founders Award, in recognition of her contributions to genetics research and nursing.

By Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, president and CEO, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Every year, the American Public Health Association (APHA) annual meeting features some of the best and brightest minds in health and health care. Taking place in Washington, D.C. from October 29 to November 2, it is a cutting edge event that advances critical research, helps shape policy and practice, and stimulates thinking on some of the most pressing health issues of our time. APHA notes that it is the oldest and largest gathering of public health professionals and, in my experience it is easily one of the most influential. I am very proud that, this year, it will feature dozens of Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) scholars, fellows, alumni, grantees, staff and others who have been touched by Foundation programs.

Perhaps most exciting is that Melvin D. Shipp, OD, MPH, DrPH, a former RWJF Health Policy Fellow (1989-1990), is beginning his term as president of this prestigious organization. Shipp is dean of The Ohio State University College of Optometry and past president of the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry. He will hold the APHA leadership position for two years, and I know he will do great things during that time. At the meeting, Shipp will lead a session on the Health Policy Fellows program, explaining the experience and its impact on participants.

Among the many others from the RWJF “family” who will be featured at the annual meeting are: