We were thrilled to hear from Beverly Jones Nelms (DIPLO '59, upper right), of Ft. Worth, TX, about members of her fellow class of 1959 graduates. "There were 26 of us; 18 are still alive," wrote Nelms, "and I love playing Nancy Drew!"

Those in the latter category include Sarah Gothlin Belinge, of Walnut Creek, CA (pictured lower left, with husband Ray); Elrose Plentovitch Couric and Susie Plentovitch Hollinger, who live in Waynesville, NC (pictured center top); Bernice "Bunny" Crockett Davenport, of Staunton, VA (pictured, with Ritchie, bottom right); Jeanne Tucker Mayes, of Catawba, VA (pictured middle bottom); Judith Lawrence Mitchell, of Concord, NC (pictured upper right); and Rose Mary Leistra Ritchie, of Spartanburg, SC (pictured, with Davenport, bottom right). 

We loved seeing over 30 alumni "of all vintages" during the Virginia Council of Nurse Practitioners' annual conference in Roanoke, VA, in March 2023.

Cindy Neathawk (BSN '72, left) and daughter Alison Martin (BSN '05, front right) met with Dean Marianne Baernholdt and development officer Ruth Cassell. Cindy is retired from Roanoke/Salem Family Medicine, and Alison is the unit director for the pediatric emergency room at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital.

Mary Elizabeth "Merv" Wood Baldecchi (BSN '85) of Richmond, VA, earned an MSN from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2021. The adult gerontology-primary care nurse practitioner is employed at VCU Health's PACE Center in Richmond.

UVA School of Nursing clinical instructor Kim Bednar (BSN '02, MSN '06, DNP '16), a family nurse practitioner for UVA Health's Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, earned the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners' 2023 State Award for Advocacy and Excellence in February 2023. 

Michael Cary Jr. (BSN '04, MSN '06, PhD' 12) was inducted as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing in Washington, DC, in the fall of 2022. Michael, an associate professor and the Elizabeth C. Clipp Term Chair in Nursing at Duke University School of Nursing, also earned the Raymond Gavins Distinguished Faculty Award in 2021 for his teaching. Michael lives in Durham, NC.

D Magazine celebrated Katie Mapula's (BSN '09) organization, care, and quick thinking in a story titled "The Parkland nurse and the worst explosion in Dallas Fire-Rescue's history" in March 2023. Katie is the nursing director in charge of five ICUs and the burn center at Parkland Hospital, and she lives in Colleyville, TX.

Alumna and nurse scientist Catherine "Cat" Elmore (MSN '11, PhD '21), a former clinical instructor at the School and now a T32 Fellow at the University of Utah College of Nursing, delivered a webinar titled "Advancing COVID-19 vaccination equity among the refugee community: A critical look at an innovative, multi-sector collaborative program."

Kimberly Elgin (MSN' 11) of Charlottesville, VA—who earned the 2022 American Nurses Credentialing Center Magnet Nurse of the Year: Structural Empowerment award in 2022—delivered a keynote address at the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists annual conference in March 2023 titled "Advocacy in Action." Kim is a clinical educator and a clinical assistant professor of nursing at the School.

Nurse scientist Karen Moss (MSN '12, PhD '16), an assistant professor in the College of Medicine at the Ohio State University, delivered a webinar on work she began as a UVA student titled "Pain and advance care planning for African Americans living with dementia and their caregivers" in February 2023

Julia Truelove (BSN '14, MSN '15) and David Ensey (Engr '14) married in Washington, DC, on October 6, 2022. The couple became friends after he invited her to interview for the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society. Truelove is the daughter of Margaret Kositch (Col '83 CM) and Graham Truelove (Col '83). The couple lives in Washington, DC, where Truelove works at MedStar Washington Hospital Center's burn/trauma ICU, and Ensey works at Optoro, a technology firm. 

Lauren Catlett (MSN '16) of North Chesterfield, VA, attended Southern Nursing Research Society's annual conference to present a poster on advance care planning among patients with lung cancer, earning a 2nd place ribbon for their work with Professor Lee Ann Johnson. Lauren is a PhD student who teaches life drawing to nursing and medical students. 

Nurse practitioner Rhys Williams (BSN '16, MSN' 18)—founder and CEO of Strategic Medical Research and Training, a consulting company that contracts with government, hospitals, military, and federal agencies around the world—led hands-on emergency preparedness training for more than 700 embassy clinicians from around the world at a conference in Orlando, FL, in March 2023 run by the U.S. State Department. Rhys, who lives in Greenback, TN, hired former classmates Gray Smith (BSN '16, MSN' 18) of Powhatan, VA, and Olivia Calzada-Downs (BSN '13, MSN' 18), of Washington, D.C., to teach modules as well.

Ashley Apple (BSN '18, MSN '20, DNP '21), an assistant professor and the Virginia Nurse Association's commissioner on government relations, brought BSN students Breanna Roach, Grayce Gunn, and Lindsay Wilson to meet legislators and advocates for nursing on VNA Lobby Day in Richmond, Va., in January 2023. Thanks to a warm introduction by Del. Dawn Adams (MSN '89), the group earned a standing ovation from the house floor as they were introduced in the gallery.

The American Board of Neuroscience Nursing elected Marianne Beare Vyas (PhD '18), of Oakton, VA, its president, a role she began in April 2023. A board trustee and secretary/treasurer with the organization since 2019, Marianne has been a neurosurgery nurse practitioner with Inova Health System since 2010, directs its Neuroscience Advanced Practice Provider Fellowship, and teaches neuroscience and neurobiology at the University of New Hampshire's psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner master's degree program. 

Nurse scientist Christina Ross (PhD '19), a Jonas Nurse Scholar alumna and an assistant professor at the University of Connecticut School of Nursing, delivered a webinar titled "Addressing Black female adolescents sexual and reproductive health disparities in the U.S."

Meghan M. Bradshaw (BSN '20), a registered nurse at Duke University Hospital in Durham, NC, received a DAISY Award for her extraordinary care of a patient with whom she shared a love of softball. This connection proved essential when the patient showed signs of stress. "Meghan did everything she could to calm the patient and make the transition smooth," her nominators wrote.

Catherine Denton (BSN '22), a nurse at UVA Health, was awarded the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association's "Speak Up for Safety Award" in February 2023.

Morgan McDowell (DNP' 22) earned the Virginia Council of Nurse Practitioners' "NP Advocate Award" at the group's annual meeting in Roanoke in March 2023. Morgan is the director of advanced practice provider education and a nurse practitioner at Centra Health in Lynchburg, VA, where she lives.

Soojung Ahn (PhD '22) was awarded the Martha Hill Early Career Investigator Award, the highest honor a new investigator can earn in cardiovascular nursing, at the American Heart Conference on March 2023. Soojung is a postdoctoral scholar at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing studying cardiovascular disease prevention, subclinical biomarkers, and lifestyle modification.

Malinda Whitlow (BSN ’07, MSN ’11, DNP ’13) and family nurse practitioner Carla Galbreath (BSN ’08, MSN ’11) were among the 20 UVA Health clinicians honored for their steadfast work throughout the pandemic by CEO Wendy Horton and others at the final UVA Men’s Basketball game at John Paul Jones Arena halftime show March 4, 2023. Malinda is an associate professor and RN to BSN program director at the School; Carla works at UVA Health.