Candidate Statements 2019 2019 SIGMA BALLOT PRESIDENT-ELECT GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE F Kenneth Dion 2-year term (elect 3) F Thóra Hafsteinsdóttir F Myrna Doumit F Keondra Rustan F Trina Embrey F Amanda Veesart VICE PRESIDENT F Debra Kramlich F Elizabeth Weathers F Karen Gorton 4-year term (elect 2) F Anna McDaniel F Debbie Anglade F Steven Palazzo TREASURER F Rita Munley Gallagher F Jenny Sauls F Jose Alejandro LEADERSHIP SUCCESSION COMMITTEE F Scott Emory Moore 2-year term (elect 4) DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE F Pauline Anderson-Johnson F Teresa Hultquist (elect 3) F Tina Antill Keener F Laly Joseph F Janice Agazio F Diana-Lyn Baptiste F Beverly Reigle F Debra Anderson F Sheila Burke F Tara Whitmire F Irmajean Bajnok 4-year term (elect 3) F Rachel Choudhury F Li-Chi Chiang F Peggy Jenkins F Cynthia Diefenbeck F Karen Grigsby F Sara Kaylor F Sara Horton-Deutsch F Monina Hernandez F Elizabeth Rosser REGIONAL CHAPTERS COORDINATING COMMITTEE CHAIR F Ellen Buckner F Carole Liske SIGMA GLOBAL REGIONAL COORDINATORS (elect only the representative for your region) AFRICA NORTH AMERICA F Fhumulani Mavis REGION 1 REGION 6 REGION 11 Mulaudzi F Wanda Borges F Stacey Knight F Janice Jones F Stanley Rungua F Sujatha Shanmugasundaram F Kimberly Lewis F Rebecca Norman-Eck ASIA REGION 2 REGION 7 REGION 12 F Sally Chan F Pamela Fuller F Shena Gazaway F Joanne August F Janet Wong F Susan Opas F Jennifer Graber REGION 8 EUROPE REGION 3 F Pamela Johnson REGION 13 F Marie-Louise Luiking F Karen Maxwell F D’Ann Somerall F Tamatha Arms LATIN AMERICA/ F Dylan Severson F Deanna Mulvihill CARIBBEAN REGION 9 F F Roxana De las salas REGION 4 Kady Martini REGION 14 F F F F Luz Patricia Díaz Heredia Stephanie Bruce Angela Opsahl Amita Avadhani F Selena Gilles MIDDLE EAST REGION 5 REGION 10 F F F Yasmin Nadeem Parpio Lynda Bartlett Shannon Brunt REGION 15 F Susan McReynolds F Donald Rose F Patricia Bartzak OCEANIA F Elizabeth Halcomb F Eleanor Horton BOARD OF DIRECTOR CANDIDATES PRESIDENT-ELECT (ELECT ONE) Kenneth Dion PhD, MSN, MBA, RN I am honored to be slated for the to our members to remain true to our mission. office of President-elect. I have As President-elect my first goal will be to remain served the healthcare industry steadfastly true to that mission. for over 40 years as a paramedic, emergency department nurse, During my tenure as President-elect and then nurse consultant, nurse President, in the spirit of service to our members, entrepreneur, and currently as I would ask the board and members work toward Assistant Dean for Business establishing a “Twinning Program” of established Innovation and Strategic chapters with new and/or challenged chapters to Relationships at Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. provide mentoring support as I have facilitated This background provides me with the requisite between Nu Beta and Phi Xi who will be hosting the analytic, communication, and leadership skills, and 2020 Sigma European Conference in Coimbra, when combined with the depth of organizational Portugal. Strengthen ties between Sigma and knowledge obtained through my service to Sigma, student organizations to provide a pathway from uniquely qualifies me to serve the membership as student to Sigma Leader. And, establish a three year President-elect. discounted membership for newly graduated members of our organization to allow them to I have served on the Sigma Board of Directors for experience the value of Sigma when the pick their the last four years as Treasurer. During my tenure, heads up after their first year as a professional I guided the financial health of the organization in nurse. conjunction with the board and staff. I have chaired the Corporate Audit and Accountability Committee My service to Sigma spans my entire nursing career moving to a sustainable investment policy, served from new graduate on my chapter board to service on the Executive Committee which was responsible on the Foundation and International Boards of for selecting and developing the incentive policy Sigma. Love, Courage, and Honor. These are our for the current CEO, served as a member of the values. These are my values. I have loved this Presidential Information Technology Task Force, organization for over 25 years since being inducted acted as Board Liaison to the Building Corporation as a student, I have the courage to embrace the as well as three Global Regional Councils. There is a future. I will always honor our past. common thread that runs through all of my service activities for Sigma and that is my focus on our Thank you for reading my statement and your membership. continued support of our organization. From the time that I mentored my first student into a leadership position on my chapter board of directors until today, my mission has been membership. Whether it be creating compensation structures that incentivize our Chief Executive or informing the board and staff on information technology investments, all of these efforts have been directed toward creating benefit for our members. Members are the life blood of our organization. We must provide service and value BOARD OF DIRECTOR CANDIDATES PRESIDENT-ELECT (ELECT ONE) Thóra Hafsteinsdóttir PhD, MSc, RN Dear Colleagues, funding for research and development of It is a great privilege to be a leadership programs for postdoctoral nurses in candidate for President-elect of European countries and supervise Masters and PhD Sigma Theta Tau International. students. Together with academic leaders, I coauthored: Leadership in Nursing: Experiences Sigma’s vision is to be the from the Nordic European Countries, published global organization of choice recently. This requires that I am very able to for nurses. Sigma has been balance between strategic vision, daily operations developing as a global and being culturally sensitive. I see leadership as organization for nurses worldwide. My interest strongly founded in relationships and helping in putting myself forward for the position of people/organizations to move towards President-elect stems from my passion for nursing, achieving a vision, creating a long-term strategic Sigma as a global organization and my experience vision, enabling people to work towards change, as a Board Director. helping people to develop a shared sense of mission, inspiring and motivating others and I have a strong working knowledge of Sigma. Over tackling political and organizational barriers. the past 22 years I have served in international and chapter positions. As one of the founder of the As President-elect, my priorities are: Dutch Rho Chi at-Large chapter, I served as chapter Growth of Sigma Globally: to focus on global president (2010-2014), developed good expansion, diversity, to improve chapter health, understanding of chapter operations and membership experiences and retention by sharing challenges. With the new global regional structure, best practices, development of chapter models and I became the first regional coordinator in Europe technological/virtual innovations. (2011) (reelected in 2013). I set up regional structure for Europe, supported chapters in Fiscal soundness: to continuously monitor the fiscal different time zones, developed strategic soundness of all organizational efforts. planning, worked with nurses from different Leadership - Mentoring: to strengthen leadership countries and speaking different languages. Since and mentoring opportunities in chapters/regions, 2014 I am serving as a Board Director (2014-2019). I through technological/virtual innovations to actively provided strategic leadership, took part in promote scholarship of nurses to stimulate strategic planning, worked on global committees, evidence based practice in all arenas of health care global regional structure development, piloting of worldwide. the first office outside the North America, the Global Advisory Panel on the Future of Nursing Global Connection and Partnerships: to strengthen (GAPFON) and Global Regional Councils. Sigma as an important strategic, influential, collaborative partner with stakeholders, global As an academic leader, researcher and educator, I organizations and further implementation of am internationally orientated, have for years been GAPFON strategies, strengthening leadership and working in Iceland (my native country) and the scholarship of nurses globally. Netherlands and speak three languages fluently. As a senior researcher at the University Medical Center I am honored to be a candidate for President-elect Utrecht, University of Applied Sciences Utrecht and and pledge to serve you with commitment and professor of nursing, University of Iceland I secured enthusiasm. I respectfully ask for your vote. Thank you. BOARD OF DIRECTOR CANDIDATES VICE PRESIDENT (ELECT ONE) Karen Gorton PhD, RN, FNP, MS I am honored to be a nursing programs with a key role in the Nursing candidate for Vice President Education concentration of the PhD Program. (VP) of Sigma. Sigma fosters the development of nursing As a member of Sigma, I am excited by, and proud leaders who in turn are capable of, the work Sigma has done to advance nursing of transforming world health. globally alone and through collaboration with Personally, I have benefited from other organizations (UN, ICN). Sigma’s work with my membership in Sigma; it has GAPFON and the Global Regional Councils brings fostered my professional growth nurses, and nursing organizations, together in new and development through program offerings and ways, raising our visibility and credibility globally. the valuable mentoring I have received. If elected, I believe that Sigma should continue this work as I would take seriously my role to steward Sigma’s long as it is financially feasible and fitting of our vision and mission to nurses globally. strategic goals. I have been fortunate to engage with Sigma in a I believe that Sigma needs to focus on providing variety of ways: as a general member; a volunteer; value for all of our members that is consistent no an elected chapter officer; Regional Coordinator, matter where one lives or works.