Lucia Alfano, RN, MA—New York
Lucia J. Alfano is a public health expert and assistant professor of nursing at Concordia College, New York. She is the founding president of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses (NAHN) Westchester chapter, which addresses challenges facing Hispanic patients and health care professionals in a community with the second highest percentage of Hispanics in the state. She has raised thousands of dollars to further NAHN’s mission and works with community and government leaders to raise the profile of Hispanic nurses and attract more Hispanics to the field of nursing. A member of the New York State Action Coalition since 2013, Alfano leads the communications and operations committee, is a member of the diversity and steering committees and co-authored the Action Coalition’s diversity toolkit. Alfano is also a board member of R.A.I.N. Inc., an agency offering myriad services to underserved and vulnerable communities.
Katie Eilers, MPH, MSN, RN, APHN-BC—Washington
As the director of community health for Kitsap County, Washington, Katie Eilers oversees the parent-child health nursing, chronic disease prevention programs, communicable disease, epidemiology and assessment, and community health improvement processes. She is a founding member of Kitsap Strong—Kitsap County’s initiative to prevent childhood trauma. She serves on a number of boards, including the Washington Center for Nursing, Kitsap Community Resources, the Kitsap County Commission on Children and Youth, and the Olympic Community of Health. With the Washington Action Coalition, Eilers participates in the Health Leader Nursing Program, with a focus on empowering nurses to be leaders in health care reform and addressing the social determinants of health. She was recently accepted to participate in the National Council on Behavioral Health’s cohort for public health officials. She has spent her career working in the nonprofit and government sectors, domestically and internationally. Her interests lie in changing the policies, systems, and environments to ensure all people have equal opportunity to live full and healthy lives; and in empowering nurses to be leaders in addressing disparities in health.
Leanne L. Lefler, , ACNS-BC, APRN, FAHA—Arkansas
Leanne L. Lefler is an associate professor and the education leader of the Hartford Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence at the College of Nursing, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. She has garnered national honors for her work and serves on the boards of the American Heart Association and the Southern Nursing Research Society. Lefler has built a research program with a focus on cardiovascular care in gerontology as well as disparities among populations. She is a co-lead of a grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration to improve the geriatric workforce in medically underserved and rural areas of Arkansas. Lefler is co-lead of the Arkansas Action Coalition education pillar and works to increase the number of nurses with bachelor’s and doctoral degrees in nursing science.