President (2023-2025)
June Andrews Horowitz, PhD, RN, PMHCNS-BC, FAAN
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, USA
Dr. June Andrews Horowitz is Associate Dean for Nursing Graduate Studies and Research & Professor, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, U.S.A. Her most notable scholarly contributions concern perinatal family mental health. Dr. Horowitz has published and presented extensively. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, board certified Clinical Specialist in Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing, and Executive Board member for Mother-Baby Connections (a perinatal treatment program in Philadelphia), served as co-chair of IFNA’s Conference Planning Committee for IFNC15 and IFNC16.
President-Elect (2023 – 2025)
Petra Brysiewicz, PhD, MN, fANSA, FAAN, ASSAf (2019 – 2023)
University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Petra Brysiewicz is a professor of Nursing in the School of Nursing & Public Health, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and an honorary professor in the Division of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. She has worked with research and education of health professionals, primarily nurses, in South Africa and Africa for over 25 years, predominately in the area of acute/emergency care.
Petra is the communicating PI for DEVELOPING RESEARCH INNOVATION, LOCALISATION AND LEADERSHIP (DRILL) programme within the College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, funded by Fogarty International Center of the National Institutes of Health, USA. Her efforts are focused on inter-professional mentoring and research leadership development for young health researchers. Petra is the editor-in-chief of the International Emergency Nursing journal and associate editor for a number of other journals. Together with colleagues throughout Africa, Petra has established the African IFNA chapter
Twitter account: @PetraBrysiewicz
Past President (2023-2024)
Veronica Swallow, PhD, MMedSCi, BSc (Hons), RGN, RSCN
Sheffield Hallam University, United Kingdom
Dr. Veronica Swallow is a registered adult and sick children’s nurse with over 30 years of health care experience caring for children, young people, and families and developing and leading pediatric services; she moved to academia mid-career. Veronica is currently Professor of Child & Family Nursing & Healthcare at Sheffield Hallam University, UK and leads a national/international program of mixed-methods research, including developing and evaluating digital self-management support interventions in long-term conditions. She has established productive collaborations in national and international universities and clinical communities. With an accrued grant income of over £4.0 million as lead and co-applicant, and 60+publications in peer reviewed journals, she is regularly invited to present at national and international conferences. She currently supervises six PhD students in child and family healthcare.
She also co-leads the UK & Ireland IFNA Chapter.
Twitter account: https://twitter.com/swallowveronica
Secretary (2022 – 2024)
Elisabeth Coyne
Griffith University Queensland, Australia
Dr Coyne is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Nursing and Midwifery Griffith University Brisbane Australia. In 2019, myself and colleagues developed the Australian and New Zealand IFNA Chapter, which I chair. The AusNZ chapter has enabled researchers and clinicians to have a voice of family nursing in Australia and New Zealand and also internationally. I have been an active member of the IFNA since the 2009 conference in Iceland. It was at this conference that I connected with family nursing colleagues with a passion to improve family health. I hold an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Southern Denmark after developing strong collaborations with Professor Dieperink. Together we have built a family focused research group.
My research incorporates patient and family experience of chronic disease with a focus on cancer and innovative ways to maintain functioning during health adversity. My research has led to innovative methods for developing nurse and consumer partnership using simulation videos. I am a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, working with students and sharing knowledge informed by evidence that clearly links the theory to the clinical practice. My teaching philosophy is focused on providing authentic learning experiences to enhance students’ critical thinking and support lifelong learning.
Twitter account: @Elisabethcoyne1
Treasurer (Nov 2023 – 2025)
Suja Somanadhan: PhD, MSc, BA (Hons), Grad. Dip. Healthcare Management (Quality & Risk), Prof. Cert (Creativity and Innovation), RCN, RGN, RNT
University College Dublin, Ireland
I am currently an Assistant Professor and Head of Subject in Children’s Nursing (Pediatric) at University College Dublin, Ireland. In 1998, I completed my primary nurse registration degree from India. I practised as a neonatal nurse in Delhi, India, focusing on family-centred and family-focused care in the Neonatal Nursing Care Unit. I have been working and studying in Ireland since 2003. I have over 18 years of clinical experience in the speciality of paediatric nursing before I moved to academia. I have worked in various roles, including the clinical nurse and nurse managerial role within the Irish and Indian paediatric healthcare services. My doctoral research study was the first of its kind to act as an initial enquiry into the lived experience of Irish families of children with Mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS). Since completing my PhD, I have developed a child and family-focused research programme to learn, understand and respond to the care and support needs of those living with rare and complex conditions. I am leading multiple inter-disciplinary and cross-agency research projects in partnership with children and families, which employ various creative methodologies to facilitate engagement in the research process and shed light on what it means to live with rare and medically complex health conditions. The programs focus on patient and public involvement (PPI) and seek to enhance healthcare professionals’ knowledge and care skills who care for these families. I am the founder and lead of the Rare Disease Research Partnership (RAinDRoP) in Ireland. This is a national collaborative research partnership with families of children and person living with rare diseases in Ireland. I have been awarded an honorary research associate fellowship with the Royal College of Surgeons, Ireland, and I am the recipient of the prestigious Fulbright Scholar award. Please review my academic profile and synergistic activities at https://people.ucd.ie/suja.somanadhan/about
Twitter account: @sujas15
Directors
Kristen Abbott-Anderson, PhD, RN (2021 – 2025)
Kristen Abbott-Anderson, Ph.D. RN is Dean and Professor at the College of Nursing and Health Sciences at the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire, USA. Dr. Abbott-Anderson earned her Ph.D. in Nursing in 2015 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her Ph.D. dissertation entailed development of a sexual concerns questionnaire for women with gynecological cancer.
Dr. Abbott-Anderson’s passion is for building relationships, professionally, and with clients experiencing chronic health conditions and at the end of life. As an RN for many years, Dr. Abbott-Anderson has extensive clinical practice and research experience in Alzheimer’s disease and associated dementias, and women’s health across the lifespan. Her current research focuses on enhancing quality of life for people living with dementia (PWD) through facilitating meaning-making programs designed to enhance connectedness between the PWD and their care partner (CP). She also has a passion for care at end-of-life. Her clinical practice focuses primarily on providing dementia-friendly, dignity preserving care for PWD and end of life care. Dr. Abbott-Anderson holds a certification as a nurse educator and is an End of Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) educator in core and geriatric curricula.
Dr. Abbott-Anderson has co-authored twelve peer-reviewed articles and has contributed to more than 50 national and international scholarly presentations including five invited oral presentations. In addition to these, Dr. Abbott-Anderson has mentored 19 successful student research projects that have been presented locally, nationally, and internationally.
Teresa Gutiérrez-Alemán PhD, MSc, RN. (2022 – 2024)
Public University of Navarra, Spain
Dr. Teresa Gutiérrez-Alemán is an academic researcher at the Public University of Navarra, Spain.
She earned her Ph.D. in 2022 at the University of Navarra, obtaining the honorary distinction of International Doctor. Her Ph.D. dissertation entitled: Design of an Educational Program in Family Nursing for Oncology Nurses.
Her current research focuses on family nursing knowledge translation into practice and educational processes. She has been involved in several family nursing research projects contributing to the education of generalist and advanced practice nurses, cross-cultural adaptation and psychometric testing of measurement instruments, and the development of educational programs’ instructional design. Culminating in the publication of the Effectiveness of Educational Programs for Clinical Competence in Family Nursing: A Systematic Review in the Journal of Family Nursing (2021).
Dr. Gutiérrez-Alemán has been an active member of IFNA since 2017 and participates on the IFNA Practice Committee, where she is coordinating the ongoing IFNA Position Statements Dissemination Project. She is committed to advocating and supporting nurses’ efforts as they pursue excellence in research, education, and practice to enhance family nursing and transform family health worldwide.
Twitter account: @TeresaG_Aleman
Junko Honda, PhD, RN, PHN, CTN-A (2020 – 2024)
University of Hyogo, Japan
Dr. Junko Honda is a Professor of the Research Institute of Nursing Care for People and Community, University of Hyogo, Japan. She is engaged in research and practice related to improving the family nursing competency of hospital nurses and home visiting nurses. She also teaches family nursing in advanced courses in various nursing specialties at the postgraduate level. She contributed to the development of the IFNA Position Statement for Advanced Practice Competencies for Family Nursing. Her research focuses on family health promotion using digital technology. She has been an active member of IFNA since 2010 and serves as Board of Directors of the International Family Nursing Association since 2020. She was honored with the IFNA Rising Star Award in 2017 at IFNC13 in Pamplona, Spain.
Twitter account: @Junko_H
Karyn J. Roberts, PhD, RN (2023 – 2025)
USA
I have been a pediatric nurse since 1995, with experience in acute care, emergency department, quality improvement, nursing education, and research. As a pediatric nurse, family has been the center of my work, in my clinical practice, teaching, and research. The purpose of my research is to ensure that children with chronic conditions and their families will achieve health equity and optimal physical and psychological health and quality of life: with a focus on minoritized communities.
To achieve this purpose my research thus far has had 2 foci: identify the self and family management needs of adolescents with severe obesity; and identify the genetic influences that impact body weight, specifically genes in the melanocortin 4 pathway.
I have held academic appointments at the University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Nursing and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, School of Nursing in the USA. Currently, I am a fellow at the National Institutes of Health and the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics in Genomic Program Management (Bethesda, MD) and an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics (Chicago, IL).
I have been an active member of IFNA since 2019 as a member of the Research Committee, and the International Research Sub-collaborative. I have Co-Chaired the Research Sub-Collaborative since 2020. Within the Sub-Collaborative, I have participated in several projects with the Pediatric Research Cluster. In fall of 2021 I helped facilitate a new subgroup cluster focused on policy. I am grateful and honored to serve on the IFNA board alongside my dedicated colleagues from around the world.
Twitter @DrOakie22
Lindsay Smith, RN PhD BHlthSci MNS GradCertUniL&T MACN (2019 – 2025)
University of Tasmania, Australia
I am employed in the School of Nursing University of Tasmania, Australia teaching Strengths-Based and Family Nursing in the Bachelor of Nursing program. My teaching, research and areas of expertise are child and family health, Strength-Based Nursing & Family Nursing.
My passion is to understand how family strengths can be applied through family nursing across the lifespan. My research focus has been to explore how family nursing can encourage family engagement in healthcare through family strengths conversation using the Australian Family Strengths Nursing Assessment guide. This nursing tool, I first published in 2007, is recommended in the Children’s Health, Queensland Hospital and Health Service 2014, Child and Youth Health Practice Manual. The IFNA news item further highlights outcomes from this work https://internationalfamilynursing.org/2018/09/20/supporting-translational-science-for-strong-and-healthy-families-in-australia/.
I began my nursing career in 1984 supporting families across the lifespan and have received two major academic teaching awards – most recently a Vice-Chancellor’s citation for outstanding contribution to student learning. I was awarded Doctor of Philosophy (Social Sciences) in 2011 through the Quality of Life and Social Justice Research Centre, Australian Catholic University. I strive to successfully translate Australian research findings to healthcare practice guidelines & government policy through local, national and international collaboration.
I am pleased to have been one of the Founding IFNA Members in 2009-10 and in 2019 one of the Australian & New Zealand IFNA Chapter founding members. Since IFNA’s formation, the alignment I naturally have with the IFNA Core Values, Mission and Vision has created a synergy that I had not experienced previously in my nursing career. I am thankful to past IFNA leaders who encouraged me to be an active IFNA member and I commit to assisting Family Nurses around the world to equally experience the benefits of active IFNA membership.
Twitter account: @DrLindsaySmith
Linda K. Young, PhD, RN, CNE, FAAN (2023-2024)
University of Wisconsin-Eau-Claire, USA
With over forty years in the nursing profession, Dr. Young has spent most of her career in academic roles. She is a recently retired Dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences at UW-Eau Claire. Having practiced nursing in London, England, established healthcare partnerships in El Salvador and China and accompanied clinical groups to the Rosebud reservation for an immersion experience, she has worked to expand the globalization of American nursing, family nursing and the understanding of healthcare practices across cultures. As an active member in IFNA, she has co-chaired the RAC (Resource Advancement Committee) since 2020 and has been a member of the committee since 2012. Having received her PHD from the University of Wisconsin- Madison, her dissertation addressed the family experience of adult bone marrow/stem cell transplant patients and their families. She is also a certified nurse educator (CNE) and a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN).
Dr Young identified early on in her deanship the need to address the nursing faculty shortage in Wisconsin. The shortage of nurse faculty and consequently the shortage of nurses in the state to care for patients and families was the driving force to be the lead on a 3.2-million-dollar UW System Incentive grant-Nurses for Wisconsin- which included the four UW nursing programs offering doctoral degrees. Using the Wisconsin Center for Nursing data to help make the case for funding, the award included funding nurses to their terminal degree, funding of post-doctoral awardees and faculty loan forgiveness to new faculty hires all with a three-year commitment to teach in a UW system nursing program. The success of this effort provided the foundation for her to lead a state legislative budget ask to grow and hire nursing faculty to benefit all Wisconsin nursing programs. The state funded a one year 5-million-dollar award, entitled ‘Wisconsin Nurse Educator Program’ and then continued WNEP in the 2023-2025 budget with 10 million dollars of funding.
Click here to view the IFNA Board of Director Meeting Minutes.