Board Member Profiles

Alliance Chair

Carol Bellamy, JD

Carol Bellamy currently serves as the Chair of the EFA/FTI Board of Directors. Since its creation in 2002, EFA/FTI has grown to become a dynamic global partnership endorsing the education sector plans of 43 developing countries around the world and granting $2 billion in support of these strategies. Prior to this, Ms. Bellamy served as President and CEO of World Learning, a private, non-profit organization promoting international understanding through education and development in over 70 countries. Ms. Bellamy previously served 10 years as Executive Director of UNICEF, the children’s agency of the United Nations. She was also the first volunteer to become Director of Peace Corps. Ms. Bellamy has worked in the private sector at Bear, Stearns & Co., Morgan Stanley, and Cravath, Swain & Moore. She spent 13 years as an elected official, including five years in the New York State Senate. In 1978, she became the first woman to be elected to citywide office in New York City when she was elected President of the NYC Council, a position she held until 1985. She was named one of Forbes magazine’s 100 Most Powerful Women in the World in 2004. In 2009, Ms. Bellamy was awarded the Légion d’Honneur by the Government of France. She also chairs the Board of Governors of the International Baccalaureate.

Executive Director

Patricia Pittman, PhD
The George Washington University

Dr. Pittman is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Policy at The George Washington University. Prior to accepting this position, Dr. Pittman was the Executive Vice President of AcademyHealth where she oversaw multiple research and policy projects, international programs, conferences, professional development, knowledge transfer projects and the organization’s development and evaluation activities. She was also a Lecturer in International Policy at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Her published work has focused on cross-country comparisons in the area of quality improvement, care management, disparities and workforce issues. She has served as a consultant to the World Health Organization, the World Bank, Johns Hopkins University, and multiple foundations. Prior to joining AcademyHealth, she worked for the Pan American Health Organization in the Women, Health and Development program, and subsequently in the Division of Health Systems and Services. In the 1980s and early 1990s she lived and worked in Argentina, where she co-founded and directed a women’s health advocacy organization and later served as the Director of Social Programs for the Province of Buenos Aires. Dr. Pittman received a B.A. with honors in political science from Yale University, a PhD in Medical Anthropology and a Diploma in Public Health from the University of Buenos Aires, and completed her post-doctoral studies at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University.

Unions

Norma Amsterdam, RN, MA
Nurse Alliance of SEIU Healthcare

Ms. Amsterdam is the Executive Vice President of SEIU United Healthcare Workers East. She has also served for 11 years as the Administrator for the League of Registered Nurses Office of Continued Education. On a national level, Ms. Amsterdam is a member of the Nurse Alliance Leadership group and Chair of the Training an Education Quality Committee which recommends educational standards for nurses. Ms. Amsterdam earned the coveted award as Nurse of Distinction of the Home Care Agency at St. Mary’s Hospital in Brooklyn. She was also selected for the Regional Nurse of Distinction for special recognition by legislators in Albany, New York. Ms. Amsterdam began her nursing career with a nursing degree from the New Amsterdam School of Nursing in New Amsterdam, Guyana. She holds a Bachelors of Science in Community Health from St. Joseph’s College in Brooklyn and a Masters degree in Community Health/Public Administration from Brooklyn College.

Barbara Crane, RN
National Federation of Nurses

Ms. Crane is the current and first president of the National Federation of Nurses. She has been a member of the New York State Nurses Association for more than 34 years and has served in a number of leadership roles, including director-at-large on the NYSNA Board of Directors (2006-present) and president of the NYSNA Delegate Assembly (2002-2003 & 2007-2009). She also serves as the staff nurse director-at-large on the American Nurses Association Board of Directors (2006-2010). In her professional life, Ms. Crane is a critical care nurse and the chareg nurse in the intensive care unit at St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center in Smithtown, Long Island and has served as the chair of the NYSNA local bargaining unit at her facility for more than a decade.

Jonathan Hiatt
AFL-CIO

Jonathan Hiatt is the Chief of Staff and Executive Assistant to the President of the AFL-CIO. He was appointed to the position in September, 2009, by the Federation's newly-elected President, Richard L. Trumka. Until this recent new appointment, Hiatt served for fourteen years as the General Counsel of the AFL-CIO. He was appointed to this position by then-President John J. Sweeney upon Sweeney’s election as President, and served as General Counsel during Sweeney’s entire tenure. Mr. Hiatt also served eight years as General Counsel to the Service Employees International Union, based in Washington, D.C., where he directed the union's legal department. Before that, he was a partner in a union-side labor law firm in Boston, Massachusetts, Angoff, Goldman, Manning, Pyle, Wanger and Hiatt. He joined the firm in 1974, after graduating from Berkeley Law School (University of California) and Harvard College.

Shannon Lederer
AFT Healthcare

Ms. Lederer is associate director of the international affairs department of the American Federation of Teachers, a union representing professionals in education, health, and public sector jobs. In this capacity, she coordinates AFT’s task force on highly skilled worker migration. AFT’s comprehensive efforts on this front include research, policy advocacy, organizing migrant workers, legal defense, and cross-border cooperation between unions in sending and receiving countries. In addition, Shannon serves as AFT’s representative to two global union-led migration campaigns: the International Migration of Women Health Workers campaign of Public Services International and the Global Teacher Migration and Mobility campaign of Education International She has a BA in political science from Northwestern University and an MS in union leadership and administration from the University of Massachusetts. The focus of her research is the international recruitment of nurses and teachers and its impact on workers’ rights and the delivery of health and education services worldwide.

Professional Associations

Marc Goldstein, EdD
American Physical Therapy Association

Dr. Goldstein has been a member of the APTA staff since 1987. Originally hired as Associate Director for the Department of Education, Marc now serves as the Senior Director of Research. He currently oversees all survey research projects undertaken by the Association, including ones conducted by mail, telephone and the internet. In addition to managing survey research, Marc’s responsibilities also include the assessment of the physical therapy workforce and he has just completed the revision and expansion of APTA’s Research Agenda. He manages two other projects: the implementation of a database containing clinical research evidence on physical therapy interventions (“Hooked on Evidence”); and the development of an outpatient outcomes data collection instrument (OPTIMAL), which has undergone psychometric analysis, results of which were published in Physical Therapy in June, 2005. Dr. Goldstein is also the primary advocate for rehabilitation research among public and private funding agencies and recently was appointed as an expert to the National Institute for Disability and Rehabilitation Research’s Capacity Building/Expert Panel Meeting, which provides direction for NIDDR’s future funding priorities.

Kathy Harris, MS, RN, FACHE on behalf of
American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE)

Ms. Harris began serving as the Regional Vice President of Clinical Services at Banner Health in 2005. Her current responsibilities are to ensure the highest level of clinical care in all facilities of the Western Region as well as support, coach, and mentor the clinical leaders of each facility. She also works with her counterpart in Banner’s Arizona Region to enable the highest quality, evidence-based practice reliably carried out throughout Banner Health facilities. She earned her Master of Science from the University of Colorado in 1984 and her Bachelor of Science from Metropolitan State College in 1981. She is a Wharton Fellow and completed the Johnson & Johnson Wharton Fellows program in 2006. Ms. Harris is a member of various organizations and Boards including: AONE; ACHE; Colorado Organization of Nurse Leaders; Colorado Organization of Healthcare Executives; Center for Nursing Excellence (Board member). In addition, she has worked closely with the Colorado Health and Hospitals Association on the Nursing Staffing Task Force and the Healthcare Reform Task Force.

Katherine Kany Elissa Passiment, EdM
American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science

Elissa Passiment is the Executive Vice President of the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science (ASCLS). She is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the School of Health Related Professions at the University of Medicine and Dentistry. She is a clinical laboratory scientist with over twenty years experience in clinical laboratories as staff, educator and manager and twenty years in health care consulting and policy. Ms. Passiment came to ASCLS after six years in health care consulting with an international health care firm. During her consulting tenure, she and her staff conducted studies and redesigned the work and the facilities for hospitals in the United States and Canada. In that process, she also conducted workshops and discussion groups to facilitate the changes the client was being asked to implement. She has also been active as a member of ASCLS, serving on numerous national committees, its Board of Directors and as President in 1988-89. Ms. Passiment uses her science background and experience to analyze policies and systems as they relate to the future of health care, its changing emphasis, reimbursement, patient safety, quality delivery and business potential. She has served on the congressionally mandated Negotiated Rulemaking Committee convened to standardize and simplify reimbursement for laboratory services under Medicare Part B; presented testimony to Institute of Medicine studies, and represents ASCLS at meetings with the FDA, CMS, and CDC. She is on the Editorial Board of Lab Tests Online. She is a member of the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Advisory Committee (CLIAC) and served as Chair for 2008-11. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Laboratory Public Service National Leadership Award.

Cheryl Peterson, MSN, RN
American Nurses Association

Ms. Peterson is currently the Director of Nursing Practice and Policy at the American Nurses Association (ANA). As Director, she influences professional practice issues and nursing policy covering a broad range of health care settings, specialties, nursing roles and practice challenges. Prior to becoming Director, Ms. Peterson was the Senior Policy Fellow in the Department of Nursing Practice and Policy and was responsible for policy development on issues related to the nursing workforce, and nursing workforce planning including disaster preparedness, bioterrorism, labor issues, international issues, and health and human rights. She has served as the U.S. representative to the International Council of Nurses. Prior to coming to ANA, she served as a captain in the Army Nurse Corps on active duty during Operation Desert Shield/Storm at the King Khalid Military City, Saudi Arabia. She also held positions in the 350th Evacuation Hospital, Canton, OH, and as Head Nurse of a Cardiac Step-Down Unit at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. She has a Bachelors of Science in Nursing from the University of Cincinnati and a Master or Science in Nursing Administration from Georgetown University.

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U.S.-based Foreign-Educated Professional Associations

Sara Gabriel, MSN, MBA, RN
National Association of Indian Nurses of America (NAINA)

Ms. Gabriel is the founding and immediate past President of the National Association of Indian Nurses of America (NAINA). She is the current Chairperson of the Trustee Board for the organization and represents NAINA in various National and International projects and activities. She is actively working to establish a professional nursing association for all Asian Nurses in Illinois as well as to establish an Association to unite all Indian Nurses working outside India at global level. Ms. Gabriel began her nursing career in Chicago as a staff nurse and steadily progressed to various leadership positions. She has held the position of Nurse Educator, Clinical Nurse Specialist, Nurse Practitioner, and Adjunct Faculty. In 1985, she changed her focus of practice to nursing administration and was steadily promoted from Nurse Manager, to Divisional Nursing Director, Associate Nursing Director, Director of Nursing, and Hospital Senior Administrator at Cook County Hospital, Chicago, IL. Ms. Gabriel was born and brought up in Kerala State located in the Southwest part of India. She graduated with Bachelors of Science in Nursing from Christian Medical College, Vellore, India, and migrated to Chicago where she completed a Masters in Nursing (MSN) from Loyola University, Chicago and completed a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from Olivet Nazarene University, Kankakee, IL.

Reynaldo Rivera, DNP, EdM, MA, RN, CCRN, NEA-BC
Philippine Nurses Association of America

Dr. Rivera is currently the President-Elect (2008-2010) of the Philippine Nurses Association of America, Incorporated and will be inducted as its 16^th President this coming June, 2010. He is a leader and an educator with thirty years experience in education, nursing practice, leadership and management. Dr. Rivera established the first PNAA Leadership Development Program in 2004, which continues to present day. He was past president of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses, New York City Chapter and the Philippine Nurses Association of New York. He is a board member of the National Coalition of Ethnic Minority Nurse Associations and an active member of the American Association of Nurse Executives. Dr. Rivera is also the Director of Nursing for Special Programs at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell. Prior to joining NYPH, he held various positions from Interim Vice-President of Nursing, Senior Director of Nursing, Director of Nursing, Assistant Director, Nurse Educator and Staff Nurse. Dr. Rivera earned his Doctor of Nursing Practice from Case Western Reserve University, Frances Bolton School of Nursing, Post-Masters in Advanced Practice, Adult Health from New York University, Master of Arts and Master of Education in Nursing Executive Role from Columbia University, Master of Arts in Psychology from Ateneo de Manila and Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center in the Philippines.

Employers

Terry Bennett, BSN
Johns Hopkins Health System

Ms. Bennet has been the Director of Nurse Recruitment for Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center since November 1998. Prior to this position, she was a Career Specialist with Johns Hopkins Hospital. She recently served as a board member for the National Association of Healthcare Recruitment (NAHCR). She is also a Past President for the Maryland Association of Healthcare Recruitment (MAHCR). Ms. Bennett has been an active member of MACHR since 1989 and has held a number of officer positions with MAHCR. She is an advisory board member for the Nursing Spectrum and was also a commissioner with the Maryland Nursing Workforce Commission. Ms. Bennett obtained her Bachelor’s degree in nursing from D’Youville College in Buffalo, NY. She is currently pursuing a Masters degree in Human Resource Management from Towson University. She is also certified as a Healthcare Recruiter (CHCR) by NAHCR. In addition to her 20 years of success in healthcare recruitment, she has 13 years of experience as a nurse and nurse manager in Maternal/Child Health at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD and at Children’s Hospital in Buffalo, NY.

Sam Burch Samantha Burch (on behalf of Charles Khan)
Federation of American Hospitals (FAH)
Ms. Burch is the Director of Health Care Policy & Research at the Federation of American Hospitals. She is responsible for researching, analyzing, and developing written comments and proposals about existing and emerging health policy issues, particularly quality measurement, patient safety, and health information technology. Additionally, she represents the FAH at various related public forums and coalition meetings and supports the work of FAH member committees. Prior to joining the FAH, Ms. Burch served as a health care aide and press secretary for Rep. Al Green (D-TX) and has worked with the American Cancer Society, AcademyHealth, and the Ohio Department of Health. Ms. Burch received a Masters of Arts degree in government from the Johns Hopkins University in Washington, DC and a Bachelor of Arts degree in international relations from The Ohio State University.

Kathy Harris, MS, RN, FACHE on behalf of
American Hospital Association (AHA)
See Kathy Harris under Professional Associations.

Staffing and Placement Agencies

Corazon Bautista
GlobalCare

Ms. Bautista is the Founder and Chairman of GlobalCare, Inc, a company founded in 2002 that specializes in the international recruitment of healthcare professionals. Ms. Bautista began her business career as a software analyst and project manager in the emerging software industry of the Bay area of San Francisco. Her first company, Dynasoft, was founded in 1986, specializing in banking software and systems, bringing to Asia, technology from the best banking systems from the U.S., the U.K. and Australia. In the early 1990’s she invested in one more dream - to build the first Philippine-made banking software system that would be sold around the world. In 1997, a U.S. computer company bought out her interest in the software and took the product global. Today it is sold in Europe, the Middle East, in Asia-Pacific and in the United States. In 1998, she received a Presidential Citation for her contribution to the Philippine software industry. Her first International Recruiting startup followed ~ an IT consulting firm that supplied over 1,000 IT professionals from the Philippines to the United States. After 15 years as a successful IT entrepreneur, Ms. Bautista founded GlobalCare, based in San Francisco with an office in Manila, Philippines. The company is a unique blend of business and social entrepreneurship. Ms. Bautista hosts guests in Manila – senior hospital executives from the United States who come to see the operation in the Philippines and understand the culture and values of the people they will be hiring. In addition to social activities, guests are also involved in Community Outreach programs – free medical and dental clinics for underprivileged communities. They are also introduced and encouraged to participate in GlobalCare’s scholarship programs and Alliance programs with Philippine hospitals and Nursing universities, to ensure continuity of qualified supply of resources and knowledge transfer between countries.

Ms. Bautista’s early education was in the Philippines, she is a graduate of the prestigious Harvard OPM program – a CEO school for entrepreneurs.

Marcia Faller, RN, PhD(c)
O'Grady Peyton International

Ms. Faller joined AMN Healthcare in 1989 as Vice President of Nursing. Currently she serves as the Company's Chief Clinical Officer with responsibility for the competence and quality of physicians, nurses and allied health professionals placed throughout the country. She held the position of Senior Vice President of Nursing and Traveler Services from July 1997 through September 2004 with responsibility for quality management and professional education, traveler housing, customer service, information technologies, facilities and other office support. Prior to joining the Company, Ms. Faller held clinical and recruitment positions at Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego. She currently serves on the Advisory Council to The Joint Commission for the Healthcare Staffing Services Certification program. She has made numerous presentations in the areas of cost-effiecient staffing, effective use of temporary staff and foreign recruitment of healthcare professionals. She is a current member of American Organization of Nurse Executives, Association of California Nurse Leaders, and the American Nurses Association. She earned a bachelor of science in nursing from the University of Arizona, MSN from University of San Diego and is presently pursuing a doctoral degree in nursing from the University of San Diego.

Katherine Kany Dennis Light, MPH
American Association of International Healthcare Recruitment

Mr. Light is currently the owner and president of Global Healthcare Resources, a “one-stop shop” for the coordination of recruitment, legal processing, and placement of international nurses, physical therapists, and occupational therapists from Asia, and in particular, the Philippines. Prior to founding Global Healthcare Resources, Mr. Light served as president of the nurse staffing and home health company Mid Atlantic Home Health Network, Inc. He has also served as president of Creative Health Ventures, Inc. where he developed a comprehensive breast cancer diagnostic center, assisted-living facilities for the elderly, radiation therapy centers, and physical medicine/sports medicine programs. Mr. Light has 36 years experience in healthcare management with primary experience in hospital administration.

Certification and Licensure Bodies

karen Skinner Karen Scipio-Skinner, MSN, RNC
National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN)

Karen Scipio-Skinner has served as Executive Director for the District of Columbia Board of Nursing since 2002. She received her BSN from North Carolina A&T State University and her MSN from Catholic University of America. She began her career as a psychiatric nurse at St. Elizabeths Psychiatric Hospital where she served as a staff nurse and head nurse with most of her time spent practicing as a nurse educator. She left St. Elizabeths to accept a position as Director of Staff Development at Psychiatric Institute of Washington, DC. After leaving Psychiatric Institute, she worked as Training Supervisor for the American Psychiatric Association’s Quality Assurance Department. Prior to accepting her current position as Executive Director of the Board of Nursing, she was the Nurse Associate for Practice, Education and Policy for the District of Columbia Nurses Association. While at DCNA, she was instrumental in amending the District’s Nurse Practice Act resulting in the removal of practice barriers for Advanced Practice Registered Nurses allowing them to practice independently.

Ms. Skinner has also served on numerous Boards and Commissions. She was appointed by then-Mayor Marion Barry to serve as a member of the District of Columbia Board of Nursing and the Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Panel for Health Care Reform. She was appointed by Mayor Anthony Williams to the Mayor’s Health Policy Council. Ms. Skinner also Chaired the Robert Wood Johnson funded DC Nurse Consortium on Education and Practice. Currently she serves as a Board member of the National Capital Area YWCA. And in 2010 was elected, Chairperson of the National Council of State Board of Nursing’s Executive Officer’s Network. She was also appointed to the Board of Directors for the Alliance for Ethical International Recruitment Practices. Ms. Skinner has received the following honors: Selected by the Washington Business Journal as one of the District of Columbia’s “Top Ten Lobbyists”; the District of Columbia Nurses Association’s Nursing Practice Award, and in 2009 Ms. Skinner received the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners’ Nurse Practitioner Advocate State Award for Excellence. In 2011she was honored by the Black Nurses Association of the Greater Washington, DC Area as Nurse of the year. She was also selected by the George Washington University Center for Excellence in Public Leadership as a finalists for the 2011 Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation Awards for Distinguished DC Government Employees. Ms. Skinner is a member of the American Nurses Association, Black Nurses Association of the Greater Washington DC Area and Sigma Theta Tau, Nurses Honor Society.

Frank Shaffer Franklin Shaffer, EdD, RN, FAAN
CGFNS International

Franklin Shaffer is currently the Chief Executive Officer of CGFNS International. He was previously executive vice president of Cross Country Healthcare and chief nursing officer for Cross Country Staffing. He was appointed by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO or the Joint Commission) to serve on their Nursing Advisory Council.

Prior to his tenure with Cross Country Staffing, Dr Shaffer served as chief nursing officer at several medical centers, deputy director for the National League for Nursing and adjunct faculty in graduate nursing programs at Teachers College, Columbia University, Adelphi University and Hunter College. Dr Shaffer holds a doctorate of education in nursing administration, a master of education in nursing administration, and a master of arts in nursing administration and adult health from Teachers College, Columbia University. In 2002, Dr. Shaffer was inducted into the American Academy of Nursing.

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