MARILN Mini-Workshop at Salve Regina University!

Susan Lavallee began her career as an RN in 1988. She worked as an emergency nurse for 22-years. During this time, she served as preceptor for new faculty, charge nurse, taught ACLS and ENPC, served as critical incident stress team member and peer debriefer, and chaired various committees, eventually becoming Coordinator of Outpatient Services, and then Director of Emergency Services at Saints Medical Center in Lowell Massachusetts. She was the recipient of the Florence Nightingale Award and received Massachusetts State recognition for her work in 2001. Susan also served as Beacon Chapter President of the Massachusetts Emergency Nurses Association. She received her MSN, Ed. from Rivier University, Nashua, NH in 2015. She accepted a full-time faculty position in the nursing program at Middlesex Community College (MCC), teaching senior nursing students, specializing in advanced medical surgical and critical care nursing. In her role as full-time faculty, Susan serves as policy committee chair and has been instrumental in the ability for MCC nursing students to take part in and achieve Massachusetts Commonwealth Honors designation. Recognizing that all students learn differently, and have complex schedules outside their nursing programs, Susan is passionate about assisting students to achieve their learning goals, utilizing evidence-based strategies for success. She is passionate about interprofessional collaboration. Susan serves as a board member for the Massachusetts and Rhode Island League for Nursing (MARILN) as chair of the Mini-Workshop Committee, and on the Membership Committee. She serves MCC as Alumni Association Board member, and as an advisory board member for both Rivier University, Nashua, NH and Framingham State University, Framingham, MA. In her free time, she enjoys time with family, music, and taking walks with her golden retriever Sophie! 

Lisa Thomas earned her BSN from the University of Massachusetts Lowell, an MSN at Northeastern University with a concentration in Pediatric Primary Care. Once she entered into academia she pursued a post master’s certificate in nursing education at Boston College, then completed a PhD at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth with a concentration in Nursing Education. Lisa has been a nurse educator for over fifteen years. Her experience includes teaching at the associate, baccalaureate, and graduate levels. She is a certified nurse educator through the National League for Nursing. Her research and publications are in the area of resilience in pre-licensure nursing students. Her clinical background includes specializing in pediatric hematology and oncology as a registered nurse and nurse practitioner. She also practiced as a pediatric primary care provider for over a decade. She has served her professional organization Massachusetts Rhode Island league for Nursing in various roles and is currently serving as president. Additionally, she serves on the Nursing Council for Workforce Sustainability at the state level and leads a subgroup examining and proposing recommendations for the Nursing Faculty Nursing shortage.