School of Nursing Welcomes New Class of Emerging Leaders

Libby Joyce stood at the podium at last week’ kickoff celebration for the Duke University School of Nursing Emerging Leaders Program and looked out at the newest class of participants.

Joyce, director of the Office of Institutional Research at the Duke School of Nursing and graduate of the program’s first class, knows what kind of experience the 10 colleagues seated before her are in for.

“I have a sneaking feeling that over this next year, you’re going to be challenging yourself,” Joyce said. “And you’re going to be challenging others in this process. You’re going to be discovering new talents and discovering things in yourself that might surprise you. You’re going to make new friends, mentors and allies in this process. I think it’s going to be surprising what you learn.”

Now gearing up for its second class, the year-long professional development program is a collaboration between the School of Nursing and Duke Learning & Organization Development, a unit within Duke Human Resources.

“This is an incredible investment on the part of the school but it’s also an incredible investment on your part,” Marion Broome, Dean of the School of Nursing told the new class. “This is time-intensive. … You can view it as a burden or you can view it as a gift to yourself. This allows you to pay attention to yourself and grow.”

Supervisors and managers nominated staff members and the School of Nursing’s Executive Leadership Team selected the program’s 10 participants.

Over the next year, the participants gather for six sessions – three of them covering multiple days – that will feature coursework and opportunities to hear from Duke leaders. Among the guests slated to appear during this edition of the program are Duke University President Vincent E. Price, Chancellor of Health Affairs Eugene Washington, Vice President for Administration Kyle Cavanaugh and Vice President of Patient Care and Chief Nurse Executive for Duke Health System Mary Ann Fuchs.

The participants will explore such concepts as situational leadership, project management, budgeting, conflict resolution and communication and presentation skills.

“We want to make sure we’re developing bench strength to prepare future leaders,” said Assistant Vice President of Learning and Organization Development Keisha Williams.

In between sessions, there will be group projects that tackle issues relevant to the School of Nursing.

“I know I’m going to gain so much from this program, just by working closely with other individuals from different areas within the School of Nursing, working together in our groups on our selected project and the opportunity to meet with senior administrators that will mentor us throughout the program and provide the leadership coaching along the way,” said Tondelaya George, senior coordinator for Career Services and Student Life.

Here are the members of the second class of the School of Nursing Emerging Leaders Program:

Tina Johnson – Instructional Technology Specialist

Christian Douglas – Senior Statistician and Assistant Director of Research Design

Caroline Bishop – Senior Clinical Research Coordinator

Izy Obi – MSN Senior Placement Coordinator

Jennifer Meyer Dare – Senior Program Coordinator, DNP Program

Denise Williams – Computer Facilities Specialist

Tondelaya George – Senior Coordinator, Career Services & Student Life

Niki Theobald – Director of Annual Giving

Wendy Perry – Staff Assistant

Selnatta Vereen – Human Resources Manager