NSO Advisory Board

NSO has an advisory board comprised of a prestigious group of nursing professionals from across the country. These nurses have been engaged to advise NSO about current nursing practices, to provide input about the insurance needs of nurses nationwide, and to aid in new product development. The NSO Nurses Advisory Board (NAB) meets regularly with NSO representatives to discuss and suggest improvements to the insurance programs and services to better support the nurses in their practice.

NSO Advisory Board Members

Gloria Ferraro Donnelly, PhD, RN, FAAN

Dean of the College of Nursing and Health Professions
Drexel University
Philadelphia, PA

Gloria Ferraro Donnelly, a leader in nursing education, both regionally and nationally, is Dean of the College of Nursing and Health Professions at Drexel University. Gloria has held faculty appointments at the University of Pennsylvania, School of Nursing, Trenton State College in New Jersey and Villanova University. She was the founding Dean of Nursing at La Salle University and was the first Dean of the School of Nursing at Drexel University. The author of four textbooks, winner of two AJN Book of the Year awards, and currently editor of Holistic Nursing Practice, a refereed journal, Dr. Donnelly speaks at the national level on nursing education and a variety of mental health topics including assertiveness, stress and change. In 1982 she was elected to fellowship in the American Academy of Nursing. Dr. Donnelly serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors for Horizon House Inc., an organization that serves the indigent mentally ill and mentally retarded in Southeastern Pennsylvania and Delaware. She was recently elected to the Board of Directors of Hahnemann University Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Renee Gecsedi, MS, RN

Director of Education, Practice & Research
New York State Nurses Association

Renee is currently the Director of the Education, Practice & Research Program of the New York State Nurses Association in Latham, New York. Prior to this, she was a Project Manager with the national Oncology Nursing Society (ONS). In that role, Renee oversaw the development of nursing education programs on a variety of oncology topics. Renee's nursing experience and expertise lies in oncology and hematology. She has been a Clinical Nurse Specialist for a multi-facility healthcare system in the Albany, New York area. Renee has also been on the board of the New York State Capital District Oncology Nursing Society and is currently the vice-president of the Delta Pi chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Honor Society.

Susan King, RN, MS

Executive Director
Oregon Nurses Association

Susan King is the Executive Director of the Oregon Nurses Association (ONA). Susan has also served as the Administrator of Professional Services for ONA. In that capacity, she provided administrative and policy oversight for the government relations and nursing practice programs and served as one of a three member executive team. In addition to her role at ONA, Susan practices as an emergency nurse every week at a large Portland area medical center with a 55 bed acute and fast track Emergency Department. Susan has held many appointments including being a member of the Oregon State Board of Nursing for six years and serving as its president for two. She is active in community and volunteer endeavors in the Portland metropolitan area.

Donna Middaugh, PhD, RN

Associate Dean & Coordinator, Nursing Administration Masters Specialty
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Little Rock, AR

Dr. Middaugh is currently the Associate Dean for Service, a Clinical Associate Professor & Coordinator of the Nursing Administration Masters Specialty at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, College of Nursing in Little Rock, Arkansas. She has been on faculty there for 19 years and has taught undergraduate pediatrics and leadership/management prior to becoming Specialty Coordinator for the graduate nursing administration specialty. Donna's nursing experience and expertise lies in risk management. She has been a clinical risk manager for a 4-hospital system in San Antonio, Texas and continues to lecture and consult with nursing malpractice defense attorneys and hospitals for risk management and nursing malpractice prevention. Donna has served as a site visitor for the American Nurses Credentialing Center, Commission on Accreditation for continuing education in nursing. Donna is a reviewer for several nursing journals. She publishes a management column in MedSurg Nursing Journal and has just been appointed to their Editorial Board. She publishes numerous articles and presents at regional and national conference throughout the year.

Sally Watkins, PhD(c), RN

Director of Nursing Practice, Education & Research
Washington State Nurses Association

Sally is the Director of Nursing Practice, Education & Research for the Washington State Nurses Association (WSNA). She has over thirty years of nursing experience, including more than fifteen years as a nursing administrator. Her accomplishments include providing leadership at the executive level for patient safety initiatives developing focused strategies such as addressing safe medication administration practice and implementation of rapid response teams. Sally has also been a nursing educator in a variety of roles since 1984 including Clinical Faculty for both the University of Washington School of Nursing in Seattle and Tacoma, and Pacific Lutheran University School of Nursing. She has been an active member of the Northwest Organization of Nurse Executives and is a recent past president of that organization. Sally recently completed her doctoral work in Organizational Behavior and Women's Studies at the Union Institute and University in Ohio. She has a Master of Science in nursing administration from the University of Utah College of Nursing and a Bachelor or Science in Nursing from the University of Texas.

Jill Olmstead, MSN, NP-C

Jill Olmstead is a Nurse Practitioner and has been with St. Jude Heritage Healthcare for over 10 years. She specializes in Women's Health and Gastroenterology. She graduated from California State University in Long Beach in 1997 with her Master's degree in Nursing and has practiced as a nurse practitioner for over 12 years. She is a values in action award recipient for Excellence from St. Jude Heritage Healthcare and is the Immediate Past President for the California Association for Nurse Practitioners. She is currently a member of the board for The California Coalition for Colon Cancer Awareness.

Linda Laskowski Jones, RN, MS, ACNS-BC, CCRN, CEN

Linda Laskowski-Jones is the Editor-in-Chief of Nursing Journal and the Vice President of Emergency, Trauma & Aeromedical Services at Christiana Care Health System in Delaware. She received her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in nursing from the University of Delaware as well as a Post-Graduate Certificate Program in Nursing Administration, and completed an Executive Fellowship with the Advisory Board Company in Washington, DC. She has 27 years of experience in clinical practice, education and leadership. Linda is on the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Trauma Nursing, and Accident & Emergency Nursing (UK). She is a highly published author on emergency and trauma topics as well as a frequent national speaker on these subjects. She received a Regional Nursing Leadership Award by the Nursing Spectrum in 2005 and is the 2007 International Award recipient of the Marie Hippensteel Lingeman Award for Excellence in Nursing Practice through Sigma Theta Tau.

Susan Apold PhD, RN, ANP-BC

Susan Apold is the founding Dean and Professor of Nursing at Concordia College-New York, a position which she has held since January, 2008. Prior to her appointment to Concordia, Dr. Apold served at the College of Mount Saint Vincent in the Bronx, where she held a number of positions from faculty to Dean of the Department of Nursing and finally as the Vice-President for Academic Affairs/Dean of Faculty. Dr. Apold is the author of a variety of publications, has presented at a number of national conferences and has been awarded over 3 million dollars in HRSA program grants which funded Workforce Diversity and Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students.

In addition to her work in nursing education, Dr. Apold has served as President of the Nurse Practitioner Association New York State and has served two terms as President of the American College of Nurse Practitioners. She is currently Chair-Elect of the Nurse Practitioner Association New York State.