Congratulations Class of 2009
Bridgette Brawner, PhD, APRN
Dissertation Title: Depression and HIV Risk Related Sexual Behaviors Among African American Adolescent Females
Bridgette Brawner defended her dissertation on May 6, 2009 and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing in the Summer of 2009. She has accepted an innovative postdoctoral fellowship at the same institution which will begin in the Fall of 2009.
The “Presidential Scholars Program” involves a two year training period which will be followed by an appointment as an Assistant Professor position within the School of Nursing. During this fellowship, Dr. Brawner will work closely with nursing faculty and other researchers across the university and throughout the city. Moreover, she will collaborate with leading officials in the Office of Behavioral Health and the Department of Public Health in the City of Philadelphia.
Dr. Brawner plans a career that addresses HIV prevention and the improvement of the quality of life for individuals with HIV/AIDS and mental health disorders. She is particularly interested in the integration of physical and mental health care, and co-occurring disorders. Her research and practice efforts are related to creating culturally sensitive and age-appropriate HIV/AIDS prevention programs that concentrate on adolescents with mental health and substance abuse disorders. Dr. Brawner has presented her research in national and international forums, and she has published her work in refereed journals. Over the years, she has received numerous awards in recognition of her scholarship and service to minority communities.
Kim Jolly, PhD, RN
Dissertation Title: Immigrant Status, Substance Use and Sexual Risk Among Afro-Caribbean Adolescents Living in South Florida
Kim Jolly’s professional career began 18 years ago as a nurse practitioner with the Broward County Health Department where she provided health care services for indigent families. She is especially interested in the reduction of risky behaviors, particularly substance abuse and related sexual activity. She matriculated at the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing at Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, and graduated with a PhD in June, 2009. Dr. Jolly’s dissertation provides research findings about an immigrant population that is seldom included in systematic investigations; little evidence-based practice guidelines are available to help guide the clinical care that they deserve. She will continue to develop a research and program that addresses access to care and treatment patterns among adolescents with substance abuse and other related problems.
Dr. Jolly is actively involved in community-based programs that address prevention and treatment approaches for troubled adolescents. Specifically, she participates in local radio talk shows, and conducts discussions at community health centers on topics such as adolescent risk-taking behaviors, substance use and abuse prevention, and dating violence. She volunteers at the Northwest Broward County Community Coalition and the United Way of Broward County.
Robert Pope, PhD, RN, MSN
Dissertation Title: “Pathways to Illicit Drug Use in Older African Americans: Emulation and Environment”
Robert Pope successfully completed the requirements for the doctoral degree and defended his dissertation on December 15, 2009 at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). While training as a Geriatric Nurse Practitioner at a Veterans Administration (VA) hospital in California, he began seeing older vets with substance use disorders and developed an interest in understanding the basic social processes surrounding illicit drug use among older African Americans. Prior to being awarded the SAMSHA fellowship, Dr. Pope was awarded a 2004 John A. Hartford Scholarship whose mission is Building Academic Geriatric Nursing Capacity.
Dr. Pope plans a career that continues to address his commitment to providing care to underserved older adult populations with substance abuse disorders. In order to better serve this population he plans to apply for a SAMHSA MFP post-doc at UCSF.
He has presented his research findings on social determinants of substance abuse in older African Americans at national and international conferences. In 2006, a poster titled “The Media and Substance Abuse in Older African Americans,” was presented at the Gerontological Society of America’s 59th Annual Scientific Meeting; in 2007, a poster titled “The Social Construction of Older African American Street Drug Users: Allostatic Overload,” was presented at the 40th Annual Western Institute of Nursing Conference. He traveled to Yokohoma, Japan that same year to present a poster titled “A Person-Environment Perspective on Control: Implications for Aging and Cross-Cultural Research and Practice,” at the International Council of Nurses (ICN) Conference. Additionally, he co-lead a symposium presentation at the 2007, Gerontological Society of America’s 60th Annual Scientific Meeting, in San Francisco, CA., titled, “Ethnicity, Culture and Chronic Illness Discourses: Challenges and Opportunities in Research with Understudied Groups.” In 2009, he traveled to Durban, South Africa to present a poster titled “The Social Determinants of Substance Abuse in Older African American Street Drug Users” at the International Council of Nurses (ICN) Conference. A manuscript of the same name has been accepted by the Journal of Transcultural Nursing and is scheduled for publication April 2010.
Dr. Pope is a member of the National Black Nurses Association, National Coalition of Ethnic Minority Nurses Association, the California Nurses Association, and Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing,
Brandon N. Respress, PhD, MSN, MPH
Dissertation Title: Social Determinants of Adolescent Risk Behaviors: An Examination of Depressive Symptoms, Substance Use, Sexual, and Suicide Risk Behaviors
Brandon N. Respress earned her PhD in Nursing at the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing (FNB) at Case Western Reserve University, in Cleveland, OH on November 16, 2009. During her doctoral education, Dr. Respress also completed a Post-Master’s certification program for Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner/Clinical Nurse Specialist. Her research interests include social determinants of health, vulnerable populations, health and educational disparities, adolescent risk behaviors, and the effects of prejudice and racism on health behaviors. She plans to further her studies with a postdoctoral fellowship which focuses on health policy, health disparities, and community-based research. She hopes that this combination of foci will help her to further understand social determinants, the dynamics of poor health, and further explore the interrelationships among the complex variables that impact the mental and physical health needs of adolescents.
Dr. Respress is currently faculty in the BSN program at FBP, where she teaches in Medical/Surgical Nursing, Pediatrics, Community Health, Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing, and Nursing Foundations clinical. She is also on the Psychiatric Mental Health Task Force, which has developed the program and curriculum for the Psychiatric Mental Health Family Nurse Practitioner/Clinical Nurse Specialist MSN program. She is a member and Fellow of the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners, a member of the Ohio Association of Advanced Practice Nurses, Ohio Nurses Association the Greater Cleveland Nurses Association, American Psychiatric Nurses Association, National Black Nurses Association, and Sigma Theta Tau International. Dr. Respress is also a council member on the National Advisory Council for Nurse Education and Practice (2007 – 2011).
Christina Wei, PhD, RN
Dissertation Title: The Lived Experience of Men Who Have Used Violence in Their Intimate Relationships and Who Have Also Used Alcohol or Other Drugs
Christina Wei graduated from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA) School of Nursing in May 2009. She was awarded the UTHSCSA Women’s Faculty Leadership Award in May 2009 for her leadership and scholarship in nursing. Importantly, she was also nominated for the prestigious Guarino Award for Excellence in Doctoral Studies. These honors give testimony to Dr. Wei’s commitment to her scholarship and careful approach to acquiring the knowledge and skills that are essential for addressing complex issues that are embedded in substance abuse and mental health problems in families with histories of partner violence and abuse.
Over the course of her doctoral program, Dr. Wei published four peer reviewed manuscripts and twelve abstracts. She is employed as a triage nurse at an outpatient adult psychiatric crisis intervention clinic. To galvanize her knowledge base, she enrolled in a family psychiatric nurse practitioner program at the UTHSCSA School of Nursing, and will graduate in 2010. Dr. Wei has applied for a postdoctoral diversity fellowship with the National Institute of Mental Health. This fellowship will provide her with the opportunity to explore specific mental health problems that occur in childhood such as Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.