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Whitney Thurman, PhD, RN, assistant professor at The University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing, is one of 16 nurse scientists accepted to the fourth cohort of the Betty Irene Moore Fellowship for Nurse Leaders and Innovators.

The University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing celebrates Nurses Week by highlighting a few of our alumni who work diligently toward improving health care for all. Every graduate has their own unique motivation for choosing this profession; however, the common theme is always making a difference. Read more about our honorees below and join us in celebrating all Texas Nurse leaders.

Meet Jasmine Tumewu, a 2021 BSN graduate working as the Clinic RN for the ‘Healthcare for the Homeless Mobile Team’ for CommUnity Care, a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in Austin. Along with this organization, Ms. Tumewu offers a specialized scope of services including care for those without health insurance.

Meet Janiece Taylor, MSN 2009 and PHD 2014, a two-time graduate of the UT Austin School of Nursing. Dr. Taylor is an Assistant Professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing where she is continuing her work in the areas of pain and women’s health, and aging and disability research.

Meet Erin Cloke, a 2013 MSN alumna and 2022 Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Post Master’s Certificate graduate, who has recently opened her own private mental health practice in Austin, Texas. Erin’s path to becoming a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) has been anything but traditional.

Meet Jonathan Hecht, a two-time UT Austin School of Nursing alumnus, BSN 2004 and MSN 2011, and a current part-time PhD student. “I am currently a Nursing Director at Dell Seton Medical Center at The University of Texas at Austin. My responsibilities include oversight of the inpatient abdominal transplant program, the neurosciences service line, and advanced practice.”

Meet Christopher VanFosson, a 2017 PhD graduate who has been in the Army for 22 years. He is married to another nurse, Kelly, and they have four adult children. “I am a critical care nurse by training and have mostly burn and trauma experience. I’ve deployed twice for about a year each time during Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003-2004) and Operation Enduring Freedom (2010-2011).”

Meet Mary Loeb, a 2022 BSN honors graduate. Ms. Loeb comes from a long line of Longhorns, beginning with her great grandmother who graduated from the UT College of Pharmacy in 1929, making her a fourth generation Longhorn!

Meet Katherine Alvarado, a 2016 Alternate Entry Master of Science in Nursing (AE-MSN) graduate currently working as part of the Maternal Transport team on the Labor and Delivery unit at Ascension Seton Medical Center in Austin. This experienced team of labor nurses deploy via ambulance, or Starflight, to health care facilities that do not provide a suitable level of maternal/fetal care or, in some cases, do not provide obstetric care at all.

As a first-generation graduate of UT Austin in 1971, Jeff Petter­son realized that other than his family, UT Austin has had the greatest impact on his life and career success.