Sigma Theta Tau – Eta Nu Chapter

Julie Snethen, PhD, RN, FAAN, Professor and PhD program director at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) College of Nursing (CON), is the President of the Eta Nu chapter. Professionally, Dr. Snethen is the current chair of the Child, Adolescent, and Family Expert Panel for the American Academy of Nursing, where she is working with panel members on issues related to toxic stress in children and the effects of COVID-19 on obesity. As a member of Sigma, Dr. Snethen served as a faculty member for the Maternal-Child Health Nurse Leadership Academy for over a decade, working on over a dozen leadership projects with fellows and mentors across the U.S. and in Canada. Dr. Snethen is the Associate editor of Nursing Outlook and continues to serve on the International Academy of Nurse Editors conference committee.

Joshua Gwon, PhD, RN, Assistant Professor at the UWM CON, is the Vice President of the Eta Nu chapter and 46th Annual Biennium Delegate. Dr. Gwon studies the modification of health-risk behavior among young adults and the development of the public health nurse workforce for better population health outcomes. Dr. Gwon has been an active member of Sigma since 2011 and served as the vice president at the Eta Nu chapter since 2017. Dr. Gwon has supervised and mentored undergraduate and graduate students for their academic and professional career goals. Dr. Gwon is a member of a number of professional research associations such as the Society for Research on Nicotine & Tobacco and a reviewer for multiple peer-reviewed scholarly journals such as American Journal of Health Behavior.

Miranda Van De Loo, DNP, RN, CNL, APNP, FNP-BC, Psychiatry NP Resident at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW), is the Co-Treasurer, Governance committee member and social media representative of the Eta Nu chapter. Miranda is currently seeing a variety of patient populations through the residency program and continually seeks opportunities to work with the pediatric population. In addition to her professional endeavors, she is currently pursuing the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Certificate program at the UWM in order to serve patients with a holistic and well-rounded approach. Miranda has been an active member of the Eta Nu chapter since 2016 and has served on the Leadership Succession and Governance Committees in the past as well as took the role of Eta Nu’s social media advocate. Her research incorporates an electronic training program for preceptors and adult learners at MCW and UWM. This study is still currently undergoing data collection. Miranda is an avid volunteer throughout the community assisting with active threat training, mass casualty training, paramedic program chronic illness training, and performing blood pressure screening and hygiene education at the annual state fair.

Murad Taani, PhD, MPH, RN, Assistant Professor at the UWM CON, is the Governance Chair of the Eta Nu chapter. Dr. Taani’s program of research focuses on physical function and self-management in older adults. He has been involved in interprofessional teaching and research related to aging, gerontological nursing, and health promotion. His research interests are focused on older adult health and illness care including physical activity, sarcopenia and muscle outcomes, self-management and community health. He specializes in quantitative methods of research. Dr. Taani has supervised and mentored undergraduate and graduate nursing students for their academic and professional career goals. Dr. Taani is a member of several professional associations, including the Gerontological Society of America, and serves as a reviewer for several peer-reviewed journals. He also serves on the editorial board of the Research in gerontological nursing journal.

Chris Peters, BSN, RN is the Faculty Counselor. He graduated from UW-Milwaukee in 1997 and has 20 years of cardiac nursing experience. He joined UWM as Academic Affairs Coordinator in 2015. In 2019, he earned a graduate certificate in health professional education from UWM. He is currently pursuing his PhD in Nursing with a focus on enhancing the clinical placement process. Chris’ service activities in Sigma include International Nurse Leader Review Committee member, career counselor, and convention delegate. Chris frequently facilitates the induction ceremonies and poster symposia for the Eta Nu chapter.

Paula Lucey, PhD, RN, CNL Governance and membership involvement committee member, is a long-time member of the Milwaukee Nursing community having worn many hats.  Paula was formally the CNO and COO of the now closed Doyne Hospital. Paula was recognized for the development and implementation of one of the first managed care programs for the medically indigent in the nation, an early program that was later studied as part of the Affordable Care Act.  She became the Director of Milwaukee County Health and Human Services before moving into academic nursing.  Currently she is the Program director of the MN program at UWM. Paula is an alumni of the Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellowship. She is an alumni of UWM, Marquette and Walden Universities.  Her research interest in the area of re-careering, an area she knows about personally!  In her personal life, before the virus, Paula was a vivid cruiser. She is a professional aunt to her 6 nieces and nephews.

Kaboni W, Gondwe, PhD, RN, Assistant Professor at the UWM CON is on the membership involvement committee. Dr Gondwe’s research focuses on maternal stress and its impact on perinatal outcomes and is currently working on understanding how perinatal distress relates to preterm birth and the impact of this relationship on newborn outcomes. Her research focuses both on the US population and Malawi population. A member of Sigma Theta Tau International since 2015 she joined UWM CON in 2018. She continues to mentor students, both graduate and undergraduate level, and is also on the board for Global Interfaith Alliance (GAIA) working on capacity building of the healthcare system in Malawi.