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ADVOCACY & POLICY COMMITTEE

anna george

Ph.D., APRN, MSN, RN, FNP-C

Chair
Email: nainaadvocacyandpolicy@gmail.com

Anna's Bio

Monitor, research and provide comments and recommendations on federal, state, and local policy issues and trends of interest to NAINA.

Responsibilities Include:

  • The Policy Committee ensures that the board has policies and procedures in place to guide the operation of the organization in a legal and ethical manner.
  • Evaluate lobbying issues of like organizations over email and assess whether NAINA should support the issue. This requires a quick response on behalf of the committee chair and members.
  • Evaluate issues in alignment with NAINA’s mission and goals to determine if appropriate.
  • Develop awareness of current healthcare issues and opportunities for NAINA to be represented to (1) support an issue already in discussion in public arenas; (2) anticipate an issue to be on the agenda of national decision-makers; or (3) initiate an issue in a public policy debate.
  • Writes position statements as of and when called by the president
  • May be requested to represent NAINA before legislators in Washington, DC.
  • Build relationships with legislators and lobbyists to support NAINA’s position on an appropriate cause
  • Build relationships with other healthcare organizations to collaboratively advocate for opportunities that promote NAINA
  • Discuss advocacy visions and or advocacy opportunities with the NAINA Board of Directors and obtain the approval of the BOD on advocacy issues that require NAINA action.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:

ADVANCE PRACTICE NURSE COMMITTEE

simi joseph

DNP, FPA-APRN, ANP, NP-C, NEA-BC

Chair
Email: nainaapn@gmail.com

Simi's Bio

Focus:

Roles and responsibilities:

  • Researches, reviews and analyzes practice issues affecting APNs and make
    recommendations to NAINA
  • Serves as a liaison to represent NAINA in clinical practice projects
  • Implements annual APN clinical excellence conference

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:

Awards & Scholarship Committee

Vidya Kanagaraj

MSN, RN

Chair
Email: nainaawards@gmail.com

Vidya's Bio

Focus: review of awards and scholarships applications and related activities

Roles and responsibilities:

  • Initiates/reviews for awards/scholarships criteria
  • Assists fund raising related to awards/scholarships
  • Publishes the criteria locally and nationally to select awards/scholarships recipients
  • Selects the recipients with the approval of the executive board

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:

Bylaws Committee

Rani Kappen

RN-BC, MSN, MBA, CPHQ

Chair
Email: nainabylaws@gmail.com

Rani's Bio

Focus: Review and revision of governing rules and regulations on an on-going basis.

Roles and responsibilities:

  • Initiates amendments to the bylaws for review by the Governing Board
  • Presents the proposed amendments to the membership after review by the Executive Board at least thirty (30) days prior to voting
  • Reviews and recommends change of Chapter-Bylaws.
  • Submits annual reports to the Governing Board in a timely fashion.

Members can access a copy of the bylaws by request or available on our website in the Members-Only section.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:

Communications Committee

anila sandeep

BSN, RN

Chair
Email: nainausanews@gmail.com

Anila's Bio

The committee responsibilities are:

  • NAINA news publications & Communications to NAINA Members at large through email, website & social media.
  • Compilation and publication of the NAINA Newsletter.
  • Maintain NAINA website including contents update.

Roles and responsibilities:

  • NAINA News publications.
  • Manage and update contents of the NAINA website.
  • Solicits contents postings to the website/Newsletter

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:

EDITORIAL & JOURNAL Committee

shyla roshin

DNP, APRN, CNS, ANP, NP-C

Chair
Email: nainaeditorial@gmail.com

Shyla's Bio

The committee responsibilities are:

  • Makes recommendations towards strategic plan.
  • Solicit and publish news and articles for the peer reviewed journals – electronic version every odd year and in addition to the electronic, a commemorative journal to be released at the biennial conference.
  • Sends publication materials to website committee

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:

ELECTION Committee

sujaya devarayasamudram

PhD, M. Phil, MSN, RN, ACUE

Chair
Email: nainaelections@gmail.com

sujaya's Bio

Roles and responsibilities:

  • The Election Committee Chairperson will appoint the two other members of the committee.
  • The Election Committee Chairperson will oversee the execution of the election process.
  • The Election Chairperson is solely responsible for the safekeeping of the ballot box, ballots and voter registry.
  • The election committee will work to ensure an unbiased and fair election. It is the Committee ‘s responsibility to ensure that the Election policies and procedures are strictly enforced.
  • The election committee will review and amend election policies and procedures during a. contested election where the policies and procedures are suspect.
    a. to accept and review any petitions that contest election results.
    b.To determine the eligibility for voting rights of any member.
  • The Election committee is responsible for compiling a voter registry of all eligible voters.
  • The Election committee members are responsible for counting the ballots.
  • The Election committee will review candidate nominations and notify nominees of his/her nomination.
  • The election committee chairperson will notify the winners of the election/ selection and the governing board minimum three weeks prior to the installation of the officers
  • The election committee will assist the Executive board with the installation of new officers.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:

FUNDRAISING Committee

mary philip

Chair
Email: nainafundraising@gmail.com

Mary's Bio

Roles and responsibilities:

The Fundraising Committee is a standing committee with the goal of raising funds to ensure the financial viability and stability of the organization. The Fundraising Committee Chair, Committee Members, and the NAINA Executive Vice President will work together to determine committee needs. Members of this committee will be local chapter committee chairs.

Responsibilities include:

  • Reviews all previous years’ fundraising activity and make recommendations for improvements for the new fiscal year.
  • Develops an annual calendar for the committee’s activities, including critical dates, milestones, and required board actions
  • Finds, creates and implements fundraising opportunities throughout the term.
  • Focuses on raising the number of funds needed to meet the organization’s budget.
  • Tracks and presents reports on proposed fundraising activities at board and Association meetings for approval.
  • Conducts meetings with all committee members at least once a quarter
  • Actively participates in meetings, contributing to the discussion, brainstorming, and sharing innovative ideas
  • Stay in regular communication with NAINA Executive Vice President
  • Analyze relationships with current and prospective major donors and funders and develop individualized strategies to cultivate or strengthen those relationships.
  • Along with NAINA Executive Vice President, meets with current and prospective major donors and funders (foundations and corporations).
  • Tap respective networks for potential donors of money, time, and in-kind support
  • Monitor & support fundraising efforts to be sure that ethical practices are in place, that donors are acknowledged appropriately, and that fundraising efforts are cost-effective
  • Analyze relationships with current and prospective corporate sponsors, devise sponsorship packages, and work with committee members and the NAINA governing board to develop relationships.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:

membership Committee

pressanna parackal

DNP, RN, RN-BC, CCRN, CNRN, CRRN

Chair
Email: nainamembership@gmail.com

Presanna's Bio

Focus: to increase and support membership, including the creation of new chapters.

Roles and Responsibilities:

  • Initiates programs for membership recruitment of the Association
  • Provides assistance in the formation of chapters of the Association.
  • Maintains a copy of the membership roster of the Association

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:

professional development Committee

lucy koneri

Chair
Email: nainaeducation@gmail.com

Lucy's Bio

Focus: Educational initiatives at the national level.  The biennial national conference is under the purview of this committee as well.

Roles and Responsibilities:

  • Continuously assesses, identifies, plans, implements and evaluates educational program to meet membership needs.
  • Acts as a resource for local chapters and other nursing organizations in developing and implementing educational programs.
  • Develops educational content of all NAINA conferences.
  • Prepares and publishes official conferences brochures/ handouts, etc.
  • Collaborates with chapter Presidents in planning & implementing all NAINA educational conferences.
  • Identifies national healthcare trends that need to be presented in regional, national and international conferences.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:

RESEARCH & GRANT Committee

Nisha mathews

PhD, MSN, RN

Chair
Email: nainaresearch@gmail.com

Nisha's Bio

Focus: Research and grant related activities

Roles and responsibilities:

  • Initiates/reviews research/grant criteria
  • Assists fund raising related to Research/Grant
  • Publishes the criteria locally and nationally to select research scholarship/s recipients
  • Selects the recipients based on merit scores assigned by the Research Committee    

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:

Anna George
Ph.D., APRN, MSN, RN, FNP-C
Policy & Advocacy Chair

Dr. Anna George is an Associate professor at Molloy University and has been teaching the Nurse Practitioner track for more than 10 yrs. She is a  Family Nurse Practitioner and has been working at Northwell Health System, New York from 2006. She has served in various position in the National Association of Indian Nurses of America (NAINA) and is currently elected as the Policy and Advocacy Chair for the term 2023/2024. In the last term, she served as the Advanced Practice Chair (APN) of NAINA. She is currently also the President of Indian Nurses Association of New York (INANY) and she is re-elected as the President of INANY for the term 2023/2024.

 She obtained her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from College of Nursing, Kottayam, Kerala, India. She has been a registered nurse for over 30 yrs. She has served as a staff nurse in medical-surgical, oncology and surgical intensive care unit at North-Shore University Hospital, Manhasset and Flushing Hospital, New York. She has also served as Assistant Manager in Oncology and Surgical intensive care units. She furthered her education and obtained Master of Science in Nursing from Molloy College in family Nurse Practitioner track. From 2006, she has been practicing as a Nurse Practitioner at Long Island Jewish Hospital, New York.

She obtained her Ph.D. in Nursing from Molloy College. The topic of her thesis is Skin Cancer, titled “Middle school students’ knowledge of skin cancer, sun protective behaviors, and perceptions of acquiring skin cancer”.  She has presented her thesis for various panel discussions, and conferences. She has coauthored an article published in Medical Surgical Nursing in 2016. She is currently a full-time faculty at Molloy College, New York teaching in the graduate program Family Nurse Practitioner track. She has conducted multiple podium and poster presentations on various topics in the U.S. as well as in Kerala. She proudly serves in various nursing organization and is currently the educational chair of Indian Nurses Association of New York.

Simi Joseph
DNP, FPA-APRN, ANP, NP-C, NEA-BC
APRN Chair

Simi J. Joseph is an Advanced Practice Provider and the manager of Ambulatory Surgery Center/Endoscopy services at Northwestern Medicine. In addition, she is an adjunct faculty at Benedictine University and an international faculty at MAHE University, India. Dr. Joseph completed her BSN from MAHE University, India, MSN from North Park University, DNP from Loyola University, and is currently a Ph.D. candidate at Northern Illinois University. Furthermore, she is a Research Scholar who completed the clinical research post-graduate program from Harvard Medical School, Boston. She continues to serve as the peer-reviewer for Gastroenterology Nursing Journal and has co-authored Gastroenterology Nursing: A Core Curriculum, 6th edition. She has significantly contributed to the growth of advanced practice providers through sustained contributions of advocacy, mentorship, research, and leadership over 14 years of her APN career. She is an active member of the national & state organizations such as; the Society of Gastroenterology Nurses & Associates, Gastroenterology & Hepatology Advanced Practice Providers, and American Association of Nurse Practitioners. In addition, she is a great contributor to Indian nurses by serving on the boards of the Indian Nurses Association of Illinois & the National Association of Indian Nurses of North America (NAINA). She has been the education chair, APRN chair, Research & Grant committee co-chair, and now the Executive Vice President of INAI and the incoming APRN Chair of NAINA. Dr. Joseph has received many accolades for her contributions to APRN practice, including the national award for excellence in clinical practice from AANP and America’s Top NP Award from POCN in 2022.

Vidya Kanagaraj
MSN, RN
Awards & Scholarship Chair

Vidya Kanagaraj has been an active member of NAINA and is currently serving a second term as the NAINA Awards and Scholarship Chair. Vidya also served as the President of GINA ( Georgia Indian Nurses Association) from 2019-2021. Vidya has over 32 years of nursing experience and is currently working in the Radiation Oncology Department of the Atlanta VA and also in the PACU at Emory Decatur.

Rani Kappen
RN-BC, MSN, MBA, CPHQ
Bylaws Chair

Rani Kappen is one of the founding members of Indian Nurses Association of Illinois with over 30 years of nursing experience in United States, Middle east and India. Her Nursing experience is mainly with medical surgical, Critical care, mental health, home health, hospice and healthcare quality.  She currently works as Risk Manager at the Edward Hines Jr VA medical center. She earned her bachelor’s from SNDT University in Mumbai, India, master’s in nursing administration and Business Administration from Lewis University and hold the certification in Health Care Quality. She is also certified as Psychiatric and Mental Health Nurse.  Rani independently started a home health care agency, created policies and procedures, and earned license, Medicare certification and join commission accreditation and ran the agency for 10 years with an annual revenue of 500,000. Her expertise in agency administration ensuring quality care maintained the 5-star rating for the agency.

            Rani believes in giving back to community through volunteering and sharing the expertise and for professional organization, church, and local community partners. 

Shyla Roshin
DNP, APRN, CNS, ANP, NP-C
Editorial & Journal Chair

Shyla Roshin, DNP, APRN, CNS, ANP, NP-C, is a certified Adult Nurse Practitioner currently serving as the Director of Nursing at NYC H+H/Kings County Hospital, and a part-time Nurse Practitioner at a Subacute Rehab in Brooklyn. Dr. Roshin received her Masters in Nursing as a Clinical Nurse Specialist and Post-Master’s certificate as an Adult Nurse Practitioner from the College of Staten Island. She completed her Doctorate in Nursing Practice in Advanced Practice Leadership at Chamberlain University with distinction.

Dr. Roshin believes in giving back to the profession by precepting nurse practitioner students and being an active member of many professional organizations, including Sigma, ANA, AANP, NAINA, NINPAA, INA-NY, etc.  She served as the Education/Professional Development chair for the Indian Nurses Association of New York (INA-NY) 2021-2022 term and communication committee member for four years. 

Dr. Roshin has greater than 25 years of diverse nursing experience in clinical practice and nursing education and worked as a wound care coordinator, nurse educator, and administrator. She is extremely passionate about education and community outreach activities.  She epitomizes nursing excellence by incorporating authentic leadership into her practice, engaging others to work together effectively in achieving a shared goal. 

Sujayalakshmi Devarayasamudram
PhD, M.Phil, MSN, RN, ACUE
Election Chair

Dr. Sujayalakshmi Devarayasamudram is working as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Nursing at North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC, USA. She has over forty-three years of experience in teaching. She taught students from different levels and at various locations across the globe. In India she worked at college of nursing Hyderabad, Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh. She also worked at St. John’s College of Nursing, Bengaluru, Karnataka.

She is the recipient of the following certificate /certifications

  • Certificate in Effective instruction: Association of College and University Educators (2018)
  • Certificate In effective college instruction (Micro credential in Promoting Engaged and Active Online), March,2021
  • Advanced Certificate in effective College Instruction (2021) from The Association of College and University Educators (ACUE) and the American Council on Education.
  • Mental Health First Aid Instructor

    She received the following awards and recognitions:
  • Three decades of caring, Indian American Nurses Association of North Carolina, 2017
  • Faculty Mentor for Food Lion feeds NC Campus competition, 2018
  • Outstanding Volunteer award for excellence in service and leadership in International Education, March 20, 2020
  • Selected as a Great 100 Nurse of North Carolina for 2021
  • Daisy award from NAINA, 2021

She has published and presented in the areas of HIV/AIDS, Health Literacy, Delirium Prevention & Management, Emotional Health and Resiliency, Technology and Nursing and Care of Older Adults, Covid 19 self-care management, Post pandemic care model in the local, state, national and international conferences.  

She is very passionate about community service projects such as HIV/AIDS, homelessness, women empowerment, elder care, mental health, and hunger prevention projects. She loves to work with students. She enjoys sharing food, culture, resources, knowledge & skills. 

Pressanna Parackal
DNP, RN, RN-BC, CCRN, CNRN, CRRN
Membership Chair

Dr Pressanna Parackal currently serves in senior leadership position at the VA and University health systems.

Dr. Parackal is the current president of San Antonio United Malayalee Association (SUMA), and has been actively involved in the activities of SUMA from the time she arrived from Dubai in 2004. As the Treasurer of SUMA in 2018, she was instrumental in starting the summer Malayalam classes which was well received by the community.

Professionally, Dr. Parackal has done exceptionally well and founded the San Antonio Indian Nurses association (SAINA). This association was very actively involved with community activities during the pandemic. She was the Communications Chair for National Association of Indian Nurses (NAINA), and inducted as the Membership chair for 2023-2025 term. She is also actively involved in Toastmasters club to promote the oratory skills. She is a committee member of Texas Organization of Nursing leadership (TONL) regional clinical placement taskforce.

Dr. Parackal was awarded as the Early Careerist-Level ACHE Regent Award winner for South Texas American College of Healthcare Executives 2023, Healthcare administration award, Daisy award, and Best community service award by SUMA. She was instrumental in starting new chapters such as Nigerian Nurses Association and Nurses Association in Austin. Being the program manager for Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) in Audie L Murphy, VA, and an influencer to maintain Diversity, Equity and Inclusion helped the organization to unite, and improve retention rate of employees.
Dr. Parackal’ s proven leadership, result driven approach will take her to the higher levels of operation in any organization she is in charge.

Nisha Mathews
Ph.D., MSN, RN
Research & Grant Chair

Dr. Mathews is a member of Indian American Nurses Association of Greater Houston (I.A.N.A.G.H.) with excellent research expertise. The title of her dissertation was “Cultural Competence and Knowledge of South Asian Culture of Registered Nurses Working in an Urban Hospital Setting.” She has presented on national and international platforms and has published in multiple peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Mathews, along with N.A.I.N.A., will use a collaborative approach to conduct minority health research projects, publish in peer-reviewed journals, grant writing, secure funding for conducting research studies, and have panel discussions on research topics based on members’ choices.

 

Dr. Mathews currently serves as the Assistant Professor at the University of Houston Clear Lake-Pearland, Houston, Texas. Dr. Mathews earned her bachelor’s degree (Hons) in nursing from Raj Kumari Amrit Kaur College of Nursing, Delhi University, Delhi; she received her master’s degree in nursing from Walden University, Minnesota. Dr. Nisha Mathews earned her Ph.D. in Nursing Science from Texas Woman’s University’s Nelda C. Clark College of Nursing, Houston, Texas. She is the recipient of the Virginia Chandler Dykes scholarship, Lucile Petry Leone Research Grant, and Center for Student Research grant from Texas Woman’s University. Dr. Mathews is a SIGMA international honor society of nursing (S.T.T.I.) Academic Leadership Academy Scholar (2021-2022). Dr. Mathews received the Young Researcher Award from the Universe International Journal of Interdisciplinary Research Academic Research Foundation and the Excellence in Nursing Award Good Samaritan Foundation in 2021. 

 

Dr. Mathews believes in giving back to the community by advancing nursing science. Her research interests are Social Determinants of Health (SDOH), Health disparity, Cultural Competence, Cultural diversity, minority health, Global health, Population health, South Asian population, & Nursing education.