Past Presidents

Suja Thomas
AGPCNP-BC, MSN. Ed., RN, CWCN, CCCN, COCN
Advisory Board Chair

Suja Thomas currently serves as the Clinical Lead and Nursing Administrator at the Samuel Stratton VA Medical Center in Albany, New York. She is a Board-Certified Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner (AGPCNP-BC) and a Certified Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Nurse (CWOCN). In addition, Suja is an international faculty member at Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) University in India, where she inspires and mentors the next generation of nurses.

Suja completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Fr. Muller’s College of Nursing in Mangalore, where she laid the groundwork for her nursing career. She continued her education with a master’s in nursing education from Russell Sage College in Troy, New York, followed by a Post-Master’s Certification in Adult-Gerontology Nurse Practitioner from the same institution. Currently, Suja is pursuing a Ph.D. in Nursing at the University at Buffalo, demonstrating her ongoing commitment to advancing nursing knowledge and shaping the future of healthcare.

Suja has demonstrated exceptional leadership, seamlessly integrating her clinical expertise with strategic management acumen. As a Hospital Executive at St. Peter’s Health Partners (SPHP) and Sunnyview Hospital in Schenectady, NY, she successfully led multiple clinical departments. Additionally, she served as Operations Manager for the Medical-Surgical, Cardiopulmonary, and Labor and Delivery units at SPHP, showcasing her ability to optimize diverse healthcare operations.

Suja’s visionary leadership and transformative strategies have earned her numerous accolades, including the Transformational Leadership Award (2015), the Robert Scholar Award for Clinical Excellence (2016), and the Quantum Leadership Award (2021). Recognized for championing diversity, she was honored with the Diversity Award (2024) by Albany Stratton VA Medical Center. Her outstanding community impact earned her a Citation and Proclamation from NYS Assemblywoman Michelle Solages and NYS Senator Kevin Thomas. In 2023 and 2024, Suja’s exceptional contributions were further celebrated with the Exemplary Leadership Award by Asianet TV and the World Malayalee Council.

During her presidency of the National Association of Indian Nurses of America (NAINA) in 2023-24, Suja spearheaded the organization’s growth on an international level. She currently serves as the Advisory Board Chair of NAINA (2025-26). Suja’s leadership extends beyond national borders, with her roles at CGFNS International, where she has been elected to the Board of Trustees (2025–2028) and serves as Vice Chair of the CGFNS Alliance Advisory Board (2025–2027). In 2016, she became the founding president of the Indian American Nurses Association of Albany, further demonstrating her commitment to supporting and empowering Indian American nurses in the region. Suja’s unwavering commitment to community service and her ability to inspire others exemplify her transformational impact on the nursing profession.

Lydia Albuquerque
DNP, RN, ACNP-BC, CCRN, FNAP
President

Dr. Lydia Albuquerque currently serves as an Assistant Professor at William Paterson University and as an acute care Nurse Practitioner at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, Barnabas Health. She brings in over three decades of experience in nursing education, research and administration. At William Paterson, she teaches at both the undergraduate, and graduate levels. As a faculty member in higher education, she has a robust research agenda and has partnered in grants close to $4 million, with the goals of providing scholarships for disadvantaged students and promoting cardiovascular health among men and women.

Dr. Albuquerque has presented at national and international conferences. She has been published in peer-reviewed journals and is currently collaborating with international researchers to conduct studies relevant to student behaviors and online learning during the pandemic.

She serves on the Publication Committee of the American Association of Heart Failure Nurses and is Vice President of Sigma Theta Tau International Iota chapter. Dr. Albuquerque has received the DIVA award from the Institute for Nurses (IFN), a New Jersey State Nurses Association (NJSNA) which recognizes leaders for their contributions to nursing research, nursing education or administration. In 2020, she was named a finalist for the Nurse of Year award through the March of Dimes organization. She was inducted to the Who’s Who in American Nursing by the Society of Nursing in 2018.

Dr. Albuquerque is the founding president of the American Association of Indian Nurses of America, New Jersey chapter. She has also served within the National Association of Indian Nurses of America (NAINA) since its inception as a Secretary, Advisory Board member, Election officer, founding chair for the APN forum committee, and recently, the Executive Vice President. Dr. Albuquerque has been inducted as the President of NAINA for 2021-2022 with a strong determination and commitment to take this organization to a higher level.

Dr. Albuquerque graduated from the College of Nursing, Armed Forces Medical College, in Pune, India and completed her post-graduate in Nursing from Shreemati Natibhai Damodar Thackersey Women’s University in Mumbai, India. She received her post-master’s degree as an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner from Rutgers University and her Doctorate in Nursing Practice from William Paterson University, New Jersey.

A fun, but interesting, fact about Dr. Albuquerque is that she has served as a special duty nurse to the Prime Minister of India, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, during the Commonwealth Nations Head of the Governments meeting in 1980. Dr. Albuquerque has also airlifted Mrs. Mugabe, wife of Robert Mugabe, the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe for emergency dialysis to All India Institute of Medical Science, New Delhi. Dr. Albuquerque is a retired Indian army officer who places service before self and will do the same for NAINA.

Agnes Therady
RN, MSN, MBA, NEA-BC, FACHE, PhD

Agnes Therady, MSN, MBA, FACHE, RN has been elected as the president of National Association of Indian Nurses of America (NAINA) for the term 2019-2020.

Agnes Therady is the current vice president and chief nursing officer (CNO) for Franciscan Health Central Indiana where she oversees all nursing-related operations and leads a team of nearly 1,500 nurses at hospital campuses in Indianapolis, Mooresville and Carmel. Prior to her appointment at Franciscan, Ms. Therady served the Cook County Health and Hospitals (CCHHS) in Chicago, the third largest public academic health system in the United States. As the health system chief nursing officer, she led efforts to redesign hospital-based nursing staffing models that saved around $3 million in annual salaries, organized a structured training and development program for correctional health nurses and a nursing leadership academy for the nursing management team at CCHHS. In the past, Ms. Therady served the US Federal government as the Associate Director of patient care services at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky, and was associate chief nursing officer for Jesse Brown VA Medical Center in Chicago. In addition, Ms. Therady held several leadership roles at various hospitals and health care systems in the US and in India. She has earned the distinction of board certification in healthcare management as a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE). Ms. Therady made the professional Indian nursing community proud when she was listed by Becker’s Hospital Review as one of the ‘health system CNO s to know in 2017’
(Read more https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/lists/60-hospital-and-health-system-cnos-to-know-2017.html).

Agnes Therady received her BSN and MSN degrees from SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai and a master’s degree in business administration from Northern Illinois University. She currently is pursuing PhD in health care administration at Benedictine University and is expected to complete that work in 2019.

Ms. Therady served NAINA in the past in several capabilities, most recently as the Executive Vice President for the term 2017-2018. She was actively involved in the NAINA’s Aspiring Nurse Leader program. With her transformational leadership, NAINA expects to grow and reach new heights of professional excellence.

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