Mentor
Ruth McDermott-Levy, PhD, MPH, RN is an associate professor and director of the Center for Global & Public Health at Villanova University. Her area of expertise is public health nursing focusing on global and environmental health. She was a co-author of the ANA, 2012 Resolution, “Nurses’ Role in Recognizing, Educating and Advocating for Healthy Energy Choices” and an editor of ANHE’s American Journal of Nursing awarded Book of the Year, Environmental Health in Nursing. Ruth has conducted research in Pennsylvania’s fracking communities and published about including environmental health and climate change in the nursing curriculum. Currently, she is collaborating with an environmental science colleague to examine residential air quality of university students. In January 2019, Ruth returned from Finland as a Fulbright Scholar where she examined nurses’ observed health impacts of climate change. She also worked with Finnish nurses to link climate change to health and address mitigation and adaptation strategies.
Fellows
LaTiana Ridgell, MPH, BSN, RN is a Public Health Nurse Home Visitor for Nurse Family Partnership. She works with clients who are low-income first-time mothers, enrolled in the program during their pregnancy conducting home visits and providing health, wellness, and social services until their child turns two. During this time, she screens children for developmental delays and provides parents with information to support their child meeting these developmental milestones. LaTiana serves on the policy committee at Nurse Family Partnership which examines system-wide issues that clients encounter. Most recently, she testified on behalf of children exposed to lead-based paint and contaminated dust to the Philadelphia City Council. LaTiana believes nurses have incredible insight into what happens on the ground whether that is in the homes, in the hospital or in community centers, which is why she encourages nurses to leverage their knowledge to impact policy legislation.
Sheila Stone, MSN, RN, CNE has been an environmental justice activist for over 40 years. She obtained her BSN at Humboldt State University in Arcata, California in 1985 and an online MSN (with an education focus) from Chamberlain University in 2018. Sheila is a certified trainer of Unlicensed Assistive Personnel, and has taught Home Health, CNA, and Medication Aide trainings for a variety of agencies, including Workforce Services at her local Community College. She currently serves on a state committee to rewrite the medication aid curriculum for behavioral health – licensed community agencies. Sheila initiated a task force in Nelson County to work on home care in her rural mountain area, and also convened a health professional task force to work against the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. Almost all of her career has been in community, public, and home health. Sheila has played and studied Appalachian music and dance for 40 years.
Christine Fasching Maphis, MSN, RN-BC, FNP-BC is a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse, Family Nurse Practitioner and teaches psychiatric and mental health nursing and impact of chronic illness at the James Madison University School of Nursing. Christine is passionate about our planet and natural resources, as well as the huge impact that nurses can have in influencing population health through initiatives that mitigate and bring awareness to climate change.Through the ANHE fellowship program, Christine hopes to learn more about empowering nurses to engage personally and professionally in their communities to initiate and support sustainable solutions.