News
NCEMNA President’s Update
Greetings from the National Coalition of Ethnic Minority Nurse Associations (NCEMNA)!
NCEMNA is a unified body advocating for equity and justice in healthcare. It is composed of five National Ethnic Minority Nurse Associations:
- Asian American Pacific Islander Nurses Association, Inc. (AAPINA)
- National Alaskan Native American Indian Nurses Association (NANAINA)
- National Association of Hispanic Nurses, Inc. (NAHN)
- National Black Nurses Association, Inc. (NBNA)
- Philippine Nurses Association of America, Inc. (PNAA)
Our Mission: Be the unified body to advocate for health equity and justice
Our Vision: To be a leading voice and driving force for ethnic minority populations
NCEMNA recently concluded a very successful Strategic Management meeting on February 27-28, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The two-day interactive meeting was led by Mila C. Velasquez, MN, RN, current President, and participated by the Board of Directors representing leaders of the five national member organizations.
The strategic planning focused intensively on four specific goals and related strategies identified as priorities to move NCEMNA forward:
- Advocate for accessible, equitable and culturally appropriate health care
- Promote ethnic minority nurse leadership in areas of health policy, practice, education and research
- Promote NCEMNA’s professional growth and
- Promote financial sustainability
The NCEMNA Strategic Blue Print 2015-2017 served as an evolving framework for discussion to strategize and to advance NCEMNA’s Mission, Vision and Goals. After a thorough review and analysis of the strategic blue print; each Strategic Team assigned to a specific goal presented their recommendations to the Board for approval and implementation. Each team is commended for a job well done; their commitment, and most of all, the teamwork to fulfill assigned responsibilities.
Other Highlights of the Meeting:
- Installation of 3 new Executive Officers for 2016-2018, by Dr. Betty Smith-Williams, NCEMNA President Emerita and Co-Founder:
Vice Presidents: Elizabeth Gonzales, PhD, RN, and Jose Alejandro, PhD, RN Treasurer: Lee Anne Nichols, PhD, RN
Seated from left: Leticia Hermosa(PNAA President); Debra Toney (NCEMNA Secretary); Jose Alejandro ( Vice President); Mila Velasquez (President); Elizabeth Gonzalez (Vice President); Angie Millan(Interim Treasurer); and Victoria Navarro ( Board Member).
2nd row from left: Dino Doliente (Board Member); Christina Esperat (Board Member); Eric Williams (NBNA President); Birthale Archie (Board Member);
Betty Williams( NCEMNA, Co-founder, President Emeritus); Lillian Tom-Orme (Board Member); Patricia Alpert, AAPINA President); Sandra Littlejohn (Board Member); Oisaeng Hong (Board Member); and Lola Jefferson (Board Member)
Panel presentation with the theme “Building a Culture of Health Together: Promoting Leadership, Diversity and Sustainability”. The program was supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the American Association of Retired Persons. The panelists were: Dr. Antonia Villarruel and Deborah Washington, Future of Nursing Campaign for Action Co- leaders of the National Diversity Action Steering Committee. Both presented the Culture of Health Action Framework and discussed how NCEMNA can contribute to the national movement of Building a Culture of Health and be a partner to promote leadership and diversity. (Pictured above: 1st and 2nd from left)
- President Mila Velasquez addressed NCEMNA’s Leadership Challenges and Opportunities in Building a Culture of Health Together. ( Picture: 3rd from left)
- Dr Bette Keltner Jacob, Co-founder of NCEMNA, provided realistic insights to promoting sustainability of the organization. ( Pictured 4th from left)
- An open forum followed the presentation.
- Issues on promoting diversity and advancing the future of Nursing were addressed.
- Dr. Debra Toney, NCEMNA Secretary, also invited members of the Nevada
- Nursing Action Coalition (NAC) who also sponsored lunch for the day. Overall, it was a great networking opportunity among the leaders of NCEMNA, the Future of Nursing Campaign for Action Committee, and the Nevada community. Thank you very much for all your support!
- NCEMNA looks forward to strengthening partnerships, collaboration and synergy to lead, inspire and influence. Let us work together to realize our shared goals and be successful in meeting the challenges of building a healthier community.
Mila Velasquez, MN, RN, President 2015-2017, NCEMNA E-Mail: Milavelasquez@verizon.net