Deans, Directors, and Support Staff

For a complete and most current list of EMCON faculty and staff, please visit our directory.

Deans

  • Dean of the Elaine Marieb College of Nursing: Dr. Allison Vorderstrasse. BS in Nursing, Mount Saint Mary College; MS in Nursing, Adult Nurse Practitioner - Diabetes Specialty Concentration, Yale University School of Nursing; DNSc, (Chronic Illness Self-Management), Yale University School of Nursing; NIH/NINR Summer Genetics Institute Certificate, Certified APRN (Diabetes Specialty); Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, Professor. Research Interests: Diabetes, chronic illness.
  • Associate Dean for Academic Affairs: unfilled.
  • Associate Dean of Equity and Inclusion: Dr. Jess Dillard-Wright. BS Science Technology & Culture, Georgia Institute of Technology; MA, Women’s History, Sarah Lawrence College; MSN, Clinical Nurse Leader, Medical College of Georgia; MSN, Community Based Nurse Midwifery Program, Frontier Nursing University; PhD, Augusta University.
  • Associate Dean for Research: Dr. Michael Lepore. BA Philosophy & Psychology, Assumption University; Graduate Certificate, Gerontology, Georgia State University; MA, Sociology, Georgia State University; PhD, Sociology, Georgia State University.

Program Directors

  • Master of Science Program Director, Graduate Certificate in Nursing Education, and Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Certificate Program Director: Dr. Gabrielle P. Abelard. BS in Nursing, University of Massachusetts, Amherst College of Nursing; MS in Mental Health Nursing, Adult Clinical Nurse Specialist, University of Massachusetts Amherst College of Nursing; Post Masters Certificate in Nursing, Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, Regis College Richard and Sheila Young School of Nursing; DNP (Integrative Health), Regis College Richard and Sheila Young School of Nursing. Clinical Professor.
  • Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Program Director: Dr. Terrie Black. BS, Pennsylvania State University; MBA, concentration in Healthcare Administration. Western New England University, DNP, concentration in Public Health Nurse Leader, University of Massachusetts Amherst College of Nursing. Certified Rehabilitation Registered Nurse (CRRN),  Fellow of the American Heart Association (FAHA), Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN), Clinical Professor. Clinical interest in Quality outcomes, reimbursement, stroke systems of care, reimbursement models and public health.
  • Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Program Director: Dr. Rachel (Rae) Walker. BA, BS in Biology and English, University of Virginia; BSN, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellowship, Johns Hopkins University; Oncology Certified Nurse, Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing.  Professor. Research Interests: Nursing invention and co-creative processes founded on the principles of design justice as vehicles for achieving health equity and social justice, community-directed digital defense against harmful forms of big data, A.I., and other surveillant technologies.

Graduate Support Staff

  • Assistant to the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs; Student Support Center Lead; DNP, & PMHNP Certificate Program Assistant: Karen Ayotte 
  • Master of Science, MSNE Certificate & PhD Program Specialist & Clinical Relations Coordinator:  Dorian Pariseau
  • Affiliation Agreement Coordinator: Andrea “AJ” Juno
  • Graduate Clinical Placement Coordinator: Katherine Bobianski
  •  Clinical Placement Service Manager: Jennifer Heim

Office of Research

Strategic Partnerships

Donor Relations

  • Associate Director, Donor Relations, University of Massachusetts Amherst Foundation: Benjamin Monat