Board of Directors

Taylor has been practicing as a nurse at Morristown Medical Center for 9 years. She graduated from Seton Hall University with her BSN in 2016 and jumped right into practice as a "hire learner" nurse resident on the cardiac surgery floor at MMC. After a few years, she made the jump to critical care as a nurse in the CPACU/CVICU where she worked full time for almost 5 years. Taylor has a passion for education which led her to get her MSN in Nursing Education from Ramapo College of New Jersey in 2022. For the past 3 years, Taylor has been helping to mold new nurses as an adjunct clinical professor at the County College of Morris and just this past years took on a new role as a Cardiovascular Clinical Specialist at MMC. In 2022, Taylor joined the board of the Northern NJ chapter of AACN and has been and acting member ever since.

Lilleth has been a nurse for 29 years and has a deep compassion for teaching. Her specialty has been critical care nursing with over a decade of working in the Adult Surgical heart unit. She also has been an educator since 2013 and loves to share her knowledge with both students and staff. Lilleth has been an administrative nurse supervisor and nurse manager. Her outlook is to empower new and experienced nurses. Lilleth is currently a nursing supervisor at Englewood Health and an Adjunct Professor at Bergen Community College. Lilleth had been a member of the Northern NJ AACN for over 5 years.

Donna has been a Critical Care nurse for 30 years as bedside nurse and nurse educator/clinical specialist. She has served on the NNJAACN board for many years, serving twice as the organization’s president. Donna currently teaches senior nursing students at Ramapo College where she has taught full time since 2012. She is a per diem educator at Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern, NY.

Cristen has been a registered nurse for over twenty years with varied experience in both the acute and outpatient settings. She is currently enrolled in a PhD in nursing program and holds a DNP, MSN, and BSN. She has certifications as a CEN, CMSRN, and in EBP-C, GERO-BC, NPD-BC, and CDP. Cristen has worked from bedside to management. Additionally, Cristen adjuncts for three nursing programs in New Jersey. She has served as the president of the Northern New Jersey Chapter of AACN for several terms and as a board member . Cristen was inducted in Sigma Theta Tau in 2003. She became a DAISY Award honoree in 2021. Cristen was also a finalist for the March of Dimes Nurse of Year in 2017 and the NJSNA C.A.R.E.S award in 2020. She regularly presents at the state and national level and has been published for work related to Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Social Media, and Geriatrics. 

Stephanie has been a nurse for 9 years after receiving her ADN from Raritan Valley Community College and her BSN from Chamberlain University. She has spent the entirety of her career working in various roles within the Cardiac Surgery Program at Morristown Medical Center. Stephanie started her career as a hire learner nurse resident on Gagnon 3 and remained there for 3.5 years before joining the CPACU/CVICU in 2020. Since then, she has held the role of both Nurse Educator and now Assistant Nurse Manager of the CPACU/CVICU. Since joining the board in 2022, she has been an integral part of the team! 

Kaleigh has been with Atlantic Health for the last 11+ years. She started her healthcare journey as a sec/tech in the PACU at Morristown Medical Center, during her time there she fell in love with everything Critical Care. With her new found passion she pushed herself to excel and became a critical care nurse extern the summer going into her senior year of nursing school. After graduating from Fairleigh Dickinson with her BSN, she moved into the role of Hire Learner RN in the MMC SICU/MICU and once able she became a member of the AACN and received my CCRN certification. Over the course of her time at the bedside she found a new passion for Nursing Leadership. She began looking for opportunities to learn and grow as a leader and took on several leadership roles including interim ANM, ANM, and ICU/PCU nurse manager at both Morristown and Hackettstown Medical Centers. During this time, she received her MSN in Nursing Leadership and Hospital Administration from Grand Canyon University. Most recently, Kaleigh took on the role of Stroke Program Manager at Chilton Medical Center.

Eileen has been a registered nurse for more than 35 years. She received her Bachelor’s Degree from Rutgers College of Nursing and her Master’s Degree from the Graduate School – Newark as a Clinical Nurse Specialist with a specialization in adult critical care nursing. Eileen is certified as a Clinical Nurse Specialist by New York State and as an Advanced Practice Nurse by the state of New Jersey. Eileen’s clinical experience as a staff nurse was at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center on the medical/surgical units then the surgical anesthesia intensive care unit, post anesthesia care unit and open heart recovery room. As a clinical nurse specialist and/or educator Eileen has covered various ICUs and step down units as well as units in Perioperative Services and for the Stroke Center. Eileen is presently the Nurse Education Manager for Critical Care at Mount Sinai West in New York City. Eileen has held her CCRN certification for over 30 years. She has presented several posters at the American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nursing national conferences and also participated in a podium presentation at one of these conferences.

Mollie has been a registered nurse in the state of New Jersey for 7 years with experience in medical, surgical, trauma, and neuro-critical care patients. She received her BSN from Rutgers University in 2018 as a second-degree and received her MSN in Quality, Patient Safety, and Risk Management in 2025 from Drexel University. Currently, Mollie is in the process of applying to Clinical Nurse Specialist programs and hopes to begin in the Fall of 2025. She currently holds her Critical Care Registered Nurse certification and has been certified since 2021. Mollie currently works as the Unit Educator in medical and surgical ICUs at Morristown Medical Center, a role which she has had since 2023. Professionally, Mollie is the Unit Educator Committee Chair for Morristown Medical Center. She is highly involved in unit, hospital, and system Shared Governance with a focus on professional development initiatives across the hospital and system. These initiatives include creating a transition to practice boot camp for critical care nurse residents, streamlining the system competency selection and validation process, and revitalizing role development for unit educators. Some of these initiatives have been presented as posters and podiums at local, regional, and national conferences, including a podium at NTI 2025 in New Orleans. Her greatest passion in nursing is creating a better, more meaningful environment for nurses and patients that is conducive to work-life balance, patient and staff safety, and making staff feel valued.

Melissa has been a registered nurse for nearly 6 years. She graduated from Felician University Cum Laude in 2019. At Felician University, Melissa was an active participant in the nursing student community. She is a member of the Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Honor Society and the Kappa Gamma Pi National Catholic College Graduate Honor Society. She also authored a policy with the National Student Nurses Association titled “Improving Nurses’ Health to Reduce Medical Errors”. Melissa fell in love with critical care nursing throughout nursing school and after graduation, Melissa went directly into the Intensive Care Unit as a nurse at Clara Maass Medical Center. At Clara Maass, she chaired the ICU committee and was awarded the Nursing Excellence Award. In 2021, she began working at Morristown Medical Center as a registered nurse in the CVICU and CPACU where she became a two-time daisy award nominee, charge nurse and preceptor. She was promoted to nurse educator in 2024 and also received her CCRN. Throughout her time at Morristown, she has dedicated herself to the cardiac surgery program and nursing education in the unit by becoming a certified CSU-ALS trainer and initiating a project that promoted mock codes and code education in the unit. Melissa is dedicated and passionate about the field of nursing, especially critical care, and improving the knowledge and workforce for nurses.

For Jessica, nursing was a second career choice, but she truly believes it is where she was always meant to be. Her first career path, which she pursued in her 20s, was in communications, specifically radio and television broadcasting, with a bachelor’s degree from Temple University in Philadelphia. At the time, she wasn’t entirely sure what direction she wanted her career to take. As her personal life evolved—moving to New Jersey, getting married, having children—so too did her professional aspirations and priorities. Ultimately, she chose to pursue nursing, and can confidently say it’s the best decision she's ever made. Since joining the nursing field, she has developed an incredible passion for the profession. Her journey began as a Patient Care Technician (PCT) on the unit she now manages, starting in 2017. She earned her Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree in nursing from Passaic County Community College in 2019, followed by her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) from Thomas Edison State University in 2022. Currently, she is on track to complete her master’s degree in healthcare administration by September of this year. She is deeply grateful for all that nursing has given her, and is eager to help propel this extraordinary profession into the future. 

Alisia who goes by Alicia, first entered the medical field by becoming a CNA in 2012 while she was going to school to become an LPN. In 2013, she graduated from a small technical school in Pocahontas, Arkansas with a diploma in nursing as an LPN. From there she has worked her way up to an RN and eventually obtained her BSN. Alicia is currently enrolled in a Masters program with anticipated graduation for October of this year. She has worked in every aspect of nursing, and is currently working as an Assistant Nurse Manager of a Med-Surge Oncology unit at Chilton Medical Center. She has a strong passion for nursing, and even more for learning. 

Jennifer is the Nurse Manager of the Medical Intensive Care Unit at St. Joseph’s University Medical Center, with over 18 years of experience caring for critically ill patients. As a healthcare leader and patient advocate, she is deeply committed to building and mentoring strong, engaged nursing teams focused on implementing innovative, evidence-based projects that improve patient outcomes. Jennifer holds formal training in Human-Centered Design and is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt. She leverages these methodologies to lead her teams through quality improvement initiatives that are both creative and sustainable. Her thoughtful, inclusive leadership style has earned her numerous internal honors and statewide recognition. She has presented and published nationally and internationally on topics including dementia care, wound prevention, hospital-acquired infection prevention, and non-pharmacologic interventions in critical care. Her work reflects a deep commitment to advancing nursing science and sharing practical, replicable strategies with a broad audience. Since joining the Northern New Jersey Chapter of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (NNJ-AACN) in August 2024, Jennifer has been a consistent and active presence, contributing to board meetings and playing a key role in conceptualizing and actualizing the 2025 Options Conference. She is eager to continue supporting NNJ-AACN by sharing her leadership, fostering innovation, and promoting greater participation across the state. Her passion lies in advancing nursing excellence and empowering others to lead with care and purpose.