2010 Board of Directors
For Newly Elected 2010 - 2011 Board of Directors, click here.
Leigh Ann has been a registered nurse since 1981, and has experience in ICU, home infusion, industry, and acute care vascular access and infusion. She has been certified as a CRNI since 1991, and is active in national INS and AVA. Her hospital team inserts PICCs, using ultrasound guidance and MST, presents nursing and physician staff education on vascular access issues, as well as assist with troubleshooting and vascular device selection. Leigh Ann's qualifications for Secretary include experience in leadership positions with local INS, as well as community organization leadership. She has held the positions of VP and President for the Bluegrass Chapter of INS, and has held several Board of Director positions for the Lexington Jaycees, including Public Relations Director and Management Development Vice President.
Nadine has been involved in the vascular access arena for most of her nursing career. She was fortunate to know Suzanne Herbst in the 1980's and was invited to participate in an interest group on vascular access devices that soon became BAVAN in 1985. Since that time she has participated in BAVAN, then NAVAN beginning in 1990, and now AVA. Nadine has consistently attended and participated in the AVA national conference for many years. Her work involves the insertion of PICCs lines at Stanford Hospital in Palo Alto, California. She started the PICC program there in 1990. She has participated in the VAD committee since 1983, and chaired that committee for 14 years until 2007. She teaches maintenance care and complication management of CVADs courses locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. Nadine also teaches courses on PICC insertion using ultrasound.
Tim’s nursing career began in 1971 as a nursing assistant and went on to complete his education as a registered nurse in 1974. He has experience in ICU, long term care, medical surgical and acute care / home infusion therapy. He is currently the Nurse Manager of the high tech Vascular Access Team at Seattle VA Puget Sound Health Care System and also has responsibility of vascular access and infusion therapy education at this facility. He is very active with the Infectious Disease Committee and the VA and currently chairs the Central Line Committee. Tim holds part time faculty at Bellevue Community College instructing on the basics of IV Therapy and Central Line Care and Maintenance as well as PICC education at Portland Community College. He has been certified as a CRNI since 1998, and is active in national INS and AVA. His leadership experience includes Treasurer, President-Elect, and President of the Puget Sound Chapter of INS. He teaches care and complication management of peripheral IVs and central lines courses locally, regionally and nationally.
Paul L. Blackburn RN, MNA has worked in the health care arena for 26 years. 20 of those years have been spent in leadership positions. Paul has a strong clinical background in surgical nursing. Paul worked as an operating room supply chain management consultant, beginning his career in clinical education. Paul became formally involved in vascular access in 1999, although vascular access played a big role in Paul’s professional life throughout his career. Paul is currently the Director of Clinical Programs at Bard Access Systems in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he develops vascular access products and clinical education programs for vascular access clinicians. In his spare time, Paul is a Lt Col in the Utah Air National Guard, serving as the Chief Nursing Officer, responsible for leadership of 20 clinicians.
Jack LeDonne was born in Brooklyn, NY, in 1952. He graduated from Fordham University, in 1974, and attended medical school for one year, in Italy. In January, 1977, he enrolled in the first class at St. George’s University, School of Medicine, Grenada, West Indies, graduating in 1981.
Dr. LeDonne completed his surgical residency at the Wyckoff Heights Hospital, in Brooklyn, and fellowships at the Shock-Trauma Center (MIEMMS) in Baltimore and Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, Mass. He has been working in the Department of Surgery, at the Greater Baltimore Medical Center, Baltimore, MD, since 1991.
Vascular access is Dr. LeDonne’s clinical and research interest. His publications in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons: Percutaneous Cephalic Vein Cannulation( in the Delto-pectoral groove), with Ultrasound Guidance and Detecting and Fixing Errant Central Venous Catheters, without Radiography, contain the first videos published by that journal.
Margy has been an active member of AVA since 1998. She has served on the Nominating/Bylaw Committee and the Journal Committee. Margy has worked in vascular access since 1991. She wrote and developed the bedside PICC program for her facility. She continues her work as a Vascular Access Specialist/PICC team Clinical Educator. Her many duties included education of all VADs, writing policies, education of medical and nursing staff, precepting and VAD management. She has been published in several nursing journals and lectures nationally on PICC insertion using advanced techniques as well as VAD management.
Doug Burns has worked in healthcare for approximately 20 years. His entire career has included vascular access. The past sixteen years, the primary focus of his practice has been leadership and vascular access. Doug has practiced in Pediatric and Adult vascular access settings. He has placed short peripheral catheters, PICCs, jugular and femoral lines. In addition to his clinical practice, Doug has been an active member of AVA for several years. For the past 5 years, Doug has been a member of the Conference Committee. In 2008, he served as Chairman for the Conference Committee. He thinks AVA offers outstanding educational opportunities for vascular access professionals not offered in any other venue. Doug enjoys teaching and writing, particularly on vascular access topics. He has presented nationally and internationally. In addition to being a member of AVA, Doug is a member of INS and Sigma Theta Tau International.
Mark started his nursing career with the completion of his BSN in 1985 followed by his MNSc in 1992. Mark brings over 25 years of nursing experience to AVA with special interest in providing quality education to medical professionals on all aspects of Vascular Access. Since 2006, Mark has served on the Scientific Meeting Committee and chaired the 2009 meeting. Mark is the present liaison from the AVA Board to the Scientific Meeting Committee and participates in ARVAN (Arkansas Vascular Access Network). Outside of nursing, Mark enjoys choral music, cooking (eating), traveling and spending time with his partner and their two rescue beagles.
Ms Lembo, MSN/ED, CRNI has been a registered nurse for 40 years with the past 24 years in the specialty of vascular access. She is currently Vascular Access Supervisor at the Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, N.J.
Ms. Lembo is a Past president of the local infusion Nurses Society (INS) chapter. As a member of Association for Vascular Access (AVA) since 2000, she served on the best practice committee. Through the years Linda has been active in developing and managing infusion therapy including educational programs on insertion and maintenance of PICC lines.
Staff
Pamela comes to AVA with a background in clinical oncology care, including roles as an oncology clinical nurse specialist, enterostomal therapist, oncology product line manager in community hospitals, and as an independent oncology care consultant. On the volunteer side, she has served on the Oncology Nursing Society’s Board of Directors as Board Secretary and as its President during a time of major organizational restructuring and associated changes in board governance. PJ also served as a Trustee on the Oncology Nursing Society Foundation and as Board Liaison to the society’s Certification Corporation. Recently she has completed a four year term as Consumer Representative to the FDA’s Oncologic Drug Advisory Committee. Over the past ten years, she has been directly involved in an international effort to bring cancer care to developing and low resource nations. Most recently, Pamela completed the requirements for the PhD in nursing at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.
Suzanne LaVere Herbst, RN, MA is an renown lecturer and expert in vascular access, and is also recognized as the founder and first president of AVA (formerly BAVAN and NAVAN). She has over 30 years of experience in infusion therapy including research and development, hospital, hospice, and home care. Suzanne is a charter member of the Oncology Nursing Society and numerous publications to her credit. She is the recipient of the American Biographical Institute Medal of Honor and Most Admired Woman of the Decade Award for her outstanding achievements. Suzanne is also listed in the Who's Who of American Nursing and the World's Who's Who of Women.
Lois has over 30 years nursing experience, much of that involved in vascular access. She served as a Director-at-Large for AVA in 2006-2007. She has been the president of MAVAN (Massachusetts AVA Network) for the past 5 years. Lois has served as chair of the networks committee and is presently on the Professional Advisory and AVA/APIC councils. Lois has been working with AVA and it’s councils for the past 8 months on the development of the certification exam, speaker trainer bureau and most recently as Managing Editor of JAVA.
Tonya has been with the association since 1998. She manages all aspects of AVA's membership, in addition to serving as support for the AVA Board, CEO, and Networks.
Judith has been a contract web designer and consultant for non-profit organizations for the past ten years. She provides all things “web” -- design and html programming, graphics, ongoing updating and maintenance, content management, troubleshooting, and whatever else emerges in the web realm.
Lory manages all aspects of AVA's financial processes including: Budget preparation and analysis; review of financial reports; reporting; general ledger; RFP preparation and review; cost/benefit analyses; financial database management; accounting; billing; payroll, etc.
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