Kean Welcome Its New Faculty to Campus
We are excited to introduce you to six new world-class faculty who have joined the Kean University School of Nursing beginning fall 2017:
Susan Araujo, DNP, RN, NE-BC
With close to 40 years of nursing experience, Ms. Araujo brings a wealth of diversified managerial experience, having most recently served as the Administrative Director of Patient Care at the Community Medical Center in Toms River where she managed nine nursing units. She holds a Doctor of Nurse Practice (DNP) from Rutgers University, MSN from Kean University (where she was the recipient of the 1999 Kean University Research Award), and a BSN from Seton Hall University. She is also an accomplished essayist, published widely in Advance for Nurses, with articles including “Lightening the Pack” (2004), “Saying You’re Sorry” (2003), “Satisfaction Guaranteed” (2002), and “Verbal Abuse: Words Do Hurt” (2000), as well as an acclaimed essay “Ordinary Heroes” published in Everyday Heroes, True Stories of Health Care Heroes (2003).
Akhtar Ebrahimi Ghassemi, PhD, MHC, MSN, RN
Dr. Akhtar Ebrahimi Ghassemi holds a Ph.D. in Education from University of Rochester, with a focus on clinical supervision and advanced therapies in individual and group counseling. Dr. Ghassemi earned her MS in Psychiatric Nursing from Iran University of Medical Sciences and Health Services in Tehran, Iran. Her strong history of research and experience in Mental Health Counseling and Psychiatric Nursing include professorship at Adelphi University, Nazareth College, and University of Rochester. She has authored /co-authored over 20 articles and essays in the field of nursing, including the innovation in course design: “Increasing Nursing Student Engagement and Interaction in a Course In Mental Health Psychiatric Nursing,” published in The Journal of New York State Nurses Association in 2016.
Kathleen Mahoney, PhD, MSN, RNC-OB, EFM, APN
With over 30 years of professional experience in the nursing field, Dr. Mahoney brings to Kean University an extraordinary background in both academia and the clinical/professional setting, along with a noteworthy list of accomplishments. Dr. Mahoney comes to Kean from Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, where she served for over 10 years as the Perinatal Clinical Specialist of the Regional Perinatal Center, chaired the Nursing Research Steering Committee and Nursing Policy and Procedure committee, and mentored several graduate students pursuing master’s degrees. She was the recipient of the UMDNJ Outstanding Nurse Educator Award: RWJ Medical School (2010); and the New Jersey City University: Excellence in Clinical Teaching Award (2012 and 2013) and many other. Dr. Mahoney has authored/coauthored several publications focusing on fetal health and obstetrics, including “Drugs in Pregnancy, Lactation and Reproductive Health: Standards for Prescribers,” recently published in Women’s Healthcare (2016).
Catherine Monetti, PhD, RN, CNE, QTTP
Awarded the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Scholar Program from Rutgers University, where she earned her Ph.D, Dr. Catherine Monetti comes to Kean with immense experience and training in the nursing profession. Her area of research focuses on “Somatic Countertransference Experiences of Nurse Therapeutic Touch Practitioners.” She has been published in the International Journal of Nursing, Midwife, and Health Related Cases. Dr. Monetti has also worked as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Kean University, Felician College, and as a Clinical Instructor/ Lecturer at Rutgers, SUNJ.
Chrysanthe Patestos, MSN, RN
A proud Kean alum, Ms. Patestos supports student success through her background in both the academic and professional health sectors. She is a familiar face at Kean, having served as an adjunct professor with Kean Ocean’s School of Nursing since 2015 and as President of the Kean Ocean Nursing BSN Student Organization from 2009–11. Ms. Patestos is active in several community organizations, such as the Toms River Municipal Alliance/Governor’s Council on Alcoholism & Drug Abuse, the National Association of School Nurses, and the Health Ministries Association. Ms. Patestos is the author of P.R.A.Y. – Protection and Risk Among Youth: An Interfaith Seminar for Faith-Based Youth Workers, and holds a MSN in Clinical Administration and BSN from Kean University.
Denise Rizzolo, PhD, PA-C
Dr. Denise Rizzolo comes to Kean University with a Doctor of Philosophy in Heath Science from Seton Hall University and a MS in Physician Assistant from Rutgers University. She has worked as an Associate Professor and Director of Research and Assessment at Kean University, Union, as well as Associate Professor and Director of Research-Physician Assistant Program at Seton Hall for over 10 years. Dr. Rizzolo has presented at numerous professional conferences including the American Academy of Physician Assistants Annual Conference and the American Dental Education Association She is widely published in “Patient-Centered Pharmacology: Learning System for the Conscientious Prescriber”, “Classroom to clinical exam: Interactive learning system for passing PANCE and PANRE”, and JAAPA (Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants), among other publications.
Donette Walker, DNP, MSN, RN
With over twenty years of experience in acute care hospital environments and seven in nursing education, Ms. Donette Walker is an honored alum, earning both her MSN and BSN at Kean University. She graduated from Felician College with a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree, and has worked in the field as a staff nurse in several diverse health care settings, including St. Barnabas Medical Center and United Children’s Hospital in Newark. Ms. Walker has presented notable research presentations, some of which include “Peer mentoring using social media for adolescence with sickle cell disease” at St. Barnabas Medical Center Research Day and Felician University Research Symposium in 2015 and the 25th Annual Research Symposium at Kean University, where she presented her qualitative grounded theory research study, “Health Disparities in Early Detection of Prostate cancer among African American Men” in April 2008.
