MSN Faculty
Anne M. Barker, Ed.D., RN, Chair and Professor of Nursing
Dr. Barker holds an Ed.D. in Nursing Executive Role from Teachers College at Columbia University, an MSN in Cardiovascular Nursing from Catholic University of America, and a BSN from the University of Virginia. She worked for the Department of Veterans Affairs for 15 years and held the position of Chief Nursing Officer for 6 years. She has served on the faculty at Sacred Heart University since 1987, where her primary areas of teaching are leadership and management and nursing research. She has been a pioneer in the development and implementation of online learning and has written several articles on the subject.
Dr. Barker is the author of three books: Transformational Nursing Leadership: A Vision for the Future, Leadership in Dietetics: Achieving a Vision for the Future, and Leadership Role Competencies for Clinical Manager.
Audrey Beauvais MSN, MBA, RN
Mrs. Beauvais earned her BSN degree from Fairfield University and earned both her MSN and MBA degrees from Sacred Heart University. Her professional background includes positions as a psychiatric and mental health nurse and a clinical case manager. For the past 11 years, Mrs. Beauvais has worked in various leadership positions at Stamford Hospital, including the nurse manager of the psychiatric and pediatric units, case manager, and performance improvement coordinator. She also holds a range of formal certifications in the areas of psychiatric mental health nursing and nurse case management. Mrs. Beauvais is currently pursuing her Doctorate in Nursing Practice from Case Western Reserve University. Her research interests are focused on the relationship between emotional intelligence and job performance in nursing students.
Susan Burger, PhD, RN, Assistant of Professor Nursing
Dr. Burger holds a BSN from Duke University, an MSN in Nursing Education from Southern Connecticut State University, and a PhD in Nursing from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where her major concentration was in Health Promotion and Health Protection in the School of Nursing and her minor concentration was in Health Policy and Administration. Prior to joining the faculty at Sacred Heart, Dr. Burger was an assistant professor at Rutgers University's College of Nursing for five years. She has held both clinical and teaching positions in community health nursing, maternal-child health, and medical surgical nursing.
Dr. Burger came to Sacred Heart in May 2007 to develop and teach in the graduate Nursing Education Certificate program. She joined the full-time nursing faculty in January of 2008. Her research interests involve the impact of health policy on health organizations and public health outcomes.
Susan DeNisco, DNP, APRN, FNP, BC, Associate Professor and Graduate Program Director
Dr. DeNisco received a DNP degree in Clinical Leadership from Case Western Reserve University, an MS in the Family Nurse Practitioner Program from Pace University, and a BSN from Western Connecticut State University. She is also the Executive Director of the St. Charles Health & Wellness Center and is certified as a Childbirth Educator by the Council of Childbirth Education Specialists. She has coordinated Sacred Heart's Family Nurse Practitioner Program since 2000 and received the 2007 American Academy of Nurse Practitioner Connecticut State Award for Excellence.
Dr. DeNisco's impressive career includes 22 years of clinical experience as a Family Nurse Practitioner in a variety of primary care settings. Her work has largely focused on medically underserved populations including disenfranchised groups such as migrant farm workers, refugees and the homeless.
Kim Foito, MSN, RN
Kim joined the nursing faculty at Sacred Heart University in 2006. She received her AD and BSN at Salve Regina University and her MSN from Sacred Heart University. For the last ten years, Professor Foito has focused on pediatric nursing. In 2004, Professor Foito contributed to the Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority (CHEFA) grant awarded to Sacred Heart University's nursing department for lab improvement and curriculum development. She is currently pursuing a PhD in nursing research from the University of Connecticut. Her research interests include clinical simulation in nursing and minority student success in undergraduate nursing programs.
Kathleen S. Fries, PhD, MSN, RN
Kathy received her BSN from Seton Hall University, her MSN from Sacred Heart University, and her PhD in nursing at the University of Connecticut. She is also a Certified Child Birth Educator. Professor Fries' expertise and scholarly interests surround women's health issues. In May 2007, she received the Graduate Nurse Researcher Award from the UCONN chapter of Sigma Theta Tau, the honor society of nursing.
Shelley Hoskins, MSN, RN
Shelley received a MS with a major in nursing from Pace University in 1985. She came to Sacred Heart, where she is a Clinical Learning Coordinator in the nursing program, from a position as a Home Care Case Manager/Clinical Supervisor with Connecticut Home Health Care. Her expertise and scholarly interests surround Home Health Care and Simulation in Nursing Education.
Patricia Stork Kilcullen, EdD, APRN
Dr. Kilcullen received her Doctorate in Education Leadership from the University of Bridgeport. She also holds a MSN Adult Clinical Nurse Specialist degree from Adelphi University as well as a Post-Masters Nurse Practitioner Certificate from Western CT State University and a BSN from Villanova University.
Dr. Kilcullen has held multiple clinical positions during 30 years in clinical practice, including Assistant Director for Oncology Nursing at Yonkers General Hospital, where she opened the first cluster unit for chemotherapy administration in the county. Her areas of scholarly interest include student success on the NCLEX , the examination of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing.
Nina Pearlin, BSN, RN, MA
Nina received her BSN from Sacred Heart University and a Master of Arts in Communications from Fairfield University. She worked at Milford Hospital in Connecticut for 18 years. Her area of expertise is Medical Surgical Nursing.
Brenda Renzulli, MBA, RN Instructor
Brenda received her BSN from Texas Christian University and an MBA from the University of New Haven. She is also certified in Critical Care by the American Association of Critical Care Nurses and is currently pursuing her FNP degree from Sacred Heart University. Her expertise and scholarly interests include Emergency Department Nursing and Quality Initiatives.
Julie Stewart, DNP, MSN, MPH, FNP-BC, Assistant Professor
Dr. Stewart received her DNP from Case Western Reserve University, MSN/FNP from Sacred Heart University, MPH from the UCONN Health Center, and BSN from SUNY/Regents College. She was named the Connecticut Nurse Practitioner of the year for 2006 by the CT Advance Practice Nurse Association and honored with Sacred Heart's College of Education and Health Professions Alumni Leadership Award in 2006.
As a certified HIV Specialist, Dr. Stewart has provided comprehensive medical care and support services to patients infected with HIV. She currently has a clinical practice at Southwest Community Health Center, which includes providing care patients infected with HIV and hepatitis C, and provides general medical care at an area homeless shelter. She has also worked as a medical forensic examiner for pediatric sexual assault cases in Stamford, Connecticut. Her scholarly interests include HIV quality improvement, battered women, gender reassignment, HIV care for the homeless, and empowerment among nurse practitioners.
Linda L. Strong, Ed.D., RN, Assistant Clinical Professor
Dr. Strong received her Ed.D. in Nursing Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, an MSN in Community Health Nursing from the Catholic University of America, and a BSN from the University of Bridgeport. Dr. Strong's areas of expertise and scholarly research include community health nursing, geriatrics, and emergency preparedness. She is the nursing coordinator at Sacred Heart University's St. Charles Health and Wellness Center, providing outreach care for an underserved, multicultural population.
Dr. Strong's career included positions as a lecturer at the University of Massachusetts and assistant professor at Montana State University.
Shery Watson, MSN, RN, Instructor
Professor Watson holds an MSN from Quinnipiac University and a BSN from Fairfield University. She is also nationally certified in emergency nursing and a sexual assault nurse examiner. Prior to joining the faculty at Sacred Heart, she was an adjunct instructor at Fairfield University and an emergency department nurse manager and unit educator at a local hospital.
Professor Watson's expertise and scholarly interests focus on emergency and critical care nursing, interpersonal violence. and international nursing. She leads international volunteer medical missions through P.R.N. Relief International that provide free medical and surgical care, medicine, and health education to the impoverished in third world countries.
Eileen Yost, MSN, RNC, RN, Instructor
Eileen received her MSN from Western Connecticut State University in 2004 and holds an AD and BSN from Pace University. Her expertise is in the field of Maternal Child Health Nursing and she is nationally certified in High Risk Intensive Care Nursing by the National Certification Corporation. Her focus for research and education is in the field of maternal-child health, especially strategies for bonding with newborns and quality improvement in the clinical setting.
Prior to joining the faculty at Sacred Heart full-time, Mrs. Yost held several positions at Norwalk Hospital as the Patient Care Manager of the Newborn Intensive Care Unit, Clinical Educator for NICU and the Pediatric Unit, and Clinical Manager for Maternal-Child Health. She is a certified instructor for the American Heart Association and a Neonatal Resuscitation Provider instructor for the AAP.
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