Executive Director
Lois J. Wagner, PhD, APN

Lois J. Wagner became Executive Director of the Tennessee Center for Nursing on July 1, 2009. Starting out, Wagner served as the Associate Director of Research for TCN. Dr. Wagner was responsible for implementing the research agenda for the Tennessee Center for Nursing (TCN). In this role she compiled and analyzed nursing workforce and school of nursing data, disseminated findings, prepared proposals, and tracked outcomes of the TCN Strategic Plan Objectives.

After receiving her Bachelors Degree in Anthropology from the University of Cincinnati, she received her Bachelors Degree in Nursing from Catholic University of America. She received her Masters Degree in the Family Nurse Practitioner specialty and her Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Nursing Science and Social Psychology at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing.

Her professional experiences include primary care, clinical research, education, and program management in the fields of public health, HIV/AIDS, and clinical research. She has over 18 years of experience in developing and managing clinical research programs in academia and has done training and consultation on the establishment of clinical research sites in the Caribbean and South America. As an Assistant Professor in the Vanderbilt School of Nursing, she has taught graduate seminars in research and theory development, and is currently the Director of their Clinical Research Development Program.

She holds professional memberships include the Tennessee Nurses Association, the American Nurses Association, the Southern Nursing Research Society, Sigma Theta Tau, the Nurse Scientist HIV/AIDS Network, the International AIDS Society, the Society for Behavioral Medicine, and the American Psychological Association Health Psychology Division. Her involvement in the local community centers on the HIV epidemic, diversity, and human rights issues.

To contact Lois click HERE.

Executive Coordinator & Marketing Developer
Aleshia D. Garrett

Aleshia Garrett joined the Tennessee Center for Nursing (TCN) in 2007. As Executive Corrdinator and Marketing Developer, she disseminates our research findings throug various media campaigns for TCN, manages the websites and coordinates all programs and events. Aleshia also serves as editor in chief for "Healthcare Heartbeat", TCN's research magazine and works in conjunction with Lois Wagner, Executive Director, in the daily operations of the TCN office.

Aleshia received her B.S. in Public Relations and Marketing from Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN.

To contact Aleshia click HERE.

Researcher
Jennifer Murray

Jennifer Murray joined the Tennessee Center for Nursing (TCN) in September 2007. Her role with TCN is a Researcher, and Jennifer also serves as the Project Coordinator for the Tennessee Clinical Placement System (TCPS).

Jennifer comes to TCN from the Tennessee Department of Health’s Office of Cancer Surveillance where she worked as an epidemiologist. As an epidemiologist, Jennifer worked both for the Tennessee Cancer Registry (TCR) and the Tennessee Comprehensive Cancer Control Coalition (TCCCC) programs. Jennifer was the Program Manager for Data Use and Support and was responsible for data requests, analysis, cluster investigations, publishing for the TCR and supervising IT staff. She was an active member of the Tumor Registrar’s Association of Tennessee (TRAT) and served as the Middle TN representative. In addition to providing data support to the various TCCCC workgroups, Jennifer served as Chair of the Surveillance Committee and was responsible for development, implementation, and analysis of the evaluation program.

Jennifer is working on her Ph.D. in Life Sciences with a concentration in Entomology at Mississippi State University (MSU) and has a B.S. in Zoology from Arkansas State University. While working as a graduate student at MSU, Jennifer received grant funding through the Mississippi Space Commerce Initiative Consortium / NASA for her research project. She was actively involved in student organizations at both universities.

To e-mail Jennifer, click HERE.