Committee Members

In January 2022, Ms. Williams completed the Cornell University Diversity and Inclusion Certificate Program.  Ms. Williams is responsible for fostering collaborative partnerships with nurse leaders, staff, and faculty to ensure VUMC’s nurse work environment exemplifies diversity, equity, and inclusion best practices.  She is the Executive Sponsor of the VUMC Nurse Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee.  She is the Co-chair of the VUMC Racial Equity Task Force, charged with the development of the institutions’ strategic direction for inclusion and diversity.  Her professional responsibilities over the past 15 years have centered on improving the nurse work environment.

Lincoln received his BSN from the University of Utah. He has three years of psychiatric nursing experience including almost one year at Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital. He has been a leader in a religious setting and is looking forward to serving his Vanderbilt colleagues. He believes that simple, yet clear, principles of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion should be taught to every listening ear at Vanderbilt just like our CREDO behaviors. As an NDEI committee co-chair, he is looking forward to developing DE&I standards for all VUMC employees.

Bianca is a first-year nursing administrative fellow here at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She completed her nursing degree in her home state of West Virginia 8 years ago and started her career shortly after in Columbus, Ohio. Before coming to VUMC, Bianca worked for OhioHealth in multiple specialties including orthopedics, Medicare Wellness, and cardiology. During this time, she also completed her Master's in Healthcare Administration (MHA) at Ashford University. Bianca enjoys learning new skills and challenging herself educationally and professionally. She has a desire to become a nursing leader as well as an advocate for all nurses. She is ecstatic to be a part of VUMC and looking forward to being involved with the NDEIC. As a minority nurse, her vision for the committee is to ensure that all nurses have equal opportunities and are treated fairly. One of her focuses is on assessing the current climate of our organization as the committee's priority initiative and taking the appropriate steps towards resolution. Our strategies will simply not be as effective without a culture change. She also feels it is essential to spread awareness throughout the community of the committee's efforts to make VUMC a more diverse workplace.

Adriana Acosta attained her Bachelor of Science degree from Aquinas College. She possesses 17 years of nursing experience with 11 years of experience in pediatrics.  For the past five years, she has worked within the Rutherford County multi-specialty clinics.

I am a proud member of the Vanderbilt Medical Group family and have been employed by Vanderbilt for 18 years in various capacities including staff nurse, educator, and nurse manager.  I am honored to be a member of the Nursing Diversity Equity and Inclusion (NDEIC) committee and support the vision of Vanderbilt of building a more diverse and inclusive nursing workforce.

Jarylin earned her bachelor of science degree from East Tennessee State University. She has 5 years of nursing experience. For the last two years, she has been primarily an ICU nurse but has also gained experience as a charge nurse in the ED and house supervision on the night shift. She recently accepted a position as the Assistant Nurse Manager of the ICU at Vanderbilt Bedford. 

Information coming soon.

Nursing is Jon's second career. He decided to go to nursing school after 15 years of working in journalism. Jon was drawn to behavioral health because he enjoys talking with people and hearing their stories. Jon started at VPH in 2007 and enrolled in the psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner program at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing in 2009. After graduating in 2013, he began practicing as a nurse practitioner in long-term care settings but returned to Vanderbilt in 2020 to assume his current role. Having worked in various settings, Jon sees the dedication and drive of Vanderbilt nurses to serve the behavioral health population with care and compassion.

Jeremy earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Belmont University and spent several years in non-profit management before returning to Belmont to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. His clinical background is in Pediatric Emergency and has held several leadership roles within Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt. He recently earned a Master of Management in Health Care from the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University. He currently serves as the Senior Nursing Projects Manager for Children's Hospital.

Originally from Afghanistan, Tennessee has been home to Wagma since 2000. She started learning English at Nashville State Community College starting in 2006 and earned her bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) degree from Tennessee State University in 201. She started working as a psychiatric nurse at Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital in 2014. She worked as a staff nurse for three years and then was promoted to clinical staff leader and served in that role for two years. Afterward, she became a Senior Program Manager Clinical at Monroe Carol Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt for the Patient Safety Team from 2019 to 2021. During this time she earned her Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree in 2021 from Aspen University. She is currently a Manager for Patient Care Services for Vanderbilt Asthma, Sinus and Allergy Program clinics, and the Vanderbilt Lung Institute.

Information coming soon.

Information coming soon.

Dr. Rolanda Johnson serves as associate dean for equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), assistant dean for academics, and professor of nursing at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing (VUSN). She oversees efforts to foster an environment that is culturally appreciative and inclusive, particularly for historically underrepresented and marginalized groups and individuals. For the past 25-years, Dr. Johnson has provided leadership for a variety of initiatives, including serving as director of the Fisk University-Vanderbilt University Nursing Collaborative Program, and re-establishing the Black Student Nurses Affinity Group (BSNAG), and representing VUSN in campus-wide programs including the Chancellor's Diversity and Inclusion Committee. The BSNAG's engagement led to the organization of numerous student affinity groups across race, gender, and sexual identity. The collective activities have resulted in more than doubling the enrollment of underrepresented ethnic-racial students from 12% to 25% from 2013 to 2021. In fall 2018, Dr. Johnson contributed heavily to the implementation of holistic admissions which continued to contribute to diverse enrollment. The increasingly diverse student population prompted Dr. Johnson to institute numerous training to prepare faculty for more diverse cohorts of students. These include unconscious bias training and "Inclusion Begins with Me" campaign. Dr. Johnson is an alumna of the SAMHSA Minority Fellowship Program of the American Nurses Association (ANA). She also works with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing diversity efforts including being a member of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Leadership network (DEILN) steering committee (Formerly, the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Group), the inaugural Diversity Symposium Planning Committee, and the inaugural Diversity Leadership Institute Advisory Team. Other committee memberships include the US Pharmacopeia Health Equity Advisory Group and the National Black Nurses Association, Nashville Chapter.

Mary Jones, a native of Mississippi, the hospitality state, began her tenure at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in July 2014. She came aboard as a Performance Improvement Analyst/Abstractor in the Quality, Safety, and Risk Prevention Department. Mary brings to the role a wealth of experience from her diverse opportunities of service in the hospital, home health, and community health nursing. Mary has served in several leadership roles, including interim nursing director (Advantage Home Health, Nashville, TN); program director (Ryan White Title III Program: Delta Health Center, Mound Bayou, MS); and patient safety manager ( Methodist Healthcare System, San Antonio, TX).    She is a graduate of Southwestern Christian College, Terrell, TX  (A.S.- Education); Tennessee State University (B.S. Nursing/Sociology), and the University of Tennessee, College of Social Work - Nashville (MSW).    Her life's theme is "Serving God Through Service to Humanity.

Rachel earned her Bachelor of Science degree in nursing from Middle Tennessee State University and her Master of Science in Nursing from Vanderbilt University. She has 15 years of nursing experience and 10 years of experience in nursing education. For the past four years, she's overseen the Nursing Education & Professional Development department for Vanderbilt University Adult Hospital.

Ashley earned her bachelor of science degree from Marshall University. She has 4 years of nursing experience. She currently serves as a charge nurse in the Plastics and Cosmetic Surgery Clinic. 

Brenda Reed, MSN, RN, ACM-RN earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Tennessee State University and her Master of Science in Nursing from Vanderbilt University. She has 23 years of nursing experience with the last 19 years being in case management at VUMC. Brenda has spent the last 6 years as the manager of nurse case managers and social workers who assist patients in their transitions of care. This work is vital for the throughput of the organization.

Maria has more than 6 years experience being a medical nurse.

Marsha Sesay MSN, RN-BC works as a Clinical Staff Leader on the Surgical Stepdown Unit at VUH. She earned her ASN from Columbia State Community College and her BSN and MSN in Nursing Leadership and Management from Western Governors University. She has 27 years of nursing experience and has spent the last 10 years of her career honing her skills as a Nurse Leader and mentor. She has served as a Coach for the Advisory Board's Center for Frontline Nursing Leadership Academy and currently serves as a coach for the VPNPP Central Committee and, Adjunct Nursing Clinical Instructor for Tennessee State University.  She passionately believes in her role as a Transformational Leader because of the positive influence it has on workplace empowerment, staff satisfaction, and most importantly better, safer, patient outcomes. 

Bridget earned an  Associate Degree in Nursing from Kettering College of Medical Arts in Kettering, Ohio; a BSN from the University of Alabama Huntsville; an MSN in nurse anesthesia from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville; and DNAP from Middle Tennessee School of Anesthesia.  She has worked as a CRNA for 25 years at Vanderbilt University Medical Center; 20 years with the Cardio-Thoracic division.

Debbie Winfree- Jennings is a  seasoned medical/ surgical nurse at Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital with 25 years of experience. Her compassionate heart and selfless attitude shine through her work ethic as she focuses her energies and resources on serving others.  Debbie received the 2018 Employee of the Year Award at Tennova Healthcare Lebanon.  Debbie is a faithful member of New Fairview Baptist Church.  Also, Debbie is actively involved in her community by volunteering as a CASA advocate within the juvenile court system and as a volitional worker with the Family Consumer Education organization sponsored by UT/TSU extension.  Debbie enjoys camping and spending quality time with her family in her spare time.