Born and raised in Bergen County, New Jersey. Attended Dominican College and received BS; MS from Loma Linda University, and PhD from UCLA. Worked as a staff nurse on Medical-Surgical units, was a visiting nurse for both home health and hospice patients, and was a manager/supervisor. Began teaching in 1998 and have taught Fundamentals of Nursing, Medical-Surgical nursing, and Community Health Nursing. Currently teaching Nursing Leadership/Management in the graduate program at Loma Linda University. Research interests are continuity of care, nursing's impact on patient outcomes, and patient quality of care/reliability and safety.