League of Extraordinary Nurses
 Linda McCauley |
The health of Delta Air Lines workers comes first for Lynn Zonakis 80N.
As managing director of health strategy and resources for Delta, Zonakis oversees the corporate health program for 80,000 employees and dependents.
She is among many nursing alumni whose careers have taken them beyond the bedside. Nancy Langston 72MN, newly retired dean of the Virginia Commonwealth School of Nursing, again chairs the National League for Nursing (NLN) Foundation for Nursing Education. She first chaired the foundation during her tenure as NLN president. Mary Lambert 81MN now teaches at the School of Nursing after a distinguished career in public service with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration, and other federal agencies. Eve Byrd 86N 98MN/MPH traveled to Liberia for the Carter Center to train nurses as mental health clinicians. J. Michael Pate 81MN has held assignments in Tokyo, Kuwait, Baghdad, and now London with the U.S. Department of State. What these alumni have in common is the uniqueness of their career paths. Here at Emory, we pride ourselves in preparing nurse leaders, and our alumni never fail to exceed our expectations.
Our proximity to the CDC offers diverse opportunities for many of our graduates. During National Nurses Week, more than 250 Georgia nurses gathered there for a symposium on public health and health care collaboration. Shauna Mettee 09MN/MPH organized the daylong event as president-elect of the CDC/ATSDR Nurses Work Group. Its members—nearly 200 nurses in all—represent all branches of the CDC and the ATSDR (Agency for Toxic Substances Disease Registry) in the United States and abroad.
Mettee has made it a goal to expose more of our students to the variety of career opportunities at the CDC. “I’ve always felt that the CDC was the perfect place for me,” says Mettee, who has investigated disease outbreaks as an Epidemic Intelligence Service officer and now serves in the Office of the Associate Director for Policy.
In this issue of Emory Nursing, you’ll get a glimpse into the careers of alumni who are shining examples of the many ways Emory prepares nurse leaders who are creative, strategic, and patient-focused, wherever they choose to serve. I hope you are as proud of our nursing legacy as I am!
Sincerely,
Linda A. McCauley 79MN PhD RN FAAN FAAOHN
Dean and Professor
