2022 IAFN and IAFNF Candidates

Anne Boatright

MSN

Election Statement
My name is Anne Boatright. I have been a member of the International Association of Forensic Nurses for over 10 years. Additionally, I have been able to serve over almost two years as a Director at Large for the Association. I am currently running as President Elect for the Board of Directors. If elected I look forward to continuing to advocate for our members on a Global scale. We have such a finite amount of time to impact change and make differences in the lives of our patients. We as the IAFN must continue to change the landscape of forensic nursing and provide members with the education, resources, and voices they need and deserve. I hope to continue conversations on the needs of the membership. We must continue to grow, shift and change this organization into a Global Leader that all turn to around topics of violence against people. Thank you for your consideration.

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Kelly Branchi

BScN

Election Statement

If I am elected, I will work with the IAFN executive to continue building international networks. IAFN can become a hub for sharing international research and standards of practice. Forensic nurses can learn from each other and continue to grow the profession.

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Margaret M. Glembocki

DNP, RN, ACNP-BC, CSC, FAANP

Election Statement
The world needs more Forensic Nurses!
Forensic Nurses are positioned to influence health outcomes of individuals and communities impacted by violence and trauma. Each individual impacted by violence and/or trauma should have access to skilled and knowledgeable forensic nursing care. Now is our time! As an experienced forensic nurse, educator, and researcher, I am passionate about serving IAFN as Director-at-Large to advance the role of forensic nurses and expanding the science. My vision for IAFN is simple, to increase global membership and IAFN resources. My membership in IAFN has provided me access to education, certification, networking, professional development, and development of more forensic nursing roles. Increasing global membership will create a community of passionate, skilled, and knowledge nurses prepared to care for patients, expand the science of forensic nursing, and create forensic nursing roles globally. Thank you! Always remember to be a kind and loving catalyst for change toward health and equity.

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Kalen Knight

MSN, MBA

Election Statement
If elected to fulfill the duties of a director-at-large for the International Association of Forensic Nurses, I will assist the IAFN in fostering a culture of diversity and inclusion in our specialty field while helping strive to meet the goals of our associations strategic plan, putting special emphasis on public awareness of our specialty in nursing as well as education for not only health care workers and institutions, but also the communities we serve internationally. I would also like to assist in broadening IAFN’s forensic nursing coverage on their platforms by offering resources on other types for forensic nursing, including sexual assault, domestic violence, human trafficking, death investigation, elder abuse, correctional nursing, and psychiatric nursing. It is my belief the IAFN has the potential to be the go-to for all things forensic nursing related.

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Katherine Scafide

PhD

Election Statement

I am grateful for the opportunity to give back to my profession by submitting my nomination for the Director-At-Large position on the Board of IAFN. Since joining IAFN in 2004, I have had the pleasure of watching the organization grow exponentially in its membership while expanding the public’s understanding of forensic nursing. As a member of IAFN’s Board, I will bring a breadth of forensic nursing experience as a former clinician and current educator, researcher, author, and leader. I currently serve IAFN as the Chair of the Research Committee. Our hard-working committee has executed successful activities and proposed important strategic initiatives to support forensic nurses to engage in impactful research. If elected to the Director-At-Large position, I will continue to further IAFN’s mission to promote the advancement and dissemination of forensic nursing science to support our practice. I also want to see IAFN align itself with the National Academies’ Future of Nursing 2020-2030 in becoming a leader in health equity. Finally, I want to help IAFN expand its global reach through strategic initiative and international collaborations. If elected to the Board, I will work hard on behalf of our membership to help forensic nurses increase their impact on diverse patients and global communities.

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Michele Reali-Sorrell

DNP, RN, BA, SANE-A, SANE-P

Election Statement

Please consider me as a strong candidate for the IAFN Director-at-Large position.

I graduated from nursing school in 1998 and have spent most of my career as an emergency department nurse and manager. As many nurses do, I began my forensic nursing career as a second job in 2005 and have cared for over 500 patients who have experienced physical or sexual violence. In 2017 I became the Cleveland Clinic Enterprise Forensic Nurse Manager. My job responsibilities include running a highly effective and best practice forensic nursing program with an operating budget of over 1 million dollars, including grant writing and funding. Under my leadership, my team and I have created a model of care that includes six full-time forensic nurses and 40 PRN nurses. We provide 24/7 on-call coverage across five counties and 12 hospitals in Northeast Ohio. We are an approved IAFN Clinical Skills Training site and have trained over 80 nurses both internally and externally from across the country over the past four years. In 2020 we started our organization’s first Forensic Nursing follow-up clinic, using the guiding principles of trauma-informed care run by a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP), a forensic nurse care coordinator, and a victim advocate. We have a solid pediatric forensic team and provide non-acute clinical care weekly at Canopy, our county’s child advocacy center.

We are in the process of setting up a pilot “Tele-Sane” program to increase access to care and decrease wait times for patients within our organization. I have worked with our EMS department and have trained over 1,200 firefighters in Northeast Ohio on human trafficking and forensic nursing services. My team and I work closely with our Government Relations Department to advocate for local and state policies. The policies include mandatory training on human trafficking for EMS, advocating for strangulation to be charged as a felony, and increased reimbursement for sexual assault evidence collection kits. Our program understands that we cannot work in silos and that internal and community collaboration is essential in our forensic nursing role and allows for better patient outcomes. Within our organization, I chair our Domestic Violence Committee and am a member of the Child Protective Team, Elder Abuse Team, and the Workplace Violence Committee. I am a member of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office Health Care and Demand Reduction sub-committee, Steering Committee for the Collaborative to End Human Trafficking in both Cuyahoga and Lake County, Cuyahoga County Domestic Violence Taskforce and Strangulation Committee, Forensic Nursing Network State of Ohio, Cuyahoga County SART team and Board Member for Cleveland’s Missing Family Center for Children and Adults. I received my Masters’ in Nursing with an emphasis in Public Health in 2018 and my Doctorate in Nursing Practice in 2020, both from Grand Canyon University in Arizona.

I am interested in the Director-at-Large position for several reasons. With the shortage of nurses globally, how will this impact forensic nurses and, ultimately, patient care? As hospitals are looking to increase the scope of practice for healthcare professionals (example includes expanding the role of a paramedic), I feel we must advocate that all patients deserve care by a trained forensic nurse. Another reason is the SASCA Bill S.926 Survivors Access to Supportive Care introduced in March of 2021. The bill requires higher education institutions to provide information about the availability of sexual-assault examinations to survivors of sexual assault. Additionally, it would require a plan, development, and recommendations to increase survivors’ access to sexual assault examinations by holding hospitals accountable and supporting the providers that serve them. I would like to looks at opportunities to increase enrollment and engagement from members of the IAFN in supporting this bill. I have dedicated my nursing career to working in areas that advocate for marginalized and at-risk populations. I am committed and passionate about my work and have a voice within my organization to help lead change. I want to find innovative and creative ways to engage more nurses to become forensic nurses and to join and become involved in supporting the IAFN as we face many challenges within the nursing profession. I appreciate your consideration and your vote.

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Jalla Atkins

BA

Election Statement
Hello. My name is Jalla Atkins and I am running for a position on the nominations committee. My goal is to be of help. I became a forensic nurse in 2017 and I received my SANE-A in 2020. I became interested in the elections after attending an open IAFN information session. I believe that forensic nursing is a critically important role and I want to help the profession grow. I also want to help support all the existing forensic nurses by helping the IAFN. It is very important to have an educational resource for new forensic nurses and to help new forensic programs. My primary purpose is to help patients who have experienced violence. I consider it a great honor to help the patient start their healing journey.

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Donna Scott Tilley

PhD, RN, CA/CP SANE, FAA

Election Statement
It would be an honor and privilege to serve on the IAFN Nominating Committee. I commit to: being a good listener and hearing concerns of members, serving on the board with genuine interest in moving the organization forward by finding solutions to problems and meeting member needs, and representing forensic nursing with pride. I am a long time member of IAFN and have served the organization as a conference presenter and member of the JFN Editorial Board. I would love the opportunity to expand my service to IAFN as a member of the Nominating Committee.

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Tristan Wristen

MSN, BSN

Election Statement

If elected, I look forward to being part of a multidisciplinary team expanding the field of forensic nursing. It would be an incredible opportunity to have the position of Educator Commissioner and be able to join together the many subspecialties under the umbrella of forensic nursing. In addition, my hope is to see more standardization in forensic nursing, from the most rural areas to big cities, so that all forensic nurses and programs follow the most up-to-date evidence-based research, standards, and protocols. In order to do that, proper education from the ground up is key. I look forward to being part of the process to expand the IAFN reach as far as possible, both in local areas and worldwide.

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Keeley Bowman

DNP

Election Statement
I would like to see IAFN continue to grow and reach out to our international nurses. The Foundation can be a source of this contact and a resource for continued connections. If I am elected, I would like to help initiate some programs where nurses from outside of North America feel like a part of the IAFN.

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Jordyn Bode

MSN, WHNP-BC

Election Statement
I am honored to be on the ballot for the IAFN Foundation Board of Directors. If elected I will work alongside the other board members to grow the IAFNs national recognition, connect with various communities and improve funding or the Foundation. As Chair of the Nominations Committee this last year, I enjoyed working towards the IAFN’s Mission and Vision with such passionate and knowledgeable IAFN members. I was able to learn a lot about the short term and long term goals of this organization and am excited for the opportunity to continue helping the IAFN move towards said goals. Our organization is expanding quickly which is both exciting and, at times, overwhelming. I am an innovative and purpose driven leader and I hope to serve the IAFN Foundation with positive energy, new ideas and team/organization engagement.

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