ISONG Candidate Biographies 2015
PRESIDENT-ELECT (Two candidates listed in alphabetical order)
Dr. Sandy Founds, PhD, CNM, FNP-BC
Elizabeth L. Pestka, MS, APRN, CNS, APNG
ISONG is the premier nursing organization to
promote and advance genetic nursing scholarship,
education, practice, and policy. As President-Elect, I
will build on my organizational expertise as Co-Chair
of the 2010 Annual Conference, Co-Chair of the
Research Committee (2011-2013), and current
ISONG Secretary to strengthen networking and
communication among our international membership.
I will subsequently expand on these priorities, as
President, to engage and mentor active volunteers,
increase organizational resources, and collaborate
with other nursing organizations to promote
genetic/genomic nursing and ISONG’s success.
I am honored to be nominated for the position of
President-elect of the International Society of Nurses
in Genetics. The perspective that I would bring as
president of this organization is from clinical practice
where I work directly with nurses and patients
addressing complex genomic disorders. My interest
in genetics/genomics began with the opportunity to
serve as a Genomics Program Co-Leader for the
Department of Nursing at Mayo Clinic, Rochester,
MN, USA, beginning in 2001 and we were able to
develop a multifaceted genomics program which was
selected by the American Nurses Credentialing
Center for the prestigious Magnet Prize in 2005. I
was able to gain credentialing as an Advanced
Practice Nurse in Genetics in 2005. As an example of
clinical genomics, my most recent publication,
Assessment of Family History of Substance Abuse
for Preventive Interventions with Patients
Experiencing Chronic Pain: A Quality Improvement
Project, in the International Journal of Nursing
Practice, demonstrates how nurses are able to assess
and document a targeted family history in 5-10
minutes and use this information to inform patient
care for preventive interventions and likely
substantial overall health-care cost savings. Our
current research study is investigating the association
between family history of substance abuse and opioid
doses in patients with chronic pain to reinforce the
importance of utilizing family history information to
facilitate positive outcomes for patients. Promoting
evidence of the value of genomic clinical outcomes is
an aspect of nursing with tremendous potential to
impact lives and expand ISONG’s influence, in
addition to the already strong components of
education and research in the organization, and is the
main reason that I would like to serve as president.
My ISONG membership and active involvement
since 2007 are driven by a passion for our Vision of
genomic health care, education, research, and
scholarship and our Mission to serve the nursing
profession and the public. Similar motivations guide
my daily efforts as a clinical and translational nurse
scientist in genomics of pregnancy, as a nurse
educator, and as Advanced Practice Nurse clinician
and preceptor. Since the first years of my work with
ISONG, I have participated in the ISONG Research
Committee. In 2008 I also joined the ISONG Buddy
Program. My buddy and I remain in contact and we
co-authored a paper on her interest in the genomics of
preterm labor. My expertise as a genetics scholar
was recognized when I received the 2012 ISONG
Founders Award in Research. My organization
investiture in ISONG, in multidisciplinary genomics
research, and in community and international
practice, education, and scholarship enhance my
ability to promote diversity and global perspectives in
leading ISONG.
I am currently an Associate Professor at the
University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing and am a
member of the Magee-Womens Research Institute.
I have been a member of the International Society of
Nurses in Genetics since 2004. In 2005 I was a
Conference Planning Committee member, from
2007-2009 I was a member of the Executive Board of
Directors serving as Secretary, from 2009-2010 I was
Co-Chair of the Education Committee, and in 2014 I
was a presenter for an ISONG webinar in the series
of online educational offerings titled, Tailoring
Nursing Assessment and Interventions to Provide
Individualized Health Care. I served as a member of
the Genetic Nursing Credentialing Commission
Portfolio Score Team from 2008 – 2014. I would like
to continue to work with ISONG members to support
the great work that is being done and encourage
additional focus on integration of genomics into
clinical nursing practice.