People Group Archives: Faculty

Amanda Houston is a lecturer at the University of Central Florida College of Nursing, and two-time Knight nurse alumna. She is a Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator and focused her PhD dissertation on the impact of simulation in undergraduate nursing education, looking specifically at knowledge retention and cognitive load. Her continued research interests focus on the […]

Education MSN, University of Central Florida BSN, University of Central Florida Selected Awards & Honors Noble Knight Nurse Award, Practice Category, UCF College of Nursing, 2020 Selected Professional Activities Sigma Honor Society of Nursing American Association of Critical Care Nurses

Jayne Willis joined the UCF College of Nursing faculty in Fall 2022 after four decades of service at Orlando Health, most recently serving as vice president and chief nurse executive. In that role, she provided leadership to more than 6,000 nurses and was responsible for the implementation of the system’s nursing strategic plan. Under her […]

Heather Peralta, who has been at the UCF College of Nursing for nearly a decade, is the Apopka Community Nursing Coalition coordinator and teaches undergraduate nursing students. Peralta is dedicated to mentoring future nurses and serving the community. She has participated in several study abroad trips with nursing students to Peru and spearheaded the creation […]

Instructor Sotos Djiovanis worked as a trauma, elective orthopedics and acute care nurse at Orlando Health for eight years, where he served as a clinical preceptor and education resource nurse, and led unit practice councils. He is currently a doctoral candidate in nursing education at Columbia University’s Teachers College, where he is researching community health, […]

An experienced nurse educator at the undergraduate and graduate levels, Melissa “Missy” Radecki also has significant adult critical care experience. She is a National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) item writer and an expert on NCLEX preparation and the Next Generation NCLEX. Radecki’s dissertation research focused on inclusive learning for students with disabilities, and she is […]

Associate Professor Vivian Schutz is the author of five books, nearly two dozen book chapters and more than 50 journal articles, primarily focusing on healthcare costs, healthcare economics evaluation and patient safety. In addition to her degrees in nursing, Schutz holds two MBAs — one in strategic management service and another in total quality management. Her […]

Mona Shattell is the chair of the Department of Nursing Systems, the Hugh F. and Jeannette G. McKean Endowed Chair, and a professor in the UCF College of Nursing. An internationally recognized mental health and psychiatric nursing expert, Shattell is the editor of the Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, and the author […]

Carmen Giurgescu, the Chatlos Foundation Endowed Chair and associate dean of research, is a pioneer and leader in eliminating racial disparities in preterm birth among Black women. She has strategically developed a focused program of nationally recognized research to identify fundamental factors that underlie high rates of preterm birth among Black women. Her pioneering research, […]

A Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and Pediatric Mental Health Specialist, Valerie C. Martinez is passionate about pediatric healthcare. She leverages her extensive nursing experience working with neonates and children with chronic medical conditions in her research, which seeks to address mental health disparities among children and families, as well as improve health outcomes for children […]