People Group Archives: Community Health

Dr. Rebecca Koszalinski applies technological solutions to improve the health of older adults. She is the primary investigator for a Florida Department of Health funded study with a large team of investigators, including epidemiology, water, air and environmental scientists, bench and nurse scientists, and nursing students in the investigation of health outcomes of harmful algal […]

During a clinical career spanning more than 20 years, Patti Thielemann served in a variety of settings including hospitals, out-patient programs, home health care and hospice, most recently as Director of Research at a Tampa-based hospice provider. In 2004, she transitioned to nursing education, teaching full-time for nearly 19 years at St. Petersburg College before […]

As a critical care- and case management-trained registered nurse, military veteran and dependent, and food pantry volunteer, Dr. Crook had the opportunity to work in multiple states in the U.S., where she identified not only the existence of widespread food and nutritional insecurity but a connection between nutrition, chronic inflammation and chronic disease. Her research […]

A registered nurse for more than 30 years and public health leader for more than 20, lecturer Fayshonda Cooks created the CommUNITY CollaborACTION Initiative, which emphasizes collaborative unity and action to improve health outcomes. Cooks is a known collaboration champion with belief in the strength and limitless potential of optimizing the assets of all to […]

Sandra Kirkland, who joined UCF in 2022 as a lecturer, served for 15 years in Veterans Affairs Medical Centers, most recently as nurse executive for the VA Medical Center in Alexandria, Louisiana. Prior to that, she served at VA medical centers in Memphis and Orlando, where she was a family nurse practitioner and chief nurse […]

Ayse Malatyali is a Jonas Scholar with a priority research area of cognitive aging. She focuses her research primarily on biological, behavioral and social risk factors of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) and falls among underserved older adults. Her additional areas of research include healthcare utilization, palliative care and advanced care planning for individuals […]

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, […]

Dr. Jean Davis’ passion for community health promotion grew from listening to her aunt and her mother, both nurses, discuss and solve community health challenges when she was a child. Today the Fellow of the National Academies of Practice, Jonas Veterans Healthcare Scholar, and associate professor at the UCF College of Nursing channels her passion […]

Healthy aging; fall prevention in older adults; and aging education.