Kathleen A. Hassey, DNP, MEd, BSN, BA, RN, FNASN

Director, Northeastern University School Health Academy (NEUSHA)

Kathy has devoted the last 24 of her 43 years as a Registered Nurse to the specialty of School Health, in roles that included direct care, administration, education and program development. As an experienced and engaging speaker, Kathy brings energy and enthusiasm to continuing education for school nurses and others seeking to support student health, safety and achievement. Connected to school health practitioners and administrators nationally and in her home state of Massachusetts, Kathy is known for her collaboration with a variety of stakeholders and her encouragement of nurses seeking professional growth opportunities. Kathy has been actively engaged with her state and national professional organizations (Massachusetts School Nurse Organization (MSNO) since 2005, serving as President of MSNO from 2007-2009 and serving on the of the National Association of Schools Nurses (NASN) as the Massachusetts Board of Directors representative 2014-2016.

From 2005-2015, Kathy was Director of the NEU School Health Institute, which was partially funded by a grant from the MA Department of Public Health (DPH). In this role Kathy established a strong track record of quality, engaging continuing education for nurses and their colleagues in the school setting. She provided the educational vehicle for school professionals to drive health and safety initiatives in their schools to support student success. Kathy continues to teach in hybrid classroom and online programs for school nurses at Cambridge College in Boston, MA, and Canisius College in Buffalo, NY. With NEUSHA Director Gormley, Kathy authored Violence in Schools/Restraints of Students in the 2017 Legal Resource for School Health Services text.   In May 2018, Kathy received her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) at Northeastern University demonstrating her commitment to life-long learning with her scholarly project titled Assessing the knowledge and interest of Massachusetts school nurses regarding the use of telehealth.  In July 2019, NEUSHA Directors Kathy Hassey and Jenny Gormley along with their colleague Brenda Lormil, founder of the Haitian American Medical Association, presented at the International School Nurse Conference in Stockholm, Sweden. Kathy was presented with the NASN School Nurse Educator of the Year award in 2023.

Kathy Hassey’s CV here.

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Jenny M. Gormley, DNP, MSN, BA, RN, NCSN, FNASN

Director, Northeastern University School Health Academy (NEUSHA)

Jenny has worked in the School Health specialty since 2000, providing direct care as a per diem and elementary school nurse in two Massachusetts (MA) School districts, and as Director of Health, Nursing, and Safety at a pre-K-12 school in a third school district, managing the staff of school nurses and physical and health education teachers.  Previously, Jenny worked as a registered nurse from 1987-2000 with adults with chronic diseases.  Taking an “upstream” approach, Jenny shifted her focus to prevention and management of health conditions in children and adolescents in schools.  In 2015, Jenny joined Kathy Hassey at the Northeastern University to provide quality continuing education for school professionals.

Although MA has been Jenny’s home since 1995, she grew up in the Midwest, and has lived on both U.S. coasts and internationally. Jenny believes in planning, implementing and evaluating educational programming using backward design and interactive instructional strategies that support participants’ application of learning.  Since 2015 Jenny has taught in the Master of Education program for school nurses at Cambridge College, Boston, MA, in the summer Leadership course and now as faculty for the Legal & Ethics course.  She has served on the Massachusetts School Nurse Organization Board of Directors as President, 2018-2020, and previously as Regional Co-Chair and Data Co-Champion for the Step Up and Be Counted project, a joint initiative of the National Associations of School Nurses (NASN) and State School Nurse Consultants (NASSNC). Jenny is a nationally certified school nurse.  She received her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) at Northeastern University in May 2018, publishing her doctoral scholarly project, School Nurse Advocacy for Student Health, Safety, and School Attendance: Impact of an Educational Activity in 2019.  This same year, with NEUSHA Director Kathy Hassey, Jenny authored The School Nurses’ Role as Health Educator in the 2019 School Nursing: A Comprehensive Text.

Jenny Gormley’s CV here.

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