I am submitting this nomination for this nurse to be considered for the DAISY Nurse Leader Award at St. Jude. She has exemplified excellence in so many ways during this past year. She started out the year as the manager of just one floor, but has now been a part of three different floors/teams in Inpatient. She served as the Interim Manager on Kay 4 from September 2024 to March 2025. During her time with that team, she provided consistent leadership, set clear expectations, and helped to develop them into a successful, united group. She rallied around the Kay 4 CSLs, bringing them alongside the Kay 3 CSL team as she modeled effective communication and problem-solving strategies. She made herself available to both units equitably, and neither team felt abandoned or isolated during this temporary change. Her calm demeanor, consistent approach in all things, and commitment to achieving excellence fostered success for both units. Once a new manager was selected for Kay 4, this leader continued her commitment to that team by orienting the new manager. She shared the processes and plans she had implemented in the interim to ensure continuity and consistency as a new manager transitioned into place. She became a mentor and welcomed a new member to the manager team with open arms. She poured out the knowledge she had gained from her own experiences and delighted in how the sharing of knowledge helped a new colleague begin their journey as a manager.

She has now been placed with a different team on BMT. Once again, her steadfast leadership style is helping her to support a team through difficult changes. She is showing up in a consistent way to meet the needs of the nurses, CSLs, and PCAs on BMT as they lost a beloved leader and were asked to make changes on their unit to support the institution's strategic plan for a tenuous fiscal year.

Some may say that these attributes are the expected actions of a leader, and in all honesty, they are. However, each leader chooses how they show up, and she has always shown up with dignity and grace. She is fearless and rises to any challenge set before her. She is consistent and does not buckle under pressure. She is resilient and navigates change as it comes without bitterness or victimization. She stands strong in the storm and models that strength to those around her. As I think about the way DAISY nurses are cited as "just doing their jobs," I can't help but think that this leader views herself in much the same way. I would be remiss if I did not lift up how well she "just does her job." I am proud of her leadership acumen and her ability to rise above all things and conquer the horizon!