Created with a $2 million gift to Penn Nursing by University of Pennsylvania President Emerita Amy Gutmann and her husband Michael Doyle, the Amy Gutmann Leadership Scholars program provides financial aid for exemplary undergraduate and graduate nursing students, supplementing their education with tailored learning to help shape nurse leaders who deliver exceptional evidence-based care, design research, inform policy, spark innovation, and advocate for social justice world-wide. The program will equip talented Penn Nursing students with leadership tools and tactics to complement their education. Scholars will develop personal and professional leadership skills and plans through a range of activities, including self-learning, cohort building, and purposeful engagement. 

The 2023 Amy Gutmann Leadership Scholars are: 

• Adenike Awotundun, MSN/Psychiatric Mental Health (Ogbomoso, Nigeria) 
• Alana Backstrom, MSN/Family NP (Philadelphia, PA) 
• Sabrina Deutsch, ABSN (Cherry Hill, NJ) 
• Meshara Galland, DNP Anesthesia (Puyallup, WA) 
• Jill Hannon, DNP Anesthesia (Jenkintown, PA) 
• Nicole Jakobowski, Adult Gerontology Primary Care NP (Philadelphia, PA) 
• Nelissah Carley Joseph, ABSN (North Easton, MA) 
• Lindsay Krott, MSN/Adult Gerontology Acute Care NP (Woolwich Township, NJ) 
• Brady Middlesworth, ABSN (Linwood, NJ)  
• Jennifer Smith, MSN/Family NP (Mountain Lakes, NJ)

“Penn Nursing is pleased to welcome our next cohort of Amy Gutmann Leadership Scholars—extraordinary students who are ready to lead improvements in health and health care,” said Penn Nursing dean Antonia Villarruel. “We remain grateful to Amy Gutmann and Michael Doyle for investing in the development of leaders in nursing.” 

The newly minted Amy Gutmann Leadership Scholars join a vast network with an ever-growing legacy of global impact.