This endowed program—created from a $2 million gift to Penn Nursing by University of Pennsylvania President Emerita Amy Gutmann and her husband Michael Doyle—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 purpose of the program is to equip talented Penn Nursing students with leadership tools and tactics to complement their Penn Nursing education. Scholars will develop personal and professional leadership skills and plans through a range of activities, including self-learning, cohort building, and purposeful school, University, and community engagement.

“With the full force of Penn behind the Amy Gutmann Leadership Scholars program, students participating in this extraordinary program are preparing to lead as both practitioners and visionaries,” said Penn Nursing Dean Antonia M. Villaruel. “I remain grateful to Amy Gutmann, Michael Doyle, and everyone who brought this program to life—it is truly serving great nursing minds and everyone in our communities with creativity, with urgency, and with compassion.”

The 2025 Amy Gutmann Leadership Scholars and their areas of study and hometowns are:

• Rachel Adap, Nurse Anesthesia, DNP (Cherry Hill, NJ)
• August Biggio, MPN (Brooklyn, NY)
• Monica Eng, MSN—Adult-Gerontology Primary Care NP (Los Gatos, CA)
• Carlos Kassam-Clay, MPN (Los Angeles, CA)
• Mara Kettle, Nurse Anesthesia, DNP (Philadelphia, PA)
• Brandon Lara, BSN (Miami, FL)
• Christine Oliva, MSN—Adult-Gerontology Acute Care NP (New York, NY)
• Margaret Orrell, MSN—Adult-Gerontology Acute Care NP (Minneapolis, MN)
• Vathana Oukan, MSN—Adult-Gerontology Acute Care NP (Annville, PA)
• Nikita Patel, MSN—Family NP (Philadelphia, PA)
• Bryn Rolon, MPN, (Branchburg, NJ)
• Mirella Torresan, MPN (Brooklyn, NY)

Penn Nursing has a long-standing reputation as a leader in research, education, and practice. With Penn Nursing alumni living in more than 50 countries around the world, the newly minted Amy Gutmann Leadership Scholars join a vast network with an ever-growing legacy of global impact.