Emory School of Nursing honors alumni association award winners

Emory School of Nursing announces 2025 Nurses’ Alumni Association Award recipients

March 6, 2025

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Melanie Kieve

Senior Director of Communications and Marketing

The Emory University Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing has named the recipients of its 2025 Nurses’ Alumni Association Awards, honoring outstanding alumni and friends for their contributions to nursing, health care, and the Emory community. These awards celebrate excellence across a range of fields, from education and leadership to clinical care and mentorship.

The following honorees were recognized at the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing Award Celebration on February 28 at The Carter Center in Atlanta:

Distinguished Nursing Achievement Award: Maeve A. Howett 82C 85BSN 97MSN 06PhD
Maeve Howett, PhD, APRN, CPNP-PC, CNE, FAAN, a leader in nursing education and pediatric care, is recognized for her transformative work, most recently as associate dean for strategic initiatives at the University at Buffalo-SUNY School of Nursing. A prolific researcher and curriculum innovator, Howett’s deep ties to Emory are reflected in her family’s legacy of 14 degrees from the University.

Excellence in Nursing Award: Darrell A. Owens 90BSN
Darrell Owens, DNP, FAAN, CT, is the associate medical director for palliative care and clinical associate professor of medicine and nursing at the University of Washington Medical Center and has over 30 years of expertise in palliative care. His achievements include building pioneering care programs and earning prestigious honors, including induction into the American Academy of Nursing.

Award of Honor: Cheryl Lee Seavey Murphy 77BSN
Cheryl Murphy is recognized for decades-long dedication to Emory, including participation on the Capital Campaign Committee, Adopt-A-Scholar Program, Annual Giving Board, Board of Visitors, Parent Council, and Wise Heart Society. An operating nurse at Emory from 1977 to 1985, Murphy also served as a mentor to students and a member and president of the School of Nursing Alumni Board.

Recent Graduate Award: Everett Gerald Moss II 23DNP
Everett Moss, DNP, APRN, CRNA, NRP, a certified registered nurse anesthetist at the Spartanburg (S.C.) Regional Healthcare System, began his career as an EMT and has also served as a paramedic, flight paramedic, and flight nurse. A dedicated mentor, he is an instructor in the school's CRNA program and a participant in the Diversity in Nurse Anesthesia Mentorship Program and school’s Fellows in Nursing Development Program.

Distinguished Nursing Achievement Award: Sharon H. Pappas
As chief nurse executive for Emory Healthcare, Sharon Pappas, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, has been instrumental in advancing nursing practice and achieving Magnet® designations from the American Nurses Credentialing Center across several Emory Healthcare hospitals. Her leadership in patient safety and health care efficiency has earned her national acclaim, including a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Organization for Nursing Leadership.

Honorary Alumni Award: Ellen Agnor Bailey 63C 87MBA
Ellen Bailey, an emeritus member of the Emory Board of Trustees and Emory Healthcare Board of Directors, is celebrated for her decades of leadership across industries – real estate, restaurants, publishing, and health care – and her unwavering support for the School of Nursing. She is part of a family spanning four generations of Emory women graduates, including her mother, Elizabeth Wood Agnor, a Emory nursing alumna and the namesake of the school's high-fidelity simulation labor and delivery room.

Emory Healthcare Alumni 30-Year Service Awards
This year's awards also honor alumni Melanie Dodd Wright 92Ox 94BSN and Ann Sencer 80C 84BSN 98MSN for over three decades of dedicated service to Emory Healthcare. Wright is Registry NP/PA Level III, and Sencer is a Unit Charge RN III, Critical Care.

“The remarkable accomplishments of this year’s awardees truly highlight the profound and far-reaching impact that Emory nursing alumni and friends continue to have,” said Dean Linda A. McCauley, PhD, RN, FAAN, FRCN. “Their dedication to excellence and tireless commitment to service are nothing short of inspirational, reminding us of the powerful difference nurses and nursing supporters make in communities worldwide.”

About the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing 
As one of the nation’s top nursing schools, the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University is committed to educating visionary nurse leaders and scholars. Home to the No. 1 master’s, No. 1 BSN, and No. 6 DNP programs nationwide, the school offers undergraduate, master’s, doctoral, and non-degree programs, bringing together cutting-edge resources, distinguished faculty, top clinical experiences, and access to leading health care partners to shape the future of nursing and impact the world’s health and well-being. Learn more at nursing.emory.edu.

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