MEET THE NEW BOARD MEMBERS

The College of Nursing Board of Advisors provides strategic counsel, creates community awareness and helps obtain financial support for the college. UC College of Nursing welcomes two new members with a wealth of leadership experience, Bradley Jackson (BJ) and Susan Opas (SO).

Tell us a little about yourself.

BJ: I’m a Cincinnati native and have been a board-certified pediatrician for more than 30 years. I completed my undergraduate degree at UC as a recipient of the Louise Taft-Semple Classic Scholarship and went on to graduate with a medical degree from Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine in Dayton, Ohio. Afterward, I completed my pediatric internship and residency at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC).

I currently live in Columbus, Ohio, working as the plan performance medical director and chief medical officer of the Anthem Ohio Medicaid Plan. Previously, I worked for eight years as plan performance medical director for the Amerigroup Maryland Plan and for nearly 15 years as co-founder and practicing clinician of Premier Pediatric Group in Mason, Ohio. I have served as a volunteer assistant professor of pediatrics for UC College of Medicine and CCHMC and as president of the CCHMC medical staff.

I have also served in leadership roles locally and nationally, including on the Board of Trustees for the National Medical Association, and as a senior physician for the Village Life Outreach Project and medical director for Crossroads Church on mission trips to Africa and Central America.

SO: I am a proud 1971 UC Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) graduate. After graduation, my husband and I moved to Los Angeles, raised three children and were married for 37 years. I earned a master’s in nursing as a pediatric clinical nurse specialist and a post-master’s certificate as a pediatric nurse practitioner, followed by a PhD in educational psychology from the University of California Santa Barbara. Between 1973 and 2001, I taught all ages and stages of childhood and all levels of inpatient and outpatient care to undergraduate and graduate nursing students. Then, until July 2021, I practiced as a pediatric nurse practitioner with Kaiser Permanente Woodland Hills area’s developmental behavioral program. I was also identified as a leader of Southern California’s developmental-behavioral group and Woodland Hills Advance Practice Providers. In addition to clinical practice, in 2011, I began yearly volunteer international humanitarian missions with ProjectHOPE, for which I remain a disaster response team member.

I’m a reviewer for two journals, along with abstracts and grants for a variety of local nurse research meetings and have been an active committee member in both academic and practice settings. I have co-authored a book, published peer-reviewed journal articles and a recent chapter for an advance practice book. I have also been a guest speaker on developmental-behavioral topics at local, state and national nursing and public health meetings.

My two professional passions are UC College of Nursing and Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. I was inducted as a nurse leader into Sigma in 1982 through UCLA’s Gamma Tau Chapter and have maintained dual membership in UC’s Beta Iota Chapter. Since being inducted into Sigma, I have served in many Gamma Tau board positions, including chapter president, and have chaired committees at the international level. I currently serve as coordinator for Region 2 North America, serving 35 chapters in Southern California, west Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. I am a Virginia Henderson Fellow, Billye Brown Fellow, Sigma Fellow and a Pillar Society member, all earned through philanthropy.

How were you connected to the college before joining the Board of Advisors?

BJ: I have a strong family legacy in the field of nursing. My mother, Naomi Jackson, worked as a registered nurse at University Hospital (currently UC Medical Center) and retired after more than 30 years of service. My cousin, Sheri Lewis, is a proud graduate of UC College of Nursing and is employed with UC Health. Her daughter, Alexandria Lewis, is a promising, incoming nursing student in the UC College of Nursing. My son’s mother and godmother are also UC College of Nursing graduates.

SO: Although I immediately moved to Los Angeles after graduation, I remained connected to my classmates and proud of the education I received at UC. As a high school graduate, I received a $500 scholarship from the Pearl Armstrong, Greater Dayton Alumni Association; thus from the start, I felt the responsibility to give back and have been a donor to the college and university since the 1970s. I established an endowed scholarship for the college and was instrumental in founding the first endowed BSN class scholarship.

I’m a recipient of the college’s Distinguished Alumnus Award and was honored with a UC College of Nursing Alumni Legacy Award for Outstanding Career Achievement. Also, as a UC-prepared RN, I promote the college’s online and in-person nursing programs whenever I have the opportunity!

What motivated you to join the Board of Advisors?

BJ: I felt motivated to continue my family legacy of representing the strength of the nursing profession and to promote excellence in health care education and care management, advocate for increased diversity and inclusion in the College of Nursing and community health care field, and take the opportunity to assist in seeking increased funding for the college.

SO: I retired after 50 years working as an RN and nurse practitioner and this period of transition has allowed me to review my commitments, making decisions of what to keep, change or leave behind. UC College of Nursing has always been my first love and longest connection, which I want to continue. I believe I can contribute with my long-term experience in nursing to provide unique perspectives to the board and the college.

How do you expect to contribute as a board member?

BJ: I am seeking to better leverage my sphere of influence in the managed care community to pursue additional funding and support for nursing students working in underserved communities in Southwestern Ohio.

SO: I have had the opportunity to work closely with the college’s past two deans and three foundation advisors. I’m familiar with members of the UC Foundation and have kept a focus on ideas and opportunities of giving. When I derived the idea of a UC College of Nursing BSN Class of 1971 Scholarship, I developed creative ways to approach my classmates, so I expect to contribute with ideas to further increase marketing and donations to the college. I have extensive experience working in committees, which I feel has improved my creativity and critical thinking.

What do you think are the college’s unique contributions to the community?

BJ: I think the college contributes excellence in nursing education and community outreach, produces quality nursing students who stay local to work and understands the importance of diversity and inclusion at the university and in the community.

SO: For at least four decades, the college has been on the cutting edge of using technology. It earned national awards for its utilization of technology, which gives students an advantage in their first nursing positions. This has also required faculty to be tech-savvy early in their teaching. The ability to use technology in the college and in the medical center has moved technology into the community, which improves health within diverse communities in Cincinnati. Students and faculty volunteer and work in the community — often in collaboration with other colleges within UC and with both volunteer and for-profit companies in the community.

Have you learned anything unique about the college you didn’t previously know?

BJ: I wasn’t aware of the continuous work and national recognitions for its graduate nursing programs.

SO: Although I have a sense of the programs offered by the college and stay informed by reading the college’s magazine and emails, I am sure I have much to learn, such as the college’s research focus, grant funding and other financial resources. I am also interested in the college’s interdisciplinary projects within the university, community and other nursing programs.

Bradley Jackson

Susan Opas