Catherine Giasson DNP, MHA, RN NE-BC, CPHQ was selected as the Associate Nurse Executive at VA Central Western Massachusetts on May 13, 2019. She began her career at the VA Boston Healthcare System where she has worked for the past 31 years before transferring to VA Central Western Ma. During this time, Dr. Giasson has experience working in long term care, sub-acute medicine, long term and acute Mental Health. She has held leadership roles as a Nurse Manager for Mental Health and as the Service Chief for Employee Education. Ms. Giasson has served as Nursing Clinical instructor for Simmons School of Nursing and the MGH Institute of Health Professions.

Dr. Giasson holds a Doctor of Nursing Practice from Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions, Dual Masters of Science in Nursing and Health Administration from the University of Phoenix, and a Bachelor of Science from University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth. She is board certified as a Nurse Executive by the American Nurses Credentialing Center.

Her professional affiliations include: Member of American Organization of Nurse Executives; Member of American Nurse Association; Member of Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI) Honor Society of Nursing. Dr. Giasson serves on the Board of Directors for Nurses Organization of Veterans Affairs as Membership Secretary.

TJ Wilcox-Olson, MHS, RN, CPHQ, has been a NOVA member since 2010 and previously sat on the Board of Directors since 2012.

She is a Patient Safety Manager for VISN 20 Northwest Network, supporting facilities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her nursing career as a pediatric nurse with a goal throughout nursing school to work at the VA. She was offered and accepted a position at VA Black Hills in January 2008 and began her VA nursing career in mental health on an acute care inpatient unit.

In 2011, TJ became the Patient Safety Manager there and held that position until March 2018 when she transferred to VA Portland Health Care System for the same position. She moved to the VISN office in early 2023. She appreciates being able to work with her peers from across the country to improve quality care for our Veterans wherever they choose to be seen. TJ believes NOVA is a vital part of building a large supportive, understanding, resourceful network of nurses who are skilled to care for the Veteran population. TJ serves on several of NOVA’s committees: Bylaws and Policy Committee, Nominations Committee, Annual Conference Planning Committee, Membership Committee, Marketing Committee, Social Media Committee, History Committee, and Legislative Committee.  

Michelle Salazar-Rodriguez, MSN RN, has been a VA nurse since August of 2012 and a NOVA Member since 2015. She started her journey with VA BHHCS at Fort Meade and Hot Springs SD and continues her VA journey with this health care system. Michelle started at the VA as an Emergency Department nurse and moved to Non VA Care/Care in the Community. During her 7 years in that department, Michelle was very instrumental in being an advocate for the care the Veterans were receiving in the community and was able to bring forth the disservices by the gaps in the Mission Act. She was able to give emotional testimony to the attending members on the 2016 Legislative Round Table which afforded her to be chosen as NOVA’s Professional Nurse Award for Clinical Excellence in 2016, assisted in changing legislation for care received, and continues to advocate for them. Michelle volunteered for a detail to the Bed Manager/Patient Flow Coordinator during the beginning of the COVID surge and has built a program from the bottom up. She has been able to sustain the process and her education she created is used national by other Bed Managers. She was a second-place winner for VISN 23 Network Star awards in 2021 for a process improvement in the transfer of acute Veterans back to VA BHHCS called “Bringing Veterans Home.” She is past sitting board member for NOVA, Legislative Committee Chair, Social Media Chair, past President of South Dakota Nursing Association (SDNA) and named Rookie of the Year in 2019 for SDNA for her contributions as a new SDNA member.
Michelle continues to work on process improvements for VA BHHCS and has received a Yellow Belt Lean certification and is working on her Green Belt. Working to improve care for the Veterans is her passion and she has not stopped using her voice to advocate since she started in 2016.

Ms. Presley is a certified Clinical Nurse leader who currently works as the Associate Chief Nurse of Acute Care and Intensive Care at the Veterans Administration (VA) Boston Healthcare System. She is responsible for the oversight of nursing services overall operations within the acute care and critical care settings.

Ms. Presley started her VA nursing career 33 years ago as an LPN at VA Boston Healthcare system. In 1992 she received her Associates Degree in Nursing from Quincy College. She returned for her Bachelor’s degree in Nursing from Curry College in 2008, A Master’s Degree in Nursing with a Clinical Nurse Leader Certification in 2012. She is currently enrolled in Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professionals Doctoral of Nursing Practice program.

Ms. Presley has worked in a variety of settings within the VA Boston Healthcare system including the Associate Chief of outpatient and specialty clinics, nurse manager for cardiac intensive care unit, medical surgical telemetry and surgical step-down units.

 

Ms. Presley holds certification in Adult Critical Care. Ms. Presley has served on the local NOVA board chapter 226 as the immediate past president. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau International, and the Clinical Nurse Leader Association. Ms. Presley has completed the VA Management Leadership Development Program as well as the Advanced Leadership Academy. She is a certified mentor and serves on the board of directors for Massasoit Community College.

Ms. Saindon is a transformative leader with experience in executive leadership and management that encompass broad roles in a wide variety of settings across the healthcare continuum. Ms. Saindon is the Associate Director for Patient Care Services at the White River Junction Medical Center in Vermont. She is the nursing executive and is a key member of the senior executive leadership team of the organization, involved in strategic planning, organizational assessment, and program development. Responsible for establishing standards of nursing practice and ensuring the continuous and timely availability of quality nursing services. Her previous assignment was as the Geriatrics and Extended Care Service Line Manager at VA Bedford Healthcare System, with oversight over one of the largest Community Living Centers in the nation. Ms. Saindon acted as the VISN1 Geriatric and Extended Care Director from 3/20-3/21. In this role providing oversight of the GEC programs throughout New England. Ms. Saindon was the Deputy Nurse Executive of Patient Care Services from 2019-2021. As the Deputy Nurse Executive, Kelley provided leadership and strategic direction for the Community Living Centers (CLC) and Mental Health nursing inpatient services at the Medical Center. Before this appointment, she served as the Associate Chief Nurse of Patient Care Services from 2017-2019.

Kelley Saindon joined the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in 2001 as a GS-3 Nursing Assistant at the Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial VA Hospital. She has worked in various capacities throughout the Medical Center including Nurse Manager of the Inpatient Hospice Unit from 2015-2017. She serves as a coach and mentor for colleagues and Nurse Managers. She promotes ongoing development and higher education. Striving for optimal patient care outcomes, she improves the quality of care delivery by implementing evidence-based practices.

Ms. Saindon received her undergraduate BSN from Rivier College, in New Hampshire and her MSN from the University of Phoenix, in Arizona. Ms. Saindon is board-certified in Hospice and Palliative Care. She continues to develop and enhance learning opportunities for staff to excel in end-of-life care at the Medical Center. Ms. Saindon received her Doctorate of Nursing in 2020 from the University of Massachusetts Lowell. She is an ethical leader serving as the Medical Center Co-Chair of Integrated Ethics. Ms. Saindon is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives, American Organization for Nursing Leadership, Hospice and Palliative Care Association, American Nurses Association, and Sigma Theta Tau International. As a trailblazer in employee engagement, Ms. Saindon is the leader of the local Nurses Organization of Veteran Affairs (NOVA) chapter at the Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Hospital. Ms. Saindon serves on the national NOVA board of directors and is the national NOVA Legislative Committee Co-Chairperson. Ms. Saindon is profoundly invested in cultural transformation, leading facility-wide initiatives to advance the current Bedford VA journey to high

Tiffany Keller-Hale RN, BBA, DNP, has served Veterans here at the Dayton VA for thirteen years; improving the veterans' care is vital to her. She has a Bachelor's in business administration and a Doctorate in health care system leadership. Early in her nursing career, she looked for a VA job to help others like her dad, who was a Veteran; every Veteran needs an advocate. She strives to improve Veterans' care through system design and EBP care. She lives in Sidney, OH, with her husband and two children

Rockne Jacque MSN, RN Director began her VA nursing career at the VA Central Western Massachusetts in 2014. From the start, she has served the veteran population as a Registered Nurse on a PTSD Specialized Inpatient unit. In this role, Rockne has provided care to those veterans who have been diagnosed with combat PTSD and recently she worked with the interdisciplinary team to develop a residential program for all veterans with PTSD. In August 2023 Rockne was selected as the Assistant Nurse Manager on the PTSD unit.

Rockne received an Associate Degree in Nursing from Springfield Technical Community College in May of 2013. Rockne was eager to continue her education and received her bachelor’s in nursing from Notre Dame College in Ohio in May of 2015. In August 2019, Rockne took an interest in a new program offered at the University of Colorado Denver and received her Master of Science in Nursing with a focus on Veterans and Military Healthcare in August of 2021.

Rockne utilized her MSN internship to develop a Complimentary Therapy Program for PTSD treatment which is now utilized in both inpatient and outpatient settings.

Rockne had the honor of being selected as the Employee of the Month in April 2022 and was again honored to be selected in May 2022 for the Secretaries Nursing Excellence Award at VA Central Western Massachusetts.

Rockne has been an active Member of NOVA since 2021. She was elected in 2023 and currently serves as a Director for NOVA Chapter 232.

Rockne was appointed to the NOVA Board of Directors in 2024. She currently serves as the co-chair of the Finance Committee and attends various other Committee meetings. Rockne shows dedication to NOVA's Vision and Mission and is an active participant in advocating for VA NURSES and Veterans Quality of Care.

Michella Savoy-Carter MSN, CDCES, RN-BC During her 28-year career, Ms. Michella Savoy-Carter has worked as a registered nurse (RN) in emergency room medicine, intensive care, outpatient surgery, ambulatory care, long-term care nurse/supervisor, home health care, and assisted living.

Ms. Savoy-Carter is currently a Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) Coordinator, RN, at the Veterans Health Care Administration in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), where she has been delivering patient-centered care for veterans based on the best evidence for the past nine years. During her time at the Veterans Health Administration, Ms. Savoy-Carter designed and created three projects whereby many groups of veterans with PTSD could reduce their symptoms by focusing on creativity through mindfulness, art, dance, and music.

Ms. Savoy-Carter is a certified diabetes care and education specialist, a certified delegating nurse, and holds a certification in ambulatory care.

Ms. Savoy-Carter graduated 2008 with honors from the Notre Dame of Maryland University with a Bachelor of Science in nursing. Ms. Savoy-Carter will also earn a Master of Science in Nursing Leadership from the Notre Dame of Maryland University May 2023.

John Templeton Jr MSN has been caring for veterans at the VA Central Western Massachusetts for 23 years. John began his career at the VA as a staff nurse on the Acute Psychiatric Unit. He then advanced in his career to become the clinical coordinator, and then again advanced to a Unit Nurse manager overseeing a team of registered nurses and nursing assistants. John has served as the Ward 9 PTSD RRTP Nurse Manager for over 7 years.

In the year 2000 John graduated with his BSN from the University of UMass Amherst. Caring for veterans and career advancement led John to pursue his education to MSN from the University of Colorado Denver in 2019. John graduated from this program in 2021 with the degree of MSN in Veterans and Military Healthcare.

John Templeton has been a member of NOVA for many years. Over the past 2 to 3 years John has become an active participant in NOVA. John attended The Las Vegas Annual Conference in 2023 and NOVA Hill Day in 2022 and 2023.John enjoys and is active in advocating, managing and caring for the VA Nurses that care for our nation’s veterans.

 

Melinda (Mindy) Conville MSN, RN, NEA-BC, CNML has been a VA employee since 2017, first starting with VA Bedford and transitioning to nurse manager of the Lowell / Bedford outpatient clinics in 2019 for VA Boston, later being promoted to her current role as Associate Chief Nurse of Outpatient and Specialty Clinics in 2021. Melinda’s nursing background prior to her management and leadership roles consists of 10 plus years in a variety of settings: inpatient telemetry; urgent care; specialty clinics; home care and clinical educator at LMH / Regis College School of Nursing. She received her BSN from Southern New Hampshire University and her MSN from Western Governors University with active certifications from AONL as Certified Nurse Manager and Leader and most recently ANCC as Nurse Executive, Advanced.

In her time as manager and now ACNS, she has been involved in multiple process improvement initiatives, project management roles, COVID operations, and strategic planning initiatives. Mindy exhibits both transformational and servant leadership, supporting shared decision making, deference to expertise from frontline subject matter experts, and an HRO culture of safety. Mindy is a co-chair of the Nursing Professional Development Council and a contributing member of the various other nursing and facility-wide councils, committees and workgroups.

Ms. Conville has been a NOVA member since her time at Bedford VA and has been on the NOVA local chapter 226 board for approximately 4 years in various roles as director, secretary and currently is in the President-elect position and a contributing member of the National NOVA legislative committee. She is active in promoting the benefits and rewards of NOVA membership and is involved in the planning of local events to highlight these benefits to existing members as well as recruit new membership. Melinda has attended the annual NOVA meeting in New Orleans, Las Vegas and Virginia Beach as well as several NOVA Hill days over the last few years. Melinda is highly committed to the success of both VA Boston and NOVA nurses at all levels of practice and roles, the success of VA Boston’s Nursing leadership team and organization, and she understands the critical role that VA Nurses play in continuing to improve the safety and quality of care for our nations’ Veterans.