Geri L. Dickson, Ph.D., R.N.
Executive Director
gdickson@rutgers.edu

Geri L. Dickson, PhD, RN is the founder and Executive Director of the New Jersey Collaborating Center for Nursing, in the College of Nursing, Rutgers University. The mission of the Center is to serve "as a future-oriented research and development organization," with a focus on developing databased studies to keep a pulse on the major issues confronting the discipline of nursing. The Center serves as a catalyst for change in New Jersey and makes evidence-based recommendations to the state government in regard of nursing.

Drs. Linda Flynn and Dickson have a book in press, Nursing Policy Research: Turning Evidence-Based Research into Health Policy. While authoring parts of the book, the co-editors also included five sections relating to the title with select papers from a conference the NJCCN hosted in 2006. Each section begins with an introduction of the topic and concludes with the lesson learned in that section. The book is designed to be used in graduate policy courses and is published by Springer Publishing Company.

As a Wisconsin native, Dr. Dickson received a BSN from Alverno College, a MSN from Marquette University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin.  Dr. Dickson began her nursing career in psychiatric nursing, has taught nursing for 20 years, and engages in research, particularly as it relates to workforce issues and qualitative methods. In addition, she has been actively involved in guiding the development of the first university-based nursing program in post-Communist Romania.

Linda Flynn, Ph.D., R.N., BC
Associate Director of Research
lflynn@rutgers.edu

Linda Flynn is the Research Director for the Center and an Associate Professor at the School of Nursing, University of Maryland. Dr. Flynn leads the Center's research team in conducting research and disseminating the results through scholarly publications.

She received a Bachelors Degree from the University of Maryland, College of Nursing, a Master’s Degree in nursing , and a Doctor of Philosophy Degree from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Dr. Flynn recently completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing with Dr. Linda Aiken.

Dr. Flynn comes to the Center with diverse professional experiences in nursing research, education, practice and administration. Prior to joining the Center, she was Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Essex Valley Visiting Nurse Association, Assistant Professor in the College of Nursing both at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey and Seton Hall University.

Her publications have focused on nursing workforce issues, home health care, and health promotion and can be found in journals such as Nursing Research and the Journal of Nursing Scholarship. Her research interests focus on nursing workforce issues that span the practice continuum, with a specific interest in extending the American Nurses Credentialing Center Magnet concept to home health care. Dr. Flynn is an active member of Sigma Theta Tau, International and has served as chapter president of Alpha Tau..

Allison Creary
Administrative Assistant
acreary@rutgers.edu

Allison Creary has joined the Center staff as an Administrative Assistant. In this position, Ms. Creary plays a major role in assuring a well organized and smoothly running office. She graduated from the Rets Institute with a Diploma in Business Operations and is currently pursuing an Associate Degree in Accounting at Essex County College.

Ms. Creary has been with the Division of Consumer Affairs for the past four years, most recently in the Office of Consumer Protection, E-Commerce Investigative Unit. In that position, her primary responsibility was to assist the investigators with the enforcement of the Consumer Fraud Act and its regulations.

The United States became her home in 1998 when Ms. Creary migrated from her original home in the sunny Island of Jamaica. In 2004, Allison became a United State citizen.  Additionally, in 2004 she was admitted to Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, as a transfer student from Essex County College.