Alumni Board
Those who serve on our Alumni Board give the college the priceless gift of their time and their experience.
The College of Nursing Alumni Board encourages our alumni—numbering more than 13,000—to stay connected by supporting the mission and vision of the college and the priorities of the Office of Advancement. Board activities focus on alumni and student engagement and philanthropy, as well as advocating for and increasing visibility for the college in the nursing profession. All UIC Nursing graduates, as well as current students, are eligible to join.
Dear alumni: An invitation from board leaders
Our current Alumni Board Heading link
OFFICERS
- PRESIDENT: Yolanda A. Coleman, PhD ’12, MS, RN, FACHE, NEA-BC – Chief Nursing Officer, Weiss Memorial Hospital
- VICE PRESIDENT: Sandi Burke, PhD ’04 – Retired UIC Nursing Associate Professor, Retired Director of UIC Nursing-Urbana Campus
- IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT: Janet M. Spunt, MS ’83, BSN ’74, RN – Retired
- TREASURER: Sabina Dambrauskas, MS ’76, BSN ’68, CNM – Retired
- SECRETARY: Coleen Smith, BSN’86 – Director for Nursing Quality & Clinical Compliance, UI Health
MEMBERS AT LARGE
- Amera Al-Ali, BSN ’16, RN – Registered Nurse & Certified Pediatric Nurse, Pulmonary/Infectious Disease Department, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago
- Margaret Beaman, PhD ’87, MSN ’82, BSN ’78, RN – Retired Faculty Member, California State University San Bernardino
- Alyssa Coleman, BSN ’19 – RN, Mercy Hospital St. Louis – Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
- Karen Friedberg, MS ’80, BSN ’75
- Noelle Gancero, BSN ’17 – Registered Nurse, AMITA Health Saints Mary and Elizabeth Medical Center
- Lynn Huber, BSN ’72
- Alina Kraynack, DNP ’17, MS ’15, RN, APHN-BC – Women’s Health Consultant, Minnesota Department of Health
- Pat Lewis, PhD ’93 – Retired Faculty Member, UIC College of Nursing
- Erica Martinez, DNP ’13, MS ’09
- Elizabeth Mendeloff, DNP ’11, MS ’06 – Retired
- Linda L. Olson, PhD ’95, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN – Consultant, Nursing Education and Research & Board Member, ANA Ethics and Human Rights Advisory Board
- Harlene Pearlman, MS ’95, RN, CDE
- Beena Peters, DNP ’07, MS ’94, RN, FACHE, FABC – Chief Nursing Officer, Cook County Health and Hospitals System
- Laurie Quinn, PhD ’96, RN, FAAN, FAHA, CDE – Clinical Professor, UIC College of Nursing
- Joan Borsdorf Ruppman, MS ’83, RN – Retired
Interested in board membership? Heading link
All UIC Nursing graduates, as well as current students, are eligible to join the UIC Nursing Alumni Board.

To learn more, contact: Heading link
Sara Almassian
Associate Director,
Alumni Engagement and Participation
Phone: 312.996.2315
Email: salmas1@uic.edu