Cynthia Davis Sculco Scholarship
For Nurses in Doctoral Programs Studying Nursing Education
Initiated in 2012 with a $50,000 donation, this permanent scholarship is awarded to nurses in doctoral programs studying nursing education. Cynthia Sculco, EdD, RN, is a dedicated NEF Board member who has served in many leadership capacities within NEF, including President, Vice-President, Chair of the Development Committee, and Co-Chair of the Criteria and Eligibility Committee. She has been involved in nursing education for more than 25 years, focused on graduate education and the advanced practice role of nursing.
Featured Cynthia Davis Sculco Scholarship Recipients
Doctoral nursing students who received this scholarship have conducted research on social determinants of health, reproductive health disparities, and congenital adrenal hyperplasia, among other important topics, as they prepare for a career in nursing education. The accomplishments of these featured scholars highlight the nursing leadership that NEF scholarships support:
Jennifer Gil, MHCI, MSN, RN
- Was a University of Pennsylvania Presidential PhD Fellow at the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research, a Fontaine Society Fellow, and an Associate Fellow at the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics
- Has over a decade of clinical experience as a registered nurse in emergency, trauma, and critical care settings
- Examined how social determinants of health influence healthcare utilization after hospitalization among Medicaid and dually insured populations
- Served on the boards of the American Nurses Association, National Association of Hispanic Nurses, Nurses Service Organization, and Student Nurses Association of Pennsylvania
Jasmine Perkins, MSN, RN, CMSRN
- Began her nursing career at an acute care community hospital in Houston, Texas, where she applied her knowledge and clinical expertise to support patients from marginalized communities and sought to improve patient health outcomes and working conditions within the cardiac telemetry unit
- Learned how to support user experiences through clinical workflows to optimize nursing charting systems
- Became a nurse preceptor to support new graduate nurses and nursing students' transition to practice
- Focused her research on preparing prelicensure students for practice, highlighting the nurse's role in addressing social determinants of health
Jessica Zemlak, RN, MSN, FNP-BC, PMHNP-BC
- Worked as a Family Nurse Practitioner in underserved communities in Milwaukee, WI, identifying unmet needs for psychiatric services among vulnerable communities
- Practiced as a Nurse Practitioner domestically in various settings and internationally as a Foreign Service Medical Provider to the U.S. Embassy Abuja, Nigeria
- Served as Graduate Nursing Student Academy Liaison at the American Association of Colleges of Nursing and Advocacy Leader at Johns Hopkins School of Nursing
- Conducted research examining reproductive health disparities facing marginalized women
Louise Fleming, PhD, MSN-Ed, RN, FAAN
- Focused her dissertation research on further understanding the challenges and needs of families with children with congenital adrenal hyperplasia
- Was a UNC Chapel Hill Clinical Assistant Professor, and then an Associate Dean at its School of Nursing
- Now serves as Associate Dean for Academic Operations and Professor at the University of Virginia School of Nursing