Dr. Laura Jean Ridge, PhD, ANP-BC, AAHIVE
Board President
Laura is a nurse practitioner with experience in addiction medicine, primary care, and HIV. She has practiced most recently at NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation, the nation’s largest network of public hospitals, providing primary care to HIV-positive adults. She is Board certified by the American Nurses’ Credentialing Center and is a designated HIV Expert by the American Academy of HIV Medicine. Laura received her BS and MS from Columbia University and her AB from Harvard University, where she majored in Social Studies. She is the recipient of Harvard’s 2006 Ames Award, presented to one female member of the class for dedication to public service.
Laura completed her PhD in Nursing at New York University; her dissertation was on Liberia’s nursing workforce.
Veena Ramaswamy
Board Treasurer
Veena Ramaswamy is Head of Corporate Development at Lemonade, an insurance company powered by a unique combination of artificial intelligence and behavioral economics that is disrupting the centuries-old insurance industry.
Prior to this, she was Head of Strategy and Corporate Development at CommonBond, a financial technology company focused on the consumer lending space. Veena began her career at Morgan Stanley where she spent several years in the investment banking group as well as the company’s corporate strategy and M&A group.
Veena graduated with a BS in Economics from M.I.T. and has an MBA from Harvard Business School. She is a founding member and Treasurer of the board for Nursing for All.
Ben Louie, PMP
Board Secretary
Ben Louie, PMP is a Brooklyn Native born and raised. A proud Project Management Professional (PMP) for over a decade, his career has seen him primarily work in Not-For-Profit and Civil Service.
Mr. Louie’s first contact with the non-profit sector saw him at the AHRC, working with developmentally disabled adults. Mr. Louie then moved on to performing substance abuse research with first the Treatment Research Institute (TRI) and then with the National Development Research Institute (NDRI). With a final not-for-profit stop at START Treatment and Recovery Centers ending decade long employment there with a stint as Chief of Staff.
Following his time in Not-for-Profit, Mr. Louie transitioned to working in government at New York City’s Taxi & Limousine Commission as Program Manager of the Taxi Improvement Fund (TIF) program. The program encouraged and facilitated the adoption and maintenance of Wheelchair Accessible Taxis. The program’s success can be seen in the world’s largest fleet of wheelchair accessible vehicles in the world.
Mr. Louie is now working at New York City’s Office of Management & Budget overseeing the Data & Systems Unit for the City-Wide Grants Taskforce to assist in recouping 1.8 billion dollars in federal funds. Mr. Louie also manages special projects as needed by the agency including data related initiatives.
When not working, Mr. Louie enjoys going to new restaurants with good company or cooking at home in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.
Jennifer Walsh, MS, WHNP, PMHNP
Jennifer Walsh is a dual board-certified Women’s Health and Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner with graduate degrees from Columbia University and University at Buffalo. Before attending nursing school she graduated from Trinity College with a BA in Political Science, focusing on women’s and equity issues worldwide.
Jennifer brings her expertise in women’s health and psychiatry to NFA’s Board and is a member of the programming subcommittee. Jennifer works in private practice in White Plains, NY.
She lives with her husband, two sons, and their energetic Weimaraner.
Love Jones, MS, MPH
Love G.K. Jones was born and raised in Liberia, West Africa. When she was 7 years old, a civil war erupted in her native country and like many Liberians, she experienced the horrors that accompany such warfare. In October 2001, Love emigrated to the United States, joining her mother in New York. Although it was difficult leaving the rest of her family in Liberia, she knew her life would be better.
Love graduated with an Associate’s degree in Nursing from Borough of Manhattan Community College in December, 2004 and got her first job as a nurse at New York Presbyterian Hospital- Columbia University Medical Center in 2005. After working for a year, she went back to school and graduated from Pace University with a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing. She graduated from New York University in May,2019 with a dual Master’s degrees-Adult Gerontology Nurse Practitioner & Global Public Health.
Love has worked as a nurse for over fifteen years. Having had firsthand experience of the atrocities of war, being a patient in Liberia after a near death car accident and losing her stepfather during the Ebola outbreak in Liberia, Love intends to use her knowledge and experience for nursing development, ultimately improving health outcomes for people here in the United States and in low-income countries like Liberia.
Dr. Rita K. Adeniran
Born in Nigeria, Dr. Rita K. Adeniran has a compelling record as a leader and fearless advocate for the vulnerable and culturally disenfranchised! She is the President and CEO of Innovative and Inclusive Global Solutions (IIGS), a consulting firm that supports organizations to leverage their diverse workforce’s total capacity. She is also an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Graduate Nursing, Advanced Role Department of Drexel University College of Nursing and Health Professions.
With an infectious passion for social justice, ethics of inclusion, and the spirit of graciousness, Dr. Adeniran contributes to shaping solutions to the long-standing disparities in health and healthcare. Dr. Adeniran served as the Global Nurse Ambassador of Penn Medicine for over a decade and brought recognition to the institution as a leader in cultural competence education and inclusive practice environments and becoming a global resource center for nurses worldwide.
She completed a three-year prestigious leadership fellowship through the Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellows’ Program, where she collaborated with six nurse leaders across the nation to design and launch a “Civility Tool Kit” (www.stopbullyingtoolkit.org). The toolkit has been accessed in 138 countries across the globe. A framework that she developed from her research is espoused as the model for nursing leadership development by the University of Applied Science in Dresden, Germany.
Dr. Jean Bernhardt, PhD, MSN, MHSA, NEA-BC, CNP
Dr. Bernhardt is a family nurse practitioner and nurse executive at Mass General Brigham, Boston MA. She is currently the Clinical Director for Enterprise Occupational Health Services. Jean received her PhD in Nursing & Health Policy from the University of Massachusetts Boston; her MSN from the University of Virginia; and her BSN from Fitchburg State College.
Dr. Bernhardt has spent her career working in community health centers, primary care, and elder services agencies. She has special interests in global health, humanitarian efforts, and nursing leadership.
Dr. Bernhardt is also Associate Professor at the MGH Institute of Health Professions where she teaches nursing theory and leadership in the DNP program. She seeks to empower nurses worldwide and appreciates that community nursing in Liberia makes a significant difference in people’s health.