Hello, everyone!
I hope that you enjoyed the WOCNext 2023 Conference in Las Vegas! Remember, that virtual options are open now for you to gain knowledge from the sessions you could not attend in person! Is it too early to ask you to make plans now for WOCNext 2024 in Cleveland?
I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce the 24th President of the Society, who took office on June 8, 2023, at the end of the conference. Many of you may already know her, as she has served in lots of roles over several years. Her name is Vittoria Pontieri-Lewis, and some call her "Vicky." However, I started the widely used moniker many years ago: "VPL," and many now know her as that! VPL has much experience, having served on the Society's Interventions Post Catheter Removal (IPCare) consensus panel, and has served on the Society's Board of Directors since 2014, continuously, first as a Director, then as Treasurer, most recently as President-Elect, and now as President. She has served on multiple Task Forces for the Society and on multiple committees. She is a Wound Treatment Associate (WTA) Course Coordinator for her agency.
VPL hails from New Jersey and has been involved in leadership positions in her agency, including not only performing WOC Nurse work but also contributing to quality, policy, and procedure development and education across the system. She served as a team member to prepare her agency for a successful Magnet designation and has been instrumental in establishing a health system collaborative, supply chain standardization related to WOC need, and standardization in support surfaces. She has authored articles and book chapters and has disseminated education through multiple poster and oral presentations on multiple topics at various nursing and medical meetings.
President Pontieri-Lewis been a professional nurse for 40 years and is a graduate of the Abbot Northwestern School of Enterostomal Therapy in 1990. Along with being a WOCN Society member, she is a member of the Sigma Theta Tau, Alpha Tau Chapter, and the American Nurses Association. VPL has won several awards related to her professional work and was the recipient of the inaugural Magnet Nurse of the Year Award in 2011.
VPL has contributed all described and more and a nurse with a passion for our patients and for nursing. I believe you will find her accessible with open ears and, importantly, approachable. Please join me in welcoming Vicky Pontieri-Lewis as President of the WOCN Society. Best wishes on this new chapter in your journey!
Cordially,
Dea J. Kent, DNP, RN, NP-C, CWOCN
WOCN Society
Immediate Past President