Inslee appoints WSNA member Keondra Rustan to UW Board of Regents
Rustan is a second-year doctoral candidate in the psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner program at the University of Washington and president of the Mary Mahoney Professional Nurses Organization
August 19, 2024 • 1 minute, 13 seconds to read
Gov. Jay Inslee appointed WSNA member Keondra Rustan, PhD, RN, CHSE, CNE, TNCC, as student regent on the University of Washington Board of Regents.
Rustan is a second-year doctoral candidate in the psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner program at the University of Washington. Her work focuses on how healthcare systems can be made more accessible to underserved populations, including those with trauma and substance-use disorders.
“As student regent, my priority is to amplify the voices of our diverse student body, ensuring that every decision we make reflects the needs, aspirations, and potential of our community,” she told WSNA. “Together, we can foster a campus where accessibility, equity, innovation, and inclusion aren't just ideals but lived realities."
Rustan is also president of the Mary Mahoney Professional Nurses Organization, which was founded in 1949 in Washington state to provide information and scholarships to Black nurses.
Keondra got into nursing to make a difference for people of color who tend to be at a disadvantage when navigating the healthcare system.
Before nursing school, she cared for her maternal grandmother, who suffered a series of strokes and didn’t receive good nursing care in the hospital, Rustan said.
She is focused on advancing the quality and accessibility of care for all who need it.
Prior to enrolling in the doctoral nurse practitioner program at UW, Rustan had obtained her Ph.D. in nursing education and research.
She has worked as a practicing registered nurse with various hospitals in Virginia, California, and in the Pacific Northwest, specializing in cardiac medicine, critical care, trauma medicine, and emergency medicine.
She has also worked as an adjunct and visiting professor of nursing.
From 2020 to 2022, Rustan was the assistant director of the simulation center at UW's nursing school and was awarded the Excellence in Clinical Teaching Award and the Dr. C. June Strickland Distinguished Diversity & Transcultural Nursing Advocate Award.
In a release, Gov. Inslee called Rustan “a dedicated healthcare practitioner and an incredibly talented educator.”
This appointment was effective July 1.