WSNA honors nursing leaders with biennial awards

As part of the 2025 Washington State Nurses Convention, we paid tribute to the remarkable accomplishments of our nursing colleagues and community partners. These biennial awards celebrate individuals who have made substantial personal and professional contributions positively impacting the nursing profession, the Association, and the advancement of nurses. We recognize and applaud their dedication and commitment to excellence.

Honorary Recognition Award

Anita Stull, BSN, RN

Since 1979, Anita Stull has been an active member in WSNA and ANA, and her impact is legendary.

Anita chaired the WSNA Bylaws Committee during a major structural overhaul, guiding members through complex language changes with clarity and precision. She continues to serve on that committee and brings unmatched attention to detail, critical thinking, and deep knowledge of WSNA, ANA, and AFT priorities.

Anita’s leadership is deeply embedded in WSNA’s DNA. Former Executive Director Sally Watkins praised her impact, saying, “WSNA would not be the organization it is today without Anita’s leadership, attention to detail, and due diligence in reviewing the WSNA bylaws and proposing revisions where needed.”

At the University of Washington Medical Center, Anita worked as a bedside nurse in orthopedics, chronic pain, and psychiatry for 40 years. She was a leader on the floor and off.

As local unit chair, she played a vital role in keeping the unit within WSNA during the 1980s union raids. Anita was the first to sign onto a grievance filed by WSNA in the early 1990s, which won nurses paid rest breaks — one of the first of its kind in the nation.

Anita retired in 2020, but we are fortunate to have her as part of WSNA.

Marguerite Cobb Public Health/Community Health Award

Janet Runbeck, MN, RN

Janet Runbeck has devoted her career to improving health for vulnerable community members. She is a graduate of Tacoma General Hospital School of Nursing and received her master’s in nursing from the University of Washington.

In 2009, she worked with community partners to open the RotaCare Free Clinic of Tacoma, providing primary care and chronic disease management until the arrival of the Affordable Care Act. She also helped organize the Care Clinic, a one-day event that served 1,500 patients and she helped a local shelter when it was hit by a Covid outbreak.

Janet also took on sex trafficking, helping form the Pierce County Coalition Against Trafficking and the Pierce County Anti-Trafficking Network.

More recently, she helped launch a foot care clinic at a homeless shelter and secured funding for a full-time RN, earning a Letter of Appreciation from the Tacoma Fire Department for reducing non-emergency 911 calls.

Janet said community nursing is what happens between the hospital and the shelter.

In her words: “As nurses, we teach, we touch, and we listen to those who are in need of healing. By telling their story, we strive to improve the health outcomes of others who suffer from similar social determinants. We are their witness, their voice, and their hope.

Joanna Boatman Staff Nurse Leadership Award

Katy Heffernan, RN

Katy Heffernan launched her nursing career in critical care at St. Joseph Medical Center in 2011. After earning her BSN from the University of Washington, she found her home in the Cardiac Cath Lab and began her master’s in nursing leadership.

In 2021, Katy stepped up as a WSNA unit representative and joined her unit’s contract negotiations—determined to speak up for the tight-knit team of nurses taking call.

During recent negotiations, hospital leadership began unilaterally enforcing mandatory call with threats of disciplinary action, which severely impacted morale in the Cath Lab. Katy shared updates about the situation on a co-workers' Facebook page and received overwhelming support from all departments.

Despite several actions, management held firm—until the Cath Lab made a bold mov. They initiated a strike vote for their unit. That pivotal moment broke the stalemate. At the next negotiation session, the strike authorization was dropped, which was a turning point in negotiations. Not only did the nurses secure stronger call language, but it also helped resolve many other issues.

Katy said she is proud of the work her department accomplished and hopes it inspires success and ingenuity in future union negotiations.

Joanna Boatman Staff Nurse Leadership Award

Kara Yates, BSN, RN, CPN

Kara Yates has been a nurse at Seattle Children’s Hospital for 15 years. She got involved with WSNA when she joined her local unit’s negotiation team in 2013. In 2021, she stepped into the role of co-chair and helped lead her team through one of the most intense contract fights WSNA has ever seen. Their victory in August 2022 was nothing short of historic. It set the tone for hospitals statewide in the post-COVID era.

A powerful voice for nurses, Kara penned the 2022 Seattle Times op-ed, “Stand by nurses, the backbone of healthcare,” which sought meaningful change on how nurses are treated.

As she wrote: “Many of us became nurses because it is a calling. Many have left because—as nursing currently stands—we are devalued as humans.”

At Seattle Children’s, Kara chairs the Hospital Staffing Committee and actively educates and empowers others to get involved—whether in their unions or politically.

She is a firm believer in progress through collective effort and incremental change, and she’s already gearing up for the next round of negotiations. As Kara says, “Let’s all go make some ‘good trouble.’

Community Partner Award

State Rep. Liz Berry (36th Legislative District)

State Rep. Liz Berry represents Washington’s 36th Legislative District, located in the shadow of the Space Needle. It includes the Seattle neighborhoods of Magnolia, Interbay, Ballard, Phinney Ridge, Crown Hill, Greenwood and Queen Anne where she lives with her husband, Michael, and their two young children.

Berry is chair of the Labor & Workplace Standards Committee and is a member of the Environment & Energy and Consumer Protection & Business committees, where she is a passionate advocate for working families and standing up for consumers against powerful corporations and special interests.

As a labor champion in the legislature, Representative Berry has become increasingly engaged around the issue of workplace violence due to a handful of her constituents who are nurses at Seattle Children’s Hospital. She has been a strong advocate on this issue in calling for a tour and a meeting with hospital leadership asking them to hold themselves accountable for the work they say they intend to do to keep their staff and patients safe. She is the kind of ally you want on your side — one who is willing to stand with you and tell management, “Do better.”

Community Partner Award

State Rep. June Robinson (38th Legislative District)

State Sen. June Robinson has represented the 38th Legislative District in the Washington State Legislature since 2013, starting in the House before being appointed to the Senate in 2020. She has been a champion for increasing access to affordable healthcare and housing, improving the state’s behavioral health system, investing in public education and early learning, and more.

Raised on a dairy farm in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Robinson earned degrees from the University of Delaware and the University of Michigan. Before joining the legislature, she led nonprofit and local government efforts in community and public health and affordable housing. Robinson, who lives in Everett, is chair of the Senate Ways & Means Committee and on the Health & Long-Term Care Committee.

Senator Robinson was instrumental in passing the staffing bill in April 2023 and adamant we could not leave that session without doing something to improve circumstances for our nurses. With her tenacity and leadership, we passed a bill that helped move us forward. We want to thank her for the countless hours spent working on this issue and on behalf of nurses.

Health Equity Award

Kathleen Jabasa, MSN, RN

Kathleen Jabasa comes from a long line of nurses in the Philippines and immigrated to the U.S. in 2015.

Her journey began in Arizona, where she worked as a wound care nurse while navigating a new culture, a new healthcare system, and the challenges of being an international nurse in America. She was determined to learn, grow, and speak out—especially for those who feel unseen.

After moving to Washington and joining the OR team at St. Joe’s, Kat found her voice in the union. She said she saw how vital it was for nurses to have a voice, especially when they were constantly being asked to do more with less.

She became a force for change, participating in the bargaining unit and making history. She was a fierce advocate in ending the historical injustice of giving nurses trained outside of the United States and Canada, less than full experience. The new contract ends this practice and brings nurses up to their rightful step. And now other facilities are replicating this contract language.

Kat said that victory was one of her proudest moments.

In her words, “That win was about dignity. It meant we were finally seen as whole professionals.”

Nurse Educator Award

Cheri Osler, EdD, MS-CNS, MA-LMHC, MSL, MPH, RN, AHN-BC, CLNC, CNE, CHSE

Cheri Osler is passionate about nursing and education. She has 37 years' experience as a nurse and holds multiple degrees, including a doctorate in educational leadership.

She has been the associate dean of Nursing at Spokane Community College for the last 10 years – a rare tenure in Washington state. Her boss said they can’t think of anyone who could do a better job.

In that time, Cheri completed two master's degrees and a nursing graduate certificate in simulation education. She is constantly learning and sharing her knowledge with all those around her.

After receiving her master’s in public health specializing in workplace violence, incivility in nursing, health practitioner stress and burnout, and the adolescent mental health crisis, she gave a presentation at the college on workplace violence in the acute-care setting.

Cheri is also a licensed mental health counselor and certified holistic nurse who owns Spokane Holistic Healing. And she brings her knowledge to the American Red Cross as a certified disaster mental health counselor and a youth disaster preparedness educator.

She serves on several influential boards, including WSNA, Inland Empire Nurses Association, and the National League for Nursing.

Cheri is known for asking thought-provoking questions that spark critical reflection and progress and inspires those around her to think deeper and lead with purpose.

Nurse Researcher Award

Kumhee Ro, DNP, FNP, ARNP, FAAN

Kumhee Ro exemplifies leadership and innovation in nursing education, practice, and advocacy.

She is an associate professor at Seattle University and a primary care provider at a federally qualified health center whose work is shaping the future of nursing.

Her research highlighted the critical need for faculty diversity, leading her to co-found a national collaboration dedicated to fostering mentorship and leadership among nurse educators called the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities - Jesuit Nurse Faculty Network.

Building on her research findings, she developed the BOLD Framework, offering academic leaders clear strategies for recruiting and retaining a diverse nursing faculty. She also created and validated a tool to measure self-efficacy based on Bandura’s theory, aimed at strengthening workforce pathway programs.

Drawing from her experience as a first-generation immigrant, she spearheaded the pilot Coach for Success Program, mentoring faculty to support under-represented students.

At both state and national levels, her policy research has addressed rural and primary care workforce challenges, including a Medicaid Graduate Medical Education analysis.

As a former Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Fellow, she currently serves as a stakeholder advisor to federal agencies on health workforce strategies and contributes to national reports at the National Academy of Medicine.  
  
Kumhee’s work is paving the way for a brighter nursing future.

Leadership and Excellence in Practice Award

Patricia Blissitt, PhD, ARNP-CNS, CCRN, CNRN, SCRN, CCNS, CCM, ACNS-BC

Patricia Blissitt is a force in neuroscience nursing, with nearly five decades of experience spanning direct care, education, leadership, and research.

She currently works part-time as a neuroscience clinical nurse specialist at Harborview Medical Center and Providence-Swedish Medical Center, and as a clinical professor at the University of Washington School of Nursing.

Pat has made incredible contributions to professional development, leading a free neuroscience nursing certification exam review course for nurses across Washington state. This program has not only strengthened the expertise of countless nurses but improved the quality of care statewide. She also mentors new graduates through Harborview’s nurse residency program.

As a member of the Society for Neurocritical Care Guideline Development Group, she helped establish evidence-based standards for the care of critically ill patients with neurological disorders.

She has shared her expertise through lectures across the country, numerous publications, and authorship of key neuroscience and critical care nursing texts.

A longtime leader in the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses, Pat currently serves as president and education chair of the Northwest chapter.

Among her many honors, Pat received a Presidential Citation at the Neurocritical Care Society Annual Meeting in 2024.

She says she loves her work — and “will teach to anyone who will listen.”