Announcing the 2026 APNA Memorial Scholarship Recipients

Through the APNA Memorial Scholarship, we honor the legacies of nurses whose dedication to psychiatric-mental health nursing and persons with mental health needs made a lasting impact.

By funding scholarships in their honor, the psychiatric-mental health nursing community – and those whose lives have been impacted by PMH nurses – helps these nurses to forge their own legacies through lifelong learning and advancement of the profession.

Recipients of the 2026 APNA Memorial Scholarship, funded in memory of Beverly Ann Benfer, Lucille Gambardella, Robyn Griffin Hatch, Judith J. Jaheriss, Karlene Kerfoot, Jamie (White) Legget, Marlene Nadler-Moodie, and Donna Rolin, receive complimentary registration, travel, and lodging to the APNA 40th Annual Conference on October 28-31, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona.

Hundreds of applications were reviewed by the APNA Awards & Recognition Committee, and these exceptional PMH nurses were selected:

2026 Scholarship Recipients

Tina Truncellito Laupola, DNP, RN, PMH-BC, EBP-C

Director of Quality at the Rehabilitation Hospital of the Pacific

“I am passionate about strengthening trauma-informed approaches, promoting early recognition
of behavioral health needs, and integrating mental health awareness across healthcare settings.”

Rachel Fadden, DNP, RN, MSW, LSW

Assistant Clinical Lecturer of Nursing at Miami University

“My passion in psychiatric-mental health nursing is rooted in preparing nurses to deliver compassionate, evidence-based care while strengthening resilience in both patients and the healthcare workforce.”