Prof. Sandy Cayo tapped for NLN's LEAD program

Sandy N. Cayo, DNP, FNP-BC, APRN, clinical assistant professor at NYU Meyers, has been selected through competitive application for the National League for Nursing’s year-long LEAD program, one of three tracks in the NLN Leadership Institute, an initiative of the NLN Center for Transformational Leadership. Now in its eighth year, LEAD is designed for nurses in both education and practice who have experienced rapid transition into leadership positions or aspire to advance their status in management or administration.

Cayo works to bridge the gap in social determinants of health and global health education in nursing. Her research interests focus on family medicine, urban health, and complementary and integrative health, and her doctoral research focused on improving minority bone marrow transplant donor attitudes toward donation. She has worked with first-generation and minority nursing studies to help improve retention in academic nursing programs and continues to work with disadvantaged populations through education of wellness as a whole.

Cayo is one of 56 nurse educators chosen for the 2018 Leadership Institute from colleges, universities, and healthcare institutions around the world. Participants identify personal and professional goals; learn about what makes an effective leader; and strategize how to re-tool skill sets and experiences to achieve individual benchmarks. To that end, everyone receives intensive one-on-one executive coaching, in addition to attending online and live group coaching sessions, workshops, and webinars, where they study leadership theory and development that includes case study review.

To kick off the program, all Leadership Institute participants attended an orientation session February 12-13 in Washington, DC, and the LEAD cohort will return to Washington June 17-21 for the annual NLN Leadership Retreat. Participants on all three tracks will again come together in a Pre-Summit Leadership Workshop in Chicago in September.

Said NLN CEO Beverly Malone, PhD, RN, FAAN: “To promote diversity among leaders in nursing education, at least 25 percent of program participants in LEAD have been selected from under-represented minorities. In addition, a key outcome initially identified for the 2015 Leadership Institute’s LEAD program continues to apply: 80 percent of program participants commit to remaining in academic leadership positions following completion of the program.”