Student Nurses Association of Illinois
Spring Leadership Conference 2018

Alysha Hart is a certified Family Nurse Practitioner and a doctoral candidate at the University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Nursing. She received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Saint Xavier University (Chicago, IL) and a Master of Science in Nursing from DePaul University (Chicago, IL). Alysha is a Diversifying Higher Education Fellow in the department of Biobehavioral Health Science. Her areas of interest include end-of-life (EOL) care of the older adult, health disparities in dementia research, decision science, and community-based participatory research in underserved communities. For her dissertation, Alysha will describe and interpret the lived experience of African American dementia caregivers who have made EOL treatment decisions.  She has worked directly with dementia caregivers from diverse backgrounds in clinical and community settings. Alysha has committed herself to empowering underserved communities through culturally appropriate educational enrichment in health and wellness. As a nurse interventionist and research assistant, she has collaborated with church organizations located in underrepresented neighborhoods across Chicago to render dementia education to congregants and surrounding community members.  As a nurse practitioner at a prominent memory center in Illinois, she has worked alongside experts in behavioral neurology to improve clinical dementia knowledge in diverse settings including home health and rehabilitation facilities.  Alysha has also served as a stroke educator for a large community-based research study.  Her future research will focus on culturally tailoring education for patients and families impacted by all chronic illnesses.