Faculty

Timothy S. Godfrey, S.J., DNP, RN, PHN is a Jesuit priest and has been on the faculty of the School of Nursing and Health Professions at the University of San Francisco since 2012. Dr. Godfrey received his doctoral degree at The Catholic University of America, and he holds advanced degrees in theology from The Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University, as well as an MSW from Washington University in St. Louis, MO. Fr. Godfrey has taught community health nursing, ethics, and social...

Dr. Horton-Deutsch is currently the Director of the University of San Francisco and Kaiser Permanente Partnership. She has led in academic and practice settings for 35 years as an advanced practice psychiatric/mental health nurse, teacher/practitioner, consultant, program director, caring science endowed chair, coach, and academic/practice partnership director. Through her academic and practice career, she has contributed to evidence-informed knowledge development to ensure safety and quality...

Dr. Ann Lawani received her PhD in nursing from the University of San Diego. Her unique professional background includes small business accounting, clinical nursing practice and leadership. She is a practicing registered nurse; her clinical experience entails adult cardio-pulmonary, stroke, Cystic Fibrosis and orthopedic patient populations across multiple health care settings, including acute care and hospice facilities. A scholar and life-long learner, Dr. Lawani’s area of research includes...

Susan Mortell has been an RN for over 30 years and is currently the assistant program director of the RN-MSN Online and 4+1 programs.  She has worked in a variety of settings including oncology, med-surg nursing, community health and psychiatry. She has taught at the University of San Francisco since 2003 in the BSN, MSN and DNP programs.

Lisa Brozda shares her passion for obstetrical nursing, teaching all areas of OB, including theory, OB simulation lab, and clinical lab. She has worked for decades as a staff nursing in all areas of OB (antepartum, intrapartum, postpartum, and neonatal intensive care), later transitioning to practice as a Clinical Nurse Specialist for labor/delivery and postpartum.

Dr. Kaddoura PhD, CAGS, MSN, APRN, NP-C, CNE, has over 25 years of experience in nursing education and clinical practice. He currently teaches graduate Pathophysiology, Pharmacology, and Medical Surgical courses in the Master and Doctorate programs.

Prior to joining USF, Dr. Kaddoura taught both graduate and undergraduate courses at Duke University and MCPHS University (Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences). His expertise in using technology and designing innovative...

Ms. Ambrose has been working in the Health Care Industry for over 40 years. She began her career in Nursing at San Francisco General Hospital working in the Trauma ICU. Ms. Ambrose worked for Kaiser Permanente in Northern California and Portland Oregon where she had the privilege of assisting with the opening of 3 Kaiser Acute Care Facilities while in the role of Administrative and Nursing Operations Director. She served as VP and Chief Nursing Officer/COO for Dignity Health and CommonSpirit...

Dr. Sylvia Andrade, DNP, MSN, RN, a nurse of forty-one years, an extremely versatile faculty member who teaches the fundamentals of nursing to capstone levels both in undergraduate and graduate levels. She has the patience and nurturing presence to guide the students to initiate their first patient contact, preparing them to become members of the nursing community.

While working with a diverse racial/ethnic population of students, Dr. Andrade approaches each semester with professionalism...

Elena Capella is an experienced educator who teaches leadership, health care quality, and regulatory compliance. Dr. Capella enjoys working with health care professionals who are completing their graduate degrees in nursing. Her doctoral research focuses on the leadership challenges faced by physicians transitioning from independent clinicians to health care system administrators and how these leaders support the improvement of clinical services.

Dr. Capella has worked as a consultant on...

Erica Hooper, DNP, RN, PHN, CNS, CNL has nursing experience working in the areas of geriatrics, pediatrics, primary care, public health, leadership, program development, and education. She has a BSN and DNP in Health Care Systems Leadership from the University of San Francisco. She also has an MSN in Advanced Community Health and International Nursing with a minor in Education from the University of California San Francisco. She has been teaching nursing at the University of San Francisco since...

Dr. Lake has 10 years of experience in clinical practice. She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree with a Minor in Biology from Gettysburg College, a Master's of Science in Nursing, Family Nurse Practitioner Specialty, and Diabetes Care Concentration from Yale School of Nursing, and Doctor of Nursing Practice, Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Specialty, and Master's of Public Health from the University of San Francisco. She is board certified as a Family Nurse Practitioner through the...

Professor Mallory Manuel, MSN, RN, CEN, teaches in the Master's Entry - Master of Science in Nursing program and currently maintains her nursing skills at the bedside working in an emergency department here in San Francisco. She primarily teaches in the first semester of the program, leading the Fundamentals clinical and lab experiences.

Professor Manuel brings vast experience from emergency departments across the country, including trauma centers of all levels, STEMI receiving centers...

Krystie Matthews has almost a decade of experience in various healthcare settings. Dr. Matthews is devoted to quality improvement in healthcare through her various roles in the community. Her area of interests are improving nursing and healthcare work culture and quality improvement. She is committed to the development of strong graduating nurses, that will bring excitement and fresh perspectives to healthy nursing environments.

Francine Serafin-Dickson, DNP, MBA, BSN, CNL has extensive experience as a healthcare administrator, educator, and consultant. Dr. Serafin-Dickson has taught since 2009 at USF in the MPA, BPA, BSHS, DNP, and MSN programs. Francine also serves as a consultant to endeavors focusing on older adult needs and caregiver issues.  In addition, she served as an intern for the Health Care Financing Administration (Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services) and in a congressional office working on...

Rebecca Wong has been a mathematics and statistics educator for over twenty-five years.  She is active in providing professional development in statistics and pedagogy, particularly for educators at the two-year college level.  Currently she serves on several national statistics education committees and coordinates the national DataFest competition for two-year colleges. A third-generation San Franciscan, she is excited for the opportunity to be part of the USF community.

Dr. Robin Buccheri is a Professor Emerita and Adjunct Professor at the University of San Francisco (USF) in San Francisco. In 2010, she was admitted as a fellow to the American Academy of Nursing. Dr. Buccheri has published over twenty-five articles in scholarly journals and is on the Editorial Board for Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services. She has received the School of Nursing & Health Professions Teaching Award, the University of San Francisco Research Award, and twice...