Jean School of Nursing and Health Sciences Welcomes 11 New Faculty Members

For the 2025-26 academic year, the Jean School of Nursing and Health Sciences has welcomed a new instructor Elise Bird, as well as two members of full-time faculty: Heidi Caruso and Allison Stankiewicz.

Learn more about these new faculty members:

Professor Elise Bird joins the Department of Nursing at the Jean School of Nursing and Health Sciences as an instructor after completing a B.S from the University of Maine and an M.S.N from the University of Connecticut.

Bird is a certified family nurse practitioner who has now transitioned to a full-time faculty role here at Saint Anselm. Her specially is primarily adult health—she has worked in hospital, rehab, and community settings. Bird listed her favorite patient population as neurological med-surg. Currently, Bird is finishing up her doctoral of nursing practice degree at the University of Connecticut. Bird has been implementing a simulated nursing lab that comprises both medication math/dosage calculations with associated psychomotor medication administration skills. Her goals have been to improve nursing student math competency as well as change the current teaching practices to focus more time in labs on dosage calculations. She hopes to take her expertise in this subject and bring what she can to Saint Anselm. Bird is hoping to help improve the nursing student’s math scores on their exams here in this program by utilizing new innovative approaches.
 

Professor Heidi Caruso has joined the Clinical Faculty for the Jean School of Nursing and Health Sciences following a B.S and Drexel University as well as an M.S.N from The Pennsylvania State University.

Caruso has worked as a nurse for more than 20 years, where she has worked in both the ICU and Emergency room for much of her career. Caruso has also enjoyed teaching nursing students. She is excited to be working with the Saint Anselm students this year, in both the classroom and clinical, as they prepare to join the nursing profession. Caruso aims to make connections with the future nurses and inspire them to always take the extra steps for their patients.
 

Professor Allison Stankiewicz ’19 joins the Nursing Department at the Jean School of Nursing and Health Sciences. Stankiewicz received a B.A from Saint Anselm College as well as an M.S.N. from Rivier University.

Stankiewicz has been practicing as a nurse in Boston and the greater Boston area ever since leaving the Hilltop. Her first year as a nurse was during the onset of the COVID pandemic, and she spent the first year and a half of her career working with patients who were severely impacted by the disease. Since then, Stankiewicz has spent much of her career working with medically complex patients of all ages, pediatric and adult. She graduated from Rivier University with an MSN this past spring. While working to obtain her master’s degree, Stankiewicz began working in community health, first in downtown Boston at a local community health center, and now currently in the North Shore area of Mass. where she works in a large pediatric clinic rotating between a primary care and urgent care setting.

“As an Anselmian nurse myself, I am very excited to return to the Hilltop and share my clinical experience with our future nurses. Healthcare is an ever-changing environment, and my goal is to prepare our students to enter the field confident in themselves and confident in their ability to make a difference” shared Stankiewicz.

The Jean School also welcomes the following part-time faculty members: 

• Kimberly Bernard, Nursing
• Ashley Conley ’06 Community and Public Health
• Theresa Evans, Nursing
• Jennifer Harmon, Nursing
• Magen Jenkins, Nursing
• Dorothy Mullaney’81 Nursing
• Kaylene Saulnier, Nursing
• Tayler Treat, Community and Public Health