UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing’s Tressa Nese and Helen Diskevich Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence (CGNE) held its 13th annual CGNE Alumni and Friends Spring Brunch on March 21 at the Wyndham Garden State College.
The event — which is made possible in part through the support of CGNE clinical and community partners and sponsors — recognizes Penn State students, community champions and nurse leaders whose work advances gerontological nursing practice by improving the lives and care of older adults across the healthcare continuum and throughout the commonwealth and nation.
This year’s celebration centered on the theme, “The Future of Aging Grows Brighter When We Lead Together.” Attendees heard from keynote speaker Alice Bonner, senior advisor for aging at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, chair of The Moving Forward Nursing Home Quality Coalition and adjunct faculty at The Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing. Bonner’s address, “Leadership in Aging: What Can We Do Together?” was sponsored by the Ann M. and Leon T. Kolanowski Endowment Fund for Geriatric Nursing and the Tressa Nese and Helen Diskevich Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence Endowment.
The event also paid tribute to two members of CGNE’s original Advisory Council who passed away in 2025: Mimi Barash Coppersmith, longtime leader at Penn State and within the State College community and frequent host of the spring brunch, and David Maneval, a generous supporter of CGNE student conference travel from the Maneval Family Funds through the Centre Foundation.
Additionally, CGNE Administrator and Education Program Manager Janice Whitaker shared highlights of the center’s education, research, translation and service accomplishments during 2025, and faculty members Donna Fick, Anju Paudel and Ying-Ling Jao presented awards to three individuals for their commitment to gerontological research and practice.
This year’s honorees are:
- 2026 CGNE Community Champion Award: Nicole Sarver, CEO, Valley View Retirement Community
- 2026 CGNE Ph.D. Student Champion Award: Azza AL Harrasi
- 2026 Mark T. Kolanowski Award for Excellence in Ph.D. Nursing Research: Pauline Hwang
The CGNE Community Champion Award recognizes individuals and organizations who have contributed substantially to the advancement of the well-being of older adults and who are known for championing the cause of Penn State nursing excellence in the care of older adults.
The CGNE Student Champion Award recognizes graduate students who are affiliated with the center, have an elevated level of participation throughout their educational program, focus on doctoral research (Ph.D.) or doctor of nursing practice (D.N.P.) projects that involve gerontology, demonstrate passion and commitment for working with older adults, and seek to improve quality of care and lives of older adults in positive and person-centered ways.
The Mark T. Kolanowski Award for Excellence in Ph.D. Nursing Research is presented in honor of Professor Emerita Ann Kolanowski’s and her late husband Leon Kolanowski’s son Mark who passed away suddenly in 2019. This award is presented to a full-time Ph.D. student affiliated with the center who is engaged in research around geriatric nursing that reflects an interest in quantitative discovery.
Photos from the event can be viewed here.
About the Tressa Nese and Helen Diskevich Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence
Penn State’s CGNE was established in 2007 as one of nine legacy centers in the U.S. originally funded by the John A. Hartford Foundation and now supported by an endowment. As an interdisciplinary community of leaders and scholars with expertise in aging, geriatrics and gerontology, CGNE believes every older adult deserves the highest quality of evidence-based care and well-being that respects their individual goals and preferences. Learn more about the center.