Kendra Ruszas, RN

President/Director

Kendra is a great example of tenacity and willpower today. She challenged social norms by choosing to go back to nursing school later in life, demonstrating that age should never be a barrier to pursuing one's aspirations. Kendra is ready to start a new chapter and brings with her a rich reservoir of compassion, a great awareness of the human experience, and an uncompromising dedication to excellence.

Anthony Santor, RN

Director

Anthony received his bachelor's degree in communications from SUNY Oneonta. Throughout his fraternity, the Student Government, and Residential Life, he served in many leadership capacities. After a successful career in sales, Anthony became an EMT in 2019 to begin his path of giving back by caring for patients... he loved it!  He exited his thriving sales position in early 2020 to attend nursing school.  Anthony received his Associates in Science (Nursing) while gaining practical experience as an ED Tech in the Pediatric Emergency Department.

Renee Dufek

Director/Secretary

Recognizing the need for transformative change in the healthcare industry, Renee is happy to serve as an advocate to shape the organization's mission, vision, and strategic direction. She is driven by her desire to inspire confidence and trust in our country’s healthcare system because it is a system that so many of us and our loved ones will come in contact with during our lifetimes. With Nurses for Change Inc., Renee can do just that, by making nursing empowerment, education, and workforce development part of the solution for change. 

Matt Hunt

Director/ Treasurer

Matt has been in the banking industry for over 25 years and he is excited to share his experience and knowledge as the Treasurer of Nurses for Change Inc. He currently holds the position of Senior Vice President and Relationship Manager at M&T Bank. When he discovered Nurses for Change Inc. and their mission to enhance the patient experience, he was excited about joining the organization and contributing to its success. Matt lives in Guilderland, NY with his wonderful family and two adorable dogs. Go Bills!

Michele Cournan, DNP RN CRRN ANP-BC FNP FARN

Michele Cournan, DNP, RN, ANP-BC, FNP, CRRN, FARN has been a rehabilitation nurse for over 25 years with experience in acute rehabilitation and academia. She is currently the Director of Quality Improvement at Sunnyview Rehabilitation Hospital and the Director of Quality/Risk at Ellis Medicine. She also has a private business as a legal nurse consultant and has had multiple nursing faculty positions both in-person and virtually in LPN, RN, RN to BSN, MSN, NP, and DNP programs. She has published several articles and textbook chapters and has presented at national conferences many times over the past 20 years. Michele was the President of the Association of Rehabilitation Nurses (ARN) and is the current Chair of the ARN Health Policy Committee. She was one of two nurses to serve on the World Health Organization’s Rehabilitation 2030 campaign. She is a Fellow of the Association of Rehabilitation Nurses. Her focus is on fall and pressure injury prevention and function of those with impairments in the least restrictive setting possible.

Ron Henderson

Ron is an IT executive with more than 30 years of experience in various enterprise network computing environments including infrastructure, virtual computing, networks, systems, security architecture, data center design, deployment, and management. As Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for UNIVERSAL Technologies, Inc., Ron has managed numerous research and development initiatives which resulted in the creation of effective integrated enterprise solution products and serves as a technology advisor.