Delegation Leaders are selected by the professional association to represent the members and the goals of the association.  Delegation leaders provide the initial vision and guidance in the development of the professional program. Delegation Leaders assist in facilitating the professional dialog, greeting hosts and representing the delegation members while in the field.

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Dr. Linda Mendonça, DNP, RN, PHNA-BC, NCSN, FNASN

Dr. Linda Mendonça has been a registered nurse for 42 years practicing school nursing for 25 years, overseas and in five states as a military spouse. Her school nursing career includes experience with pre-K to high school students in many states. She has vast experience with current best practice and new initiatives in school health, including the need for data collection in school nursing practice to best meet the needs of students and facilitate their academic success. With the practice of school nursing in the arena of public health, Linda pursued education and certification in public health nursing. Linda earned her Master of Science in advanced public health nursing and her Doctor of Nursing Practice in Transformative Systems Leadership from Rush University in Chicago. She has served on school nursing organization boards on the state and national levels. Dr. Mendonça is President of the National Association of School Nurses (2021-2023) and a Fellow in the National Academy of School Nursing.

Dr. Mendonça’s current professional roles include being an Assistant Professor teaching community/public health nursing at Rhode Island College Onanian School of Nursing and providing consultation in school nursing for the Rhode Island Department of Health. One of her passions is environmental health and she was selected to participate in a year long fellowship with the Alliance of Nurses for a Healthy Environnent 2019-2020. Throughout her career, Dr. Mendonça made time to volunteer with the American Red Cross and disaster medical assistance teams with medical reserve corps.