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2024 Leadership

2024 Leadership



Officers


President
Cyncere Neal
Cyncere Neal

MSN, RN, FNP-BC, CWCN

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As 2024 begins, Cynceré enters her 35th year as a RN and 32nd year as a member of the Southeast WOCN® chapter/region. Professionally, she has served as the first enterostomal therapist at her local trauma center in 1992 and now for the past 26 years has worked as a family nurse practitioner. Cynceré’s first leadership position with our chapter was serving as the 2004 conference chair and then was elected to be Director of Conference Planning for 2 consecutive terms. Other board positions held were President-Elect and Secretary.
“Leadership development is a vital part of our profession and I never miss those opportunities to learn from others on regional and national level. Being a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.® for the past 29 has absolutely shaped my leadership style which has kept me grounded while conducting business for our chapter. We have had outstanding board members who paved the way for our region, having our members' best interest at heart. Becoming the President for the Southeast chapter is my greatest professional achievement and so thankful for the opportunity to serve you!”


President-Elect
Cordelia Lucas-Sherrod
Cordelia Lucas-Sherrod

MSN, RN, CWON

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Cordelia has been a certified wound and ostomy nurse (CWON) since 2003. She is currently employed as a WOC nurse in an acute care setting. Cordelia completed her wound, ostomy, and continence education at Emory University. Her educational journey includes a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Fayetteville State University, Fayetteville, North Carolina and a Master of Science in Nursing from the University of North Carolina Charlotte, Charlotte, North Carolina.
Cordelia has served as treasurer for the NC WOC Nurses Group, Southeast Region (SER) Director of Communications and currently as President-Elect.
“The reason why I wanted to serve on the board was to serve my colleagues and support the organization’s missions, vision and values.”


Secretary
Hannah Cleveland
Hannah Cleveland

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Hannah was born and raised in Georgia and has lived in every zip code in her small town! She started caring patients as a PCT before she finished nursing school. After working postpartum for 5 years, she went on to fulfill her passion of wound and ostomy care. She has worked both at an outpatient clinic and inpatient for a multiple facility health system. She is passionate about patient care but took a step away from bedside to start a family by adopting a brother and sister. She is now working for industry with Professional Education where she pursues her other passion: education. When she is not working she is running and being with her family.
“I am honored and thankful for this position to serve as secretary.”


Treasurer
Deborah Nelson
Deborah Nelson

BSN, RN, CWOCN

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Deborah is the current treasurer for the 2023/2024 term. Like most nurses who pursue this specialty certification, Deborah thought wound ostomy care was incredibly interesting. She earned her certification from the Emory Program in 2012 and thinks it is the best kind of nursing!
Deborah has utilized this skill set in both the acute and post-acute settings. When she first started, she worked in a small community hospital and was on her own and did not have a team. The members of the Southeast region became Deborah’s team and she couldn't imagine not being a member of the WOC Nurses Society. The mentorship albeit virtual or long distance made a world of difference to her success.
“Naturally I wanted to rub elbows with the amazing clinicians I reached out to, so attending conference was very impactful for me. I started as an attendee, and then a volunteer at the conference committee level. I realized how rewarding it was to serve and this led to running for a Board Position. I would encourage anyone to consider serving at whatever level you feel led to do. Your participation would be warmly welcomed and I guarantee you would be enriched both professionally and personally more than you could imagine. I look forward to meeting you or chatting with you in Chattanooga!”

Directors


Awards
Donna Byfield
Donna Byfield

PhD, RN, CWON, DAPWA, FACCWS

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Dr. Byfield is a Certified Wound, Ostomy Nurse for over 22 years. Presently she functions as the Director of Nursing (DON) for the medical department of the Atlanta Correction Detention Center (ACDC) and is a Part Time Clinical Instructor at the Kennesaw State University for the WellStar Nursing Program for over 7 years. Dr. Byfield serves as a preceptor for the Emory WOC Nursing Education Program, serves as a reviewer of articles for the Journal of Wound Ostomy & Continence Nursing, and functions as an independent Wound, Ostomy educator for hospitals in Jamaica, Pakistan, and Haiti, and a volunteer for local ostomy support groups in Georgia, as well as for missionary trips to Haiti.
Dr. Byfield previously served as the 2019 -2020 SERWOCN  Nomination Chair and a member of the 2019 conference planning committee for the SERWOCN  Chapter. She also volunteered for the WOCNCB Task Force for the reversion of the WOCN® content and is the founder and past president of the South Florida Ostomy Support Group.
Dr. Byfield is a graduate of the following institutions:

  • Bronx Community College in New York, where she obtained an Associate Degree in Nursing.
  • College of New Rochelle, where she obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing.
  • LaSalle University, where she completed the Wound Ostomy Continence Program and gained certification through the Wound Ostomy and Continence Nursing Certification Board (WOCNCB).
  • The University of Phoenix, where she obtained a Master of Science in Nursing and Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing.

Dr. Byfield is a member of the Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurses Society, Sigma Theta Tau International and Sigma Theta Tau Omicron Chapter, American Professional Wound Care Association, Fellow of the American Collage of Clinical Wound Specialists, American Nurses Association, and the National Society of Leadership and Success.
Dr. Byfield is a DAISY Award Nominee. First and second place poster winner in 2019. An author and publisher of several articles including Lived Experiences of Ostomy Patients Participating in Support Groups: A Qualitative Phenomenology and Fluidized Positioner to Prevent Occipital Pressure Injury. A Quality Improvement Project, published in the Journal of Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Nursing and presenter of several posters.
Hobbies are learning, reading, sharing my knowledge with others, cooking, gardening, traveling, and serving others.

Conference Planning
Bryan Duttman
Bryan Duttman

MSN, RN, CWOCN

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Bryan Duttman, MSN, RN, CWOCN, is the Director of Conference Planning for the Southeast Region of the WOCN® Society, residing in Raleigh, North Carolina. For the past eight years, Bryan has worked on the healthcare team at UNC Rex Hospital as a WOC Nurse. He is committed to providing individualized care, supporting patients and co-workers, and elevating the WOC Nurse role. In both his professional and personal life, Bryan exemplifies a strong work ethic and a commitment to transparency and hard work in all his endeavors. Balancing his professional responsibilities with his role as a husband and father of two, Bryan embodies the values of family and dedication to his work.
“As a WOC Nurse and Director of Conference Planning, I want to continue to make significant contributions to the healthcare field while cherishing the importance of a supportive family life.”


Communications
Misty Bailey Edwards
Misty Bailey Edwards

BSN, RN, CWOCN

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Misty has a BS in chemistry from the University of Montevallo, a BSN from Samford University, and completed WOC education at Emory University.
Misty currently resides in Calera, Alabama and works in the acute care setting as a WOC nurse at Princeton Baptist Medical Center in Birmingham, Alabama. She has been an RN for 14 years with a background in surgical med-surg nursing and a WOC nurse for 11 years. Misty is an active member in her local WOC nurses association, the Central Alabama WOC Nurses Association, and has served in several roles including co-chair, chairperson, workshop chair, and treasurer (current). She has also previously served as Conference Chair for SER Conference in 2022. Misty is married with one son and an adorable labradoodle fur-daughter. She loves her job and is always working to find ways to improve patient care from a WOC standpoint in her facility. She loves spending time with family and volunteering at church and in her community when she has time. If you are looking for her and can’t find her, there’s a good chance she’s at the baseball field in the dugout!
“I love my job am always working to finds ways to collaborate with various departments to improve patient care from a WOC standpoint and as a whole. I wanted to serve on the board to collaborate with colleagues and apply some of the principles I’ve learned in practice to help support the mission and goals of our chapter/region and contribute to its continued success.”


Special Projects
Sonya Hicks
Sonya Hicks

MSN, RN, AGPCNP-BC, CWOCN

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CWOCN certification obtained in 2013
Current employment: CRNP at Hanceville Nursing and Rehabilitation, Employer 360 Care
Sonya manages a 208 bed facility with 40 of those being skilled rehabilitation clients. She assists the wound treatment team to provide gold standard assessment and care of skin, continence, and ostomy needs. Sonya also manages foot care needs in conjunction with the 360 podiatry team to all of the residents as needed. Daily, she provides education and guidance to staff nurses and CNAs assuring they utilize the most current treatment options.
Sonya is an active member in her local nurses association, the Central Alabama WOC Nurses Association.
Goals for serving on the SER board: “My decision to pursue board membership has been solely based on a desire to be involved in my regional organization to support and strengthen my specialty as well as build improved collaboration with colleagues. I feel strongly that providing service to this organization is beneficial to not only myself but also to the community. I hope my involvement will bring improved awareness to my personal colleagues regarding the value of the CWOCN specialty.”

 

Board Committee Chairs & Management


Elections Chair
Nancy Scott
Nancy Scott

BSN, RN, CWOCN

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Nancy Scott is the Elections Chair for the Southeast Chapter of WOCN® Society, residing in Tampa, Fl. For the past 25 years, Nancy has worked at H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa as one of 4 WOC nurses. She started with baby steps as an officer in her Florida state affiliate board, gained confidence then bravely spread her wings to be involved at the Southeast Regional level. She has served on the SER board for several years: 2 terms as Director of Awards, and 2 terms as Elections Chair. Nancy was the recipient of SER Nurse of the Year in 2020. She is proud of our region/chapter and its growth. Her contributions on the board in conference planning, SER and National WOCN® Posters are notable. Nancy is consistently recruiting new RNs into our WOC specialty and is passionate and dedicated to the values of both Nursing and Country, having honorably served in the USAF Nurse Corps, retiring as a Colonel. This is Nancy’s last term as Elections Chair, and she is recruiting new members to consider serving on our prestigious Board. She emphasizes that “the hearts of our volunteers such as being on the board or conference committees is what promotes success for our membership and annual conferences; you give back to the nursing field you love and strive to make it better for those who will follow behind us. Our current and past officers will guide you as you get motivated to join our leadership. We need you!”


Manager
Cathy Womack
Cathy Womack

Custom Association Meetings and Management

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Cathy began working with non-profit organizations in 1991 and started her own business in 1997. She was the conference planner for SER from 1998 – 2010 and was happy to return in 2022. Cathy currently works with 3 professional associations.
She enjoys spending time with family including her 3 children (and their spouses) and 8 grandchildren. They love to camp as a family and go to the beach as much as possible.