Our goal is support Nurse Practitioners transition from academia to clinic practice while preparing them for the difficulties of caring for patients in medically underserved areas. The fellowship program is designed to be rigorous and comprehensive. Fellows should be committed to the program which includes a full schedule of training, patient care, and didactics. Each track provides an array of opportunities that will advance skills. Fellows learn over time and have constant access to expert providers who will help shape their practice. A distinct aspect of this includes mentorship, networking, and professional growth. We expect our fellows to have a strong interest in working in community health centers on behalf of medically underserved communities.
Our NP Fellowship Program is committed to pursuing excellence. We successfully received accreditation from the National Nurse Practitioner Residency & Fellowship Training Consortium (NNPRFTC) on June 2021 demonstrating that we meet national standards for quality.
Director of the NP Fellowship Program
Evelyn Addo-Wallace is the Director of Advanced Practice Nursing and Medical Director at Community Healthcare Network – Harlem. In this role, she oversees CHN’s Nurse Practitioners and Midwives at the organization, putting an emphasis on education and growth as advanced practice nurses. She also oversees CHN’s NP Fellowship Program, obtaining HRSA grant funding and accreditation for the program. In addition, she maintains an active women’s health practice, including adolescent and adult gynecology, prenatal and postpartum care. NP Addo-Wallace holds a Bachelor’s and Masters of Science in Nursing as well as Masters in Public Health from Columbia University.
Acting Deputy Director of the Community Psychiatry NP Fellowship Program
NP Fellowship Program Manager, Health Education Coordinator
Yuliana Perez is the Program Manager for New York’s first Nurse Practitioner Fellowship Program. Though Yuliana graduated from Binghamton University with a BA in Creative Writing and a minor in Cinema, her career and passion lay in the healthcare industry. She has been working at Community Healthcare Network since 2013. Before the fellowship, Yuliana was creating and distributing helpful and succinct materials for providers and patients in Health Literacy and educating and signing up clients for health insurance through the Marketplace. Yuliana is currently studying for a Master of Science in Health Administration at Fordham University. Yuliana is interested in program development and provider education/training in the community setting.
Clinical Liaison Lead (Primary Care)
As the Clinical Liaison Lead for Primary Care, Dr. Dorsen serves as the counterpart to academic dean and facilitates information exchange between the primary care or behavioral health NPR and the academic advanced nursing education partner and ensures preceptors function as program partners.
Dr. Caroline Dorsen is the Associate Dean of Advanced Practice and Clinical Partnerships at Rutgers School of Nursing, where she is an associate professor of nursing and public health. Dr. Dorsen was a faculty member and academic leader at NYU Meyers College of Nursing for 15 years prior to coming to Rutgers in the Fall, 2020. Dr. Dorsen’s passion is the interface between health and social justice. She is a nationally and internationally recognized expert and scholar on sexual and gender minority health, the immediate past Nursing Chair for GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ+ Equality, and a Senior Associate Editor of the journal Annals of LGBTQ Public and Population Health. She is a member of numerous diversity and equity taskforces including for ENRS and the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Minority Health, and Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors for Community Health Network (CHN) in NYC. In 2020, Caroline was the recipient of NYU’s Martin Luther King Faculty Award sponsored by the President and Provost. She was inducted as a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing in 2021.
Health Education Specialist
As one of the Health Education Specialists, Dr. Ferrara collaborates with academic clinical team to assess the clinical entities’ capacities of the grant and infrastructure prior to curriculum development and provides professional activities of preceptors and other clinical staff based on needs assessment.
Dr. Stephen Ferrara is an actively practicing Family Nurse Practitioner, executive, and faculty member. He combines years of clinical experience along with health policy development to increase access to nurse practitioner-partnered care in New York State by serving as executive director of the Nurse Practitioner Association New York State. He is Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs and Associate Professor at Columbia University’s School of Nursing where he leads the nurse practitioner primary care faculty practice and clinical simulation. He also serves as the executive director of Jonas Nursing and Veterans Healthcare. Dr. Ferrara has received many awards for his health policy work with his most recent being inducted as a fellow into the American Academy of Nursing in 2020.
Health Information Technology Coordinator
As the Health Information Technology Coordinator, Nitin’s experience in telehealth, health informatics, and HIPPA compliance assures successful IT models are incorporated into the community-based clinical activities of the new NPs.
Nitin Gumaste, M.Ed., (Teachers College, Columbia University) is an Instructional Designer and Educational Technologist with over 16 years of experience in hospital care, academia, non-governmental organizations, and the pharmaceutical sector. Most recently, he has consulted for Cleveland Clinic, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and the International Rescue Committee. Nitin’s primary focus is developing learning solutions that lead to the “a-ha!” moment, where learners are able to effectively translate the knowledge they have gained into intended actions using technology as an aid to achieving learning outcomes. In his spare time, Nitin enjoys swimming, taking road trips across the country, and reading.
Health Education Specialist
As one of the Health Education Specialists, Dr. McHugh collaborates with academic clinical team to assess the clinical entities’ capacities of the grant and infrastructure prior to curriculum development and provides professional activities of preceptors and other clinical staff based on needs assessment.
Dr. McHugh is an Associate Professor of Nursing at Columbia University in NYC. She maintains a faculty practice in the Department of Family and Social Medicine at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, where she co-developed the Palliative Care Service. Ms. McHugh has a clinical nursing background in medical surgical nursing, oncology, critical care and as well as primary care. She has worked in academic family practice programs in NYC, since graduation as an FNP. She received her graduate degree as a FNP and her doctoral degree from Columbia University and she hold a post master’s certificate as an Adult Geriatric/Acute Care Nurse Practitioner from the University of Pennsylvania. She is a certified ELNEC Trainer (End-of Life Nursing Education) from the American Nurses Association and completed the Wharton Nursing Leaders Program in 2011. Dr. McHugh has presented nationally and internationally on the topic of palliative care, has published numerous articles and chapters on pain and palliative care. In 2014 she was inducted as a Fellow in Hospice and Palliative Care Nursing by the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association and in 2019 she was the recipient of the ANA-NY award for excellence in practice.
Clinical Liaison Lead (Psychiatrist)
As the Clinical Liaison Lead for Psychology, Dr. Tse serves as the counterpart to academic dean and facilitates information exchange between the primary care or behavioral health NPR and the academic advanced nursing education partner and ensures preceptors function as program partners.
Jeanie Tse, MD, is the new Senior Medical Director at Fountain House, a clubhouse community of people with serious mental illnesses in New York City. She is an Associate Professor at the NYU School of Medicine, teaching in the NYU Public Psychiatry Fellowship Program. She previously served as the Chief Medical Officer at ICL, a New York City not-for-profit serving people with mental illness and developmental disabilities where she worked for 15 years. She led ICL and its partners on award-winning integrated health initiatives, including development of the East New York Health Hub in an underserved Brooklyn neighborhood, and integration of primary care into Assertive Community Treatment and other behavioral health settings. She is past president of the NY Chapters of the American Association of Psychiatric Administrators and the American Association of Community Psychiatrists, and an alumnus of the National Council for Behavioral Health’s Psychiatry Leadership Program. She is the co-editor of “A Case-Based Approach to Public Psychiatry,” a text that explores the foundational principles of community mental health services and the care needs of special populations. She has a special interest in disrupting the impact of trauma on health outcomes, with an overarching aim to “bridge the gap” between academic psychiatry and the clinical challenges of disadvantaged communities.