ONL Leadership Catalyst

Marie Borgella, DNP, MSN, RN

Dr. Marie Borgella is Executive Director of Learning & Development at the Norman Knight Nursing Center for Clinical and Professional Development at Massachusetts General Hospital. Before this role, Dr. Borgella held various leadership positions at academic medical centers in Boston, including Boston Children’s Hospital and St. Elizabeth’s Hospital Medical Center. With her strong leadership background, she leverages her extensive experience as the Massachusetts State Representative for the Organization of Nurse Leaders, a member of the Eastern Nursing Research Society program planning committee, and a board member for The Foundation for Nursing Advancement in Massachusetts (ANA), ensuring she stays at the forefront of nursing developments.

As an adjunct professor and DNP Faculty Mentor, Marie is active on the Executive Committee for Women in Leadership and plays a key role in the Breaking the Bias Women’s History Month events. Her leadership is also recognized through her participation in the Clinical Leadership Collaborative for Diversity in Nursing and the Nursing Diversity Fellowship Program at Massachusetts General Hospital. Additionally, she is committed to philanthropy, supporting local initiatives for gun violence prevention and improving the lives of older adults and individuals with disabilities in Greater Boston.

Marie earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Massachusetts, a Master of Science in Business Management and Nursing Leadership from Regis College, and her Doctorate in Nursing Practice from the Mass General Institute of Health Professions. Beyond her professional roles, she served as a Nurse Auditor/Monitor at Cambridge Family and Children’s Services, contributing to quality performance and regulatory compliance. Her involvement in community outreach initiatives, such as the MGH Community Messenger, reflects her commitment to health education and community well-being.

Veronica Erasquin, DNP, RN, CPAN, CCRN

Dr. Veronica Erasquin is a highly accomplished and dedicated nurse leader with over two decades of experience in clinical nursing, healthcare administration, education, and leadership. She currently serves as the Interim Chief Nurse Officer at Milford Regional Medical Center. Prior to this role, Dr. Erasquin held significant leadership positions at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston, Massachusetts, where she served as Nursing Director for critical care units, including the Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU) and the Burn and Plastics ICU.

Dr. Erasquin has also made significant contributions to global nursing practice. As a consultant for MGH Partners International, she provided ICU nursing expertise and curriculum development for a newly established academic medical center in Bangkok, Thailand. In this capacity, she also trained nurses and faculty, helping to advance nursing education and practice in an international context. Moreover, Dr. Erasquin has mentored novice nurse directors across multiple service lines, including critical care, surgery, and pediatrics, guiding them in effective leadership practices and strategies for clinical excellence.

A passionate advocate for leadership development and diversity in the nursing profession, Dr. Erasquin co-chairs the Dorothy Terrell Fellowship to Advance Diverse Nurse Leaders and the MGH Support Service Employee Grant Program. These initiatives focus on creating career development pathways and increasing workforce diversity, providing opportunities for underrepresented groups in nursing. Her leadership in these areas has been instrumental in fostering a more inclusive and diverse healthcare workforce.

Debra Gerardi, RN, MPH, JD, PCC

Debra provides coaching, consulting and training services that promote leadership development, enhance organizational and team effectiveness, invite diverse perspectives and encourage people to effectively engage in and move through conflict. Debra’s approach emphasizes incorporation of practices that foster personal resilience and well-being for those who work in complex and dynamic work environments.

Deb brings to her coaching practice deep expertise and perspective as a licensed Registered Nurse with over 30 years of experience working in and with healthcare organizations. She is also a licensed attorney in the State of California and an experienced mediator who has taught as adjunct faculty for multiple schools of law in the areas of leadership development, negotiation, dispute resolution, bioethics, and well-being. Her breadth of experience also includes her membership in the Applied Improvisation Network where embracing emergence and possibility is a way of being.

Debra’s philosophy of coaching emerges from a holistic frame that values the integration of body, mind, spirit, and society. Most importantly, she brings a creative spirit and sense of fun to all of her work. She encourages clients to find the joy in their own work and to connect with what is meaningful in the contributions they are making in both their personal and professional lives.

Debra is a member of the Hudson Institute of Coaching faculty and an affiliate member of the Institute of Coaching professional association at McLean Hospital, a Harvard Medical School affiliate. She is a certified master coach and holds her PCC certification from the International Coach Federation. She is a licensed attorney and registered nurse in California.

Debra finds joy in living by the sea and wandering unknown pathways. She has a natural curiosity, a keen sense of intuition and a love of learning. Debra is based in Santa Barbara, CA.

Joni Watson, DNP, MBA, RN, OCN

Dr. Joni Watson is passionate about growing the healthcare professional workforce pipeline while also caring for existing healthcare professionals and fostering healthy work environments creating unparalleled, holistic care. She is particularly interested in creative leadership fostering joy-in-work, professional uses of social media, lean repaid cycle process improvement, and intrapreneurship to impact individuals and communities.

Joni has served in healthcare leadership roles from frontline nurse to local hospital and integrated healthcare system executive. Currently, she serves as Editor of the Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing and as Consulting Associate Faculty in the Duke University School of Nursing Doctor of Nursing Practice Executive Leadership Program. Her prior roles include serving as the Senior Vice President, Strategic Nursing Transformation at Ascension and as the Vice President of Patient Care Services at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center - Lake Pointe. Her areas of expertise include executive healthcare leadership and development, program development, healthcare innovation and transformation, new care delivery models, large-scale system change, healthcare operations across acute and ambulatory care settings, and joy, creativity, and faith in work.

Joni regularly publishes and presents on various topics including leadership, mentoring, complexity theory and complex adaptive systems, healthcare innovation, program development, process improvement, evidence-based clinical transformation, intrapreneurship, the entire oncology care continuum (cancer prevention, detection, treatment, and survivorship), patient navigation, and healthcare technology and social media. Her doctoral work focused on nurse navigation and primary care collaborations to improve low-dose CT lung cancer screening rates, showing positive organizational financial and patient care outcomes.