Our Nursing Leaders

Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center

Sheila Collier MSN, RNC-MNN

Chief Nursing Officer

A dedicated member of the Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center team since 2005, Sheila is responsible for all aspects of the Nursing Division including the operational clinical practice, education and research delivered through nursing clinical services and the more than 1,100 nurses employed by CBMC.

Sheila received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at University of Rhode Island and completed a Master of Science in Nursing with a concentration in Executive Leadership from Felician University. She also holds a specialty certification in Maternal Newborn Nursing. As a solutions-driven healthcare leader, Sheila is recognized for her ability to steer successful cultural transformations resulting in major improvements to patient experience, healthcare outcomes, employee engagement and morale.

With over 30 years of experience within the Maternal Child Division at CBMC, Sheila has grown the service line by two percent year over year and has implemented several cost-saving initiatives. She is accomplished in establishing new departments and facilities from the ground up and assembling, managing, and mentoring high-performance teams.

Passionate about professional growth and inter-professional collaboration, Sheila has mentored numerous nurses who have transitioned into leaders within the organization. She leads by example to build trusted physician relationships and develop strong collaborations across all disciplines.

Additionally, Sheila was instrumental in leading her division through the Magnet Designation journey in 2018. She is a member of the American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE), New Jersey Advocacy Committee (ONL) and Association of Women’s Health Obstetrics and of Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN). Sheila was awarded the Daisy Nurse Leader in 2018 and was a March of Dimes Leader of the Year finalist in 2016.

Lindsay Cianciotto, MSN, RN, CNL

Assistant Vice President, Nursing Resources & Labor Relations

Lindsay serves as the Medical Center’s nurse liaison for the New Jersey Nurses Union and oversees the Medical Surgical Division, Nurse Staffing Office, Nursing Supervisors, Inpatient and Outpatient Wound Care, and the Radiology nurses. She joined Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in 2008 as a nurse extern on a medical-surgical Unit that primarily served women with a gynecological/oncology diagnosis. Upon completion of her undergraduate degree in 2009, Lindsay was hired as a staff nurse on a medical-surgical step-down unit. In 2011, Lindsay successfully piloted the first Clinical Nurse Leader role on a 36-bed medical-surgical unit. In 2013, she became Nurse Manager on a 42-bed pulmonary medical unit and, in 2017, was appointed Director of Nursing Finance with oversite of 67 nursing department budgets. She received her Master’s Degree in Clinical Leadership from University of Medicine and Dentistry of NJ in 2013 and was the first Clinical Leadership graduate from UMDNJ to receive the Clinical Excellence award. She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from York College. Lindsay has held a certification as a Clinical Nurse Leader through the AACN since 2013. Her core competencies include: strategic planning, process evaluation and improvement, employee relations and mentoring, union relations, productivity, and staffing.

Deanna Paxos, MSN, RN-BC, CNL, NE-BC

Assistant Vice President, Nursing Excellence & Clinical Education

Deanna’s oversight includes Nursing Education & Research, the Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL) Program, Nursing Quality, and Magnet. Deanna began her nursing career at University Hospital in Newark as a medical-surgical, critical care nurse. She transitioned to Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in 2013 as a Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL) managing daily patient care by collaborating with inter-professional team members. In 2016, Deanna accepted the position of Director of Clinical Excellence and Innovation, to achieve the organization’s first Magnet Designation in 2018. Deanna left in 2019 to take a leadership position in NYC to further gain the knowledge and skills within professional development. She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing and her Master of Science in Clinical Nurse Leadership from University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, and is currently enrolled in a Doctorate in Nursing Leadership program.

Leanne Sanabria, MSN, RN, NE-BC

Assistant Vice President, Patient Care Services

In her role, Leanne has oversight of Cardiac and Critical Care Services. Leanne began her career at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in 2004 as a medical-surgical, tele nurse. In 2007, she became a clinical coordinator for medical-surgical units and shortly after transitioned to the cardio-thoracic step down unit. In 2010, Leanne became the Nurse Manager of the Renal and Pancreas Transplant Unit where she worked until 2013 when she was promoted to the Administrative Director of Medical-Surgical. Leanne left briefly to take a leadership position in NYC where she gained strong operational skills, and focused on consistent delivery for patient safety, quality, and patient experience outcomes. Leanne is a results oriented leader, and excels at operational excellence and conflict resolution. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from St. Elizabeth College of Nursing and her Master of Science in Nursing Leadership from Rutgers University.

Maria E. Aponte, MPA, BSN, RN

Administrative Director of Emergency Services

Maria joined Cooperman Barnabas in 2021. With over 22 years of experience in acute care, emergency and trauma nursing, she has oversight of the transformative Emergency Department which treats more than 95,000 adults and children each year. Maria has a passion for patient care excellence and nursing leadership. She is most proud of her work in relationship team building and engagement to achieve optimal patient experiences and outcomes. Maria is integral to advancing high-reliability commitment, continuous regulatory readiness, and nursing excellence. Maria received a diploma in nursing from Hudson County Community College and completed a Bachelor's of Science in Nursing from New Jersey City University. She obtained her Master's in Public Administration with a concentration in Health Care from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

John Dillman, BSN, RN

Administrative Director of Nursing, Business Operations for the Perioperative Department

As the Administrative Director of Business Operations for the Perioperative Department, John has the responsibility to establish and develop the business office for the Surgical Services at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center. The Surgical Services Business Office has oversight of surgical scheduling, surgical billing, analytics and perioperative budgets with the goal to reduce costs and streamline the billing and scheduling process.

John started his nursing career at Cooperman Barnabas in 2010 in the Emergency Department, where he worked as staff, patient care coordinator and nurse manager. He transitioned to the Perioperative Division in 2017 as Nurse Manager of Operations, and most recently accepted the role of establishing the Surgical Services Business Office in early 2020.

Naomi Fox, MSN, RN, CCRN

Director of Nursing Education & Research

As Director of Nursing Education & Research, Naomi oversees nursing, nursing assistant and tech onboarding and orientation, annual and ongoing staff competencies, assessment, implementation and evaluation of continuing education for nursing staff, the Professional RN Residency Program, nursing school affiliations, nursing student clinical placement, and professional development opportunities for staff.

Naomi has worked as a staff nurse in the Burn Unit and the Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit prior to joining nursing education.

Naomi received her bachelor’s of science in nursing from Rutgers University and her Master’s Degree in Nursing Education from Thomas Edison State University. She holds a specialty certification in critical care nursing.

Jodi Galesi, DNP, RN, APN, FNP-BC, NE-BC

Administrative Director of Cardiac and Critical Care

Jodi joined Cooperman Barnabas in 2022. With over 25 years of experience in a hospital and ambulatory care setting, she has a focus on ICU, CCU, and Telemetry. In her previous role, she was responsible for bed placement, capacity management, and daily huddles with leaders in order to improve patient throughput. Among her many accomplishments, Jodi was a lead appraiser for the ANCC on a team of APNs and RNs evaluating applicants for accreditation for Advanced Practice Nurse and Registered Nurse residency and fellowship programs. She is an adjunct professor for the DNP program at Monmouth University. Jodi received her BSN from Rutgers University, her MSN and Family Nurse Practitioner from Columbia University, and her DNP from Monmouth University with a focus on Healthcare Leadership.

Selina S. Lavache DNP, MSN, RN

Administrative Director of Patient Care

Selina is a recognized servant leader with over 25 years of clinical/leadership experience. Her passion for evidence-based nursing practice coupled with her collaborative leadership style and drive for best clinical practice, quality, operational practices, and patient experience, has led to her progressive leadership roles throughout the past two decades.

At Cooperman Barnabas, Selina has direct oversite of all medical surgical departments including: 2 West Oncology, 4 West Orthopedics, 6700 Inpatient EEG, 4100/4700 Medical Surgical, 2200/2700 Medical Surgical, 5200 Pulmonary, 5300/5700 Renal Transplant, Float Pool, and the IV Therapy Team.

Selina earned her Doctorate in Healthcare Systems Leadership with High Distinction Honors from Chamberlain University in Illinois, where her doctoral thesis focused on The Art of Servant Leadership for Nurse Managers: Improving Organizational Culture and Nursing Leadership. She received her MSN in Executive Leadership from Benedictine University in Illinois, and her BSN from Felician University in New Jersey.

She is a member of several professional organizations including the American Organization for Nursing Leadership, American Nurses Association, New Jersey State Nurses Association, Association of Rehabilitation Nurses, and the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. Selina is also a member on the National Guldmann Advisory Board, and is the recipient of the Felician University Excellence in Leadership Award and the Allan T. Brown Foundation Standing Tall Award.

Jocelyn Tablazon, BSN, RN

Administrative Director for Invasive and Non- Invasive Cardiovascular Services

Jocelyn Tablazon received her BSN from Ramapo College and is currently pursuing her Master’s degree. She transferred to Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in 2016 where she started as a Cath Lab staff nurse. In 2019, Jocelyn was promoted to the position of Clinical Director of the Cath Lab and has most recently served as Interim Administrative Director. Jocelyn’s drive and passion for patient care, process improvement and communication with her team has helped develop a change in culture that is one of support and mentorship.

Kim Rosales, MSN, RN, CNML

Administrative Director of Nursing, Clinical Excellence and Innovation

As the Magnet Program Director, Kim has direct responsibility for the strategic and tactical development, implementation, sustainability, and maintenance of the ANCC Magnet Recognition Program. She provides leadership and oversight to the planning, integration, implementation and evaluation of all nursing excellence initiatives. She coordinates and manages innovation in clinical nursing practice to include nursing care delivery model, achievement of Nursing Strategic Plan and alignment with corporate goals. She provides administrative leadership for the CBMC nursing shared governance, professional development and the advancement of patient care excellence through research, evidence based practice and quality improvements. Kim also has administrative oversight of the Clinical Nurse Leaders.

Kim started her career at Cooperman Barnabas medical Center in 2003. She has experience working as a staff nurse and as a clinical coordinator for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and as the clinical director for the Family Centered Care department. Kim has always had a passion for nursing research and has served as an investigator for several research studies and has implemented numerous evidence-based practice initiatives and quality improvement project in her various roles. Kim received her Master of Science and Nursing Degree in Executive Leadership from Felician University. She holds the AONL Nurse Manager and Leader specialty certification.

Ginger Weatherston, BS, MAS

Administrative Director

Ginger, Director of Unit Management, has been at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center for over 25 years. She began her career at the Medical Center as the department’s educator. She currently oversees the unit representatives who provide the clerical support for our nursing units. Her other duties include oversight of providing services for our deaf and hard of hearing patients and the Electronic Death Registration system for the State. Ginger currently is the facilitator for the Physician Collaboration Team which works to improve our communication with doctors. She was also the liaison for our physicians during the implementation of the electronic medical record. Previously, she served as director of Patient Transport and Bed Management.

Ginger received her bachelor’s of science in business administration from Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey, and her master’s degree in administrative science from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, New Jersey. She currently is an online facilitator for the University of Phoenix in the School of Health Sciences.