Nursing Faculty
Prisca Anuforo, DNP
Prisca Anuforo is the Executive Director of the School of Nursing at Kean University. Prisca is an experienced administrator who has chaired two different associate degree programs prior to coming to Kean University. At Kean, she served as the RN-BSN Coordinator prior to becoming the Executive Director of the School of Nursing. She received her BSN and MSN in Transcultural Nursing Administration from Kean University and her DNP in Nursing Leadership from Fairleigh Dickinson University. She is nationally certified as a Transcultural Nurse Leader (CTN-A). Dr. Anuforo has been engaged in nursing practice and education for over 30 years. She has taught students at all levels of their education, including students in AS, RN to BSN, undergraduate and graduate nursing programs as well as mentoring DNP and Advanced Practice Nurse students. Dr. Anuforo’s research interests include holistic nursing education and practice, women’s right and health issues, widowhood, transcultural nursing, and interprofessional education and practice. She is a member of the New Jersey State Nurses Association, Nigerian Nurses Association in North America, Transcultural Nursing Society, and Sigma Theta Tau International, Lambda Iota Chapter. She is the current faculty Liaison for Lambda Iota Chapter. She is also a member of American Association of Colleges of Nursing, the National League of Nursing, and the Organization of Nurse Leaders. She is on the NLN Admission Committee and was recently recommended to serve on the Board of Commissioners for the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN).
Chrysanthe Patestos, Ph.D., RN, CNE, CPH, CSN
Dr. Patestos is a dedicated nursing educator with three decades of experience spanning Community and Public Health Nursing, Maternal–Child Health, School Nursing, and Nursing Education. She earned both her BSN and MSN from Kean University and completed her PhD in Nursing at Wilkes University.
Throughout her career, Dr. Patestos has combined extensive nursing practice with leadership in curriculum design, program coordination, and educational innovation. She is the co-creator of the Integrative Student Growth Model (ISGM), a transformative framework that shifts nursing education away from a “one-size-fits-all” model toward a holistic, inclusive approach that fosters success for all students.
Dr. Patestos maintains a strong commitment to holistic education, theory development, and student success. Her research interests include holistic nursing education, student success strategies, diversification of the nursing workforce, and innovative approaches to holistic admissions in nursing programs. She is also engaged in pediatric pain assessment research, with a particular focus on improving self-report pain measurement tools for young pediatric patients.
Dr. Ifesonye Emefieh
Dr. Ifesonye Emefieh is an Assistant Professor and RN to BSN Program Coordinator of Nursing at Kean University, New Jersey. She is a certified Nurse Educator and Critical Care Nurse. She earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice Emphasis Educational Leadership at the Grand Canyon University, Phoenix Arizona. Her translation of research into Evidence-based practice was on sleep improvement in the Intensive Care unit based on the Clinical Practice Guidelines of Society of Critical Care Medicine’s Pain, Agitation, Delirium, Immobility and Sleep Disruption (PADIS). She has disseminated her work in a podium presentation at the End of Year Faculty Research 2025 at Kean University May 2025 and at Poster presentations at the Reinkemeyer Research Day February 2025 and Atlantic Health Research Conference June 2023. She is currently developing a new project on Sleep and Delirium in the Intensive Care Unit.
Elsie A. Rivera, DNP, APN, FNP-C
Dr. Elsie Rivera is an assistant professor and the Graduate Program Coordinator in the Department of Nursing at Kean University. She is a board-certified advanced practice nurse with more than 34 years of experience in Maternal/Child and Family Practice, with a focus on dermatology. Dr. Rivera received her baccalaureate, master's, and Doctor of Nursing Practice degrees from Rutgers University-Newark, School of Nursing, and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at Duquesne University. Her research interests include caregivers of family members with dementia in the Puerto Rican population and skin cancers in men. She is affiliated with various organizations, including the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, National Association of Hispanic Nurses, Sigma Theta Tau, Transcultural Nursing Society, and New Jersey State Nurses Association. Dr. Rivera serves as President-Elect for Essex and Union Counties in the New Jersey State Nurses Association, is a member of the Advisory Board at Clara Maass Medical Center, Center of Excellence for Latino Health, and was recently appointed to the Board of Trustees at FOCUS, Hispanic Center for Community Development