Center for Health Policy Team

Madison Horton, BSN, RN is a predoctoral fellow under the mentorship of Dr. Lusine Poghosyan PhD, MPH, RN, FAAN through the Center for Healthcare Delivery Research and Innovations. Her research interest is on migrant health, with her work focused on immigrant populations and language barriers in primary care settings.

Suzanne Courtwright, PhD, PNP, NEA-BC is a postdoctoral research fellow and NP outcomes researcher under the mentorship of Lusine Poghosyan, PhD, MPH, RN, FAAN. Her program of research aims to investigate the effectiveness of NP-led care delivery models on reducing mental health disparities in adolescents with chronic conditions. She completed her PhD in Nursing science with a focus on healthcare systems research at the University of Colorado. She is a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and earned her Master of Science degree at Columbia University School of Nursing.

Darlene J Curley, EdD, RN, FAAN is a trusted health policy advisor to State Governors, U.S. Senators, federal & state agencies, association executives, and philanthropists to advance health for vulnerable populations. Since 2018, she has been an advisor and adjunct professor at the Center for Health Policy at Columbia University School of Nursing, a public policy consultant, board member, and volunteer, including the Utah Medical Reserve Corps, and Governor’s Commission on Aging.    

From 2009-2018, Curley was CEO of Jonas Philanthropies to nursing doctoral education, vision research, veteran’s healthcare, and environmental health.  Signature accomplishments: supporting 1,200 doctoral nursing scholars and future educators in all 50 states, developing a public private partnership with the U.S. Veterans Administration (2016-21), and collaborating with 25 national/global funders.    

Elected to the Maine State Legislature in 2002, she served on both the Joint Committee on Appropriations, charged to negotiate and balance the 8 billion-dollar state budget, and the Health & Human Services Committee, responsible for combining and reorganizing the Dept. of Human Services and Dept. of Behavioral and Developmental Services into one HHS Agency. Curley co-chaired the State Long Term Care committee, Blue Ribbon Commission on Medicaid, and was appointed to the Health Committee of the National Conference of State Legislatures. 

Darlene has given over 20 keynote presentations, published articles in the LA Times and Politico, and served on the Global Forum on Innovation in Health Professions Education at the National Academies of Sciences. She has been recognized for healthcare policy leadership by the New York Academy of Medicine, American Academy of Nursing, the University of Maryland, and Columbia University.