Michelle De Jong-Quinn | Mother-Baby, Days
Being a NYPNU delegate for the past several years has given me the opportunity to support my colleagues in their work-life balance and ensure our patients have a safe environment to heal. Encouraging hospital leadership to be transparent and have our union contract maximize nurse-led initiatives to maintain the highest levels of a safe and healthy work environments is critical to our members.
Stefanie Duran | Emergency Dept., Days
My name is Stefanie Duran and I have been in nursing for 21 years but at Lenox Hill for 15 years this coming June. For the last 12 years I have been in the ER, which has such a special place in my heart. Nursing is all I know and truly love. I enjoy being a delegate but more so I enjoy being involved in the union and getting to know so many other nurses and their experiences. Being able to help others in their time of need is a nursing talent but helping other nurses is a privilege. We are all the union but being involved and participating has been a very rewarding experience!
Daria Figlo | Senior Labor Representative
My name is Daria Figlo, I am the Senior Labor Representative at NYPNU. I have a degree from Cornell University in Industrial and Labor Relations, a minor in Inequality Studies and a concentration in Human resources. I am beyond excited to take all that I have learned and apply it at NYPNU. I come from a union family as well as a family of healthcare workers, so I understand, personally and deeply, the importance and need for both. I could not think of an organization that better reflects the intersection of my interests, passions, and skills.
Contact: [email protected]
Kristie Bailey | Associate Executive Director
Kristie has had the privilege of working with NYPNU since 2017.
She first got involved in the labor movement in graduate school, where she was studying political science. She served two terms as president of the graduate teaching assistants union. There she discovered a passion for organizing and left academia to devote herself to the labor movement.
She still honors her roots in education. Kristie believes that union members must know their rights and responsibilities, and she particularly loves educating members and training leaders. She is proud to support NYPNU’s member-driven issue organizing.
Kristie lives in Brooklyn with her partner and their cats. When she’s not rabble-rousing, she enjoys reading political theory and speculative fiction.
Contact: [email protected]
Sheree-Ann Shepherd | Cath Lab, Days
Currently, I work as a Cath Lab Staff RN. I have been a NYPNU member for over 15 years. I’m proud to have been a zealous advocate representing the nurses at Lenox Hill Hospital for the past ten years, at the bargaining table at contract negotiations, and serving on the Executive Board for the past 8 years. Since 2012, I have also advocated for NYPNU and the profession in my role as delegate with NENA.
Kathie Reid | MCH, Retired
Nurse since 1979 and an employee and Union member at Lenox Hill for 25 years. I was a staff nurse in NCCU, on the Pediatric Resource Team, and a Lactation Consultant. I retired in 2015 but continued as a delegate and Executive Board member to date. Most recently I served on the negotiating committee for the current contract. I have composed the Retirement Booklet and conducted many Lunch & Learn seminars on retirement. In addition to NYPNU activities, I was a charter Board member of NENA, the Northeast Nurses Association, serving as Secretary until December of this year.
I believe that NYPNU, as a collective of nurses, is a vital organization, serving and protecting our members.
Treasurer Jennifer Charles | PACU, Days
My name is Jennifer Charles and I've been a nurse at Lenox Hill for 31yrs. I spent 15 of those years in the Med/Surge ICUs and currently working in the PACU.
I would always be one of the first to speak up for the safety of colleagues, patients, and myself as well as was unfair.
I became a delegate in 2017 after I was asked by a now retired delegate to run, she said to me, "You are not afraid to speak up and advocate for what right and fair, you should be a delegate."
I truly believe that nurses advocating for nurses speaks volumes!
Liza Billings | LHGV ED, Nights
I have been an emergency room nurse at LHGV for the past 5 1/2 years. I initially became involved in the union just to help set up events at Greenwich Village but soon realized that nurses at LHGV needed someone to represent them during contract negotiations. The union has taught me that nurses have a strong voice and that we can affect change to better our profession and working conditions. I feel privileged to have been a delegate and now Executive Board member.
Eileen Toback | Executive Director
Eileen has more than two decades of experience as a union leader and campaign strategist. Proudly serving as the NYPNU's Executive Director of a nurses’ union for a total of fourteen years, Eileen has been an advocate for the nursing profession and safe patient care by helping orchestrate four collective bargaining campaigns, win numerous groundbreaking arbitrations, and champion legislative initiatives on issues such as single-payer health care, workplace violence, and pay equity. In October 2020, Eileen advised the COVID Survivors for Change and her vision of thousands of empty chairs symbolizing the (at the time) 200,000 lost to COVID were set up in front of the White House and made the cover the NYT and media outlets all over the world. In her time in Washington DC, Eileen ran national issue campaigns that included accountability for the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act, served as national field director for the campaign to pass the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, led a campaign to reveal the Koch Brothers’ bi-annual billionaire gatherings with a series of counter-protest events, shed a spotlight on protecting Social Security and Medicare, fought for employees to have the right to organize a union with the Employee Free Choice Act, and built a national legislative political action team program at the Communications Workers of America.
Eileen received her Bachelor of Science in Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University and a Master’s in Public Administration from Harvard University. She resides in Manhattan with her Golden Retriever.
Contact: [email protected]
Adele Adams | MEETH ASC, Days
This past summer marked my 47th year as a NYPNU staff nurse. I have worked in Pediatrics, Out Patient Clinics, and Endoscopy before transferring to Ambulatory Surgery at MEETH in 2002. I've been a proud member of NYPNU since its inception in 1984, witnessing firsthand how solidarity can be a positive force in affecting change for working conditions and patient safety.
As a delegate I have enjoyed working as a liaison between staff and management resolving issues before they escalate into grievances. I have represented my coworkers at MEETH during the past four contract negotiations making sure our voices are heard.