Zaharaa Davood, MPH is a public health professional and Assistant Director at the Pennsylvania Nursing Workforce Coalition. She leads initiatives to strengthen the nursing workforce and advance health equity, with a focus on reducing healthcare disparities and empowering others. With an MPH from Drexel University and a Bachelor’s in Public Health Promotion from West Chester University, Zaharaa equips future nursing leaders with the resources to thrive. Her collaborative approach emphasizes partnerships, team guidance, and organizing impactful events to empower communities and expand access to equitable healthcare.
The Pennsylvania Nursing Workforce Coalition (PA-NWC), formerly known as the Pennsylvania Action Coalition, was established in 2011 to strengthen the nursing workforce and build a culture of health in Pennsylvania.
As a statewide collaborative, aim to achieve our goals by fostering relationships across sectors- including academia, government, healthcare, and both non-profit and for-profit organizations.
Our mission is to advance a nursing workforce that will lead healthcare transformation by cultivating strategic partnerships with diverse populations and organizations.
We envision a healthy Pennsylvania through equitable, high quality, and safe nursing.
In 2023, the Pennsylvania Action Coalition launched a strategic planning process, resulting in a bold new 5-year plan and a 2024 brand “refresh” as the Pennsylvania Nursing Workforce Coalition (PA-NWC). This transition better reflects our focus on strengthening the nursing workforce in the state. Our expanded efforts include creating learning communities, sharing best practices, and offering resources such as toolkits, trainings, and webinars. We look forward to enhancing our engagement with our stakeholders as we utilize our core strengths to propel us into the future.
PA-NWC Brochure_8.5 x 11 in (FINAL 9.20.24) by PA Action Coalition
Learn More About Our Strategic Plan
The PA-NWC's work is guided by the Future of Nursing reports: the Institute of Medicine’s Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health and the National Academy of Medicine’s Future of Nursing: 2020-2030: Charting a Path to Achieve Health Equity.
The PA-NWC implements the Future of Nursing reports as part of the The Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action, a national initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, AARP, and the AARP Foundation.
The reports emphasize the critical role of nurses in addressing healthcare challenges and promoting equity. They highlight the need for nurses to lead change, foster innovation, and collaborate across sectors to improve health outcomes. The PA-NWC remains committed to advancing these goals through our statewide partnerships and initiatives.
Read the Future of Nursing Report
Jennifer (Horn) Gimbel, MBA is the Director of the Pennsylvania Nursing Workforce Coalition. Her career has been dedicated to the public health field and her passion for healthcare improvement. She is a dynamic relationship-builder with strong project management and communications skills. She received her Master of Business Administration in Innovation and Leadership from Thomas Jefferson University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Health: Science, Society and Policy from Brandeis University.
Sarah Hexem Hubbard, Esq. is the Executive Director of the National Nurse-Led Care Consortium (NNCC). Sarah is nationally recognized for her work on full practice authority for advanced practice nurses and has published in the areas of public health law research, scope of practice, and medical-legal partnerships. Sarah regularly teaches health policy at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing and graduated magna cum laude from Temple Law. Previously, she was the Policy Director of NNCC and served as the Executive Director of the now Pennsylvania Nursing Workforce Coalition.
