In 1898, Dr. Rosemary’s grandmother, Rosa Anello, was born in Cerami, Sicily. At 13 years old, Rosa left her ancestral home and boarded a ship for a new life in America. Thanks to her uncle’s gift of a tutor, she knew how to read and write when she arrived in America. Her humble education kept an entire community of emigrants connected with their families back in Cerami and inspired her female descendants to pursue their education – in a big way:

Dr. Rosemary graduated summa cum laude from Seton Hall University, received a MS degree in Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing from Columbia University, and was in the first PhD class in Biomedical Informatics at Rutgers School of Health Professions. In a career spanning over thirty years, Dr. Rosemary has delivered care in a variety of clinical settings, held Nursing leadership positions, served in faculty positions at Columbia and Rutgers Universities and provided global healthcare information systems and management consulting for eleven years with Deloitte Consulting.

In 2013 and again in 2016, she received the gift of life, twice, in the form of two double lung transplants at The University of South Florida (USF) Tampa General Hospital. Finding new energy from a consciousness of gratitude, she and her husband Doug are bringing Nonna Rosa’s example of the power of education full circle by donating funds to support the collaboration between the USF College of Nursing and University of Enna Kore, which has served as a catalyst for broader collaborations with other institutions in Sicily and Italy. Dr. Rosemary is currently an advocate for global nursing and the disabled.

In honor of Rosa, Dr. Rosemary seeks to inspire others to learn boldly, give passionately, have vision, heal lives and never underestimate the power of gratitude.

She lives with husband Doug, their cat Purrtrick, and Boo their Cocker Spaniel in Lakewood Ranch, FL. Her heart resides in Sicily.