A doctoral student at the Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing has been named a Jonas Scholar – the first Hunter student to be so named.
Nathan Levitt joins 62 other doctoral students from 25 states in the 2024–2026 cohort of the prestigious program, which pairs each with a mentor and provides $12,000 in support for tuition and other academic expenses, with a school match.
“We are so proud of Nathan and know that he will soar as Hunter’s first Jonas Scholar,” said Joan Hansen Grabe Dean of Nursing Ann Marie Mauro.
Levitt is an established Nurse Practitioner. He is the Director of LGBTQ and Gender Justice Learning at Yale University School of Nursing, leading a Gender and Sexuality Health Justice concentration. Levitt’s clinical practice included working as a clinician at Folx Health, where he provided telemedicine care for the LGBTQ community. He has worked as a Nurse Practitioner in the gender-affirming surgery program at NYU Langone Health.
Levitt was in the first New York State Family Nurse Practitioner Fellowship program and became the director of Transgender Care at Community Healthcare Network. He has worked as a transgender health consultant to the New York State Department of Health.
Levitt holds an MS in Nursing from SUNY Downstate College of Nursing, a BS in Nursing from NYU College of Nursing, an MA in Gender and Cultural Studies from Simmons College, and a BA in Psychology and Women’s Studies from Emory University.
He received the Hillman Scholars Program in Nursing Innovation Fellowship and the Spirit of Hillman Award, as well as scholarships from Oncology Nursing Society and the Nurses Education Fund.
Launched in 2006, Jonas Scholars is the signature program of Jonas Philanthropies and has invested more than $28 million in some 1,500 nurse-scholars in all 50 states. The goal is to address the shortage of nursing faculty, a top barrier to expanding the national corps of nurses. Jonas alumni have gone on to serve as faculty, researchers, and leaders in academic nursing.
Jonas Philanthropies recently revamped its curriculum with content reflecting four pillars: mentoring, leadership development, policy, and teaching.
“Through this redesigned curriculum, we will achieve tangible results that bolster the faculty population, helping address the nursing shortage nationwide,” said Lendri Purcell, co-president, Jonas Philanthropies. “We were deliberate about selecting Scholars representing a wide range of content areas critical to healthcare delivery, including environmental health, gerontology, health policy, pediatrics, preventive care, rural health, school nursing, vision health, and women’s health.”
About Jonas Nursing
The mission of Jonas Nursing is to enhance the nursing profession by developing nurse leaders who will address the nursing shortage by educating the future nursing workforce and by investing in the health and well-being of our most underserved communities.
