Founded by Nurses Who Have Been in Your Shoes
Leadership Team
TruMont leadership has worked with more than 75 hospitals and healthcare systems nationwide to improve their clinical operations through consultation and executive management. Spanning 30 years, clients have included for-profit and not-for-profit organizations, small community hospitals and university systems, and urban and rural facilities. TruMont leadership has helped clients develop and implement strategies that aligned clinical operations with the organization’s strategic vision, achieving sustainable quality and financial outcomes.
Lynn Peoples, PhD, RN, Co-Founder
Lynn earned her PhD in Nursing Administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She practiced as a staff nurse on evening and night shifts before beginning her management career which led to more than 35 years in permanent and interim leadership roles. She has served as a Market CNO, Vice President for Patient Care Services, Chief Nursing Officer, and Consultant for hospitals and healthcare systems in transition throughout the United States. Lynn has worked with rural community hospitals; national for-profit systems; not-for-profit, religious systems; and university hospitals.
As Vice President of a national consulting firm, Lynn was responsible for management of the consulting practice and for the domain development of healthcare information systems. The emphasis of her consulting work is the design and implementation of effective, efficient care delivery models.
Lynn served as Project Director for one of 20 Strengthening Hospital Nursing (SHN) grants, a seminal work on the nursing shortage. Funded by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Pew Charitable Trusts, the SHN grants were designed to encourage hospitals to undertake institution-wide restructuring in order to provide better patient care by improving nursing services. This work was notable in bringing nurses to the table as full partners in the care team and on the executive team. It brought focus to the creation of innovative improvements in care delivery models.
Among her professional activities, Lynn has served on the Nursing Advisory Board for several universities and the Editorial Board for Hospital Materials Management Quarterly. She has received several honors, including induction into Sigma Theta Tau and Phi Kappa Phi and recognition in Who’s Who in American Nursing. She was awarded a Medical Center Fellowship and a National Institutes of Health Traineeship.
Nina Perez, MSN, RN, Co-Founder
Nina earned her MSN from the School of Nursing from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She has over 30 years of clinical, management, and consulting experiences with not-for-profit and for-profit healthcare systems in urban as well as rural settings in many states. As a nurse executive, she has been successful in leading staff to provide exceptional, safe, quality care; in exceeding financial goals; and in ensuring patient satisfaction. Nina has held positions as Emergency Department Director, Night Shift Supervisor, Director of Medical-Surgical Nursing, and Chief Nursing Officer. She has consistently garnered the support of her nursing staff, hospital staff and medical staff who have worked with her to achieve the organization’s goals.
In her consulting practice, Nina was key in domain development of clinical information systems. She now specializes in Transition and Turnaround work, performing assessments and implementing interventions to improve clinical operations for major healthcare systems. She often serves as the Interim Chief Nursing Officer to begin the transition to the hospital’s vision and goals. Nina has been successful in implementing Nurse Residency Programs which increased new graduate recruitment and reduced first year turnover.
Nina served our country as a military reservist for 20 years, retiring at the rank of Colonel. Her stellar service included real world deployments and command positions. She served in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the 4404th Air Transportable Hospital, where she coordinated the Air Staging Facility for the Southwest Asia Theater. As Commander of the 908th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron (AES), United States Air Force Reserves, she was responsible for directing and managing all AES personnel and programs, assuring optimum combat readiness. As a Lieutenant Colonel, she served as Chief Nurse of the 187th Medical Squadron, Alabama Air National Guard; as a 1st Lieutenant, she served in the Army Field Hospital, Army Reserve. She is a Flight School Honor Graduate and received the Health Services Inspection Outstanding Rating for Medical Readiness.
Valerie Halstead, PhD, APRN, FNP-BC, Executive Director of Academic Affairs
Valerie earned a Doctorate of Philosophy in Nursing, Master of Science in Nursing and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Miami. She is board certified by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). Valerie is dedicated to the advancement of the Nursing profession, which is reflected in her work in educational, clinical, and research arenas.
Valerie has had the opportunity to hold several adjunct and clinical faculty positions at academic institutions. She is passionate about providing learners with resources that foster nurse leadership and engagement. Additionally, she has experience with curriculum development, course creation, and evaluation methods. Clinically, Valerie has worked in both the hospital and outpatient settings, as a nurse and nurse practitioner. She values practices that reflect patient care and those that hold patients’ health and well-being at their core. Valerie has experience using both quantitative and qualitative research methods. Her research interests include violence prevention, implementation science and evidence-based practice. She has authored numerous publications and presentations and is honored to have been recognized on a national level for her work as a White House “It’s On Us” Champion of Change. Further she is honored to have been inducted into Sigma Theta Tau and named a Jonas Nurse Scholar.