When Robin’s father was 12, he hid in a closet while his family was gunned down in one of the first mass shooting in US history. 60 years later, Robin’s niece hid in a closet while her classmates were murdered in the Parkland highschool shooting. Robin decided at that moment to become an activist against gun violence. As the child of a survivor and a school nurse, she knows first hand the damage caused by gun violence. When she learned about ACEs, her activism broadened from fighting against gun violence to thriving to promote trauma-informed schools and communities.

Bio:
Robin Cogan, MEd, RN, NCSN is a Nationally Certified School Nurse (NCSN), currently in her 19th year as a New Jersey school nurse in the Camden City School District. She serves on several national boards including The American Foundation for Firearm Injury Reduction in Medicine (AFFIRM), a gun violence prevention research non-profit organization and the National Board of Certification for School Nurses (NBCSN). Robin is the Legislative Chair for the New Jersey State School Nurses Association (NJSSNA). She is proud to be a Johnson & Johnson School Health Leadership Fellow and past Program Mentor. She has been recognized in her home state of New Jersey and nationally for her community-based initiative called “The Community Café: A Conversation That Matters.” Robin is the honored recipient of multiple awards for her work in school nursing and population health. These awards include 2019 National Association of School Nurses (NASN) President’s Award; 2018 NCSN School Nurse of the Year; 2017 Johnson & Johnson School Nurse of the Year; and the New Jersey Department of Health 2017 Population Health Hero Award. Robin serves as faculty in the School Nurse Certificate Program at Rutgers University-Camden School of Nursing, where she teaches the next generation of school nurses. She was presented the 2018 Rutgers University – Camden Chancellor’s Teaching Excellence Award for Part-time Faculty. Robin writes a weekly blog called The Relentless School Nurse. You can also follow her on Twitter at @RobinCogan.

Links:

https://relentlessschoolnurse.com/

Here is a link to a new initiative the I am involved in with American Nurse through the American Nursing Association: https://www.myamericannurse.com/american-nurse-welcomes-the-relentless-school-nurse-robin-cogan/

Here is a blog post I did about our experience screening Wrestling Ghosts at NASN Conference: https://relentlessschoolnurse.com/2019/09/11/the-relentless-school-nurse-wrestling-ghosts-an-experiential-film/ 

Here is info about my Community Cafe Initiative: https://relentlessschoolnurse.com/community-cafes/