USD-Magazine-Spring-2025

TOREROS MAKING WAVES

Preserving Heritage, Embracing Diversity Ileana Ovalle ’06 (MA) experienced the true power of cultural representation as a child. Led by her mother through the tall, arched entranceway to the Museum of Us, they were met with the towering cast replicas of Maya stelae, impressive stone monuments created by the Mayans that once graced civilizations throughout ancient Mesoamerica. “I’d been to Tikal as a child, climbed the Templo de Gran Jaguar and visited family in Antigua,” recalled Ovalle while sitting at a large boardroom table in the administrative wing of the same museum she has frequented her entire life. “It makes me proud to see Guatemala represented at the museum.” Ovalle is the current chair of the board of trustees at the Museum of Us. Appointed in 2023, she is the first woman of color to hold the position in the organization’s 110-year history. “It’s a great responsibility to be involved with this historic institution,” said Ovalle. “I work very closely with the CEO to help guide good governance for the board of trustees and the institution.” A first-generation San Diegan born and raised adjacent to Balboa Park in the city’s North Park neighborhood, Ovalle attended Jefferson Elementary School, Roosevelt Middle School and San Diego High School. She earned her bachelor’s degree in public administration and urban planning from San Diego State University and her master’s degree in nonprofit leadership and management from the School of Leadership and Education Sciences (SOLES). She is also a champion for authentic representation and inclusivity in library and museum spaces. Ovalle’s mother immigrated from Guatemala and her father is from Puerto Rico. The Museum of Us has been on a pathway to decolonization for the last 10 years and is currently undergoing decolonization of both its collections and practices. It’s a vital and ongoing process, Ovalle explained. “The museum today presents very differently than when it opened,” she said. “Historically, we would be the authority on the lived experience of others, and today we rely directly on our communities to tell us how they would like to tell their story. Collecting cultural resources and ancestors, and showcasing them without consent, was very harmful.” Formerly called the Museum of Man, the anthropology museum was established on the western edge of the park for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition. Along with vital work to decolonize how the institution conducts business, in 2020 the museum officially changed its name to the Museum of Us to better reflect the community and commitment towards inclusion. Ovalle, in her first board term, was involved with the process.

A Model of Care University of San Diego alumna and adjunct professor Julie Cowan Novak ’89 (DNSc), RN, MA, CPNP, FAANP, FAAN was named one of six 2024 Academy Edge Runners by the American Academy of Nursing. Edge Runners are evidence-based, nurse-designed models that demonstrate significant clinical, financial, community and policy outcomes with proven sustainability and replicability. Each of the programs highlights nurses’ ingenuity and collaboration in developing new methods to provide care and promote health equity. Novak’s model, Integrated Nurse-led Model of Sustainability and Innovation (INMSI)/Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic Sustainability & Innovation (NPCSI), aims to bridge health care gaps for underserved communities. Developed in 1994, her model promotes health equity and has been used to create and expand 14 clinics across rural and urban regions in three states. Currently, Novak applies her model to her NHA Head Start Health and Wellness Van, providing health screenings and neurodevelopmental assessments for 4,400 Pre-K Head Start enrollees. Novak was the first graduate of the Doctor of Nursing Science, now a PhD program, at USD’s Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science. In 2005, Novak received the USD President Author E. Hughes Career Achievement Award. In 2021 and 2024, she gifted the school of nursing a total of $20,000 through her donor-advised fund at the San Diego Foundation. The Julie Cowan Novak Family Fund provides scholarships to students who intend to pursue child and family health care research, nurse-led clinic development to reengineer health care or for those students pursuing the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Pediatric Nurse Practitioner degree, DNP Family Nurse Practitioner degree or PhD. In February, Dr. Novak was honored by Founding Forward (merged with Freedom Foundation) with the National George Washington Medal for her dedication to community service. In April, Novak was honored by the Fleet Science Center during their annual gala as a Woman of STEM. The university is grateful for her scholarship support, professional achievements, outstanding leadership in the nursing school and her contributions to the San Diego community.

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