MICHAEL COGAN, DNP, CRNA
NYSANA President 

Michael earned his BSN in Nursing from Adelphi University in Garden City, New York, in 2000, his MSN, Nurse Anesthesia, in 2009, from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, and his DNP from Chamberlain University in 2024. He has served as adjunct faculty for Rutgers University and Hofstra University. He is currently employed at Stony Brook University Hospital in Long Island, NY. Michael has completed numerous medical missions in his career, delivering anesthesia to children receiving life-changing surgeries. When not working, Michael enjoys exploring the world and traveling the Northeast on his boat with his wife Leigh.  

KARA HEDMAN, DNP, CRNA
President-Elect

 Kara began her nursing career in the Intensive Care Unit at Highland Hospital after completing her nursing degree. She went on to earn her Doctor of Nursing Practice in Nurse Anesthesia from the University at Buffalo and has since practiced as a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist in a variety of hospitals and surgical centers across the Rochester, New York region. With nearly a decade of clinical experience, Kara is dedicated to advancing safe, evidence-based anesthesia care and supporting the highest standards of practice within the profession.

Joseph Gnolfo III , DNP, MS, BSN, CRNA, ACNP
Secretary 

Joseph attended Stony Brook University and graduated in 2003 with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. He subsequently graduated from Yale-St. Raphael’s School of Nurse Anesthesia in New Haven CT with a Masters in Biology and Nurse Anesthesia and later would earn a Doctor of Nursing Practice-Nurse Anesthesia from Buffalo University. He had previously served as faculty and staff CRNA at St. Raphael’s Hospital, Staff CRNA at Hartford Hospital. For the past 14 years he has worked at Stony Brook University Hospital as a CRNA and Director of Nurse Anesthesiology, Chief CRNA, and Clinical Coordinator of Nurse Anesthesia Education. Joseph has served as Chair of the Resident Liaison Committee for the NYSANA for the past year. While pursuing a career in nursing Joseph spent a short time with the NYPD. In his personal time Joseph is an avid fisherman, husband, and a father of three children.

MARK BLAZEY, MS, CRNA, DNP
NYSANA Immediate Past President

Dr. Blazey received his BSN at the University of Buffalo and graduated from the Nurse Anesthesia program at Northeastern University in 2013. He earned his Doctor of Nursing Practice degree from Northeastern University in May 2020, with a scholarly project titled Development of a Preoperative Educational Pediatric Interactive Relational Agent Using E-Delphi. Dr. Blazey currently provides clinical care in all anesthesia areas at Niagara Frontier Anesthesia Services, New York.

DAVID R. MONAHAN, CRNA
Treasurer

David began his medical career as a U. S. Army medic. He completed his BSN in 1988and in physical rehabilitation settings as well as Neurological, Trauma and OB ICU. He attended CRNA school at Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth, graduating in 2002.

He and his Texas-born wife moved to New York in 2015 and David is currently employed with New York-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital. The Secretary position at NYSANA has been David’s first foray into the political aspect of the CRNA profession. The critical need for CRNAs to promote their profession to an unaware public and to gain, maintain and protect their position in the marketplace has made a deep impression on him. He hopes to spend many years working for the benefit of the CRNAs of New York and the rest of the country.

JAKE FORRESTER, MS, CRNA 
Director

Jake received his BSN from the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in 2016. After graduation he worked at MUSC and NYU Langone for 2.5 years in the Neuro ICU prior to going to Columbia University for his Masters in Nurse Anesthesia. He graduated from Columbia University in 2021 then returned to NYU Langone as a Staff CRNA. Since taking a job at NYU Langone, Jake has managed the shadowing experiences and has been the Clinical Coordinator for Columbia University and Hunter College. During his time at NYU, he has been awarded CRNA of the Year 2024 and Columbia University Preceptor of the Year 2024-25. Throughout his time in school and as a CRNA, Jake has held various roles with NYSANA. While in school he was the Resident Liaison for 1.5 years. After graduation, he became apart of NYSANA's finance committee and became the Liberty Ed District chair prior to becoming a Board Director. When Jake isn't in the OR, he enjoys finding new restaurants in NYC that have amazing desserts. 

OLUFEMI "FEMI" ODUMOSU, MSN, BSN, CRNA
Director

Femi earned his Bachelor of Science degree in International Relations from Geneseo state college in 2008. He pivoted to a career in nursing and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from Long Island University 2013. Femi graduated from Albany Medical College in 2020 where he earned his Master of Science in Nurse Anesthesia.

He currently practices in the Liberty Educational region of the state. Femi is credentialed at Jacobi Medical Center Level I trauma hospital as well as New York Presbyterian Hospital Columbia campus.

SABRINA PETRILLO, DNP, CRNA, AGACNP-BC
Director

Sabrina is a practicing nurse anesthetist at Northwell Health in New York City.  Throughout her years as a CRNA, she provided lectures on pain management to staff nurses and advanced care providers, organized a Perioperative Skills Day to educate staff about pertinent aspects of anesthesia, provided PACU nurses with a preparatory course to attain their certification, and implemented an outpatient orthopedic ERAS protocol.  These opportunities earned her the CRNA of the Year Award in 2017 and the Clinical Nursing Excellence Award in 2019 at New York Presbyterian- Lower Manhattan Hospital.

 Sabrina received her Doctor of Nursing Practice from Quinnipiac University, her Master of Science in Nursing, Nurse Anesthesia, from Columbia University, where she received the Anne Penland Award, and her BSN training at Dominican College. She is currently the assistant director of the AGACNP-CRNA- DNP program at Hofstra University. During this time, she graduated from the Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner program and became a board-certified nurse practitioner. Being a lifelong student, Sabrina is incorporating the nurse practitioner's role to provide quality health care as a full-service provider while supporting the nurse anesthesia students during their program. She hopes her work with NYSANA will continue promoting and improving the CRNA profession in New York State.

RACHEL DUBAY, DNAP, CRNA
Director

Rachel received her BSN from SUNY Plattsburgh in 1998. She spent the next 13 years working in the Cardiac ICU at St. Peter’s Hospital in Albany, NY as well as the Emergency Room at Saratoga Hospital. She pursued her degree in Nurse Anesthesia at Albany Medical College and graduated with her MSN in 2013 where she received the Geraldine MacDowell Award for outstanding academic and clinical achievement. After graduation, Rachel worked at St. Peter’s Hospital for the Anesthesia Group of Albany. In 2017, she returned to Albany Medical College’s Center for Nurse Anesthesiology as an Assistant Professor and Clinical Coordinator, sharing her knowledge and her love for teaching. In 2020, she completed her doctorate and earned her DNAP from Central Connecticut State. You can find Rachel in the classroom sharing her love for teaching, in the operating room, traveling to lacrosse games or spending time with her family. She joined the NYSANA board in 2022 and is passionate about advocating for the CRNA profession.

ALEXANDRA BENJAMIN, UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO
Resident Representative

Alexandra Benjamin is a second-year nurse anesthesia resident at the University at Buffalo. She is originally from Albany, NY and earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from SUNY Plattsburgh. Alexandra started her nursing career at Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse, NY on a medical-surgical unit. After gaining experience she transitioned to the Medical ICU where her interest in anesthesia was sparked. She is excited to be part of the NYSANA board and looks forward to gaining valuable insight into leadership, advocacy, and professional development.

Outside of her studies, Alexandra enjoys spending time outdoors. She is an avid fisher and enjoys skiing, hiking, and playing in local soccer leagues.

JACKIE KELLNER, HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY
Resident Representative

Jacqueline earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Binghamton University in 2017. She began her nursing career at St. Francis Hospital and later gained critical care experience in the Medical Intensive Care Unit at Mount Sinai Hospital, where she worked for five years. Jacqueline is currently a second-year nurse anesthetist student at Hofstra University, pursuing a dual Doctor of Nursing Practice degree as an Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner and Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA). After graduation, Jacqueline looks forward to serving as a CRNA, where she aims to provide exceptional anesthesia care and contribute to advancing the profession through leadership, mentorship, and advocacy.

MOLLY METZGER
NYSANA Executive Director
Message from the NYSANA Executive Director
Together with her team at Accent on Management, Molly Metzger provides professional association management. Her team manages the day-to-day operations of NYSANA, which includes managing finances, contracts, and the website. She plans meetings and events and coordinates communication with the membership. She assists the board president in leadership onboarding. These services leave the volunteer board members and committee chairs with time and resources to pursue the goals of advancing the profession of CRNAs in the state of New York. 

Accent on Management provides professional services to 5 CRNA state organizations in addition to more than 20 additional professional associations.

ALEXANDRA BENJAMIN, UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO
Resident Representative

Alexandra Benjamin is a second-year nurse anesthesia resident at the University at Buffalo. She is originally from Albany, NY and earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from SUNY Plattsburgh. Alexandra started her nursing career at Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse, NY on a medical-surgical unit. After gaining experience she transitioned to the Medical ICU where her interest in anesthesia was sparked. She is excited to be part of the NYSANA board and looks forward to gaining valuable insight into leadership, advocacy, and professional development.

Outside of her studies, Alexandra enjoys spending time outdoors. She is an avid fisher and enjoys skiing, hiking, and playing in local soccer leagues.