Eloisa G. Taméz, RN, PhD, MSCJ, FAAN, is a Professor, School of Nursing at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) where she formerly was Chief Nursing Administrator and now holds the appointment of Associate Dean for Student Success and Engagement, Dr. Tamez joined academia in 2000 following years in service in the private sector and the Department of Veterans Affairs. In academia, she has held faculty and leadership positions and in 2014 founded the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) Post Master’s Certificate Program which has increased the number of credentialed mental health providers in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) by 3400 percent since 2016. In 2015, at the inauguration of UTRGV, the PMHNP program was launched as the only newly funded program. At that time, there was only one PMHNP-BC in the RGV. Now there are 35 and counting.

Dr. Taméz has received many awards, among which is Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, “A” Proficiency Designator from the United States Army, Alumna of Distinction of the University of Incarnate Word, Frederick Douglass 200 (FD200) Diplomat, and on May 31, 2024 was recognized as a 2024 Leaders and Legends of Texas Nursing by the Texas Nurses Association. As retired Colonel of the United States Army and a military veteran, Dr. Tamez was
appointed to the national Advisory Committee for Disability and Compensation by the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs. In May 2022 she earned a Master of Science in Criminal
Justice.