Meet the team //
Faculty DEVELOPMENT Program
Dr. Dawn Elizabeth Bent
University of Pennsylvania
Nurse Anesthesia Program Director
“My desire is for each student to see that they can achieve so much more than what is in front of them. Their knowledge will take them far, but their drive, aspirations and willingness to be visionary will separate them from everyone else.”
Dr. Dawn Bent began her nursing career at Medical College Hospital in the Neuro Intensive Care Unit (ICU). She always knew she wanted to work with children, and, soon after, secured an ICU position at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children. It was there that she decided to forge ahead with her education, earning her MSN from Temple University with a certificate in Nurse Anesthesia from Pennsylvania Hospital’s Nurse Anesthesia Program.
Three years after graduation, her mantra to “always say yes to opportunities” brought her to the University of Pennsylvania’s Nurse Anesthesia Program as program faculty and simulation support. Dr. Bent received her Doctor of Nursing Practice from Duquesne University in 2011.
Dr. Lisa Bennett
University of Tulsa
Nurse Anesthesia Program Director
“Nurse anesthesia requires dedication, motivation, intense training, continued training, inquisitiveness and attention to detail.”
Dr. Bennett is a native of Michigan. As a collegiate soccer athlete, she earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Michigan. She worked as a Surgical Intensive Care Unit nurse before nurse anesthesia school. She earned her Master of Science in Nurse Anesthesiology from the University of Detroit Mercy, her Doctor of Nursing Practice from Robert Morris University. She has practiced clinically in a variety of settings from Level 1 trauma centers to critical access hospitals.
Dr. Bennett served as faculty at the University of Cincinnati, Louisiana State Health Sciences Center, and Michigan State University nurse anesthesia educational programs before becoming the University of Tulsa's inaugural program director. She has served a variety of roles on state and national professional organization including the Michigan Association of Nurse Anesthetists PAC Chair, AANA Diversity and Inclusion Committee, AANA Foundation scholarship and poster reviewer, and NBCRNA Board of Directors.
Dr. Bebe Adenusi
Cedar Crest College
Nurse Anesthesia Program Director
Passionate about education and research, Adenusi belongs to numerous professional associations including the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists and the Pennsylvania Association of Nurse Anesthetists. She is the founder of the Nigerian American Nurse Anesthetists Association (USA) and treasurer of the Association of Nigerian Physicians in the Americas.
Adenusi earned her PhD from New Mexico State University. She was valedictorian of her anesthesia class at Our Lady of Lourdes Nurse Anesthesia Program (Drexel University) where she earned her Master of Science in Nursing. She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Indiana State University.
