Nursing’s Gabrielle Abelard Receives Pair of Awards

Gabrielle Abelard, clinical professor, director of master's programs and certificates and psychiatric mental health specialty director at the Elaine Marieb College of Nursing, has been named the recipient of two awards recently.

The American Psychiatric Nurses Association (APNA) recently named Abelard as the 2025 recipient of the APNA Award for Excellence in Practice - APRN, which honors an APNA advanced level member who has distinguished themself as an accomplished nursing leader. In announcing the award, the organization noted that "Abelard has built a leading nurse-led community mental health clinic in Massachusetts, training future providers while breaking down barriers to culturally responsive, trauma-informed psychiatric care."

Abelard has also been named the recipient of a 2025 Inspiration Award by the African American Female Professor Award Association (AAFPAA), in recognition of her "extraordinary leadership, scholarship, and unwavering commitment to advancing equity in mental health and higher education."

"Your work extends far beyond the academy, embodying the power of education, advocacy, and healing in service to our communities," the organization stated in announcing the award. "From developing mental health and self-care curricula for girls of color in Boston-which expanded internationally to impact thousands of women in Rwanda through Shooting Touch-to chairing the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee of the Massachusetts Association of Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurses, you have transformed policy, practice, and lives. Your leadership in securing a 15% increase in Medicaid reimbursement rates is a direct policy change that has reshaped access to care for providers and patients in marginalized communities.

You stand on the front lines of the racialized mental health crisis, boldly naming the cultural stigma that prevents Black and Brown communities from seeking care," the announcement continued. "Through your community-based interventions and advocacy, you normalize therapy and create safe spaces for healing, especially among Haitian and immigrant populations."

Abelard will receive the AAFPAA at the association's ninth annual Crown & Gown Gala on Saturday, Nov. 8, at The Hotel Northampton.