Honoring Outstanding Nurses: Four from Children’s Hospital Colorado Receive Top Statewide Award

The Excellence in Nursing Award, formerly known as the Nightingale Luminary Award, is Colorado's highest nursing recognition, honoring individuals who lead through advocacy, innovation, and leadership. This year, Children’s Hospital Colorado proudly celebrates the 28 nominees, nine finalists and four exceptional nurses who received this prestigious honor from the Colorado Nurses Foundation.

We’re thrilled to recognize Nicole Greco, BSN, RN, Laura Pickford, MSN, RN, Gennaro Scopo, MSN, RN, and Julie Wilken, MPS, RN, as 2025 Excellence in Nursing Award recipients.

Improving experience for rare disease patients

Nicole’s work supports families managing rare pancreatic diseases — many of whom travel across the country or internationally to get specialized care at Children’s Colorado. She leads detailed coordination efforts that make each visit impactful, organizing imaging, testing, and procedures. She’s also the nursing lead for a program that uses virtual reality and topical anesthetic to minimize the need for general anesthesia, reducing both stress and risk for patients.

Empowering nurses through political advocacy

Political advocacy is an integral part of nursing that many are not familiar with. Still, it impacts the way nurses deliver care, professional standards and equitable access to health care. Laura is changing how nurses engage with healthcare policy. She partnered with our government affairs team to develop training that demystifies political advocacy and builds confidence for nurses. Her signature program teaches nursing leaders about the legislative process and Children’s Colorado’s policy priorities. More than 45 nursing leaders have completed this training, sparking greater advocacy and influence across our organization and communities.

Advancing rehabilitation care through quality improvement

Gennaro led a transformational improvement in how rehabilitation rounds are conducted. By developing a structured rounding process that better includes nursing staff, caregivers, and the multidisciplinary team, the initiative resulted in smoother discharges, improved understanding of care plans, and higher caregiver satisfaction. Gennaro also developed a new role — Rehab Nurse Coordinator — to ensure caregivers understand everything they’ll need to do at home. Gennaro has shared this work with national audiences at the Rehabilitation Nursing Conference.

Delivering high-quality care to rural communities

Julie is driving equity in child health through statewide school nursing initiatives. In partnership with our government affairs team, she secured federal funding to expand pediatric nursing education to underserved rural regions in Colorado. In 2024, her team delivered specialized training that impacted over 336,000 students. Her work addresses educational and healthcare inequities while advancing whole child health in every corner of the state.

2025 Excellence in Nursing Award winners and finalists from Children’s Colorado:

Excellence in Nursing Award Winners

• Nicole Greco, BSN, RN, Clinical Nurse II, Gastro/Liver Clinic, Anschutz Medical Campus
• Laura Pickford, MSN, RN, CPN, Clinical Practice Specialist, Community Health
• Gennaro Scopo, MSN, RN, CRRN, ONC, CPN, Clinical Nurse IV, Level 6 Surgical, Anschutz Medical Campus
• Julie Wilken, MPS, RN, NCSN, Clinical Manager, School Health Program

Excellence in Nursing Award Finalists

• Julie Breaux, BSN, RN, Clinical Specialty Coordinator, Cardiology Clinic, Anschutz Medical Campus, representing the Pulmonary Hypertension RN Team with Katie Minford, Kate Moser, Clair McCracken, Karene Proffitt, and Jessica Maclean
• Emily Jensen, BSN, RN, RNC-NIC, Clinical Nurse IV, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Anschutz Medical Campus
• Shandra Kight, MSN, RN, CPN, Associate Clinical Manager, Special Care Clinic
• Jill Marks, CPNP-AC, Nurse Practitioner, Neurology, Anschutz Medical Campus
• Julie Marshall, MSN, RN, CCM, CNE, PED-BC, Clinical Practice Specialist, Inpatient MedSurg, Colorado Springs Hospital

Become a Children's Colorado nurse

Whether you’re new to nursing or have years of experience, there’s a place for you at Children’s Colorado. We offer support, training and valuable growth opportunities for nurses to advance their skills and build a meaningful career alongside the best and brightest in pediatric healthcare. Learn why our nurses love working at Children’s Colorado.