Tiffany Covarrubias-Lyttle ’27 DEL, an assistant professor of nursing at the University of Lynchburg, is the 2026 recipient of the Jeannine Rivet National Leadership Award. The award, which includes a $10,000 education or training award, is sponsored by the Jeannine Rivet National Leadership Fund, in partnership with the United Health Foundation.
In a press release, the American Nurses Foundation described Covarrubias-Lyttle as a “nurse educator and advocate for rural communities” who “has advanced workplace safety, nurse well-being and access to care through education, community-based initiatives and public policy.”
Graig Eastin, the ANF’s executive director, put it this way: “This award recognizes the nurse leaders who don’t just respond to today’s challenges, they help shape what comes next.
“Covarrubias-Lyttle’s work reflects the leadership that will guide the practice environment as it continuously evolves: grounded in evidence, committed to safer work environments, and focused on improving health outcomes for communities [she is] a part of.”
Covarrubias-Lyttle, in her first semester teaching at Lynchburg, has had what she describes as a “wonderful path through nursing,” a career that has included work as a resource nurse with certifications in cardiology, neurology, and leadership.
“I had many roles, but my primary focus was being a community advocate,” she said. “As a nurse researcher, it fueled me to be able to use a data-driven, evidence-based path to promoting the health of Virginians, particularly those living in rural and geographically isolated locations.”
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Covarrubias-Lyttle helped develop a local hospital system’s first-ever Nurse Wellness Office.
“The research on nurses was devastating at the time,” she said. “Nurses were reporting depression and anxiety higher than the general population, and worse yet, they were becoming victims of suicide more than twice the general population and the highest of all professions.
“This research came out in 2019, and then we went into a global pandemic, which exacerbated a global nursing crisis. … We did research on the state of nursing and created and integrated programming to help support the nurses in a local system.
“This actually made a difference for our nurses and those travel nurses who wouldn’t have otherwise stayed in a rural region. [They] ended up staying at a much higher rate because many of them said they had an opportunity to be healthy here and gain a toehold.”
Covarrubias-Lyttle also has developed initiatives aimed at preventing workplace violence and supporting nurses in the wake of violent incidents. She serves on the executive committee of the Virginia Health Workforce Development Authority, where she advocated for the creation of the state’s first Nursing Workforce Center.
She has served 10 years in the National Association of Hispanic Nurses and the Virginia Nurses Association, where she will soon start her second term as the commissioner for nursing practice.
Covarrubias-Lyttle has designed campaigns to address heat-related illness and alpha-gal syndrome in rural communities, reaching in excess of 10,000 people. This included publishing a cookbook and multilingual informative brochures for those with alpha-gal, a tickborne illness that is prevalent in the region.
“I have … done a lot of work around heat-related illnesses, environmentally created diseases, and alpha-gal syndrome, as they impact Virginians disproportionately, and with simple changes, we can create safer work environments and approach and advocate for a healthy life,” she said.
“I’m passionate about advocating for my community to be healthy — be that my healthcare or nursing community or the community I live in. It’s important that people know how to protect themselves, stay safe, and be able to sustainably approach and advocate for a healthy life.
“I have been so fortunate to become a nurse, and I will use it to the best of my ability to leave this Earth healthier than I found it.”
Covarrubias-Lyttle has associate and bachelor’s degrees from Centra College of Nursing, a bachelor’s degree from Liberty University, and a master’s in nursing from Johns Hopkins. She is currently enrolled in the University of Lynchburg’s Doctor of Executive Leadership program.
In its eighth year, the Jeannine Rivet National Leadership Award “honors the contributions of trailblazer Jeannine Rivet, RN, MPH, FAAN, retired executive vice president of UnitedHealth Group, to healthcare and business by making annual fellowship grant awards available to nurses to foster and integrate nursing health knowledge, leadership development, and expertise in community and business leadership.”
Covarrubias-Lyttle said she follows some “truly incredible people” who have received this award. “I’m so honored to have even been considered,” she added. “The work I get to do to create healthier places to work and live is enough for me, but to have anyone see it and say it was worthy of notice is humbling.
“I’m so grateful and I plan to use this opportunity to grow in the work we’ve started and gain the knowledge and skills to help in making sure that everyone has access to healthy work environments.
“I also believe that the next work is to be sure that we are moving the largest healthcare workforce forward. Nurses are at a pivotal point in history to advocate for positive change and promote our community’s needs. We can do this!”
