Meet Our New Sr. Director of Programs and Services

We are excited to share that Jill Sproul, MS, RN, will be joining our team in the role of Senior Director of Programs and Services. Jill has a long history of working with and championing Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors’ programs, and we could not be happier that she has decided to come on board at this exciting time as we excel our efforts to work with burn centers and our supporters across North America to meet the needs of those new on the journey of recovering and living with a burn injury and all who care for them. Her extensive executive leadership within the health care setting, personal burn experience, and understanding of the lived experiences of those we serve make her uniquely qualified to lead our team and volunteers in delivering programs and services. Please help us welcome Jill as our newest team member!

Meet Jill Sproul

Jill Sproul, MS, RN, has worked in burn care for over 30 years. She started her nursing career in 1990 as a new graduate nurse from San Jose State University and started in the Burn Center at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. In 1996, Jill began working as the Assistant Nurse Manger at UCSD in San Diego in the Burn Center. In 1997, she returned to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center as the Burn Center Nurse Manager and was in that role for 20 years. Jill also served as the Director of Critical Care, Emergency Department, and Perioperative Services. In 2017, she became the Chief Nursing Officer for Valley Medical Center and became the System CNO for the hospitals and clinics in 2019. She served in that role until June 2023, when she retired from Santa Clara County.

In addition to working clinically in burn care, Jill’s passion has been community outreach and aftercare, and she has participated in and expanded access to numerous aftercare programs. Jill is most proud of her contributions to the Phoenix SOAR (Survivors Offering Assistance in Recovery) peer support program as part of the National Advisory Committee. She firmly believes in peer support and did her graduate research in 2009 at San Jose State University on peer support and the perceived benefits for burn survivors. She has been involved with the Phoenix Society since 1994 and has served on the Board of Directors from 2012 to 2022 and two Phoenix World Burn Congress planning committees. She has also been involved locally, serving on the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation board and the American Burn Association Board of Trustees from 2013-2016, in addition to volunteering on many ABA Committees.

Jill sustained a burn injury as a child in a campfire accident and, through her involvement within the burn community, met her husband, who is also a burn survivor. They have four grown children. During her brief retirement, she has remained highly active in the burn community and is excited to join the Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors as the Sr Program Director, where she will continue to pursue her passion to improve the lives and outcomes of those impacted by burn trauma.

Thank you, Sandra!

We also want to share our gratitude to Sandra Cramolini, who, over the last year, has worked to advance the programs and services of Phoenix Society. She stepped off the Phoenix Society’s board of directors to serve as the Interim Sr. Program Director as we conducted our search. She and the team have advanced the Phoenix SOAR program and will launch the new Journey Forward Program this month at UC Davis Burn Center. In March, she will return to the board to serve the organization by leading our Board Committee for Programing.