LENA SORENSEN

SORENSEN, Lena Born December 8, 1947, Copenhagen, Denmark; died unexpectedly August 17, 2012, at home in Cambridge, MA. B.S., Keuka College (Nursing), 1970; M.S., Boston University (Psychiatric Nursing), 1975; M.A., Hunter College (Psychology), 1988; M.Phil, City University of New York Graduate Center (Psychology), 1988; Ph.D, City University of New York Graduate Center (Environmental Psychology), 1991. Since 2008, Lena served as Associate Professor of Medical Informatics in the School of Nursing at the Mass General Hospital Institute of Health Professions. In 2011-12, she was elected Chair of the Faculty Senate there. Her doctoral dissertation, "Nursing and Computers: Caring in the Context of Information Technology," was on the cutting edge of her field, contributing to the development of Nursing Informatics by combining her experience as a nurse with her training as an Environmental Psychologist. Her teaching and scholarship focused on the impact of digital technologies on health care environments, both real and virtual, and on the experiences of nurses and patients; she loved introducing students, friends, and colleagues to the latest online resources. Lena was always ready to help, to listen, and to guide, gently but forcefully. Assistant Professor, School of Nursing, Boston University (1978-1984); Assistant/Associate Professor, School of Nursing, University of Massachusetts, Boston (1987-2000). Visiting Associate Professor, Department of Nursing Science, University of Tromsø, Norway (1996); she returned to that department as a Fulbright Scholar in 1998-99. From 2000-2005, Lena was Associate Professor, School of Nursing, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, specializing in Medical Informatics; awarded the Chancellor's Teaching Award there in 2003. In 2006, she was recruited by New York University's College of Nursing to create and direct the Graduate Program in Nursing Informatics. Lena came from a long line of feminist labor activists in Denmark, a legacy of which she was especially proud. Founding member of the Board of Directors of the Fenway Community Health Center in Boston (1980-84); member of the Alliance Against Sexual Coercion (1980-84); Chair and Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of the Environmental Design Research Association (1999-2002). Survived by her mother, and by extended family in Bellevue, WA, Copenhagen, and Stockholm; by her brother Karsten Sorensen of Beverly, MA; her beloved niece Annelise Sorensen Conway and husband Ian, of Falmouth Foreside, ME, their children Maylie and Rory; close friend and frequent collaborator Professor Susan Jo Roberts, of Lexington, MA; and by her partner of 31 years, Alice T. Friedman of Cambridge, MA. A memorial service in her honor is planned for November; donations may be made to MGH Institute of Health Professions, "Lena Sorensen Memorial Fund."