About Us

The East Texas Emergency Nurses Association (ETENA) is a sanctioned Chapter of the Emergency Nurses Association (Chapter 296).  It is comprised of emergency nurses and emergency nursing advocates located in a 26 county region covering the top eastern corner of the state including Texarkana, Mt. Pleasant, Paris, Tyler, Longview, Lufkin, and Nacogdoches.

Our membership includes men and women with amazing experience, education, and expertise including

    • 55 – CEN
    • 2 –LVN
    • 11– MSN
    • 1 – Certified Flight Registered Nurse
    • 2 –Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner
    • 1 –Advanced Trauma Care for Nurses
    • 1 –Masters of Public Health
    • 1 –Fellow of Academy of Emergency Nursing
    • 1– Masters in Education
    • 1 –Certified Transport Registered Nurse
    • 1 –Certified Pediatric Nurse
    • 1 –Certification in critical care nursing
    • 2 –National Registry Emergency Medical Technician – Paramedic
    • 1 –Certified Legal Nurse Consultant

2024 Board of Directors and Leadership Team

Keith Martin ADN

President

Keith grew up in Lindale, Texas and currently lives in Henderson, Texas. Employed full time with Christus Mother Frances Hospital in Jacksonville, Texas since 2009, where he’s currently in the role of RN Program Manager, Education Coordinator, and Emergency Management. He is also the current course director of the TNCC program for Christus Mother Frances Hospital. Prior to nursing,  Keith was a EMT Paramedic for Henderson Memorial Hospital, Gold Star EMS and then with Champion EMS, before obtaining his ADN from Kilgore College.  He is currently pursuing his BSN.  Out side of nursing he enjoys golfing, spending time with his wife and three kids and model trains.

Sydney Murry RN, ADN

President-Elect

Sydney has been a RN in the Emergency Room at Methodist Dallas since 2015 and has enjoyed the hustle and bustle, the wealth of experience it has given her, and the joy of caring for patients at the beginning of what may possibly be the sickest they’ve ever been before. She has been employed in other parts of nursing since becoming a nurse in 2014 such as inpatient psych, SANE, Memory and cognitive disorders ambulatory care and research, PACU, and freestanding emergency rooms. Sydney has completed and maintains BLS, ACLS, PALS, TNCC, ENPC,  and CEN. Sydney did not grow up in East Texas but has called East Texas home since 2017. Outside of nursing Sydney and her husband enjoy traveling, working on their tree farm, spending time with friends and family, and spoiling their dog. Sydney is looking forward to embracing her President-Elect position and finding new ways to get more East Texas emergency nurses involved in the ETENA and having fun while doing it!

Bonnie Avonrude RN, CCRN, CEN

Treasurer

Bonnie works at Christus Trinity Mother Francis in Tyler. She has been an emergency nurse for many years and has been active in ETENA and Texas ENA including serving a secretary and currently as treasurer. She is in Pittsburgh, PA at the National ENA Conference right now serving as a voting delegate. ENA has important issues impacting emergency nurses and she plans to bring home new and creative ideas to bring more education and activities for our chapter members.

Brittany Ray RN, BSN, CEN, TCRN

Secretary

Brittany has been an RN and ENA member since 2009. She has been teaching TNCC and ENPC for many years, serves as a course director for both courses, and recently obtained faculty status for ENPC. She began her career in Louisiana then moved to New Braunfels, TX in 2010. She has worked in the Austin & San Antonio areas for many years prior to moving to Tyler in 2022. She has a passion for education and has served as a preceptor, relief charge nurse, course instructor for multiple courses, clinical educator, clinical education manager, stroke coordinator, and trauma program manager. She is currently the trauma education and injury prevention specialist for UT Health East Texas Level 1 Trauma Center in Tyler, TX.

Lee Walker BSN, RN, CEN, NREMT-P

Director

Lee is from Lindale, TX and is an Emergency Nurse at Christus Trinity Mother Francis in Tyler. After 16 years of working in the IT field, he graduated from UT Tyler in 2013 with his BSN. He started his nursing career 5 years ago at Baylor University Medical Center Dallas ED. He likes to travel and go camping with his wife and 2 pre-teen boys. His vision for our ENA chapter is for us to gather together for fellowship, learning and to share knowledge to take back to our respective emergency departments to create a safer environment for all patients and nurses across the region. 

Debbra Graves BSN, RN, CEN, HACP-CMS

Director

Debbra is originally from Amarillo, Texas, and now resides in Alba, Texas. While attending Amarillo Community College, she began her nursing career as a unit tech on a busy trauma ICU unit. She graduated with her ADN in 2005. Her experience includes ten years of ICU training, 3 of which were spent working as a clinical donation specialist with the largest Organ Procurement Organization in Texas. Debbra also has several years of ER experience. Following her move to East Texas, she played an integral part in re-opening two small rural hospitals while also assisting them in obtaining CMS through DNV accreditation. Debbra received her BSN from the University of Texas at Arlington in 2022. She has been employed with CHRISTUS Mother Frances since 2020 as an ER staff nurse in Tyler and, in 2022, became the Clinical Director for Med-Surg and ER at CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances Hospital – Winnsboro, Texas. She is pursuing her Master of Business Administration and Master of Science in Nursing: Nursing Leadership in Health Care Systems from Grand Canyon University and plans to graduate in 2024. She hopes to bring her knowledge and experience to the East Texas ENA, the awareness of the need for strong, experienced nursing and education in small rural communities.

Kelsey Morton FNP-BC, AGACNP-BC, RN, CEN, TCRN, LP

Director

Kelsey is a Trauma Surgery Nurse Practitioner at UT Health East Texas in Tyler.  She is a former ER RN, Flight RN and Paramedic.  She was also a volunteer firefighter/paramedic at her local fire department and an EMS instructor at Kilgore College Fire Academy. She received an Associates in Science from Panola College in 2008, her BSN from Stephen F. Austin in 2012, and her MSN from University of South Alabama in 2018. She is dual certified as a Nurse Practitioner, with both her FNP-BC and AGACNP-BC. She is also has her CEN and TCRN certifications. She is a very active advocate for care of the trauma patient and is an ATCN and Stop the Bleed Instructor. She speaks at conferences and promotes trauma education in all levels of care. She also precepts EMS, RN and NP students. 

Sara Beth Franklin RN, BSN, CEN

Director

Sara graduated from UT Tyler in Dec 2009 and worked six months in med-surg, some ICU, some home health, and a little oncology before finding her place in the ED.  She’s been with Mother Frances since 2013 in the ED and did a little bug of freestanding ER work and a travel assignment to Midland.  She is currently full-time at Christus Jacksonville ED and enjoying the teamwork there.  She teaches TNCC.