Two years after Marlene Rosell, MSN, RN, CPEN, CPN, joined the University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies as an adjunct clinical faculty member, she accepted her first-ever DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurse Educator from the school. Cheered on by her students, the prestigious recognition Rosell accepted in December 2025 brought her to tears. “Teaching these students has truly been the highlight of my career,” she said. “They give me so much purpose and joy.” Rosell’s student nominators share that she is constantly patient, kind, encouraging, and challenging. She “made my nursing school experience far more than I could have ever imagined,” said one. “She is the embodiment of what compassionate, patient-centered nursing, and exceptional teaching should look like,” said another. “She leads by example, showing her students what it means to be both an exceptional nurse and an exceptional person,” added a fellow nurse.
Born in Miami to Cuban parents, Rosell has lived in Miami all her life, except while serving in the United States Navy as a disbursing clerk for a NATO command in Belgium. After leaving the military, Rosell began her nursing education, going on to earn her Master of Science in Nursing Education from Wilkes University. For over 20 years, she worked as an emergency department nurse with Baptist Health. During COVID, she spent two years as a nurse educator with Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Since 2021, Rosell has been working at Miami's Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in the urgent care setting. Her expertise includes patient care, curriculum design, and staff development. She is fluent in English and Spanish, and her hobbies include cooking and traveling.