The Press

An independent house, built the hard way.

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Dickson Keanaghan is the shared journey of Michele G. Kunz and Joseph C. Kunz, Jr. — in Michele’s words, “a nurse educator and a businessman—dedicated to supporting nurses and healthcare professionals in meaningful ways… helping others through teaching, creating educational materials, and writing books, all with the goal of empowering the nursing community.” What began as a small effort to train local nurses grew into a training company serving hundreds of medical organizations across New York — and, since 2003, an independent publishing house distributing their books worldwide.

“This is the story of how we came together, learned from each step along the way, and built a company that continues to serve the nursing profession with care and dedication.”

The timeline

• 1980

  During a critical nursing shortage in New York City, Michele is hired at Staten Island University Hospital and placed directly in the Intensive Care Unit. She begins teaching her fellow nurses in real time — and discovers a lifelong passion.

• 1984

  Michele becomes a Staff Development Instructor at Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn, teaching American Heart Association certification classes in ACLS, BLS, and PALS to the entire hospital staff. That same year she meets Joseph — already running his first start-up on Long Island — in Manhattan. And because user-friendly study materials for their students simply didn’t exist, they begin creating their own.

• 1985

  Michele and Joseph teach together at a Brooklyn nursing-staffing company’s training operation, learning the ins and outs of running a training company.

• Late 1980s

  They set up their own small training company. Word spreads quickly, and classes soon run across Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau, and Suffolk. Joseph “quickly saw the potential of computers and the internet to support and grow our business.”

• 2003

  A pivotal year. Christine Molinari, a nursing friend from Staten Island University Hospital, joins the team to run day-to-day sales and class scheduling. And after years of nationwide requests for their study guides, Michele and Joseph make them commercially available: “We redesigned the materials to suit a wider audience and set up a publishing company to distribute them worldwide.” Dickson Keanaghan, the publishing house, is born.

• 2007

  The company is providing training for the medical staff at over 600 hospitals, medical offices, and surgicenters across Long Island and New York City — plus a military base and several colleges training future RNs and PAs.

• 2020

  The COVID-19 pandemic pauses classes; Michele and Joseph both contract and recover from the virus. On April 21, 2020, after a two-year battle with cancer, they lose their dearest friend and colleague, Christine Molinari. Afterward, they consolidate their classes to Nassau, Suffolk, and northeast Queens — and many devoted students from the city willingly travel to Long Island to keep learning with them.

• Present

  After 44 years of hospital service, Michele teaches full time, and the publishing house has expanded into books: her ten nursing titles — Zombie Notes study charts, the Mindful Nursing series, certification exam guides, and more — alongside Joseph’s Four Pillars library, beginning with Money’s Dirty Little Secrets.

Remembering Christine Molinari

Christine L. Molinari, BSN, RN, joined the company in 2003 and ran its day-to-day sales and class scheduling, building extensive contacts throughout the nursing and medical community in New York City and Long Island. Her dedication and hard work were woven into everything the company became. After bravely fighting cancer for two years, Christine passed away on April 21, 2020. Her kindness, dedication, and spirit touched thousands of students, and she is missed dearly. She lives on in the hearts and memories of everyone who loved, admired, and cherished her.

A life’s mission

“Between us, we’ve spent over 40 years listening to nurses’ stories… We’ve taught thousands of medical professionals in hospitals, surgicenters, and medical offices.” That partnership is the engine of the house: “Joe’s ability to integrate innovative technology strategies, thoughtful marketing plans, and practical business management skills with my hands-on nursing and teaching experience has been key to growing our small business and expanding its impact.”

The same standard runs through Joseph’s side of the catalog: “Every book you’ll find here comes from the same place I built my business: real work, hard lessons, practical responsibility… field-tested blueprints drawn from more than four decades of building, failing, learning, publishing, teaching, investing.”

What started for Michele and Joseph as a fun way to work together grew into a life’s mission — to help medical providers become better, more productive, and, most importantly, happier in their vital roles. That purpose inspires everything Dickson Keanaghan publishes.

The house today

Dickson Keanaghan publishes two lines: the Nursing & Healthcare Education library by Michele G. Kunz and the Four Pillars Library by Joseph C. Kunz, Jr. — nineteen titles published and in development. The house publishes under the ISBN prefix 978-1-933230, and its books are distributed worldwide through Amazon.

Dickson Keanaghan is a private house publishing its founding authors; we do not accept unsolicited manuscripts. For trade, library, bulk, rights, and media inquiries, please contact the press.