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Dr. Jemma Ayvazian is the National Director of Nursing Education at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington, DC. In this role, she assumes responsibility for all Veterans Affairs academic nursing education programs, including more than 25,000 nursing trainees annually. Dr. Ayvazian received her Doctorate of Nursing Practice degree from Johns Hopkins University. She completed her Masters of Science in Nursing and Post-Master’s Certificate in Teaching at Boston College. She decided to dedicate her professional life to supporting veterans and their families upon completing a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Regis College in Weston, Massachusetts.

Dr. Ayvazian is board-certified in Primary Care, Oncology, and Pain Management and served multiple roles at the Veterans Health Administration, with both clinical and administrative responsibilities. She worked at the Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Bedford, Massachusetts, and served as a Pain Management and Traumatic Brain Injury Nurse Practitioner and Program Coordinator in the Polytrauma Clinic at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Dayton, Ohio. She assumed clinical and program coordination responsibilities as an Oncology Nurse Practitioner at the Washington DC Veterans Affairs Medical Center before transitioning to the VA Central Office.Dr. Ayvazian received numerous performance and academic excellence and achievement awards during her career, including Jonas Veterans Healthcare and Bob Woodruff Foundation Scholar Awards.

Dr. Lepaine Sharp-McHenry possesses a unique mix of experience in higher education, nursing practice, and nursing regulation. She has gained recognition as a leader in her field who actively supports mentorship and leadership development. She is an enthusiastic advocate of branding your professional image among her colleagues and has gained the respect of industry leaders across the country. She is known for her extraordinary service in the policy arena, academia, and the community. Dr. Sharp-McHenry is committed to volunteerism and making a difference at the local, state, and national level.

Susan Hassmiller is currently serving as the Senior Scholar-In-Residence and Senior Adviser to the President on Nursing at the National Academy of Medicine from January 2019 through August 2021. In this role, she is serving as a key member of the leadership team for the Future of Nursing 2030 report. She is also the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Senior Adviser for Nursing, and in partnership with AARP, Hassmiller also directs the Foundation’s Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action. This 50-state and District of Columbia effort strives to implement the recommendations of the Institute of Medicine’s report on The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health and will additionally seek to build a Culture of Health. Hassmiller served as the report’s study director.

Hassmiller’s work has included service in public health settings at the local, state and national levels, including HRSA. She taught community health nursing at the University of Nebraska and George Mason University in Virginia.

Dr. Susan Bakewell-Sachs is a nationally recognized scholar and clinical expert in the care of prematurely born infants, as well as a distinguished leader in academic nursing. Prior to assuming her current role at OHSU in 2013, she served as nursing faculty at the University of Pennsylvania; program director, professor and dean at The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) School of Nursing, Health & Exercise Science; and Interim Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs at TCNJ. A strong nurse advocate, she was the director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s (RWJF) New Jersey Nursing Initiative, chair of the New Jersey Association of Baccalaureate and Higher Degree Programs, member of the March of Dimes National Nursing Advisory Council, and on the steering committee of the Oregon Action Coalition. Dr. Bakewell-Sachs was an RWJF Executive Nurse Fellow, Cohort 2007, where her leadership development project focused on strategic effectiveness and nursing education.

Susan Swider is a Professor in the Department of Community, Systems and Mental Health Nursing at Rush University in Chicago. Dr. Swider has practiced in acute care, home health care and public health settings over the past thirty years. Her research has focused on program development and evaluation of community health workers, engaging urban communities in health promotion, and health policy to support health promotion efforts. She has taught public health nursing at the pre-licensure and graduate/specialty level at several universities, and co-directed 10 years of HRSA supported work to develop an online doctoral program in Advanced Public Health Nursing, ensuring that it met the Quad Council competencies for Public Health Nursing practice. She is a member of a number of public health and public health nursing organizations and is a past president of the Association of Community Health Nursing Educators (ACHNE). In her role with ACHNE, she served on the Quad Council for Public Health Nursing organizations and was a member of the Task Force that revised the Competencies for Public Health Nursing (2010-2012). In 2011, Dr. Swider was appointed by President Obama to the Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion and Integrative and Public Health, a group designed to advise on the development and implementation of the National Prevention Strategy. She is also a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and of the Institute of Medicine of Chicago. In 2016, she was appointed to serve on the Community Preventive Services Task Force of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Michelle Heyland is a board certification psychiatric & mental health nurse practitioner with 8 years of experience as a nurse practitioner and 13 years as a nurse working in mental health overall. She has worked in a variety of inpatient and outpatient settings, currently working at a community mental health center and operating her own private practice. She is also director of the PMHNP program at Rush University College of Nursing and an Associate Professor. Her area of scholarship is emergency department diversion of people in mental health crisis. She has worked extensively with the Living Room model, which provides a community based crisis respite center for people experiencing psychiatric emergencies.

Elizabeth A. Loomis is an Assistant Professor at Eastern Michigan University, School of Nursing and a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner. Dr. Loomis received her DNP at Rush University in Transformative Leadership: Population Health. In addition to teaching full time, Dr. Loomis practices part-time in an OB/GYN office. Her clinical interests include safe opioid prescribing, and the primary care of women, specifically working with adolescents and young adults regarding safe sex practices and STD prevention.

Dr. Mary Ann Siciliano McLaughlin has been the ABSN Program Director and an Assistant Professor of Nursing in the Frances M. Maguire School of Nursing and Health Professions since August of 2017. Dr. McLaughlin earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) Degree from the University of Pennsylvania; her Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) Degree in Adult Health and Illness, Cardiopulmonary Clinical Nurse Specialist, from the University of Pennsylvania; and her Doctorate in Education, in Nursing Leadership and Organization, from Teachers College at Columbia University.

Dr. McLaughlin is a member of the Xi, Alpha Zeta, and Iotta Kappa chapters of Sigma Theta Tau, the National Honor Society for Nurses; the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN); the AACN Faculty Leadership Network; the National League for Nursing (NLN); the American Nurses Association (ANA); the New Jersey State Nurses Association; and the Nursing Education Alumni Association (NEAA) of Teachers College at Columbia University.

Dr. McLaughlin’s areas of experience and expertise include: cardiac nursing, medical surgical nursing, education, publishing, NCLEX, disease management, telehealth, nursing management, professionalism, leadership, and ethics.

Dr. McLaughlin’s scholarship interests include publications and presentations related to cardiac nursing, medical surgical nursing, NCLEX, professionalism, and ethics. The main focus of her scholarship now revolves around ethical practice in nursing. She has had opportunities to present locally, nationally, and internationally relating to her scholarship on ethics and her model, the Siciliano-McLaughlin Model of Ethics.

Dr. Tyshaneka Saffold is an Assistant Professor at the Rutgers University School of Nursing-Camden. Dr. Saffold is an advocate who is passionate about improving the health of those in underserved populations. Her core values shape her philosophy of nursing: everyone deserves to be treated with kindness and compassion regardless of race or socioeconomic status. Her service relates closely to her commitment to ensure fair and equitable service to all regardless of their income level. Dr. Saffold volunteers both locally and internationally, providing free health and education services to community members.

Dr. Saffold's program of research is health disparities in urban populations; prevention of both social and racial injustice; impact of poverty on health; and improving the health of vulnerable populations. Dr. Saffold has been a nurse for 18 years, with clinical expertise in the areas of cardiac care, community health, nursing education, geriatrics, and leadership. Currently, her research centers on social determinants of health; particularly health disparities, social injustice, racial injustice, and inequalities in healthcare.

Dr. Shelley Johnson holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in nursing, and a doctorate in educational leadership. She also completed certificate programs from Harvard University in educational leadership and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and a Community Participatory Research Fellowship at University of Pennsylvania. She is dedicated to lifelong learning and was graduated from Northwestern University’s, Kellogg School of Management’s Executive MBA program. Dr. Johnson lives servant leadership. She serves as subject matter expert and participates in research related to healthy educational environments, health disparities, cultural diversity, advocacy, leadership, and nursing education.

Dr. Tayyeb is a U.S. Navy Veteran, Jonas Veterans Healthcare Scholar, and Assistant Professor at California State University, Los Angeles. He is also the creator and host of the RN-Mentor podcast. Though Dr. Tayyeb’s research is primarily veteran centric, he is also greatly invested in nursing professional development, role development, and pushing the boundaries of the nursing profession through diversity of people, thought, advocacy, and the arts. For a full bio and link to Dr. Tayyeb’s body of work, please visit www.alirtayyeb.com.

Dr. Alejandro is the Interim Assistant Director for the ADN and RN-to-BSN Programs and Assistant Professor at Mount St. Mary’s University - Los Angeles. Jose currently serves as a Lieutenant Colonel in the US Army Reserve and will complete his Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Program in June.

As a bilingual, Hispanic male, Dr. Alejandro has first-hand experience of the need to improve diversity in the nursing profession. He has devoted his professional career to being a servant leader with a passion to develop strategies and pathways that improve diversity in nursing pedagogy and evidenced-based clinical and pedagogical practice. He has extensive experience in working and collaborating with at-risk populations.

In addition to Sigma Treasurer (2019-2023), he is active in other professional associations which include serving as Immediate Past President (2020-2021) of the Case Management Society of America (CMSA), Board Member (2019-2021) for the American Academy of Nursing and (appointed) American Association of Men in Nursing (AAMN). Dr. Alejandro also served as the 15th President (2012-2014) of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses.

He was awarded the CMSA’s Case Manager of the Year in 2015 and the AAMN Luther Christman Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021. Dr. Alejandro is a Sigma and Virginia Henderson Fellow of Sigma; Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing; and Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Dr. Lovoria B. Williams is an associate professor in the College of Nursing and Graduate Studies. She is the Director of the Community Health Advocacy iNterventions Generating Equity (CHANGE) Team and the Assistant Director for Cancer Health Equity at the NCI-designated Markey Cancer Center where she holds the endowed Research Professorship in Cancer Health Equity. Dr. Williams received her undergraduate degrees in nursing from Union University and the Medical College of Georgia. She earned a Master’s of Nursing [Family Nurse Practitioner] from Georgia Southern University and a PhD in Nursing with Distinction from Georgia Regents University. Her research aims to advance health equity among racial/ethnic minority and medically underserved populations through community engaged research methods to affect improved diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer outcomes. She is an NIH-funded nurse scientist who is nationally-recognized for developing culturally-adapted interventions for implementation by community health workers in church settings. A strong advocate for diversity, inclusivity and equity, Dr. Williams served the Lexington Mayor as Co-Chair of the Health Disparities Subcommittee on the Mayor’s Commission on Racial Justice & Equality. She also serves on the University of Kentucky UNITed in Racial Equity (UNITE) Research Priority Area Internal Advisory Board and on the Kentucky Nurses Action Coalition (KNAC) External Advisory Committee. She is a member of multiple professional organizations such as the American Nurses Association, the Southern Nursing Research Society where she serves on the Board of Directors and she is President of the Lexington KY Chapter of the National Black Nurses Association.

Dr. Regina S. Eddie is an Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing at Northern Arizona University. She is an enrolled tribal member of the Diné (Navajo) Nation of Arizona. Dr. Eddie received her PhD from the University of New Mexico and is a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Nursing and Health Policy Collaborative fellow. Her nursing background and experience has primarily been in areas of community heath and public health nursing in rural, underserved American Indian communities. As a Diné nurse researcher, Dr. Eddie’s research focuses on American Indian health disparities, school health and wellness policies and practices, and tribal health policy research.

As an educator, she is committed to increasing recruitment and retention of Native American youth into health careers. Dr. Eddie coordinates a ‘Health Profession’ campus visit day for Native American youth from rural remote reservation schools with the goal to increase preparation and interest among Native American youth in the health professions. She also facilitates public health nursing practicums in AI reservation communities for hands-on experiences in working with AI populations, while helping to serve the health needs of rural medically underserved areas, particularly in Navajo communities.

Susan Swider is a Professor in the Department of Community, Systems and Mental Health Nursing at Rush University in Chicago. Dr. Swider has practiced in acute care, home health care and public health settings over the past thirty years. Her research has focused on program development and evaluation of community health workers, engaging urban communities in health promotion, and health policy to support health promotion efforts. She has taught public health nursing at the pre-licensure and graduate/specialty level at several universities, and co-directed 10 years of HRSA supported work to develop an online doctoral program in Advanced Public Health Nursing, ensuring that it met the Quad Council competencies for Public Health Nursing practice. She is a member of a number of public health and public health nursing organizations and is a past president of the Association of Community Health Nursing Educators (ACHNE). In her role with ACHNE, she served on the Quad Council for Public Health Nursing organizations and was a member of the Task Force that revised the Competencies for Public Health Nursing (2010-2012). In 2011, Dr. Swider was appointed by President Obama to the Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion and Integrative and Public Health, a group designed to advise on the development and implementation of the National Prevention Strategy. She is also a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and of the Institute of Medicine of Chicago. In 2016, she was appointed to serve on the Community Preventive Services Task Force of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. Pamela Guthman is an assistant professor at UW-Eau Claire, College of Nursing and Health Sciences. She also has taught the Rural Immersion Nursing Program in the summer for UW-Madison, School of Nursing in rural, northwestern Wisconsin. She has spent her career practicing rural community and public health nursing with a focus on the determinants of health, health equity, poverty, and population health. Dr. Guthman has previous administrative experience with a rural community action agency providing programming aimed at the social determinants of health including domestic violence prevention, youth and mental health prevention initiatives, food pantries, transportation, early childhood education, housing, business development, home health and personal care services. She has experience as an education practice liaison for the Linking Education and Practice for the Excellence in Public Health Nursing (LEAP) project from 2007-2012. She has served on the Wisconsin Center for Nursing’s Board as Secretary, is a Board of Director for Forward Community Investment, and for Workforce Resource, is Vice-Chair of the Wisconsin Health Professionals for Climate Action (WHPCA), has served on the Advisory Committee on Healthy Aging in Rural Towns, and is member of Association of Community Health Nurse Educators, Wisconsin Public Health Association, and American Public Health Association - Public Health Nurse Sections, to provide leadership and support innovative collaborative initiatives aimed at prevention, health equity and population health nursing. She holds AACN board certification in home health nursing, was the 2016 recipient of the Wisconsin Community Action Program Association President’s Award and the Wisconsin Nurses Association Community Service Award. Dr. Guthman was awarded the Dr. Brenda Pfaehler Award in 2017 through UW-Madison's Center for Educational Opportunity. In May 2017, she received the DAISY (Diseases Attacking the Immune System) Award for care, skills, and compassion. In August 2018, the Rita Kisting Sparks Faculty Service Award for exemplary service and leadership was awarded through UW-Eau Claire, College of Nursing and Health Sciences.

Kaitlyn Moore, BSN, RN is a current DNP student at the University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire, College of Nursing and Health Services. She attended UW- Eau Claire for her undergraduate program and graduated in May 2017. Since graduating, her career has been spent working with the geriatric and underserved populations. Her current role is a RN Care Coordinator working with the Medicaid population in Minnesota. Kaitlyn's previous work experience includes working as a director of nursing at a 75-apartment assisted living facility. She has spent her first year of the DNP program working as a graduate assistant conducting research on breast cancer, virtual clinical experiences, and academic­ practice linkages within the population health education. She is currently a member of the Wisconsin and American Nurses Associations and the Association of Community Health Nursing Educators.

Laura Wieloch is the Executive Director of Ambulatory Care Management at AdvocateAurora Health Care (AAH). She has been a nurse for over 30 years. Laura has served in various healthcare leadership roles over the past 15 years specifically in Population Health, Care Management, Quality, Home Health and Nursing Education. Currently, as part of the Enterprise Population Health/Integrated Care Management service line at AAH, she is responsible for advancing the strategy of Ambulatory Care Management, partnering with hospital, operational, physician, and executive leaders to execute seamless care across the continuum. In the past 7 years, Laura has developed and implemented care coordination/management services and has grown a successful, adaptive team of clinicians who consistently deliver top tier performance in quality and patient engagement and are deployed strategically across the health system to advance population health and value-based care initiatives. In the past year, Laura has led the advancement and implementation of technology solutions in Enterprise Population Health related to COVID-19 care and Heart Failure Remote Monitoring Programs. She is responsible for the RN Care Management team in primary care, Care Transitions Program for Inpatient and ED discharges, Social Work and Behavioral Health Care Navigation, and Community Based Case Management.

Rose Hoffmann has been on faculty at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing since 1995 and currently an associate professor. Since 2008, she has been the program coordinator for the Clinical Nurse Leader area of concentration leading to an MSN. She is also the Online Program Coordinator and MSN Program Director for the School of Nursing. She has been a lead faculty member for online programs and courses within the School of Nursing and the University. She is a guest speaker for the undergraduate and graduate nursing programs on a variety of topics including education, mentoring, and leadership/management strategies. As a primary teacher for graduate students she coordinates clinical precepted experiences throughout Western PA and the United States. This includes orientation, follow up and evaluation for both the student and preceptor. She has lectured locally, nationally, and internationally on a variety of teaching strategies that incorporate active learning. Currently she advises graduate students in addition to serving as capstone chair for many DNP students. In 2007, she received the Distinguished Clinical Scholar’s award to incorporate interprofessional healthcare education within the School of Nursing and in 2016 received the Cameo of Caring Nurse Educator Award. She is the nursing school's representative within Pitt's schools of the health sciences to incorporate interprofessional healthcare education. As a result of the success of the Model A CNL program Pitt is also creating a Model C MSN Entry into Practice Program which will take effect within the next year.

Latasha Kast, MSN, RN, CCRN, CNL, is an Advanced Clinical Education Specialist for Critical Care at UPMC Passavant. Latasha provides on-boarding, education, mentorship, and leadership support to nurses in her role as an Advanced Clinical Education Specialist for Critical Care. She previously worked in progressive clinical and leadership positions within Trauma/Vascular Step-Down, Surgical Trauma ICU, and Neurovascular ICU. Additionally, she serves on the CNL Advisory Board at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing. Ms. Kast was selected for this award for her commitment to nursing practice by leading and developing several quality improvement projects to improve patient outcomes, including hair washing to reduce surgical site infections in neurosurgical patients.

Amanda Truesdale currently serves as a Clinical Nurse Leader and the unit educator for the medical-surgical COVID unit at Atrium Health at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, NC. She started her nursing career on a dialysis medical-surgical unit in Columbia, SC before transitioning to Charlotte. Since 2012, she has worked on the medical-surgical unit at CMC and has taken the opportunities provided by the system to advance into her current role. In 2015, she became the unit educator and obtained her Medical-Surgical Board Certification through ANCC. In 2016, she began the process of obtaining her Masters in Nursing from Queens University of Charlotte and graduated with her degree in 2018. Later that year, she officially became a certified Clinical Nurse Leader. Ever since, she has been serving in her current job title working closely with the interdisciplinary team to improve patient outcomes.

Preston Brown is passionate about improving patient outcomes through process innovation and multi-disciplinary collaboration. Preston received his Master of Science in Nursing from Texas Christian University and Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Tarleton State University. Preston attained clinical nurse leader certification in 2017 and served as a clinical nurse leader at Texas Health Fort Worth. During his tenure at Texas Health Fort Worth, Preston was involved in the system wide expansion of the CNL role and successfully directed and collaborated with many multidisciplinary teams to improve patient metrics including the patient experience, length of stay, and infection rates. In March 2020, Preston joined Wise Health System in Decatur, Texas. At Wise Health System, Preston serves in a hybrid role of med surg nurse educator and clinical nurse leader. In his short time at Wise Health System, Preston successfully implemented processes that have drastically reduced med surg CAUTI rates. Preston believes in sharing best practices across the nursing continuum and has authored a journal article detailing the nursing experience and response to the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. In his spare time, Preston enjoys spending time with his wife and two sons, Asher and Jack.