On-Demand Webinars

Dr. Novak is a professor teaching online courses for the Aspen University’s School of Nursing programs. She teaches classes for all three of the program offerings: DNP, MSN, and RN-BSN. Dr. Novak is board certified in Nursing Professional Development and is a Fellow in the Academy of Emergency Nursing. She has over 30 years of experience in adult education and continuing professional development for healthcare professionals. Dr. Novak is also the President and CEO of AEN Services, LLC, which provides consultation, continuing professional development, and conference management services. She is also a Peer Reviewer for NCNA/ANCC. Her doctorate is in Public Health: Community Health & Education, she holds 2 masters degrees, 2 bachelors degrees, and 1 associate degree (and a Partridge in a pear tree!). She is the poster child for lifelong learning.

Elisa Arespacochaga is vice president of the American Hospital Association’s (AHA) Physician Alliance, a strategic initiative launched as part of the AHA’s ongoing mission to improve the health of patients and communities. Framed around three fundamental beliefs that foster shared decision-making and a create a path for common language among health care leadership, the Alliance advances physician leadership through the educational offerings, professional development opportunities and greater inclusion within hospital and health system administration and policy activities. She received her master’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Health Care Policy from Keller Graduate School of Management and a bachelor’s degree in biology and Spanish literature from Amherst College.

Darla Spence Coffey is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). CSWE is the national association for social work education, representing over 800 accredited undergraduate and graduate programs of professional social work. Through its programs and initiatives, CSWE promotes emerging technologies, interprofessional education, and innovative models, pedagogies, and practices to advance social work education. As the voice of social work education, CSWE works to strengthen the position of social work within higher education, the national political environment, and in the perceptions of the general public. Coffey received her BSW from Eastern College, her MSW from the University of Pennsylvania, and her PhD from Bryn Mawr College Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research. She has an extensive background in social work practice in the areas of mental health, substance abuse, and domestic violence. More recently, Coffey has been advancing the causes of provider well-being and leadership in presentations and writings. Coffey is a Distinguished Fellow in the National Academies of Practice and is the 2017 recipient of the Advocate for Human Rights Award by the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University.

Sheryl Cosme is the Director of the Practice Transition Accreditation Program® (PTAP) and Nursing Skills Competency Program (NSCP) at the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). She is involved in setting national accreditation standards for nurse residency and nurse practitioner fellowships. She has presented at several national and international conferences on the need to have residency and fellowships for nurses entering or transitioning within practice settings. Sheryl is also very interested in the knowledge, skill, and attitude acquisition of undergraduate nursing students related to evidence-based practice.

Sheryl is a member of the American Nurses Association, Association of Nursing Professional Development and Sigma Theta Tau International.

Her previous roles include serving as clinical faculty at Georgetown University in their undergraduate nursing program and as a clinical educator at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital where she was the coordinator of a nursing residency program for eight years. As a clinical nurse she worked at St. Francis Hospital in Connecticut in the operating room and at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, DC on the surgical specialty unit.

Sheryl earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice from Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Master’s in Nursing Education at the University of Hartford, and Bachelors in Nursing for the University of New Hampshire. She is board certified in Nursing Professional Development.

Janet A. Silvester, PharmD, MBA, FASHP, is Vice President of the Accreditation Services Office and is responsible for providing strategic direction for all American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) accreditation programs and services for pharmacy post-graduate residency and pharmacy technician education and training programs.

Janet holds a BS in Pharmacy from the Medical College of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, a Pharm.D. from Creighton University and a Masters in Business from James Madison University. Janet spent 34 years in hospital practice and was Director of Pharmacy and Emergency services at Martha Jefferson Hospital in Charlottesville, VA prior to coming to ASHP in 2013.

Janet is past president of the Virginia Society of Health System Pharmacists, and Past president of the American Society of Health System Pharmacists. She is past recipient of the Virginia Health System Pharmacist of the Year award, the RD Anderson Distinguished Leadership award, and the Pharmacy Alumnus Service award from the Medical College of Virginia Alumni Association of Virginia Commonwealth University. Janet is also the recipient of the 2012 American Society of Health System Pharmacists Award for Distinguished Leadership in Health System Pharmacy Practice.

Dr. Kevin Weiss is the Chief Sponsoring Institutions and Clinical Learning Environments Officer at the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). He oversees Sponsoring Institutions (SI) and the Clinical Learning Environment Review (CLER), including serving as Co-Chair for the CLER Evaluation Committee (CEC). Dr. Weiss came to the ACGME from the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), where from 2007 to 2012 he served as President and CEO. Under Dr. Weiss’ leadership, ABMS-International was established, with its first international collaboration in Singapore.

Dr. Weiss has devoted his medical career to issues of health care quality, equity and access to care, and enhancing training experiences for physicians and other providers in health care improvement. Since the 1990s, Dr. Weiss has conducted US and international epidemiological and health services research projects related to guideline implementation, chronic care management, outcomes measurement, quality improvement, and health care equity.

Dr. Weiss served as a member of the Board of Regents for the American College of Physicians, and as a member of the Board of Directors for both ABMS and the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates. Dr. Weiss completed his clinical training in internal medicine at Cook County Hospital in Chicago. He has a Master’s degree in public health from the University of Illinois School of Public Health and a Master’s degree in health services administration from Harvard University School of Public Health.

He completed his post-doctoral fellowship in epidemiology at the Centers for Disease Control’s National Center for Health Statistics. Dr. Weiss is certified in internal medicine by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM). He also serves as a Professor of Medicine at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University.

Morgan Passiment serves as the Director of Institutional Outreach and Collaboration at the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). She cultivates opportunities for health care and education leaders to improve and enhance their clinical learning environment and prepares them to serve as national leaders of health care innovation. She is also responsible for the operations and strategic management of the National Collaborative to Improve the Clinical Learning Environment (NCICLE). Her primary emphasis has been on building communities of learning, strategic planning, health policy and organizational effectiveness. Ms. Passiment has directed a wide variety of successful leadership activities and groups that provide hospitals and health systems with resources to meet the challenges of a diverse health care environment.

Elizabeth T. Jordan, DNSc, RNC, FAAN, is an Associate Professor and Vice Dean of Undergraduate and Global Programs at the USF College of Nursing. With over 30 years of clinical experience, teaching and research expertise in nursing education and labor and birth, Dr. Jordan is a recognized international nursing leader in health outcomes research, education and practice. Dr. Jordan joined USF College of Nursing in 2013 and quickly established working relationships, and a collaborative network with practice partners in the greater Tampa Bay region. As an academic administrator at USF she has developed and strengthened the academic-practice partnerships via formal relationships at the senior leadership level. Currently she provides oversight of a Team Coordinator model, where faculty serve as a liaison to hospital partners. She is committed to communicating and working with the practice partners to develop, implement, and evaluate seamless transition of new graduates. She leads the Undergraduate team in preparing 21st-century nurses to address the health care needs of local and global communities through excellence in research, education, and clinical care. She previously was the baccalaureate program director at Johns Hopkins School of Nursing and the Associate Director of the Johns Hopkins University Global mHealth Initiative (JHU GmI).

Dr. Douglas (Gus) Grant, AB, LLB, MD, CCFP, ICD.D, is the Registrar and CEO of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia and a leading medical regulator. He studied literature at Harvard and law at McGill University, as well as practiced in health law litigation before training in medicine at Dalhousie University. In addition to health law consulting, Dr. Grant has practiced medicine both in Canada and the United States. He is a longstanding board member for the Medical Council of Canada and has served as the past President of the Federation of Medical Regulatory Authorities of Canada. Dr. Grant will provide critical insight into the mindset of the medical community, helping to navigate the complex structures of healthcare organizations, clinical rotations and interdisciplinary collaboration.

David Parker is the former interim vice chancellor and general counsel for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, having retired from the university in 2016. His experience includes serving as an assistant attorney general for the North Carolina Department of Justice, as well as associate vice chancellor and deputy general counsel for UNC. For ten years, Parker specialized in technology transfer and research contracting law. At UNC, he also provided counsel for the School of Medicine, the UNC Health Care System, and the Office of Technology Development.

As Chief Nurse of the American Red Cross, Dr. Linda MacIntyre provides leadership for nurses and other health professionals across the organization. Linda provides vision, direction and support in meeting the Red Cross mission. She oversees health professional volunteer recruitment, engagement and recognition, and provides oversight for Academic Service Learning. As Chief Nurse, Linda represents the Red Cross and collaborates with federal and civilian health and nursing organizations, government agencies, universities, hospitals and other key stakeholders.

Linda participated in community coalitions and was a member of the Medical Reserve Corps Steering Committee in Kansas City. She was the director of community health and youth for the Red Cross Greater Kansas City Region and engaged students from 10 universities and colleges. She was responsible for disaster health response across five counties and convened a forum for community partners to improve disaster preparedness, response and recovery through collaboration. Linda served on the National Advisory Committee on Children and Disasters from 2014-2018.

Tener Goodwin Veenema, PhD, MPH, MS, is a Contributing Scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and a Professor of Nursing and Public Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. At the Center, she leads research projects to explore health systems optimization and healthcare worker protection during disasters and large-scale biological events. She also serves as an Associate Editor of the peer-reviewed journal Health Security (formerly Biosecurity and Bioterrorism). As an internationally recognized expert in disaster nursing and public health emergency preparedness, she has served as senior scientist to the DHHS Office of Human Services Emergency Preparedness and Response (OHSEPR), Department of Homeland Security, Veterans Affairs Emergency Management Evaluation Center (VEMEC), and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). An accomplished researcher, Dr. Veenema has sustained career funding over 2.2 million dollars, is a member of the Forum on Medical and Public Health Preparedness at the National Academy of Medicine, and is an elected Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing, the National Academies of Practice, and the Royal College of Surgeons, Faculty of Nursing & Midwifery, Dublin, Ireland. Dr. Veenema is editor of Disaster Nursing and Emergency Preparedness for Chemical, Biological and Radiological Terrorism and Other Hazards, 4th Ed., the leading textbook in the field. Dr. Veenema received the Florence Nightingale Medal of Honor (International Red Crescent, 2013) the highest international award in Nursing for her professional service in disasters and public health emergencies. She received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award (2017), was selected Visiting Research Scholar to Torrens Disaster Institute (Australia, 2017) and New York University (2018,) and received a lifetime achievement award from Columbia University School of Nursing (2019).

Dr. Watson is a Senior Scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Her policy research focuses on public health risk assessment, crisis and risk-based decision making, public health and healthcare preparedness and response, biodefense, and emerging infectious disease preparedness and response. During COVID-19 Dr. Watson has produced research and policy analysis related to burden of disease; contact tracing; and risk assessment and mitigation steps for reopening businesses, holding mass gatherings, and bringing students back to campus in the fall. Dr. Watson earned a DrPH in Health Policy and Management in 2017, and an MPH in 2009, from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Tener Goodwin Veenema, PhD, MPH, MS, is a Contributing Scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and a Professor of Nursing and Public Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. At the Center, she leads research projects to explore health systems optimization and healthcare worker protection during disasters and large-scale biological events. She also serves as an Associate Editor of the peer-reviewed journal Health Security (formerly Biosecurity and Bioterrorism). As an internationally recognized expert in disaster nursing and public health emergency preparedness, she has served as senior scientist to the DHHS Office of Human Services Emergency Preparedness and Response (OHSEPR), Department of Homeland Security, Veterans Affairs Emergency Management Evaluation Center (VEMEC), and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). An accomplished researcher, Dr. Veenema has sustained career funding over 2.2 million dollars, is a member of the Forum on Medical and Public Health Preparedness at the National Academy of Medicine, and is an elected Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing, the National Academies of Practice, and the Royal College of Surgeons, Faculty of Nursing & Midwifery, Dublin, Ireland. Dr. Veenema is editor of Disaster Nursing and Emergency Preparedness for Chemical, Biological and Radiological Terrorism and Other Hazards, 4th Ed., the leading textbook in the field. Dr. Veenema received the Florence Nightingale Medal of Honor (International Red Crescent, 2013) the highest international award in Nursing for her professional service in disasters and public health emergencies. She received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award (2017), was selected Visiting Research Scholar to Torrens Disaster Institute (Australia, 2017) and New York University (2018,) and received a lifetime achievement award from Columbia University School of Nursing (2019).

Tener Goodwin Veenema is an internationally recognized expert in disaster nursing and public health emergency preparedness. As president and chief executive officer of the Tener Consulting Group, LLC, Dr. Veenema served as senior consultant to the U.S. Government, including the departments of Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs, the Administration for Children and Families, and most recently the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Her decision-support software and information technology applications for disaster response have been presented at conferences around the globe. Her scholarship includes the leading international text in the field, Disaster Nursing: Disaster Nursing and Emergency Preparedness for Chemical, Biological and Radiological Terrorism and Other Hazards (Springer, 3rd Edition, 2013), and two nationally award-winning Disaster e-Learning Courses, Red Cross ReadyRN Disaster and Emergency Preparedness for Health Services (American Red Cross, 2007) and ReadyRN (Elsevier, MC Strategies, 2008).

Christopher Friese’s leads an internationally-recognized interdisciplinary research program focused on understanding and improving health care delivery in high-risk settings, such as cancer. In 2008, he was the first nurse scientist to receive a Pathway to Independence K99/R00 research grant to study outcomes of care for patients with cancer from the National Institute of Nursing Research. He has led multi-site descriptive and intervention studies aimed to understand and improve the quality and safety of chemotherapy care. In 2016, he was awarded a one-year health policy fellowship in Washington DC by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, serving in the United States Senate. In 2018, he was appointed by the Comptroller General of the United States to serve a six-year term on the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Board of Governors. He lectures widely on evidence-based oncology nursing practice, nursing workforce, and health care policy. Dr. Friese holds advanced certification as an oncology nurse, and continues to practice clinically as a staff nurse in hematological malignancies, and advanced cancers.

As System Vice President of Quality, Safety and Innovation at Rochester Regional Health, Deborah Stamps works with clinical leaders to continually improve the system’s overall performance and ensure patient safety.

She also serves as the chief nursing officer (CNO) council’s representative to the Executive Leadership Team. Deb restructured the Infection Prevention Program system-wide and expanded Daily Safety Check to include long term care facilities. She also launched a Safety Champion Program and helped Rochester Regional Health. In addition, built partnerships with local colleges to increase the number of students choosing nursing careers and supported the expansion and diversity of the Isabella Graham Hart School of Practical Nursing.

Dr. Rita Trofino is the Associate Dean, School of Health Sciences & Education, Nursing Department Chair, and tenured Professor at Saint Francis University in Loretto PA. She has taught in academia for over 30 years mostly in BSN programs, with 3 years in ADN program. She has been in an administrative position for 12 of those years. Dr. Trofino received her bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of Pittsburgh and her doctorate from Carlow University in Pittsburgh, PA. She has conducted national research on disaster nursing: Department of Defense. U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command(USAMRMC), Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC), Fort Detrick, Maryland. 2013-1024 Protocol Title: Strengthening Nursing Curriculum to Support Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Preparedness Competencies: Phase III. Protocol Number: 10-TATOP110 (3)-10. Phase of Study: Phase III, with CERMUSA, Associate Investigator; and has conducted research on the relationship of admission criteria with NCLEX pass rates.

Elizabeth N. Cleek, Psy.D., is Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President at the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, an organization committed to the Gold Standard in healthcare - compassionate, collaborative, and scientifically excellent. Dr. Cleek oversees Gold program initiatives, develops partnerships that bring new innovation to the organization, and implements strategic priorities important for continuing the Gold Foundation’s mission.

Richard Levin, MD is President and CEO of The Arnold P. Gold Foundation. He served as Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Vice-Principal for Health Affairs at McGill University. He was Vice Dean for Education, Faculty and Academic Affairs, and a Professor of Medicine at New York University School of Medicine. He is an Attending Emeritus at Bellevue Hospital. He also served as President of the Council of Deans of the Faculties of Medicine of Quebec and Chairman of the Board of the Canadian Resident Matching Service.

Director of Program Initiatives at the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, and the Assistant Director of the Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS). GHHS recognizes medical students, residents, and faculty who practice patient-centered care by modeling the qualities of integrity, excellence, compassion, altruism, respect, and empathy.

Partnerships and Special Advisor on Quality Initiatives at the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). Ms. McGuinn has been a leader for AACN’s strategic initiatives related to interprofessional education and practice, which include assisting with the planning of the national Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) Institutes; actively participating with the Interprofessional Professionalism Collaborative (IPC); representing academic nursing at the Global Forum on Innovation in Health Professional Education (IHPE); and partnering with the Schwartz Center on collaborative compassionate care. Most recently, Ms. McGuinn was the lead staff for AACN’s 2016 groundbreaking report, Advancing Healthcare Transformation: A New Era for Academic Nursing. This report has strong interprofessional underpinnings. Further, Ms. McGuinn has been involved in facilitating a variety of initiatives including the creation and updating of AACN’s Essentials documents for the baccalaureate, master’s, and Doctor of Nursing Practice degrees. Each of these documents has a standard related to Interprofessional Collaboration for Improving Patient Health Outcomes. Prior to joining AACN, Ms. McGuinn was on the Senior Management Team at The George Washington University Hospital as Director of Quality and Education. In that capacity, Ms. McGuinn led many interprofessional efforts: 1) led teams to conduct root cause analyses for sentinel events and implement systematic processes for improvement; 2) led interprofessional education to implement national patient safety goals; and 3) led teams to create multidisciplinary action plans. All of these interprofessional efforts had high impact and resulted in high quality patient care.

Deborah Trautman, PhD, RN, FAAN, assumed the role of President and Chief Executive Officer of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) in June 2014. Formerly the Executive Director of the Center for Health Policy and Healthcare Transformation at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Dr. Trautman has held clinical and administrative leadership positions at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. She also served as the Vice President of Patient Care Services for Howard County General Hospital and as Director of Nursing for Emergency Medicine at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. She has held a joint appointment at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing.

Tener Goodwin Veenema is an internationally recognized expert in disaster nursing and public health emergency preparedness. As president and chief executive officer of the Tener Consulting Group, LLC, Dr. Veenema served as senior consultant to the U.S. Government, including the departments of Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs, the Administration for Children and Families, and most recently the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Her decision-support software and information technology applications for disaster response have been presented at conferences around the globe. Her scholarship includes the leading international text in the field, Disaster Nursing: Disaster Nursing and Emergency Preparedness for Chemical, Biological and Radiological Terrorism and Other Hazards (Springer, 3rd Edition, 2013), and two nationally award-winning Disaster e-Learning Courses, Red Cross ReadyRN Disaster and Emergency Preparedness for Health Services (American Red Cross, 2007) and ReadyRN (Elsevier, MC Strategies, 2008).

Dr. Schoch-Spana, a medical anthropologist, is a Senior Scholar with the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and a Senior Scientist in the Department of Environmental Health & Engineering at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. She also holds faculty positions at the Department of Anthropology at Texas State University and the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START). Her areas of expertise include community resilience to disaster, public engagement in policymaking, crisis and risk communication, and public health emergency preparedness.

Dr. Schoch-Spana has led research, education, and advocacy efforts to encourage authorities to enlist the public’s contributions in epidemic and disaster management. Her studies have been influential in debunking myths about mass behaviors in the context of bioterrorism, reframing the management of catastrophic health events to include social and ethical-moral dimensions, and persuading leaders to share governance dilemmas with the public including how to allocate scarce medical resources in a disaster. She has chaired national working groups to produce peer-reviewed, evidence-based consensus guidance for authorities on how to partner with citizens and civil society in relation to bioterrorism response, influenza pandemic planning, and nuclear incident preparedness, and she has organized 3 national meetings on how to strengthen community resilience to extreme health events.

Dr. Brunson is a medical anthropologist with training in cultural and biological anthropology as well as public health. She has been involved with a variety of research projects relating to health including studies of diabetes care in the US, the impact of household decision-making on child growth and development in Kenya, and safe water practices in India. She is currently working on two research projects: an examination of people’s experiences living without health insurance in central Texas, and a study of how U.S. parents’ decisions about their children’s vaccinations are developed over time in concert with their social networks.

Kathy is a nationally recognized nurse leader, entrepreneur, author and award-winning filmmaker. She has been on the executive team of several healthcare start-up companies. She is the author of numerous published articles on the healthcare workforce. Kathy wrote and directed the film, NURSES If Florence Could See US Now, an intimate look into the world of nursing today. She is co-author of the book The Dance of Caring - A Caregivers Guide to Harmony and the recently published book NURSES Cry Too, a look at loss and grief in the world of nursing. She was recognized by the American Association of Critical Care Nurses with their Pioneering Spirit Award and featured on the cover of Nurse Leader magazine, as a leader to honor. Find her at Kathy.douglas@prolucent.com.

Elizabeth is a nurse entrepreneur who built her own company in healthcare communications. Combining her interests and skills in writing with her experience as a nurse she has become a source of authentic content to such organizations as Aetna, Anthem Dignity Health and WebMD. A leader in her industry, Elizabeth has helped launch many nurses in their free-lance writing careers. After receiving her BSN from University of New Mexico, she primarily worked in the perioperative setting prior to starting Hanes Healthcare Communications. Find her at HanesHealthContent.com and RN2writer.com.