On-Demand Webinars

Speakers

Cynthia Clark, PhD, RN, ANEF, FAAN  
Professor Emeritus
Boise State University
Founder of Civility Matters

Dr. Cynthia Clark is the Founder of Civility Matters, Professor Emeritus at Boise State University, and an internationally recognized professor, scholar, and author. Dr. Clark is widely acclaimed for her groundbreaking work advancing the science of civility and fostering healthy work environments, bringing national and international attention to the issues of incivility in academic and healthcare settings worldwide. Her theory-driven interventions, empirical assessment instruments, theoretical models, and reflective assessments provide evidence-based approaches to prevent, measure, and address uncivil behavior while promoting healthy work and learning environments.

Dr. Clark serves as a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing, the NLN Academy of Nursing Education, and as a member of the American Nurses Association Professional Panel on Preventing and Addressing Incivility and Bullying in Nursing. A prolific researcher, presenter, and author, she has delivered hundreds of presentations, published extensively, and received numerous awards for excellence in teaching, research, and service. Her assessment instruments have been translated into 18 languages and used by scholars in 33 countries across six continents. She is the author of the award-winning book Creating and Sustaining Civility in Nursing Education, currently in its third edition. As an outdoor enthusiast, Dr. Clark enjoys hiking, biking, traveling, reading, cooking, and spending time with her family and her beloved rescue pets.  

Speakers

Marta Okoniewski, MPA
Director of Student Engagement
American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN)

Marta Okoniewski is the Director of Student Engagement at the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). She led the development, launch, and growth of the GNSA, a national network providing high value programs, services, and resources to nursing students enrolled in master’s and doctoral programs. Prior to joining AACN, Ms. Okoniewski worked as the Program Coordinator at New York University College of Nursing within the Academic and Clinical Affairs Department. She received her master’s in public administration from New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Scranton.

Jillian Seitz, MS
Student Engagement Coordinator
American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN)

Jillian Seitz serves as the Student Engagement Coordinator at the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). In this role, she supports Graduate Nursing Student Academy (GNSA) programming and helps foster engagement among nursing students nationwide. She earned her master's degree in applied linguistics and her bachelor's degree in linguistics, both from Georgetown University.

Speakers

Wanda Thruston, DNP, APRN, RN
Director of Access and Engagement 
American Association of Colleges of Nursing

Dr. Wanda Thruston, Director of Access and Engagement at AACN, is a national and international leader in academic nursing and advancing fair and just access to health and well-being for all, with expertise in institutional transformation, leadership development, and systems-level strategy. A Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar Fellow, she brings decades of experience in clinical practice with under-resourced populations, health policy, and academic leadership.

At AACN, Dr. Thruston led the development and implementation of the Ecosystem of Excellence in Academic Nursing, a strategic framework designed to enhance institutional effectiveness and promote the success of students, staff, and faculty. She provides technical assistance, training, and consultation to HRSA-funded nursing schools and AACN member institutions—supporting strategies to expand access, strengthen student achievement, improve the institutional climate, and build academic environments where all individuals feel supported and prepared to succeed.

Previously, she served as Special Assistant to the Dean at Indiana University School of Nursing, where she led the development of the Diversity Strategic Plan and co-created a university-wide pathway for DEI faculty promotion. She also led a large-scale assessment of health and well-being for Indiana’s second-largest K-12 district to to inform fair and effective resource allocation that meets the needs of all students. Dr. Thruston is committed to advancing environments where students, staff, and faculty thrive. 

Brigit Carter, PhD, RN, CCRN, FADLN, FAAN
Chief Access and Engagement Officer
American Association of Colleges of Nursing

Dr. Brigit Carter, Chief Access and Engagement Officer, joined American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) in February 2023. She is Professor Emerita at the Duke University School of Nursing, where she served as the Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion from 2018-2023. From 2015-2018, she served as the Director of the DUSON Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) program. Dr. Carter earned her BSN at North Carolina Central University (NCCU) in 1998, her Master of Science in Nursing Education from University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2002, and her PhD in Nursing from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2009.

Her current educational research is focused on understanding experiences of students with microaggressions and development of strategies to mitigate the impact of microaggressions. She also has a focus on strategies to increase historically marginalized students in nursing and understand individual level social determinants that are barriers to achieving nursing education. Dr. Carter is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, an Atlantic Fellow for Health Equity, and a Duke Teaching for Equity fellow. Dr. Carter retired from the U.S. Navy as a Commander after 28 years of service in January 2018.

Speakers

Jamie Robinson, PhD, RN, CNL 
Associate Professor/Associate Director, School of Nursing 
James Madison University

Dr. Jamie Robinson is an Associate Professor and Associate Director for Undergraduate Nursing at the School of Nursing at James Madison University. She provides leadership for undergraduate nursing education across BSN and RN to BSN pathways and brings extensive experience in nursing practice, higher education, and academic leadership. Her scholarship focuses on competency-based nursing education, curriculum transformation, authentic assessment of clinical judgment, and operationalizing the AACN Essentials to strengthen nursing education. Through this work, she develops practical strategies that align curriculum, assessment, learner progression, and program outcomes to prepare nurses for evolving healthcare environments and advance professional nursing practice. Dr. Robinson has contributed to national efforts to advance competency-based nursing education through scholarship and faculty development and has collaborated internationally on innovative educational partnerships and global learning initiatives. Her current research explores competency measurement, educational innovation, and academic-practice partnerships that strengthen nursing education, workforce readiness, and healthcare outcomes.
 

Rhonda Williams, DNP, RN, CNE 
RN-BSN Program Coordinator and Teaching Professor 
Ascension Via Christi-Wichita State University School of Nursing 

Dr. Rhonda Williams is a Teaching Professor and Coordinator of the RN to BSN Program at the Ascension Via Christi-Wichita State University School of Nursing. She holds a Doctor of Nursing Practice in Educational Leadership and a Master of Science in Nursing Education and is a Certified Nurse Educ ator. As RN to BSN Program Coordinator, she provides leadership for curriculum development, program evaluation, accreditation alignment, faculty support, student success initiatives, and academic partnerships with associate degree nursing programs across Kansas and the region. Dr. Williams teaches and serves as lead faculty for several RN to BSN courses and has been instrumental in advancing online nursing education through course redesign, implementation of innovative learning technologies, and adoption of evidence-based teaching practices.

Nationally, Dr. Williams serves as Co-Director of the National RN to Baccalaureate Faculty Forum (NRFF) and has contributed extensively to initiatives supporting RN to Baccalaureate education. She co-led a national crosswalk and gap analysis of the AACN Essentials and NCLEX test plans and is co-editor of the 2025 NRFF Position Statement published through the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. Her scholarship includes publications on RN to Baccalaureate faculty needs, curriculum implementation, and educational innovation. Dr. Williams is an active member of planning teams and an invited speaker for national RN to Baccalaureate conferences, workshops, and webinars, including programs focused on implementing the AACN Essentials, reimagining RN to Baccalaureate education, and addressing emerging trends in academic progression for registered nurses. 

Stephen D. Heglund, PhD, MSN, RN, APRN 
Professor & RN-BSN Program Coordinator 
AdventHealth University  

Dr. Steve Heglund currently serves as a Professor at AdventHealth University in Orlando, Florida where he coordinates the RN-BSN Program. He brings more than 30 years of critical and emergency care experience as a bedside nurse and nurse practitioner to nursing education. In previous roles as a Coordinator, Director, and Assistant Dean, he gained extensive experience in the management of BSN completion programs including RN-BSN, RN-MSN, and Concurrent ASN-BSN programs in both fully distant and hybrid modalities for the past 25 years. During this time, he has managed the growth of programs from partially to fully online with op portunities for students to partake in face-to-face learning as an available option. He has also broadened the practice experiences of the RN student completing the BSN that address the demands of highly varied needs for nursing in the communities they will serve as BSN prepared Registered Nurses. Dr. Heglund also serves AACN as an Essentials Coach and consults with member schools to fine tune curriculum and provide professional development for faculty. He is an award-winning faculty advisor, course designer, instructor, author, and speaker on subjects pertaining to innovative learning, advising, and nursing program management.

Joan M. Stanley, PhD, NP, FAANP, FAAN
Contractor & Senior Advisor to AACN President/CEO 

Dr. Stanley recently retired as the Chief Academic Officer at the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). During her 35-year tenure at AACN she served as AACN’s lead on numerous nursing education initiatives, including the re-envisioning of the AACN Essentials and now the Essentials implementation and transition to competency-based education. She has led the development of major position statements on a variety of issues, including the Future Vision for Academic Nursing, the Research-Focused Doctorate, development of the DNP degree, and the creation of a new master’s prepared clinician - Clinical Nurse Leader. Since their inception, she has facilitated the multiorganizational work of the APRN Consensus Workgroup, APRN LACE Network and the National Task Force for Quality NP Education. For the past 55 years, she has been instrumental in the shaping of professional nursing education and practice policies and regulations. She has received many awards and honors from nursing organizations and government agencies. She has published numerous articles, chapters, monographs and policy reports. She held a faculty position, 1977 to 1982, in the Adult Primary Care NP Program at the University of Maryland and maintained an adult primary care practice from 1973 to 2018 at the University of Maryland Health System. She received her PhD in 1990 from the University of Maryland at College Park with a focus on higher education policy and organization. She hold s a master’s degree in nursing education from the University of MD at Baltimore, her NP certificate from the U MD, and her BSN from Duke University.  

Speakers

Susan Jenkins, PhD
Director of Institutional Data Services
American Association of Colleges of Nursing

Dr. Susan Jenkins is the Director of Institutional Data Services with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing supporting maintenance of a database concerning baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs in the United States. She is also adjunct faculty at American University in the School of Public Affairs. Previously, she was the Chief Evaluation Office for the US Department of Health and Human Services. She received her BA from Yale University and her PhD from the University of Michigan. 

Lina Nandy
Director of Program Monitoring
Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education

Lina Nandy is the Director of Program Monitoring for the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), where she has worked with nationally accredited programs for over a decade. Prior to working with CCNE, she worked in the university setting for five years, including working in a school of nursing and health sciences. She holds a master's degree in education from the University of Kentucky, and a master's degree in instructional technology from Mississippi State University. Her baccalaureate degree is from Bucknell University.

Jenny Keyt, MS  
Associate Director, Institutional Data Services 
American Association of Colleges of Nursing 

Jenny Keyt is the Associate Director of Institutional Data Services at the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). She has worked in the AACN data department for seven year s supporting data collection and analysis through the annual surveys. She received her master’s from Carnegie Mellon’s Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy and her bachelor’s degree in political science from Pacific University.