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

Andrea Novak, PhD, MSN, RN, NPD-BC, FAEN
Field Experience Coordinator/Adjunct Faculty
Aspen University

Dr. Andrea Novak is currently the Field Experience Coordinator and Adjunct Faculty for Aspen University. Her history in adult education spans over 30 years with most recently serving as an AHEC Nurse for about 23 years. Dr. Novak is a member of the NCNA Council on Gerontology and serves as a peer reviewer for NCNA’s CEAU Task Force as well as a Peer Reviewer for the Emergency Nurses Association Education Committee.

Her nursing background began as many of us did as a med-surg nurse which expanded to working in the emergency nursing arena and later as a nurse educator for a high-volume emergency department. Andrea is one of the North Carolina’s 100 Great Nurses, as well as a Fellow in the Academy of Emergency Nursing. She has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Emergency Nursing, the National AHEC Organization and currently on the Aspen Journal. A published author and national speaker, Dr. Novak also received training as a health literacy consultant through UNC Chapel Hill and developed a strong interest in both helping healthcare providers meet the literacy needs of their patients, especially those most vulnerable; the elderly. Dr. Novak holds a PhD in Public Health; community health and education from Walden University, two Masters Degrees, two bachelor degrees, and an ADN.

Speakers

Chika Anueyiagu, DNP, RN, NE-BC
Director of Surgical Services
Yale New Haven Hospital

Dr. Chika Anueyiagu is the Director of Surgical Services at Yale New Haven Hospital with oversight of Inpatient surgical units including, surgical intensive care, trauma, intermediate care, bariatric, general surgery, vascular, and minimally invasive surgery units. She has leadership experience spanning over 20 years in several roles across specialties and settings. In these roles, she had the responsibility of alignment and executing strategic initiatives while ensuring excellent outcomes in nurse-sensitive indicators. Chika earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice Degree from Fairfield University in Executive Leadership. She obtained her Nurse Executive Board certification through the American Nurses Credentialing Center.

Patricia Span, PhD, RN, CPHQ, CENP
Strategy & Learning Specialist
Yale New Haven Hospital

Dr. Patricia Span is the Strategy & Learning Specialist at Yale New Haven Hospital Patient Services Administration with primary responsibility for development and oversight of the nursing strategic business plan and nursing communications comprised of the annual report and nursing news. She has extensive experience as a nurse leader in Education, Professional Practice, Quality, Nursing Research as well as organizational customer service strategies. Patricia received her Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing and is Board Certified in Executive Nursing Practice from the Association of Nurse Executives and credentialed in health care quality from the National Association of Health Care Quality.

Speakers

Darci McCall, PhD, RNC-OB, C-EFM
Clinical Associate Professor
Boise State University School of Nursing

Dr. Darci McCall has been a nurse for 13 years, working primarily in the maternal-child setting. She earned her BSN from Idaho State University, her MSN from Jacksonville University, and her PhD in Nursing Education from the University of Northern Colorado. She discovered her passion for nursing education when she became a clinical instructor working with students in OB, NICU, and pediatrics. She was hooked and in 2015, she moved into a full-time faculty role at Boise State University. Having taught in a variety of settings at Boise State, she currently teaches in the RN-BS completion track program, where she is the lead faculty for several courses. Dr. McCall is passionate about nursing education and helping students learn and apply new information in every setting.

Dr. McCall’s research interests focus on substance use, specifically marijuana, during pregnancy and the stigma surrounding its use. Her interest in substance use disorder stems from her work in different hospital systems providing care to patients experiencing addiction and substance use disorder during pregnancy and as a faculty member working with students who care for this vulnerable population.

Dr. McCall has earned certifications in Inpatient Obstetric Nursing, Electronic Fetal Monitoring and is a Fetal Heart Monitoring Instructor. She is a member of the NCC’s Inpatient Obstetric Content Team, Inpatient Obstetric Item Writing Team, and the Inpatient Obstetrics Standard Setting Committee. She strongly advocates for SUD recognition, treatment, recovery, and educating nurses to care for this population compassionately and effectively.

Speakers

Marcia B. Proto, MEd, CAS
Executive Director
Connecticut Center for Nursing Workforce, Inc.

Marcia Proto enjoys a successful career in state and national association leadership, nursing education and workforce development, healthcare fundraising, and statewide coalition building. She is currently Executive Director for the Connecticut Center for Nursing Workforce (CCNW) as well as the owner of Marcia Proto Consulting, LLC.

Her life’s work has involved connecting people through education and targeted skills training toward fulfilling career paths, particularly in the nursing field. In addition to her roles with the CCNW, she has held management positions at the Connecticut Hospital Association, Junior Achievement of South-East Connecticut, Flath & Associates Consulting, and the National League for Nursing.

Marcia has spent the past 25 years ensuring that the nursing workforce will meet the nation’s growing healthcare needs by contributing to and engaging in state and national workforce development activities, including the Center to Champion Nursing in America, a national initiative funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in collaboration with AARP.

Catherine E. Johnson, PhD, RN, CNE, APHN-BC, RA, CPH
Assistant Professor in Nursing
Pacific College of Health and Sciences

Catherine (Kate) E. Johnson has been a registered nurse for 35 years and was the public health nurse in her community for 13 years (2008-2021). Dr. Johnson has taught Community/Population Health for over 8 years in traditional undergraduate and RN to BSN programs. She is certified in Advanced Public Health Nursing by the ANCC and in Public Health by the National Board of Health Examiners in 2022. In 2021, Dr. Johnson was a member of the Education and Professional Development Committee for the Association of Public Health Nurses, which focused on developing the Public Health Policy Cycle content for the New to Public Health (N2PH) Residency Program. She previously served on the Massachusetts Local Public Health Advisory Committee.

Dr. Johnson graduated from Keuka College in New York with a BSN, earned an MBA from Western New England College in Massachusetts, an MSN from American International College in Massachusetts, and a PhD in nursing education from Capella University in Minnesota.