Speakers

Kathleen Ruccione, PhD
Professor, Program Director, SON PhD Program
Azusa Pacific University 
 

Dr. Kathleen Ruccione, PhD Program Director in the Department of Doctoral Programs at the Azusa Pacific University School of Nursing, has been a pediatric oncology nurse/health educator over the past 5 decades. At Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, she led the development of innovative programs and services, including the LIFE Survivorship & Transition Program and the HOPE Resource Center for Health Education. Dr. Ruccione received her nursing diploma from the Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing, and her BS and MPH degrees from California State University, Northridge. She completed her PhD in health behavior research at USC. Her dissertation research evaluated organ effects of transfusional iron overload and patient reported outcomes among a cohort of childhood cancer survivors. Her ongoing research interests are focused on biobehavioral issues that affect health and health-related quality of life after cancer treatment, and best practices in the empowerment/engagement of patients, families, and childhood cancer survivors through actionable and understandable health communication. Her recent research has focused on long-term relationships among nurses, health equity for deaf/hard-of-hearing adults, and the return of aggregate research results to study participants. Dr. Ruccione is committed to improving patient outcomes through excellence in the educational preparation of nurse scholars and expert clinicians. 

Speakers

Teresa Dodd-Butera, PhD, RN
Associate Dean for Research; Professor
Public Health and Doctoral Programs
Azusa Pacific University

Dr. Teresa Dodd-Butera is a registered nurse and a board-certified toxicologist (Diplomate, American Board of Applied Toxicology/ DABAT). Her research focus is on acute and chronic exposures in pregnancy and placental toxicology. Research investigations include acute poisoning and drug overdose; and chronic exposures to lead, cadmium, and other pollutants. She is also interested in multiple factors that affect global and national maternal-child and family health issues, including emergency preparedness and environmental threats to families with children with special healthcare needs. 

Speakers

Yolanda Ogbolu, PhD, FNAP, FAAN
Bill and Joanne Conway Dean and Professor
University of Maryland Baltimore School of Nursing

Yolanda Ogbolu is the Bill and Joanne Conway Dean and Professor at the University of Maryland Baltimore School of Nursing. Over the past 14 years at UMB, she has held various leadership roles, including Chair of Partnerships, Professional Education and Practice, Director of Global Health and Co-director of The Center for Health Equity and Outcomes Research and the Global Learning to Advance Health Equity Network. Ogbolu's research and scholarship at UMB have focused on advancing health equity and nurse capacity both locally and globally. Her projects focus on health equity, including improving culturally and linguistically appropriate care in hospitals, addressing social determinants of health, hypertension and social isolation in marginalized communities. She has secured over $17 million in funding from various agencies and foundations. Currently, she leads a national network to advance global learning for health equity under a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and a community grant to reduce cardiovascular health disparities in Baltimore.

Karen Doyle, DNP, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN
Senior Vice President of Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer
University of Maryland Medical Center

Karen Doyle is Senior Vice President of Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) at the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC). With more than 35 years of nursing experience, she has served in a variety of executive roles in care management, patient experience, trauma and emergency nursing, and women’s and surgical services. As CNO, Dr. Doyle helps oversee nursing practice, patient outcomes, and research at UMMC’s Downtown and Midtown cam puses. She was previously Senior Vice President of Nursing and Operations at the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, Maryland’s Primary Adult Resource Center, which serves more than 7,500 critically ill and severely injured patients annually. Dr. Doyle has been instrumental in the success of several key initiatives at UMMC, including the expansion of trauma, critical care, and emergency services; the relocation and building of a 250-bed acute care hospital; and the development of a surgery, obstetric, and gynecologic hospitalist program. She also led UMMC’s COVID-19 response and vaccine rollout. In 2024, UMMC earned its fourth consecutive Magnet designation under her leadership.

Peggy Norton-Rosko, DNP, RN, NEA-BC
Chief Nurse Executive
University of Maryland Medical System

Peggy Norton-Rosko serves as the University of Maryland Medical System’s leader for nursing practice, standards of care, nursing professional development and the partnership with schools of nursing. She also supports UMMS's strategic planning, nursing workforce development, continuous clinical improvement initiatives and the organization's High Reliability journey.Prior to her current role, Dr. Norton-Rosko served as the regional chief nursing officer for Trinity Health's Illinois and Indiana region. She has also served as the chief nursing officer for George Washington University Hospital in Washington, DC. Her clinical background includes many years as an advanced practice nurse working with cardiovascular surgery patients and also as a critical care nurse.  She has served in affiliate and adjunct faculty positions for several schools of nursing. Dr. Norton-Rosko earned a BS in nursing from Northern Illinois University, a MS in nursing from Loyola University of Chicago and a DNP from Chamberlain University. She was named to the Johnson and Johnson Nurse Innovation Fellowship for 2023-2024. Dr. Norton-Rosko is committed to supporting a professional nursing practice environment that supports excellent patient care by advocating for nurses to engage in professional governance to shape their practice and improve patient outcomes.

Speaker

Sarah Oerther, PhD, MEd, RN, FNP-BC, FNAP, ANEF
Assistant Professor
Goldfarb School of Nursing
Barnes-Jewish College

Sarah Oerther is an Assistant Professor at Goldfarb School of Nursing at Barnes-Jewish College. To promote climate resilience, Dr. Oerther seeks to create culturally appropriate tools that can help individuals assess their risk and take necessary action to protect their health. By doing so, her program of research is expected to reduce the economic burden caused by preventable climate-related illnesses and ensure a healthier and more productive society. She is currently part of the 2024 cohort for Environmental Health Research Institute for Nurse and Clinician Scientists (EHRI-NCS) and was recently selected as a CHARTER fellow for 2024 with the Woodruff Health Sciences Center at Emory University.

Speakers

Patricia Morton, PhD, RN, ACNP-BC, FAAN
Editor of the Journal of Professional Nursing
Dean Emeritus
University of Utah

Patricia Gonce Morton is Dean Emeritus, University of Utah College of Nursing. She served as Dean, Professor and held the Louis Peery Endowed Presidential Chair at the University of Utah College of Nursing. Prior to her deanship at the University of Utah, Dr. Morton served in various administrative positions at the University of Maryland School of Nursing. An educator and scholar who is known for her work in critical care nursing and nursing education, Dr. Morton has authored multiple editions of three textbooks, numerous book chapters, and over 60 journal articles. She has served on the editorial board of eight nursing journals and for seven years was the editor of the journal AACN Clinical Issues: Advanced Practice in Acute and Critical Care sponsored by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. Currently, Dr. Morton has been the editor of the Journal of Professional Nursing sponsored by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing since 2013. Dr. Morton is a certified acute care nurse practitioner. In recognition of her contributions to nursing and healthcare, Dr. Morton was inducted as a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing in 1999.