Speaker

Tonychris Nnaka, PhD, MPH, RN, CPH
Associate Dean for Research and Associate Professor of Nursing
University of North Texas Health Science Center

Dr. Tonychris Nnaka is an Associate Professor of Nursing and serves as the founding Associate Dean for Research at the University of North Texas Health Science Center (UNTHSC), College of Nursing (CON) in Fort Worth, Texas. A nurse scientist and epidemiologist, his research focuses on improving health outcomes among ethnic populations living with heart diseases through digital therapeutics. Dr. Nnaka is a dual T-32 trained researcher at the University of Texas at Austin and the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College. 

Dr. Nnaka’s reach expands beyond academics and research; he has extensive experience in policy, in various capacities in public health and policy, through his prior work as a fellow at the United States Department of Health and Human Services Region 6 Immediate Office of the Regional Director and most recently serving as the Health Policy Advisor to the City of Dallas Mayor. Dr. Nnaka is committed to bringing transformational changes in the academic preparation of nurses across all ranks and bridging the gaps between nursing science, practice, and policy.

Dr. Nnaka was an environmental health Jonas Scholar. He earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing science from the University of Texas at Arlington, a dual Master of Public Health degree in Epidemiology and Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences from the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth, and a Ph.D. in nursing science from the University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing.

Speakers

Kate Gawlik, DNP, APRN-CNP, FAAN, FNAP, FAANP
Associate Professor of Clinical Nursing
The Ohio State University

Dr. Kate Gawlik is an Associate Professor of Clinical Nursing, Director of Undergraduate Health and Wellness Academic Programming, and the Director of the Bachelor of Science in health and wellness program at The Ohio State University. She is a Family Nurse Practitioner and her areas of expertise are in wellness, cardiovascular prevention, parental burnout, and nursing education. She pioneered an online educational program, the Million Hearts Fellowship, for healthcare professionals that has resulted in the cardiovascular screening and education of over 110,000 people nationwide and has been embedded into nursing curricula across the U.S. This work has received four national awards, including most recently, the AACN’s Innovation in Professional Nursing Education Award. She is a Fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, the National Academies of Practice, and the American Academy of Nursing. 

Bernadette Melnyk, PhD, APRN-CNP, FAAN, FAANP, FNAP
Professor and Dean Emeritus
The Ohio State University

Dr. Bernadette Melnyk is an inspirational speaker, author, leader, innovator, entrepreneur and recognized expert in evidence-based practice, mental health, population health and well-being, intervention research and organizational culture change. She also is CEO and founder of COPE2Thrive, LLC. For the past 13 years, she served as Vice President for Health Promotion and Chief Wellness Officer at The Ohio State University,  where she also was the Helene Fuld Health Trust Professor of Evidence-based Practice . She founded the Helene Fuld Health Trust National Institute for Evidence-based Practice in Nursing and Healthc are.  Dr. Melnyk is editor of eight books and has over 600 publications and received more than $36 million dollars of sponsored funding from N IH, AHRQ, and foundations as a principal investigator. She is an elected fellow of the American Academy of Nursing that has recognized her three times as an Edge Runner, the National Academy of Medicine, the National Academies of Practice, and the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. Dr. Melnyk has served on several national advisory boards, including the United States Preventive Services Task Force, and led nursing colleges at Ohio State University and Arizona State University. She is currently the elected chair of the National Forum for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention and received honorary doctoral degrees from the State University of New York and Frontier Nursing University. Dr. Melnyk's COPE programs for depression and anxiety are used across 50 states and in several countries. She is editor-in-chief of Sigma’s top ranked journal Worldviews on Evidence-based Nursing and serves on the advisory board for the ANA’s Healthy Nurse Healthy Nation initiative. 

Speakers

Rebecca Dodmead, MSN, RN
Administrative Nursing Supervisor
Ohio State University James Cancer Hospital

Rebecca Domead is a dedicated nurse with over 17 years of experience in various healthcare settings. Rebecca's journey in nursing has taken her through the fast-paced environment of the Emergency Room, Med-Surg, Telemetry, ICU, Hospital Clinical Education. With a passion for teaching and mentoring, she has also served as an Adjunct Clinical Instructor. Currently, Rebecca serves as an Administrative Nursing Supervisor at Ohio State University James Cancer Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. Rebecca holds a Master's degree in Nursing Education and is part of the inaugural class of the 2025 Doctor of Nursing Education program at The Ohio State University.

Recently, Rebecca pursued additional education in Biomedical Visualization from the University of Glasgow, where she gained valuable insights into the intersection of healthcare and technology. She also completed a Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Certificate program from Massachusetts Institute of Technology XPRO. With her diverse background, advanced education, and unwavering dedication to understanding the intersection of healthcare and technology, Rebecca continues to make significant contributions to the field of nursing and healthcare education.

Speakers

Rebecca Dodmead, MSN, RN
Administrative Nursing Supervisor
Ohio State University James Cancer Hospital

Rebecca Dodmead is a dedicated nurse with over 17 years of experience in various healthcare settings. Rebecca's journey in nursing has taken her through the fast-paced environment of the Emergency Room, Med-Surg, Telemetry, ICU, Hospital Clinical Education. With a passion for teaching and mentoring, she has also served as an Adjunct Clinical Instructor. Currently, Rebecca serves as an Administrative Nursing Supervisor at Ohio State University James Cancer Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. Rebecca holds a Master's degree in Nursing Education and is part of the inaugural class of the 2025 Doctor of Nursing Education program at The Ohio State University.

Recently, Rebecca pursued additional education in Biomedical Visualization from the University of Glasgow, where she gained valuable insights into the intersection of healthcare and technology. She also completed a Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Certificate program from Massachusetts Institute of Technology XPRO. With her diverse background, advanced education, and unwavering dedication to understanding the intersection of healthcare and technology, Rebecca continues to make significant contributions to the field of nursing and healthcare education.

Panelists

Georges Benjamin, MD, MACP, FACEP(E), FNAPA, Hon FRSPH, Hon FFPH
Executive Director
American Public Health Association

Dr. Benjamin is known as one of the nation’s most influential physician leaders because he speaks passionately and eloquently about the health issues having the most impact on our nation today. From his firsthand experience as a physician, he knows what happens when preventive care is not available and when the healthy choice is not the easy choice. As executive director of APHA since 2002, he is leading the Association’s push to make America the healthiest nation in one generation.

At APHA, Benjamin also serves as publisher of the nonprofit's monthly publication, The Nation's Health, the association's official newspaper, and the American Journal of Public Health, the profession’s premier scientific publication. He is the author of more than 100 scientific articles and book chapters. His recent book The Quest for Health Reform: A Satirical History is an exposé of the nearly 100-year quest to ensure quality affordable health coverage for all through the use of political cartoons. Benjamin is a member of the National Academy of Medicine (Formally the Institute of Medicine) of the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine and also serves on the boards for many organizations including Research!America and the Reagan-Udall Foundation. In 2008, 2014 and 2016 he was named one of the top 25 minority executives in health care by Modern Healthcare Magazine, in addition to being voted among the 100 most influential people in health care from 2007-2017.

Deborah Trautman, PhD, RN, FAAN
President and Chief Executive Officer
American Association of Colleges of Nursing

Dr. Deborah Trautman assumed the role of AACN’s President and C hief Executive Officer 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.

Since her appointment at AACN, Deb has been asked to join a number of high-profile boards and advisory groups. The Secretary of U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' Special Medical Advisory Group (SMAG), which advises the VA Secretary on matters related to healthcare delivery, research, education, training of healthcare staff and planning on shared care issues facing VA and the Department of Defense. In addition, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) named her program director of the New Careers in Nursing project, and her colleagues with the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) elected her to serve as Chair as of 2019. She also serves on the Joint Commission’s Chief Nurse Executive Council.