Speakers

Gregory Knapik, PhD, DNP, MA, PMHCNSBC, ANP-BC
Associate Professor of Nursing
Notre Dame College

Dr. Gregory Knapik has been an RN since 1984 working in a variety of settings, mostly primary care and psych/mental health in Cleveland and Akron, in northeast Ohio. He has his doctorates in nursing (DNP, PhD), and has ANCC certifications as a CNS in psych/mental health and ANP (Adult Nurse Practitioner). Gregory has worked as an advanced practice nurse in primary care and/or mental health since 1998 along with teaching either FT or PT. He helped operate an academic and urban-based free healthcare clinic, managed by advanced practice nurses. Gregory most recently worked (clinically-based) in home health care managing pts in their home, group home, assisted living, and other community-based facilities. Gregory also benefits from the privilege of having gone on 6 health-related mission trips to Central America.

He tries to incorporate the "holistic" approach of considering the body, mind, and spirit in each patient encounter, and treat or care for the person, not the disease or disorder. He has also taught for about 12 years in several places and capacities in the discipline of nursing. He values the experience, knowledge, and wisdom of the students he has in class, and appreciate comments, anecdotes, and experiences shared in the lived experience of nursing. He values the importance of research and ongoing evidence-based practice, along with adaptability and “thinking outside the box.”

Sr. Anne Victory, MSN, RN
Leadership Team Member
Sisters of the Humility of Mary

Sr. Anne Victory is currently serving as a member of the Leadership Team of the Sisters of the Humility of Mary. She served as Director of Education for the Collaborative to End Human Trafficking, Cleveland, OH from 2010-2021 and is now a volunteer for the organization. A nurse by profession, she served for 32 years as a clinician, educator, and administrator in nursing and as Vice President for Mission and Director of Staff Education at St. Joseph Hospital, Lorain, OH, (now named Mercy Health and part of the Bon Secours Mercy Health System). Sr. Anne is one of the founding members of the Alliance to End Human Trafficking (formerly US Catholic Sisters Against Human Trafficking) and past president of the board. She has given presentations to a wide variety of audiences on the issue of human trafficking. One of the lenses through which Anne views human trafficking is as a public health issue--one that requires a collaborative, trauma-based approach involving multiple systems and service providers. She holds a BSN from St. John College, Cleveland, and a MS in Nursing from Ohio State University.

Kathleen Hackett, MSN, RN, SANE-P
Forensic Program Coordinator
UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital

Kathleen Hackett has been a nurse for over 30 years with 20 years of emergency room experience, and is certified through the International Association of Forensic Nurses as a pediatric sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE-P). Kathleen is currently the Pediatric Forensic Program Coordinator for University Hospitals, Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital since its launch in 2010, in Cleveland, OH. Kathleen earned her Master of Science in Nursing (Forensic Track) at Cleveland State University in 2017. Kathleen provides ongoing education within her medical facility, and area undergraduate and graduate programs on such topics as sexual abuse/assault, human trafficking, non-fatal strangulation, and trauma-informed care, for medical students, physicians, and nurses. Kathleen also collaborates with community partners to provide better-quality care for pediatric victims of crime.

Speakers

Margaret P. Moss, PhD, JD, RN, FAAN
Professor and Associate Dean for Nursing and Health Policy
Katherine R. & C. Walton Lillehei Chair in Nursing Leadership
University of Minnesota School of Nursing

Dr. Margaret Moss is an enrolled member of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation in North Dakota. She is the first and only American Indian to hold both Nursing and Juris Doctorates. She has been a nurse for 35 years and an academic for 24 years across 4 universities including the University of Minnesota (twice) where she has returned as Professor in Nursing and Associate Dean of Nursing and Health Policy, Yale University, SUNY Buffalo and the University of British Columbia (UBC). Just prior she was at UBC 2018-2023, as a Professor, School of Nursing, Interim Associate Vice President Equity & Inclusion for the University, and Director of the UBC First Nations House of Learning, a strategic Indigenous leadership position under the Provost. She co-led the development and launch of the UBC Indigenous Strategic Plan (2020) one of the only comprehensive plans in No. America. Dr. Moss was named to the inaugural Forbes 50 over 50 Impact List, 2021. She was elected to the American Academy of Nursing’s Board 2021 and has been elected a member of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) (2022). She sits on a Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. She has contributed to 2 NAM consensus studies- Federal Policy to Advance Racial, Ethnic, and Tribal Health Equity (2022), and currently The Use of Race and Ethnicity in Biomedical Research. Dr. Moss wrote an award-winning text, American Indian Health and Nursing (2015) followed by Health Equity and Nursing (2020). In other experiences, Dr. Moss was a RWJF Health Policy Fellow and staffed the Senate Special Committee on Aging. She was a Fulbright Research Chair at McGill University on Indigenous Life Across the North American Context. She is asked to speak often on Indigenous, health, aging, diversity and policy issues with academics, health professionals and other groups nationally and internationally.

Speakers

Margaret P. Moss, PhD, JD, RN, FAAN
Professor and Associate Dean for Nursing and Health Policy
Katherine R. & C. Walton Lillehei Chair in Nursing Leadership
University of Minnesota School of Nursing

Dr. Margaret Moss is an enrolled member of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation in North Dakota. She is the first and only American Indian to hold both Nursing and Juris Doctorates. She has been a nurse for 35 years and an academic for 24 years across 4 universities including the University of Minnesota (twice) where she has returned as Professor in Nursing and Associate Dean of Nursing and Health Policy, Yale University, SUNY Buffalo and the University of British Columbia (UBC). Just prior she was at UBC 2018-2023, as a Professor, School of Nursing, Interim Associate Vice President Equity & Inclusion for the University, and Director of the UBC First Nations House of Learning, a strategic Indigenous leadership position under the Provost. She co-led the development and launch of the UBC Indigenous Strategic Plan (2020) one of the only comprehensive plans in No. America. Dr. Moss was named to the inaugural Forbes 50 over 50 Impact List, 2021. She was elected to the American Academy of Nursing’s Board 2021 and has been elected a member of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) (2022). She sits on a Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. She has contributed to 2 NAM consensus studies- Federal Policy to Advance Racial, Ethnic, and Tribal Health Equity (2022), and currently The Use of Race and Ethnicity in Biomedical Research. Dr. Moss wrote an award-winning text, American Indian Health and Nursing (2015) followed by Health Equity and Nursing (2020). In other experiences, Dr. Moss was a RWJF Health Policy Fellow and staffed the Senate Special Committee on Aging. She was a Fulbright Research Chair at McGill University on Indigenous Life Across the North American Context. She is asked to speak often on Indigenous, health, aging, diversity and policy issues with academics, health professionals and other groups nationally and internationally.

Speakers

Andra Davis, PhD, MN, RN
Associate Professor
University of Portland
School of Nursing and Health Innovation

Dr. Andra Davis (she/her) is an Associate Professor with palliative care expertise (educational and instrument development). She is a co-investigator with the End-of-life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) and leads a national effort to advance palliative care education in schools of nursing. With her colleague Dr. Lippe, she has developed instruments to evaluate student learning related to palliative care education. In addition to this work, she has participated in revision of national palliative care competency statements intended for use in schools of nursing. Dr. Davis has worked with an international team of researchers to explore provider experiences in caring for persons at the end of life in Thailand. Other work includes nurse-led symptom support for persons receiving cancer treatment and development of national family caregiver competencies within a national consortium of nurse educators.

Megan Lippe, PhD, MSN, RN, ANEF, FAAN
Associate Professor
University of Texas Health San Antonio
School of Nursing

Dr. Megan Lippe is an Associate Professor with tenure and a palliative care expert. She is a national leader for palliative nursing care education with published works in areas related to palliative care education, simulation, interprofessional education, and social justice. She is a co-investigator of the End of Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) focused on advancing palliative care education in schools of nursing throughout the country. Dr. Lippe is the lead author for AACN-endorsed national palliative care competence statement revisions for undergraduate and graduate education (CARES and G-CARES, respectively) and the ELNEC Undergraduate/New Graduate curriculum.

Speakers

Melissa McLaren, DNP, MBA, MSML, RN
Administrative Director Graduate Nursing
Interim Department Chair RN-BSN
Western Governors University

Dr. McLaren is an Administrative Director of Graduate Nursing and Interim Department Chair for RN-BSN at the Leavitt School of Health at Western Governors University. She serves on several committees and projects related to DEI work at the Leavitt School of Health. Dr. McLaren began her advocacy work over 13 years ago with the recognition that her very young child was transgender. What started as talking to teachers and school nurses at her child’s school grew to talking to educators and healthcare providers at a national level. Melissa and her family have engaged with lawmakers at the local and state level, as well as the Congressional LGBTQ Equality Caucus and the US Department of Health and Human Services in support of gender-affirming care and other LGBTQIA+ rights. They have spoken at state and national conferences to educate on the importance of family support when raising a transgender child. Dr. McLaren has partnered with organizations such as the Human Rights Campaign, Welcoming Schools, PFLAG, the ACLU, TransOhio, Equality Ohio, and many others to advocate for transgender youth.

Dr. McLaren currently serves on the Human Rights Campaign Parents for Transgender Equality National Council. She is a board officer for Equality Ohio and the Vice President for her county LGBTQIA+ organization. She is a member of the AACN DEI Leadership Network Communications Committee.

Ahnyel Burkes, DNP, RN-BC, NEA-BC
Executive Director - Louisiana State Nurses Association and Louisiana Nurses Foundation
Adjunct Nursing Faculty - Louisiana State University
Chief Executive Officer - Culture of Care LLC

Dr. Ahnyel Burkes is the Executive Director of the Louisiana State Nurses Association and Louisiana Nurses Foundation. She is a nurse entrepreneur and serves as the Chief Executive Officer at Culture of Care LLC. She is an Adjunct Nursing Faculty at Louisiana State University. She has served in numerous nursing leadership roles ranging from local, statewide, and national. Dr. Burkes received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Dillard University, a Master of Science in Nursing with a Healthcare Systems Management concentration from Loyola University in New Orleans, and a Doctor of Nursing Practice with a Nurse Executive Leadership concentration from Chamberlain University. Dr. Burkes is certified in Medical-Surgical Nursing and as an Advanced Nurse Executive. In her previous role as the Director of Health Policy and Advocacy for the Louisiana State Nurses Association she led the association’s legislative agenda. Dr. Burkes is the chair of the Louisiana Nursing Supply and Demand Council and Chair of the Louisiana Healthcare Workplace Violence Task Force.

One of her most notable contributions was spearheading Louisiana first Workplace Violence Law in 2022. Dr. Burkes completed the American Nurses Advocacy Institute in 2022. Dr. Burkes also led initiatives to make Louisiana the 12th state to enact Surgical Smoke Evacuation legislation. She is passionate about Health Policy and has served on various governmental boards, committees and taskforces focused on the healthcare workforce, healthy healthcare work environments and nursing practice.

Dr. Burkes has received numerous awards. She was inducted into the Louisiana Great 100 Nurses in 2018 and selected as a City Business 2021 Health Care Hero. In addition, she was awarded the Louisiana State Nightingale Registered Nurse of the Year Award in 2018, the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s 2019 Certified Nurse Award in Medical Surgical Nursing and the New Orleans District Nurses Association’s Legacy award in 2022. In 2021 she was recognized by Ochsner Health for Outstanding Community Achievement by a Nurse. She was recognized as a 40 under 40 honoree at her alma mater, Dillard University and recognized as the National inaugural 2022 Chamberlain University Emerging Caregiver. Dr. Burkes was listed on the 2022 and 2023 Becker’s Hospital Review Black Healthcare Leaders to Know. Dr. Burkes was acknowledged as a Health Impact Daisy Nurse Leader in 2023 for her dedication to advancing compassion through policy. Dr. Burkes is a lifetime member of the National Black Nurses Association, a member of the American Nurse Association (Louisiana Nurses Association) and serves on the National Committee for Nursing Practice Standards as well as the National Committee on Workplace Violence. She serves on the National Black Nurses Association’s Health Policy Committee. She is also a member of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.

Teri A. Murray, PhD, PHNA-BC, RN, ANEF, FAAN
Professor
Dean Emerita
Inaugural Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer
Trudy Busch Valentine School of Nursing
Saint Louis University

Dr. Murray is a professor, dean emerita, and the inaugural chief diversity and inclusion officer at the Trudy Busch Valentine School of Nursing, Saint Louis University. She is also the project director for a Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resource and Service Administration, Nursing Workforce Diversity Grant. Dr. Murray works tirelessly to advance diversity in nursing education and the nursing workforce. She has been actively involved in workforce development and governmental affairs at the state and national levels. Her research and policy interests are focused on the social and structural determinants of health, the interconnections among the social and political environments, and health equity.

She is the Chair of the American Academy of Nursing’s Expert Panel on Health Equity. Dr. Murray is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, the Academy of Nurse Educators, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Executive Nurse Fellows Program, a recipient of the Saint Louis American Foundation Excellence in Healthcare Award for Stellar Performance, the Exemplary Leadership Award by the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, and the recipient of the Distinguished Black Alumni and Woman of the Year Awards from Saint Louis University. Dr. Murray has garnered significant external funding, presented nationally, and has numerous publications.