Speakers

Sharon L. Colley, PhD, DNP, RN, ACAC, CNE
Professor
Ferris State University School of Nursing

Dr. Sharon Colley has been a nurse for 34 years, working for many years in mental health as well as med-surg, rehab, and ambulatory care prior to moving into a faculty position in 2006. She earned a PhD in higher ed leadership and a DNP in nursing leadership. Dr. Colley has a passion for education and preparing nurses to be educators. She has earned certification as a nurse educator, as an advanced autism specialist, and as a neurodiversity professional. She has also earned several awards for her teaching, including the Ferris State University Distinguished Teacher Award in 2016.

Sharon’s interest in providing information sessions for healthcare professionals stems in part from her own experiences as the parent of a child with autism as well as her DNP project work that focused on improving healthcare environments for those with autism.

Speakers

Holly J. Humphrey, MD, MACP
President
Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation

Holly J. Humphrey, MD, MACP, is the eighth president of Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation. Immediately prior to her appointment, she served for 15 years as the Ralph W. Gerard Professor in Medicine and Dean for Medical Education at The University of Chicago.

In 1989, Dr. Humphrey and a colleague delivered the country’s first White Coat Ceremony address at The University of Chicago. The Gold Foundation later adopted and formalized this ceremony and today supports similar events in medical and nursing schools across the country. During her tenure as Dean for Medical Education, her signature programs focused on equity, diversity and inclusion, mentoring, and professionalism. She led efforts to increase diversity and belonging by developing pathway programs and co-founding the Bowman Society, which explores issues of health disparity and provides mentoring for those underrepresented in medicine. She was the founding dean of the school’s Identity and Inclusion Committee, which advances civil discourse in the medical school. She is also the founding dean of the Academy of Distinguished Medical Educators and of the MERITS Fellowship program for faculty pursuing research, innovation, teaching, and scholarship in medical education.

She is Chair of the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine’s Board of Directors. She is Chair Emeritus of American Board of Internal Medicine and of the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation and a past President of the Association of Program Directors in Internal Medicine (APDIM).

Dr. Humphrey earned her MD degree with honors from The University of Chicago. Following an internal medicine residency, pulmonary and critical care fellowship, and Chief Residency all at The University of Chicago, she served a 14-year tenure as Director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program, which provided the foundation for her career in medical education. She is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine. Crain’s Chicago Business featured her as one of their “Women to Watch,” and the NorthShore University Health System created the Holly J. Humphrey Medical Education Fund with a one-million-dollar gift to The University of Chicago in recognition of her leadership in medical education. The Association of Program Directors in Internal Medicine honored her with the Dema C. Daley Founders Award for national excellence as an educator, innovator, and leader. Graduating medical students at The University of Chicago honored Dr. Humphrey five times with the Gender Equity Award and more than 25 times with the Favorite Faculty Teaching Award.

Cassandra Godzik,PhD, MS
Director of Nursing Education
American Association of Colleges of Nursing

Cassandra Godzik is a practicing psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP) and postdoctoral research fellow in the Departments of Psychiatry and Community and Family Medicine at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC), Centers for Aging at Dartmouth, and Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth.

Godzik’s nursing journey began in high school when she worked as a nursing assistant in a memory care unit and older adult assisted living facility. During her undergraduate (University of Vermont) and master’s degrees (Regis College), Godzik engaged in research that focused on populations with mental health disorders, while simultaneously working as a psychiatric nurse. All these research and clinical experiences compelled her to earn a doctorate degree in nursing from the University of Massachusetts Medical School, where she graduated in 2020. Throughout her doctoral work, she focused on sleep medicine and mental health symptoms and conducted a trial of an online cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) program.

Godzik’s nursing journey began in high school when she worked as a nursing assistant in a memory care unit and older adult assisted living facility. During her undergraduate (University of Vermont) and master’s degrees (Regis College), Godzik engaged in research that focused on populations with mental health disorders, while simultaneously working as a psychiatric nurse. All these research and clinical experiences compelled her to earn a doctorate degree in nursing from the University of Massachusetts Medical School, where she graduated in 2020. Throughout her doctoral work, she focused on sleep medicine and mental health symptoms and conducted a trial of an online cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) program.

Speakers

Teri A. Murray, PhD, PHNA-BC, RN, ANEF, FAAN
Professor and Dean Emerita
Saint Louis University

Dr. Murray is professor, dean emerita, and the inaugural chief diversity and inclusion officer at Saint Louis University School of Nursing, St. Louis, MO.

Dr. Murray is actively involved in workforce development and governmental affairs at the state and national levels. She skillfully uses regulatory, public, and legislative policies to promote and lead innovation in nursing education and healthcare. Appointed by Missouri Governors, Dr. Murray served on the State Board of Nursing. As state board of nursing president, she regulated nursing education and practice for Missouri and served on the National Council of State Boards of Nursing to formulate policies for nursing education and practice in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories. Appointed by U.S. Secretary for Health and Human Services, she served on the National Advisory Council for Nurse Education and Practice, which advised the Secretary and the U.S. Congress on policy issues related to nursing education and practice.

Dr. Murray has worked tirelessly to advance diversity in nursing education in faculty, student bodies, and the nursing workforce. She has been the project director of several U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Nursing Workforce Diversity Grants aimed at increasing diversity in the registered nurse workforce.

As a board-certified advanced public health nurse, her research and policy interests focus on the social determinants of health, and the interplay between the social environment, the political environment, and health outcomes.

Speakers

Laura Taylor, PhD, RN, ANEF, FAAN
Owner and CEO
GuIDE to Degree, LLC

With more than 26 years in the transplant nursing/community, and 34 years in nursing education, Dr. Taylor has earned national and international recognition as a strong leader who shapes practice, policy and education.

Dr. Taylor’s scholarship integrates pioneering technology-based innovations, rigorous scientific methods, inter-professional collaboration, and focused orientation on the advancement of global transplant care and education. Dr. Taylor embodies the innovative and evidence-based approach to contemporary nursing education, practice and healthcare delivery meeting the needs of patients in increasingly complex healthcare environments.

Dr. Taylor established an educational pathway, The Guiding Initiative for Doctoral Education program (GuIDE ™), a program providing advanced practice nurses informational and problem solving opportunities regarding PhD, EdD, and DNP education. GuIDE™ is preparing nurses, to be competitive for admission to doctoral programs with the goal of increasing the diversity of doctorally prepared nurses.

Speakers

Carolyn A. Chow, M.A.
Holistic Admissions in Academic Nursing Consultant
American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN)

Carolyn Chow, M.A. strategized and led fair and defensible holistic admissions processes for all degree programs at the University of Washington School of Nursing from 1999 to 2018 as the Director of Admissions and Student Diversity. She oversaw student outreach and recruiting from K-12 through prospective students wishing to pursue their BSN, MS, DNP, PhD Degrees and Graduate Certificates in Advanced Practice Nursing.

In leading UW’s admissions, outreach, and enrollment efforts, Carolyn ensured that the School of Nursing was among the most diverse Schools on the UW campus. She is passionate about equity and inclusion efforts and served as the SoN’s representative to the UW Diversity Council, was an active member of the SoN Diversity Committee from 1999-2018 (chair from 2005-2006), and the Graduate Opportunities and Minority Achievement Program Advisory Board. Carolyn advised and mentored the student-led organizations including SoN Queers & Allies and SoN Diversity Awareness Group. She was also the co-founder and director of UW Nurse Camp, the SoN’s premier high school pipeline and mentorship program for underrepresented and first-generation high school students interested in nursing. She also co-founded of the Western Washington Chapter of National Association of Hispanic Nurses. She has been an active leader in the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) Leadership Network Graduate Nursing Admissions Professionals (GNAP).

Carolyn currently resides in Ithaca, NY and serves as an AACN Holistic Admissions in Academic Nursing consultant. She brings a wealth of expertise regarding holistic admissions review practices in schools of nursing