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

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.

Speakers

Dr. Nia Adimu-Ceja Josiah, DNP, MSN, RN, PMHNP
Assistant Professor of Nursing
Columbia University School of Nursing
Jonas Scholar (2021-2023)

Dr. Nia Adimu-Ceja Josiah is an Assistant Professor of Nursing at the Columbia University Medical Center and Columbia University School of Nursing. Dr. Josiah is a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) graduate from Columbia University School of Nursing (CUSON) and a licensed Nurse Practitioner in Psychiatry. Dr. Josiah is a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration SAMHSA MFP/ANA Doctoral Fellow, Jonas Scholar, Columbia Alumni Association (CAA) scholar and CUSON Pathways to Leadership and Advancement in Nursing (PLAN) scholar.

Dr. Josiah serves as a nursing leader gaining over 10 years of professional, clinical experience in psychology and psychiatry combined, ranging from nursing research, teaching, serving in acute care facilities, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, mentally disabled communities, respite-care, and palliative care. Dr. Josiah has gained professional and leadership experience in the medical field climbing the nursing ladder from a home health aide, certified nursing assistant, gerontologic assistant, medicine technician, mastered degree nurse, to now a DNP, PMHNP. Dr. Josiah’s doctoral training consisted of interning as a PMHNP, DNP conducting individual psychotherapy at Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services in Bronx, New York, intern at Four Winds Hospital in Katonah, New York conducting medication management and an outpatient intern for Dr. Fatima Ramos-Marcuse in Mamaroneck, New York conducting both medication management and psychotherapy.

Dr. Josiah has two years of experience in conducting simulation-based learning. She has honed the necessary skills in planning, preparation and execution of simulation-based healthcare training, education and execution. Dr. Josiah has led and assisted in researching technology and simulation best-practice training for CUSON faculty across disciplines. She completed the Essentials in Clinical Simulation Across the Health Professions course and received a certificate authorized by George Washington University.

Dr. Josiah has had the pleasure to teach nationally and internationally at Columbia University School of Nursing, and remote at GEC Academy in Shanghai, China. She has taught science of psychiatric/mental health nurse practice, evidence-based practice, scholarly writing and dissemination, health promotion and disease prevention, and general simulation lab to masters and doctoral degree students.

Dr. Josiah has expertise in forming, leading, and managing research teams as well as co-authored with over 20 PhD’s and DNP’s. Dr. Josiah’s research interests focus on addressing systemic drivers of racial health iniquities among marginalized patient populations. Dr. Josiah’s publications consist of peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed articles, systematic reviews, discursive papers, editorials, op-eds, nursing blogs, and poster presentations. Dr. Josiah uses her social justice advocacy to lobby nursing initiatives impacting marginalized populations at national and international workshops and on leadership panels.

Dr. Josiah currently serves as a Columbia University School of Nursing Columbia Alumni Association (CAA) Board Member, a Jonas Alumni Council Board Member, and an inducted member of Sigma Theta Tau International Society Nu Beta at Large chapter. Dr. Josiah serves on local, national, and international committees including: CUSON's anti-racism retention committee and BIPOC Deans’ Advisory Group as 2023 graduating class representative, co-founded sub-committee Umoja, ANA, SIGMA Nu Beta Chapter at-Large (Governance), International Society of Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurses (ISPN) (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) committee and AACN Graduate Nursing Student Academy (GNSA committee member).

Currently, Dr. Josiah works in the outpatient setting in Mount Vernon, New York, operates her own private practice and volunteers at local homeless shelters.

Speakers

Dr. Nia Adimu-Ceja Josiah, DNP, MSN, RN, PMHNP
Assistant Professor of Nursing
Columbia University School of Nursing
Jonas Scholar (2021-2023)

Dr. Nia Adimu-Ceja Josiah is an Assistant Professor of Nursing at the Columbia University Medical Center and Columbia University School of Nursing. Dr. Josiah is a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) graduate from Columbia University School of Nursing (CUSON) and a licensed Nurse Practitioner in Psychiatry. Dr. Josiah is a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration SAMHSA MFP/ANA Doctoral Fellow, Jonas Scholar, Columbia Alumni Association (CAA) scholar and CUSON Pathways to Leadership and Advancement in Nursing (PLAN) scholar.

Dr. Josiah serves as a nursing leader gaining over 10 years of professional, clinical experience in psychology and psychiatry combined, ranging from nursing research, teaching, serving in acute care facilities, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, mentally disabled communities, respite-care, and palliative care. Dr. Josiah has gained professional and leadership experience in the medical field climbing the nursing ladder from a home health aide, certified nursing assistant, gerontologic assistant, medicine technician, mastered degree nurse, to now a DNP, PMHNP. Dr. Josiah’s doctoral training consisted of interning as a PMHNP, DNP conducting individual psychotherapy at Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services in Bronx, New York, intern at Four Winds Hospital in Katonah, New York conducting medication management and an outpatient intern for Dr. Fatima Ramos-Marcuse in Mamaroneck, New York conducting both medication management and psychotherapy.

Dr. Josiah has two years of experience in conducting simulation-based learning. She has honed the necessary skills in planning, preparation and execution of simulation-based healthcare training, education and execution. Dr. Josiah has led and assisted in researching technology and simulation best-practice training for CUSON faculty across disciplines. She completed the Essentials in Clinical Simulation Across the Health Professions course and received a certificate authorized by George Washington University.

Dr. Josiah has had the pleasure to teach nationally and internationally at Columbia University School of Nursing, and remote at GEC Academy in Shanghai, China. She has taught science of psychiatric/mental health nurse practice, evidence-based practice, scholarly writing and dissemination, health promotion and disease prevention, and general simulation lab to masters and doctoral degree students.

Dr. Josiah has expertise in forming, leading, and managing research teams as well as co-authored with over 20 PhD’s and DNP’s. Dr. Josiah’s research interests focus on addressing systemic drivers of racial health iniquities among marginalized patient populations. Dr. Josiah’s publications consist of peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed articles, systematic reviews, discursive papers, editorials, op-eds, nursing blogs, and poster presentations. Dr. Josiah uses her social justice advocacy to lobby nursing initiatives impacting marginalized populations at national and international workshops and on leadership panels.

Dr. Josiah currently serves as a Columbia University School of Nursing Columbia Alumni Association (CAA) Board Member, a Jonas Alumni Council Board Member, and an inducted member of Sigma Theta Tau International Society Nu Beta at Large chapter. Dr. Josiah serves on local, national, and international committees including: CUSON's anti-racism retention committee and BIPOC Deans’ Advisory Group as 2023 graduating class representative, co-founded sub-committee Umoja, ANA, SIGMA Nu Beta Chapter at-Large (Governance), International Society of Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurses (ISPN) (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) committee and AACN Graduate Nursing Student Academy (GNSA committee member).

Currently, Dr. Josiah works in the outpatient setting in Mount Vernon, New York, operates her own private practice and volunteers at local homeless shelters.

Speakers

Emily Helbick, BSN
DNP Student
Jacksonville University

Emily is a registered nurse as well as a value-based population health management expert with 13 years of experience. Throughout a decade of working in and out of a critical care hospital setting, Emily has experienced shifts in healthcare culture and policy firsthand. She witnessed the trend towards poor healthcare quality with a focus on volume over value. It was at this point that she decided to pivot to a career focusing on value-based care and health system improvement. Emily is now employed by one of the largest and most successful Accountable Care Organization’s in the nation. As a clinical project manager, she spearheads the organization’s initiatives for optimizing the spend towards post-acute care and their provider network of high caliber specialists while increasing patient care quality. Her toolbelt includes the power of artificial intelligence and innovative predictive analytics to help satisfy these demanding initiatives.

Emily attained a Bachelor of Nursing Science from the University of New Hampshire and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Nursing Practice from Jacksonville University. Emily volunteers with a local LGBTQ+ community non-profit delivering preventative care services as an HIV awareness and screening counselor. In her free time, Emily loves to travel, scuba dive, and participate with international ocean and coral conservation programs.

Gemma O'Donnell
PhD Student
Arizona State University

Gemma O’Donnell, MSN, RN is a master’s prepared registered nurse. She is a PhD student in the Arizona State University Edson College School of Nursing, PhD in Nursing and Healthcare Innovation program. Her research interest is in exploring solutions for family caregivers of persons with dementia. She teaches undergraduate nursing students at Northern Arizona University’s School of Nursing, focusing on Gerontology, Palliative Care and Nursing Leadership. She has over 20 years of nursing experience serving the needs of patients with dementia at all stages and their family members.