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

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

Dr. Melissa 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 ser ves 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 Associat ion) 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. Teri 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

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

Dr. Teri 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

Cecilia Sorensen, MD
Director, Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education
Associate Professor, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health
Associate Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine
Columbia University

Cecilia Sorensen, MD is the Director of the Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education at Columbia University, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at Columbia Irving Medical Center and Associate Professor of Environmental Health Sciences at Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University. Dr. Sorensen received her Doctor of Medicine from Drexel University College of Medicine and completed a four-year emergency medicine residency at Denver Health. Following residency training, she completed a 2-year fellowship in climate change and human health policy with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). Her work focuses on the intersection of climate change and health and how policy solutions, clinical action and education can build resilience in vulnerable communities. She currently serves on the working group for the National Academy of Medicine’s Climate and Human Health Initiative. She was an author for the U.S. Fourth National Climate Assessment and serves as a technical advisor for the Lancet Climate and Health U.S. Policy Brief. She is the co-editor of the textbook Climate Change and Human Health: From Science to Practice.

Teddie M. Potter, PhD, RN, FAAN, FNAP
Clinical Professor/Coordinator, Doctor of Nursing Practice in Health Innovation and Leadership
Director of Planetary Health; Pauline A. Vincent Chair of Public Health
Directorate, Katharine J. Densford International Center for Nursing Leadership
School of Nursing
University of Minnesota

Dr. Potter is deeply committed to climate change education including co-founding Health Professionals for a Healthy Climate, membership in the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, and membership on the American Academy of Nursing Environment and Public Health Expert Panel. She is a member of the Coordinating Committee of Columbia University’s Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education and a Fellow in the Institute on the Environment at the University of Minnesota. She chairs Clinicians for Planetary Health (C4PH) and is a member of the Steering Committee of the Planetary Health Alliance at Harvard.

At the University of Minnesota, Dr. Potter designed and co-teaches an interdisciplinary course titled “The Global Climate Challenge: Creating an Empowered Movement for Change”. In addition, she co-leads a Health Sciences initiative titled, “Climate Change and Health: An Interprofessional Response”. In 2019, Dr. Potter was appointed the first Director of Planetary Health for the School of Nursing.

In addition, Dr. Potter is Executive Editor for the Interdisciplinary Journal of Partnership Studies; a peer-reviewed, open-access, online journal promoting interdisciplinary collaboration as a solution for solving society’s grand challenges.

Dorothy Biberman, MPH, CPH
Director of Global Engagement and Executive Initiatives
Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health

Speaker

Colleen Leners, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, FAAN FAANP
Director of Policy
American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN)

Dr. Colleen Leners is the Director of Policy at the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), which serves as the national voice of academic nursing. Dr. Leners was selected as a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Fellow in the office of Senator John Thune (R-SD) of the Senate Finance Committee. She has maintained an active family nurse practitioner practice for over 25 years and has served our country in the United States Army Nurse Corps, which after multiple deployments overseas was honorably discharged. She has many notable achievements both civilian and military, she has been inducted as a Fellow Academy of Nursing, Fellow in the American Association of Nurse Practitioners and awarded the Bronze Star for her service overseas.

Dr. Leners has served as the Traumatic Brain Injury Program manager, created a nurse-managed primary care clinic for Wounded Warriors at Navy Medical Center San Diego. She has also been a registered nurse and nurse practitioner for three decades. She received her DNP in Leadership from Case Western Reserve University, MSN FNP from University of San Diego and her BSN from California State University Dominguez Hills.