Speakers

Maureen “Shawn” Kennedy, MA, RN, FAAN
Contributing Editor, JAMA Health Forum; Editor-in-Chief Emerita
American Journal of Nursing

Maureen “Shawn” Kennedy is a contributing editor for JAMA Health Forum and Editor-in-Chief Emerita of the American Journal of Nursing (AJN), stepping down after 12 years at the helm and after 15 years in other journal roles. As AJN news director, Shawn was a visiting nurse scholar at the WHO Office of Nursing and Midwifery in 2009-2010. As AJN editor-in-chief, she led award-winning projects and series that have increased nurses’ awareness of important professional and social justice issues, enhanced curriculum, and provided evidence for policy change. Shawn guided AJN's innovative digital and social media strategy, positioning AJN as a leader among nursing and medical journals. Her work in advancing standards for nursing publications was recognized in 2016 by the International Academy of Nursing Editors with the Margaret Comerford Freda Award for Editorial Leadership and in 2017, she was awarded The Nightingale Initiative for Global Health Advocacy in Action Award for excellence in promoting nursing scholarship. Author of several book chapters and numerous articles in AJN and other journals, her editorials in AJN have received six Clarion awards from the Association of Women in Communications. She currently serves as a trustee of the Foundation of the National Student Nurses Association and of New Jersey’s Valley Hospital System and is on the national advisory board of R3-Resilient Nurse Initiative Maryland at The Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing. She presents internationally on scholarly publishing issues, authorship ethics, and writing, with the goal of getting ALL nurses to tell their stories.

Speaker

Wanda Thruston, DNP, APRN, RN
Director of Access and Engagement
American Association of Colleges of Nursing

Dr. Wanda Thruston, Director of Access and Engagement at AACN, is a national and international leader in academic nursing and advancing fair and just access to health and well-being for all, with expertise in institutional transformation, leadership development, and systems-level strategy. A Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar Fellow, she brings decades of experience in clinical practice with under-resourced populations, health policy, and academic leadership.

At AACN, Dr. Thruston led the development and implementation of the Ecosystem of Excellence in Academic Nursing, a strategic framework designed to enhance institutional effectiveness and promote the success of students, staff, and faculty. She provides technical assistance, training, and consultation to HRSA-funded nursing schools and AACN member institutions—supporting strategies to expand access, strengthen student achievement, improve the institutional climate, and build academic environments where all individuals feel supported and prepared to succeed.

Previously, she served as Special Assistant to the Dean at Indiana University School of Nursing, where she led the development of the Diversity Strategic Plan and co-created a university-wide pathway for DEI faculty promotion. She also led a large-scale assessment of health and well-being for Indiana’s second-largest K–12 district to inform fair and effective resource allocation that meets the needs of all students. Dr. Thruston is committed to advancing environments where students, staff, and faculty thrive.

Speakers

Evangeline Fangonil-Gagalang, PhD, MSN, RN
Associate Dean & Associate Professor
Azusa Pacific University

President
California Association of Colleges of Nursing

Precision Health & Genomics Work Group Co-Chair
American Nurses Association

Dr. Evangeline Fangonil-Gagalang is Associate Dean and Associate Professor at Azusa Pacific University in California, with over 25 years of nursing experience in medical-surgical and emergency care. She is President of the California Association of Colleges of Nursing and formerly chaired the Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice Committee of the Association of California Nurse Leaders. Dr. Gagalang co-chairs the American Nurses Association's Precision Health and Genomics work group, helping to develop competencies for Precision Health and update the Genomics Nursing competencies. She was co-primary investigator on the All of Us research grant, a partnership with the NIH to gather 1 million health samples. In 2025, she received the Excellence in Nursing Education Award from the American Nurses Association - California, and authored a national study on nurses' capacity in Precision Health.

Speakers

Molly Kokenge, PhD, RN, CNL, CEN
Associate Dean for Strategic Partnerships and Practice
University of Nevada

Dr. Molly Kokenge is an Associate Professor and the inaugural Associate Dean for Strategic Partnerships and Practice at the University of Nevada, Reno’s Orvis School of Nursing (OSN). She leads initiatives that strengthen partnerships to advance OSN’s Mission of education, research, and practice. Dr. Kokenge oversees the OSN’s Faculty Practice Plan, a mission-driven program designed to address health equity through faculty-led care delivery and systems-focused practice initiatives. Drawing on her background in emergency nursing and systems leadership, Dr. Kokenge’s research examines health behavior engagement and adherence among populations historically marginalized from care, with a strong emphasis on policy-driven systemic change.

Loni Jones, MSN, RN, CNL
Student Coordinator
Renown Health

Loni Jones serves as a Student Coordinator and Adjunct Clinical Faculty at the Orvis School of Nursing, where she plays a key role in advancing student learning and clinical readiness. She oversees the day-to-day operations of the Gerald “Jerry” Smith Academic Practice Partnership, ensuring smooth coordination that supports student success and seamless transitions into professional nursing practice. With a strong foundation in nursing education and a clinical nurse leader's background, Loni brings a collaborative, systems-focused approach to her work. Her leadership fosters meaningful improvements across both acute care and academic environments, contributing to high-quality clinical experiences and impactful practice transformations.

Shannon Richard, PhD, RN, CHSE
Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies and Associate Professor 
University of Nevada

Dr. Shannon Richard is the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies at the Orvis School of Nursing, University of Nevada, Reno. She is an accomplished nurse educator and researcher with more than thirteen years of teaching experience across undergraduate, associate-to-baccalaureate, and accelerated nursing programs. She brings a dynamic, student-centered approach to nursing education grounded in civility, approachability, and continuous evaluation and refinement to support student success and professional development.

Her areas of expertise include pathophysiology, pharmacology, clinical development, simulation, and emergency and acute care nursing. Dr. Richard integrates innovative pedagogical strategies into both didactic and clinical settings, including conceptual learning frameworks, flipped classroom models, and advanced educational technologies to enhance engagement, clinical reasoning, and knowledge application.

Dr. Richard earned her PhD in Nursing Science from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and holds master’s, bachelor’s, and associate degrees in nursing. Her research focuses on health disparities affecting Hispanic/Latinx populations, gender-ethnic differences in disease processes, and the intersection of metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, and psychological well-being. She has a particular interest in modifiable lifestyle factors and early electrocardiographic abnormalities as predictors of disease risk. She has held national certifications in emergency nursing, nursing education, and healthcare simulation. Her excellence in teaching has been widely recognized, including the F. Donald Tibbitts Distinguished Teaching Award, multiple Most Inspirational Faculty Awards from the Orvis School of Nursing, and the Sigma Nu Iota Daisy Award for Extraordinary Nurse Educator. Dr. Richard is deeply committed to optimizing the student experience, strengthening academic-practice partnerships, and advancing innovative nursing education to improve workforce readiness and health outcomes.

Charles Yingling, DNP, FNP-BC, FAANP, FAAN 
Dean and Professor 
University of Nevada

Dr. Charles Yingling is Dean and Professor of the Orvis School of Nursing at the University of Nevada, Reno, where he provides strategic leadership to advance and sustain academic–practice partnerships that strengthen nursing education, workforce development, and health system impact.

Dr. Yingling serves as a steward of the long-standing partnership between the Orvis School of Nursing and Renown Health, which was established prior to his tenure and later formalized as the Gerald “Jerry” Smith Academic–Practice Partnership. Building on this strong foundation, he has focused on strengthening the partnership’s structure, visibility, and outcomes, supporting its evolution into a nationally recognized model and its designation as a 2025 AACN Exemplary Academic–Practice Partnership. Under his leadership, the partnership has expanded its focus on sustainable workforce pipelines, transition-to-practice alignment, and practice-based scholarship. These efforts include advancing tuition-supported pathways, enhancing retention of new graduate nurses, supporting embedded nurse scientist roles, and developing systems-focused graduate practica that align academic preparation with health system priorities. His approach emphasizes shared governance, mutual investment, and measurable outcomes that benefit both academic and clinical partners.

Dr. Yingling’s scholarly and leadership interests center on academic–community–clinical partnerships, faculty practice integration, and the role of nursing leadership in improving access to care, particularly in rural and frontier settings. He is actively engaged in national nursing leadership and policy conversations focused on the future of nursing education and the nursing workforce.

Melodie Osborn, MBA, BSN, RN, NEA-BC
Chief Nurse Executive 
Renown Health

Melodie Osborn is Chief Nurse Executive at Renown Health, where she provides executive leadership for nursing practice across the organization and serves as the professional voice for more than 2,700 nurses. As a member of Renown’s executive leadership team, she is responsible for advancing patient-centered care by fostering high-quality, consistent nursing practice across acute, ambulatory, and community settings. In her role, Ms. Osborn is a key practice leader in Renown’s long-standing academic–practice partnership with the University of Nevada, Reno Orvis School of Nursing. She has played an integral role in sustaining and strengthening this partnership, helping to align nursing education, workforce development, and practice priorities to support the preparation and retention of nurses in Nevada. Her leadership emphasizes shared accountability, practice readiness, and the integration of nursing education with real-world clinical and system needs. Ms. Osborn began her career in critical care and cardiovascular services and previously served as Administrative Director for Critical Care and Cardiovascular Services at Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center. She joined Renown Health in 2011 and has held progressive leadership roles supporting nursing excellence and professional development.

She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Nevada, Reno, and her Master of Business Administration in Health Care Administration from Columbia Southern University. Ms. Osborn served as President of the Nevada Organization for Nurse Leaders in 2015 and is currently active in the re-incorporation of the group.

She is deeply committed to advancing nursing leadership and partnering with academic colleagues to strengthen the nursing workforce and improve patient and community outcomes.

Erin VanKirk, DNP, RN, NE-BC 
Director of Nursing Education 
Renown Health

Dr. Erin VanKirk is Director of Nursing Education at Renown Health, where she leads strategic initiatives to strengthen clinical learning environments, advance simulation-enhanced education, and support workforce readiness in collaboration with academic partners. In this role, Dr. VanKirk drives training innovation for nurses and interprofessional learners and aligns educational programs with system priorities that support high-quality care and professional excellence. She has been instrumental in expanding Renown’s clinical training infrastructure, including implementation of the Helmsley Simulation Center, a state-of-the-art facility that enhances experiential learning and prepares clinicians for complex practice across diverse settings. This work directly supports the full scope of the academic–practice partnership between Renown Health and the Orvis School of Nursing, strengthening student preparation, transition-to-practice success, and ongoing professional development. Dr. VanKirk began her nursing career as a frontline clinician and has since built a career focused on education, mentorship, and transformational learning design. She holds a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree and is board-certified in nursing leadership. Her professional interests include simulation-based pedagogy, competency-based progression, and creating supportive learning ecologies that connect academic preparation with real-world clinical expectations.

Committed to cultivating the next generation of nurses, Dr. VanKirk champions partnerships that bridge academic preparation with health system workforce needs and elevate the role of nursing education as a driver of clinical excellence and patient-centered outcomes.

Kristen Gurnea, MPH, CCRC, ACRP-PM 
Director of Clinical Research 
Renown Health

Kristen Gurnea is Director of Clinical Research at Renown Health, where she leads the health system’s clinical research infrastructure and works to expand access to innovative clinical trials that support patient care and evidence-generation. In this role, she oversees the design, implementation, and operational excellence of research activities while fostering collaboration among clinicians, academic partners, and research staff to improve health outcomes and build research capacity.

Ms. Gurnea’s leadership bridges frontline clinical learning, research workforce development, and academic–practice scholarship. She is a passionate advocate for integrating clinical research as a care option and for creating training pathways that align research with broader clinical and educational missions. Her work contributes directly to advancing mutually beneficial academic–practice partnerships by strengthening opportunities for students, clinicians, and learners to engage in research that informs practice and system improvement. She holds a Master of Public Health and is a Certified Clinical Research Coordinator and ACRP-PM (Association of Clinical Research Professionals – Program Manager), credentials that reflect her expertise in research operations, regulatory oversight, and strategic program growth. Her professional interests include expanding community-centered research, building research workforce pipelines, and supporting evidence-based innovation within health systems.

Alexa Colgrove Curtis, PhD, MPH, APRN, FAANP, FAAN 
Associate Dean for Research and Innovation & Endowed Professor 
University of Nevada

Dr. Alexa Colgrove Curtis is a nursing scholar with extensive experience in nursing education, research, clinical practice partnerships, and academic leadership. Her work prioritizes improving access to high-quality healthcare for underserved populations, with particular emphasis on rural communities, integrated behavioral health in primary care, the prevention and management of substance use disorders, and adolescent health. She has led and contributed to multiple funded workforce development initiatives aimed at expanded access to care and strengthening the pipeline of nursing practitioners prepared to serve underserved communities. Dr. Curtis is the co-editor of Nurse Practitioner Clinical Education: A Guide for Educators, Preceptors, and Clinical Partners. In her role as Administrative Lead of the Office of Research and Innovation at the Orvis School of Nursing, she focuses on developing clinical and community partnerships that support community-engaged scholarships, with particular attention to nursing care delivery and nurse-sensitive outcomes.

Speakers

Mary Ann Siciliano McLaughlin, EdD, RN, ANEF
Clinical Associate Professor
Rutgers University

Dr. Siciliano McLaughlin is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Rutgers University - Camden School of Nursing. Dr. McLaughlin is an experienced nurse, educator, leader, author, clinical editor and consultant in nursing. She is passionate about developing and mentoring future and current professional nurses. She strives to positively contribute to the advancement of the nursing profession.  

Dr. McLaughlin’s areas of experience and expertise include cardiac nursing, medical surgical nursing, education, publishing, NCLEX, disease management, telehealth, nursing management, professional identity, leadership, and ethics.  

Dr. McLaughlin’s scholarship interests include publications and presentations related to cardiac nursing, medical surgical nursing, NCLEX, professionalism, and ethics. The main focus of her scholarship revolves around ethical practice in nursing. She has presented locally, nationally, and internationally relating to her scholarship on ethics and her model, the Siciliano-McLaughlin Model of Ethics. 

Nelda Godfrey, PhD, ACNS-BC, RN, FAAN, ANEF
Professor, Professional Practice, and Director, Nursing Career Success, Identity and Innovation  
Sinclair School of Nursing  
University of Missouri

Nelda Godfrey is Professor, Professional Practice, and Director, Nursing Career Success, Identity and Innovation at the Sinclair School of Nursing, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO. A thought leader in nursing innovation and nursing education, Dr. Godfrey writes often on new care delivery models that can be influenced by a stronger emphasis on the nurse within—researching and developing strategies to crea te the whole person experience in nursing practice going forward. Her work with the International Society for Professional Identity in Nursing is transforming the way nurses, health care professionals and society understand what it means to “think, act and feel like a nurse.” This work offers new language and new knowledge for the journey—helping nurses heal, flourish and expertly care for others.

Dr. Godfrey received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Missouri, her Masters in Nursing and credential as a Clinical Nurse Specialist from the University of Kansas Medical Center, and her PhD in Nursing with an emphasis in ethics from the University of Missouri. Scholarly accomplishments include seminal work in professional identity in nursing and implementing the AACN Essentials: Core Competencies for Professional Nursing Education.  Programmatic achievements include creating the KU Community College Nursing Program in which community college students dually enroll in their community college and KU simultaneously, allowing them to graduate with an associate degree in nursing and a bachelor of science in nursing at the same time. Dr. Godfrey serves on the American Nurses Association Ethics and Human Rights Advisory Board and was formerly one of two co-leads for the Missouri Action Coalition supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

M. Lindell Joseph, PhD, RN, FAAN, FAONL
Clinical Professor and Director of the DNP & MSN in Health Systems: Administration/Executive Leadership Programs at the University of Iowa College of Nursing    
University of Iowa College of Nursing  

Dr. Lindell Joseph is passionate about advancing nursing leadership and innovativeness through thought leadership, research methods, and extensive publications. She is the Editor-in-Chief of Nurse Leader, the official journal of the American Organization for Nursing Leadership, at the University of Iowa College of Nursing. From 2019-2024, Dr. Joseph served on the Advisory Council of the International Society for Professional Identity in Nursing. In that role, she co-led the development of th e Conceptual Model for Professional Identity in Nursing and chaired the Nurse as Leader Committee. An outcome of this committee is a position statement entitled “A Call for Dialogue to Advance the Concept of Nurses as Leaders within the Profession and the Public.” Dr. Joseph’s other areas of expertise are leadership effectiveness, innovativeness across academia and practice, and the General Effectiveness Multilevel Theory for Shared Governance. She has been called a proactive, “action-oriented theoretician.” Lastly, she recently co-edited the eighth edition of Leadership and Nursing Care Management.