Speaker

Steve Rudolph
Director of Marketing and Strategic Communications
University of Minnesota

Steve Rudolph is the Director of Strategic Communications at the University of Minnesota School of Nursing, where his goal is to connect the school and its stakeholders through authentic storytelling and compelling communications. He joined the School of Nursing from the Carlson School of Management where he led the creation of the business school’s external communications and ground-breaking digital and video content. Prior to higher education, he was a public relations executive known for providing sound and strategic counsel to clients, building, and protecting brands, and staging successful events and programs.

Speakers

Chika Anueyiagu, DNP, RN, NE-BC
Director of Surgical Services
Yale New Haven Hospital

Dr. Chika Anueyiagu is the Director of Surgical Services at Yale New Haven Hospital with oversight of Inpatient surgical units including, surgical intensive care, trauma, intermediate care, bariatric, general surgery, vascular, and minimally invasive surgery units. She has leadership experience spanning over 20 years in several roles across specialties and settings. In these roles, she had the responsibility of alignment and executing strategic initiatives while ensuring excellent outcomes in nurse-sensitive indicators. Chika earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice Degree from Fairfield University in Executive Leadership. She obtained her Nurse Executive Board certification through the American Nurses Credentialing Center.

Patricia Span, PhD, RN, CPHQ, CENP
Strategy & Learning Specialist
Yale New Haven Hospital

Dr. Patricia Span is the Strategy & Learning Specialist at Yale New Haven Hospital Patient Services Administration with primary responsibility for development and oversight of the nursing strategic business plan and nursing communications comprised of the annual report and nursing news. She has extensive experience as a nurse leader in Education, Professional Practice, Quality, Nursing Research as well as organizational customer service strategies. Patricia received her Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing and is Board Certified in Executive Nursing Practice from the Association of Nurse Executives and credentialed in health care quality from the National Association of Health Care Quality.

Speakers

Kelly Casler, DNP, APRN-CNP, CHSE, EBP-C, FAANP
Associate Clinical Professor
The Ohio State University College of Nursing

Kelly Casler is an Associate Clinical Professor at The Ohio State University College of Nursing where she teaches in the Family Nurse Practitioner and Doctor of Nursing Practice programs. She also maintains a weekly clinical practice at The Healthcare Connection, an FQHC in Cincinnati. Kelly obtained her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree in 2018 through the University of Kansas School of Nursing and completed both a BSN and MS in Nursing at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Her scholarship focuses on innovative nurse practitioner education, including virtual reality simulation and she is a Certified Healthcare Simulation Education (CHSE). Dr. Casler is also a proud U.S. Air Force spouse and mom to Caleb and Zach.

Kate Gawlik, DNP, RN, APRN-CNP, FAANP, FNAP, FAAN
Associate Clinical Professor
Project Manage, Million Hearts
Director of Undergraduate Health and Wellness Academic Programming
Co-Director of Bachelor of Science in Health and Wellness
The Ohio State University

Kate Gawlik is an Associate Professor of Clinical Nursing, Director of Undergraduate Health and Wellness Academic Programming Director of the Bachelor of Science degree in Health and Wellness, and Project Manager for the Million Hearts® initiative at Ohio State University. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, and the National Academies of Practice. She is a Family Nurse Practitioner and her areas of expertise are in wellness, parental burnout, cardiovascular prevention, and nursing education. She received the 2022 AACN’s Innovation Award for her work in nursing education and cardiovascular prevention. Her most recent work in wellness involved developing a new scale, the very first instrument on the globe to measure working parent burnout. She is the editor of four nursing textbooks.

Speakers

Darci McCall, PhD, RNC-OB, C-EFM
Clinical Associate Professor
Boise State University School of Nursing

Dr. Darci McCall has been a nurse for 13 years, working primarily in the maternal-child setting. She earned her BSN from Idaho State University, her MSN from Jacksonville University, and her PhD in Nursing Education from the University of Northern Colorado. She discovered her passion for nursing education when she became a clinical instructor working with students in OB, NICU, and pediatrics. She was hooked and in 2015, she moved into a full-time faculty role at Boise State University. Having taught in a variety of settings at Boise State, she currently teaches in the RN-BS completion track program, where she is the lead faculty for several courses. Dr. McCall is passionate about nursing education and helping students learn and apply new information in every setting.

Dr. McCall’s research interests focus on substance use, specifically marijuana, during pregnancy and the stigma surrounding its use. Her interest in substance use disorder stems from her work in different hospital systems providing care to patients experiencing addiction and substance use disorder during pregnancy and as a faculty member working with students who care for this vulnerable population.

Dr. McCall has earned certifications in Inpatient Obstetric Nursing, Electronic Fetal Monitoring and is a Fetal Heart Monitoring Instructor. She is a member of the NCC’s Inpatient Obstetric Content Team, Inpatient Obstetric Item Writing Team, and the Inpatient Obstetrics Standard Setting Committee. She strongly advocates for SUD recognition, treatment, recovery, and educating nurses to care for this population compassionately and effectively.

Speakers

Marcia B. Proto, MEd, CAS
Executive Director
Connecticut Center for Nursing Workforce, Inc.

Marcia Proto enjoys a successful career in state and national association leadership, nursing education and workforce development, healthcare fundraising, and statewide coalition building. She is currently Executive Director for the Connecticut Center for Nursing Workforce (CCNW) as well as the owner of Marcia Proto Consulting, LLC.

Her life’s work has involved connecting people through education and targeted skills training toward fulfilling career paths, particularly in the nursing field. In addition to her roles with the CCNW, she has held management positions at the Connecticut Hospital Association, Junior Achievement of South-East Connecticut, Flath & Associates Consulting, and the National League for Nursing.

Marcia has spent the past 25 years ensuring that the nursing workforce will meet the nation’s growing healthcare needs by contributing to and engaging in state and national workforce development activities, including the Center to Champion Nursing in America, a national initiative funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in collaboration with AARP.

Catherine E. Johnson, PhD, RN, CNE, APHN-BC, RA, CPH
Assistant Professor in Nursing
Pacific College of Health and Sciences

Catherine (Kate) E. Johnson has been a registered nurse for 35 years and was the public health nurse in her community for 13 years (2008-2021). Dr. Johnson has taught Community/Population Health for over 8 years in traditional undergraduate and RN to BSN programs. She is certified in Advanced Public Health Nursing by the ANCC and in Public Health by the National Board of Health Examiners in 2022. In 2021, Dr. Johnson was a member of the Education and Professional Development Committee for the Association of Public Health Nurses, which focused on developing the Public Health Policy Cycle content for the New to Public Health (N2PH) Residency Program. She previously served on the Massachusetts Local Public Health Advisory Committee.

Dr. Johnson graduated from Keuka College in New York with a BSN, earned an MBA from Western New England College in Massachusetts, an MSN from American International College in Massachusetts, and a PhD in nursing education from Capella University in Minnesota.