Speakers

Rebecca C. Mueller, PhD, RN, CRNP, FNP-BC
Associate Professor
Neumann University

Dr. Rebecca C. Mueller is an associate professor of nursing at Neumann University. Prior to joining Neumann, she was employed as a primary care family nurse practitioner in Philadelphia, PA and Las Vegas, NV. In addition to teaching undergraduate and graduate nursing students, she works as a nurse practitioner at Swarthmore College’s Student Health and Wellness clinic providing primary care to a college-aged population. Dr. Mueller received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Villanova University, a Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing from Villanova University. She is passionate about the care of adolescents, young adults, and vulnerable populations. After earning her BSN, she spent a year of service with the Augustinian Volunteers program working as a nurse in a free clinic in San Diego, CA. Her background also includes medical-surgical nursing, home health, and community-based nursing. Her passion for equitable health care has translated to research at Neumann to develop and implement curricula focused on caring for patients who are LGBTQ. Dr. Mueller serves on the board of the Southeastern Pennsylvania College Health Nurses Association, and is an active member of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, earning an AANP and Sigma Theta Tau research grant in 2022.

Speakers

Sofia Aragon, JD, BSN, RN
Executive Director, Washington Center for Nursing
Mayor, City of Burien

Sofia Aragon is the executive director for the Washington Center for Nursing and Mayor for the City of Burien. As Washington State’s nursing workforce center, WCN works to address the nursing shortage. Public policy is her passion. In her previous role as Governmental Affairs Advisor for the Washington State Nurses Association, she represented registered nurses, ARNPs United of Washington, and the School Nurse Organization of Washington. She advocated for legislation on workplace safety, full state adoption of the Affordable Care Act, higher education and public health funding, banning toxins in the environment, racial equity, and other issues. She was elected to the Burien City Council in 2019 and elected Mayor in 2022. As Chair of the Burien Airport Committee, she influences regional, state, and federal legislation to mitigate the health impact of exposure to communities by SeaTac International Airport. Most of Washington state’s communities of color live within a 10-mile radius of SeaTac airport. She partners with other cities, public health and community-based organizations to lessen exposure from the airport and health disparities among communities living and working near the airport. She also voted to pass city ordinances for environmental preservation and addressing climate change, such as requiring the use of compostable products, a tree ordinance, and a city Climate Action Plan. She earned a BA in Economics from UW-Seattle, a BSN in Nursing from Seattle University, and a Juris Doctor from Loyola University- Chicago School of Law.

Speakers

Robin Lockhart, PhD, MSN, RN, CNE
Chair and Assistant Professor
Midwestern State University

Dr. Robin Lockhart professionally focuses on the education, retention, and support of pre-licensure, post-licensure, and graduate nursing students. She has served as a nursing faculty member for the last 29 years. She holds a BSN from Midwestern State University, and an MSN and PhD in Nursing from the University of Texas in Arlington. Her scholarship focuses primarily on pre-licensure student retention. However, she has secured external funding to support nursing student retention, provide new technologies to educate nursing students, increase nurse practitioner enrollment and clinical placement, and improve resiliency of healthcare providers. During her 37 years of nursing, she worked in emergency, critical care, cardiac care, post-surgical, medical, and pediatric units in three acute care hospitals. She served as a relief house supervisor for 16 years. She is a champion of new technologies. Today she is speaking about the use of artificial intelligence in academia, and specifically about the use of ChatGPT. She will share ideas on how to reduce the challenges associated with its use, and how to use it to the advantage of the nurse educator in teaching and scholarship.

Speakers

Kathy Chappell, PhD, RN, FNAP, FAAN
Senior Vice President
Accreditation, Certification, Measurement, Institute for Credentialing Research and Quality Management, and Advanced Practice Initiatives
American Nurses Credentialing Center

Dr. Chappell is the Senior Vice President of Accreditation, Certification, Measurement for the Institute for Nursing Research and Quality Management, and Advanced Practice Initiatives at the American Nurses Credentialing Center. She is responsible for certification of individual registered nurses (RNs) and advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs); and development of board certification examinations. She is responsible for the accreditation of organizations that provide continuing nursing education and interprofessional continuing education; and for accreditation of residency and fellowship programs for RNs and APRNs. She directs the Institute for Nursing Research, analyzing outcomes related to credentialing and other important nursing issues, and the quality management department. She also leads the Advanced Practice Initiatives department. She holds a baccalaureate in nursing with distinction from the University of Virginia, a master of science in advanced clinical nursing, and a doctorate in nursing from George Mason University. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and a Distinguished Scholar & Fellow of the National Academies of Practice.

Steve Singer, PhD
Vice President of Education and Outreach
Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education

Dr. Singer oversees development of programs and resources to support the ACCME system of accredited CME providers, ACCME-recognized state accreditors, and accreditation volunteers, including the annual ACCME Meeting and ACCME’s online learning portal, ACCME Academy. Dr. Singer also oversees the educational support for Joint Accreditation for Interprofessional Continuing Education, a collaborative initiative founded by ACCME, American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), and Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE).

Dr. Singer’s liaison responsibilities for the ACCME include the National Academy of Medicine’s Action Collaboratives on Clinician Well-Being and Resilience and Countering the U.S. Opioid Epidemic, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) evidence-based Care Transformation Support (ACTS) initiative, and other partnerships to elevate the role of continuing education as a strategic asset for healthcare change. Dr. Singer received his doctorate in neuropharmacology from the Stritch School of Medicine.

Speakers

Jeanne Bernier, MSN, RN, CNL-BC
MSN-CNL Program Director/Instructor
Mississippi College

Jeanne Bernier is the MSN-CNL program director at Mississippi College in Clinton, MS. She currently in her final semester of coursework in the PhD in Nursing program at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, TN. Jeanne earned her BSN from the University of Alabama Capstone College of Nursing in 2006 and her MSN in Nursing Education from the University of Mississippi Medical Center in 2014. After working as a staff nurse on primarily medical/surgical and gynecological/oncological hospital floors for 8 years, she moved into a full-time role as a nurse educator in 2014 teaching adult health didactic and clinical courses, pharmacology, and research to undergraduate students. Mississippi College began its CNL program in 2019 and, along with program director responsibilities, Jeanne teaches the CNL specific course and oversees students’ clinical projects. The CNL program at Mississippi College is the only one in the state, and Jeanne and the MSN team are busy trying to spread the word and “make the case” for CNLs to area hospital systems.