Speakers

Patty Wilson, PhD, RN, PMHNP-BC
Assistant Professor
Johns Hopkins University

Dr. Patty Wilson is an Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing (JHSON). In her faculty role, she serves as a clinical coordinator for pre-licensure nursing students during their psychiatric clinical rotation. She also teaches in the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner post masters’ certificate program. Dr. Wilson is part of the JHSON Center for Community Innovation and Scholarship, where she is the site supervisor for doctoral nursing students working as community health nurses at the House of Ruth Maryland, a shelter for families escaping intimate partner violence. Dr. Wilson is a co-principal investigator of the Passport to Freedom program which provides psycho-educational sessions for women to promote self-awareness of the link between trauma and health and offers strategies to cope with symptoms of trauma/stress.

Dr. Wilson completed her Doctoral and Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) studies at the University of Virginia School of Nursing. Her dissertation focused on the relationship between housing instability, race/ethnicity, depressive symptoms, and increased exposure to IPV among mothers. Dr. Wilson works as PMHNP at Families First Counseling and Psychiatric, a Baltimore City Community based behavioral health clinic.

Speakers

Larry Slater, PhD, RN-BC, CNE, FAAN
Interim Dean
Clinical Professor
University of Memphis

Dr. Slater provides expertise in the design and implementation of active, learner-driven strategies in nursing education; curriculum development, improvement, and assessment with a focus on technology-enhanced education; program outcomes assessment and accreditation; and faculty/staff governance in academia.

Dr. Slater received his Bachelor of Science in Nursing and his PhD in Nursing from the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing in Birmingham, Alabama, where he also completed post-doctoral training examining social support, health, and quality of life in older adults living with HIV/AIDS. His clinical area in nursing was neurosurgical intensive care, with a focus on quality improvement and evidence-based practice. For his work in academia, Dr. Slater has received numerous awards for teaching excellence, including from New York University (Teaching Excellence Award), the American Nurses Association-New York (Nursing Education Award) and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (Novice Faculty Excellence in Didactic Teaching). Dr. Slater also completed the Nurse Faculty Leadership Academy through Sigma Theta Tau International, the Honor Society of Nursing, and a fellowship in the Leadership in Academic Nursing Program through the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.

Dr. Slater is a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing and the New York Academy of Medicine. He is an active member and leader in several professional organizations, currently serving as Chair of the Committee on Bylaws for the American Nurses Association, as Secretary for the Foundation of the National Student Nurses Association, as a member of the National League for Nursing Certification Commission, and as a member of the Steering Committee for Sigma Theta Tau International, the Honor Society of Nursing.

Speakers

Mary Starks, BS, RN, CNOR
FNP and DNP Student
University of Rochester

Mary Starks is an accomplished graduate student in the dual family nurse practitioner master’s and doctorate program at the University of Rochester School of Nursing (URSON). She completed her first bachelor’s degree in anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). After graduating, she worked three years as a neuroscience researcher in the Geschwind laboratory at UCLA, studying immunohistochemistry in relation to Autism. She decided that she wanted to pursue a career in nursing and left her residence in Los Angeles to pursue her bachelor’s degree in nursing at the University of Rochester School of Nursing in the accelerated program for non-nurses (APNN). After graduating from nursing school, she accepted a position at Strong Memorial Hospital in the adult operating room. She currently works there as a skilled vascular surgery nurse and preceptor. In addition to her full-time position, Mary is an active member in her local National Black Nurses Association chapter, the Rochester Black Nurses Association (RBNA). She is a founding member of the local chapter and the chapter’s first vice president. She currently is the founder and chair of the RBNA mentoring program in partnership with the URSON’s APNN program, where she and other Black nurses mentor nursing students of color. She is also an active student member in the Nurse Practitioner Association of New York State (NPA) where she is a diversity, equity, and inclusion committee member and 2021 Nurse Practitioner Student of the Year. After completing her graduate program, Mary plans to work in primary care. Her passion is caring for those with chronic diseases, especially African-American patients. She plans to continue her advocacy for Black patients and students through her continued work in RBNA and other organizations and mentoring programs.

Lucia Diaz, ANP-BC, CUNP
DNP Student
Clarion and Edinboro Universities

Lucia is a bilingual dual certified nurse practitioner in adult and urology specialties. She obtained her BSN-MSN degrees from the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing and is currently completing her DNP degree from Clarion and Edinboro Universities in consortium. She has over twelve years of experience as a nurse practitioner providing culturally sensitive urological care to one of the most diverse populous counties in the nation, Los Angeles County. As one of the lead NPs champions in her organization, Lucia is continuously advocating for ways to improve access to care, health promotion, and patient outcomes. In 2020 she was nominated for the AUA’s Nurse Practitioner of the Year award, the AANP NP State Award for Excellence, and she received the Community Champion Award from the Johns Hopkins University Alumni Association. Her feature in the Johns Hopkins Magazine speaks about the wholistic care she delivers and her advocacy efforts for the underserved communities. While serving on the Angeles County Department of Health Services Nurse Practitioner Advisory Committee, Lucia represented the voice of over 100 NPs in her institution and 400 NPs in LA County. She remains a mentor to both novice and seasoned nurse practitioners, passionately advocating for NP awareness, professional development, and interprofessional collaboration. Through leadership and social advocacy, Lucia hopes to continue being the voice of her community beyond the local, state, and national level, to improve the health of all underserved communities on a global platform.

Alden Bush, MS, MPH, RN
DNP Student
Columbia University

Alden Bush was born and raised in Miami, Florida to a Honduran family. He is a first-generation college graduate and first-generation American. Alden began his academic career at the Universidad Iberoamericana School of Medicine in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where he completed premed, basic sciences, and one year of clinical rotations, before having to change career paths due to unforeseen circumstances. He transferred to the US and attended the University of Florida for his undergraduate studies in psychology and then completed an MPH in public health practice and management at the University of New England. Alden first went to Columbia to become a master’s prepared registered nurse, at the Columbia University School of Nursing, where he was both a William Randolph Hearst Foundation and Rudin Opportunities Nursing Scholar. He has been an active student leader throughout his time at Columbia Nursing, having served as University Senator, member of the Student Council E-Board, and sitting on a number of committees dedicated to anti-racist pedagogy and culture. Currently, he is a doctoral student in the Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program and was recently named a 2021-2023 Jonas Scholar. Alden values nursing’s holistic approach to disease and its emphasis on individuals’ lived experiences. He is an outspoken advocate for health justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. As a doctorally prepared Psychiatric NP, he aspires to provide comprehensive mental and primary health care in minority and safety-net communities.

Audrey White, MSN, FNP-C, MHAI, MBA, DOT-CME
DNP Student
Chamberlain University

Audrey White has years of experience in cardiology. Her primary focus is empowering patients to decrease their cardiovascular risk factors to improve their overall health and wellbeing. She is currently working on research that focuses on reducing cardiovascular risk factors and disparities in our communities.

Speakers

Marta Okoniewski, MPA
Director of Student Engagement
American Association of Colleges of Nursing

Marta Okoniewski, MPA, is the Director of Student Engagement at the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). She led the development and launch of the GNSA, a national network providing high value programs, services, and resources to nursing students enrolled in master’s and doctoral programs. Prior to joining AACN, Ms. Okoniewski worked as the Program Coordinator at New York University College of Nursing within the Academic and Clinical Affairs department. She received her master’s in public administration from New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Scranton.

Autumn Spriggs
Student Services Manager
American Association of Colleges of Nursing

Autumn Spriggs is the Student Services Manager at the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). She joined AACN in August 2017 to assist the GNSA in achieving its goals of providing high value resources to members and facilitating engagement among graduate nursing students. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and English from Elon University.

Speakers

Christine Lee, MPH, BSN, RN, PHN, CPH, CHES

Working abroad in an orphanage left an indelible mark: Christine Lee found her calling supporting maternal and child populations. Christine’s work began over a decade ago developing program curricula for both nonprofits and NGOs. Throughout her tenure, she has cultivated skills in developing clinical process improvement projects that better the lives of families and communities. This deep desire and commitment to build equity through a blended framework of nursing research, public health practice, and policy development led Christine into her current role as a regional maternal-child health practice specialist. Working for a large integrated healthcare system, she focuses on translating evidence into nursing practice and quality outcomes. Additionally, she continues to practice at the bedside as a cross-trained perinatal nurse.

Christine holds a Bachelor’ of Science in Nursing and a Master's in Public Health from Loma Linda University with a dual concentration in Health Promotion and Education and Maternal Child Health with an emphasis on Reproductive Health. She is currently a PhD candidate at Azusa Pacific University and a Randell Lewis Health & Policy Fellow. Christine aspires to be a reproductive health equity researcher applying tools of population health science to accelerate progress and positive change through the integration of nursing practice within the health policy sphere to ensure equitable representation of the maternal-child health population.

Bridget Miranda, DNP, MSN, FNP-C

Bridget Anne Miranda, a former Robert Wood Johnson Foundation New Careers in Nursing program awardee, began her career in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Now as a Nurse Practitioner, she provides care to high-risk infants who have been discharged from the NICU. Additionally, Bridget is an educator, mentoring students pursuing nursing careers, at Azusa Pacific University in California and works in a specialty clinic at a local children’s hospital. Bridget’s doctoral focus is creating a pathway towards better neurocognitive development of high-risk infants by providing maternal mental health screening at high-risk infant follow up clinic visits to reduce undetected postpartum depression. Bridget is a Randell Lewis Health & Policy Fellow hoping to build on the integration of nursing practice and health policy to ensure equitable representation of the maternal-child health population.