Dr. Pérez is Senior Philanthropic Advisor and Executive Consultant to national foundations, federal grant making entities, and higher education. She has been a leader in advancing equity and accountability for three of the nation’s leading foundations and higher education organizations. Dr. Pérez has served on multiple committees and received multiple awards. At the National Science Foundation Educative Human Resources Advisory Committee, she led the subcommittee on Broadening Participation. In addition to her professional achievements, she has been recognized for her outstanding work mentoring underrepresented and emerging leaders as well as supporting others succeed in advancing equity. Dr. Perez has received multiple community awards including the 2019 Latinx Amplify Award, the 2015 Hispanics Inspiring Student Achievement Leadership in Mentoring award, the 2016 Hispanics in Philanthropy HIPGiver, the 2011 YWCA Women of Industry Award and the 2010 Latino Trendsetter Award. In 2015 she received an Honorary Doctorate from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. She was also featured in Latina Style Magazine as one of the Latina leaders in philanthropy.

In her work in professional private philanthropy, Dr. Pérez previously served as Chief Measurement and Evaluation Officer at the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. She also served as Vice President of Research, Evaluation, and Learning at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and Interim Vice President at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Throughout her career, she has been responsible for bringing diverse perspectives to the table of research and policy decision-making. She has been responsible for developing many initiatives to foster high-quality multidisciplinary research and expanding various dimensions of diversity.

Dr. Pérez is the first in her family to go to college. She earned a bachelor’s in communication from Rutgers University/Douglass College; a Master’s in Social Science and Women’s Studies from the University of Kent in Canterbury, England; a Master of Public Administration from Baruch College, City University of New York; and a PhD in health policy from Harvard University.

Karen Godard, DNP, APRN, CPNP, Clinical Associate Professor, joined Boise State University School of Nursing (SON) in 2007. She has taught courses in maternal child family clinical, leadership, public health, and child maltreatment in the prelicensure and RN-BS nursing tracks. She is an advanced practice nurse and certified as a pediatric nurse practitioner. Prior to joining the university, she provided direct primary/acute health care for children for twenty-five years.

Once at the university, she and a colleague created, co-managed, and provided health care for children placed in foster care in southwestern corner of the state collaborating with Idaho Department of Welfare Child and Family Services. She is a facilitator/presenter for “Darkness to Light: Stewards of Children” program and provides training for students in the College of Health Sciences, SON, and community.

Dr. Godard earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree from the University of Northern Colorado and Master’s degree with a maternal child focus and pediatric nurse practitioner from the University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas. She earned her BS in Nursing from Texas Woman’s University, Denton, Texas. She is a fellow of the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP) and is nationally certified by the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board (PNCB) in primary care. She is active in Sigma Theta Tau and serves as the governance chair for the Mu Gamma chapter.

Jennifer Marsh earned a BSN from Spring Hill College in Mobile, AL. Her nursing experience includes medical-surgical, pediatric, and psychiatric nursing. She earned a MSN in Nursing Education from the University of South Alabama. She has worked as an academic and hospital educator. She is a Past President for the Upsilon Sigma Chapter for Sigma and Spring Hill College Nursing Honor Society. She currently serves Sigma by being on the Nurse Leader Review Committee and a member of the Upsilon Sigma Chapter and Zeta Gamma Chapter. She is also a member of Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society. She is a founding member and co-chair of the social media committee for the National RN-Baccalaureate Faculty Forum.

Dr. Diane Tyler is a family nurse practitioner and Director of Certification with the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Board (AANPCB). She has been an advanced practice nurse since 1996, and has worked in community health clinics, school-based primary care, occupational and retail health care clinics. Prior to her current role with AANPCB, Dr. Tyler was a professor of clinical nursing and director of the NP programs at The University of Texas at Austin. Recent professional activities include advancing certification and accreditation standards and nursing specialty role development. Dr. Tyler is a certified association executive, an appointed member on the National Commission for Certifying Agencies, and a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing and the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. She received her BSN from the UT Health Science Center San Antonio and her MSN and PhD from UT Austin. Post-graduate FNP preparation was completed at UT Galveston as a component of a post-doctoral fellowship in primary care sponsored by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation and the Southern Regional Education Board.

Michelle Litchman, PhD, FNP-BC, FAANP is a digital health and diabetes researcher at the University of Utah College of Nursing. She maintains an active clinical practice as an endocrinology nurse practitioner at the Utah Diabetes and Endocrinology Center. She is a Jonas Scholar (2010-2012), Vice President Clinical & Translational Scholar (2017-2019) and Fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. Her research is focused on the social context of chronic disease management across the lifespan as it relates to online and family environments. Her research has been highlighted on NPR Science Friday, Medscape, and U.S. World News Reports.