CAPT Tarsha Cavanaugh is Chief of the Nurse Corps Scholarship Branch where she oversees $27 million in Federal funds to award scholarships annually to over 200 students accepted or enrolled in a nursing degree program at an accredited school of nursing located throughout the United States. She also manages the Native Hawaiian Health Scholarship Program portfolio totaling $1.4 million in Federal funds specifically geared to students pursuing degrees in 20 health and allied health professions to deliver quality, culturally competent health services to Native Hawaiians throughout the State of Hawai’i. In addition to her Branch Chief duties, she also co-leads BHW’s Grantee Engagement Plan (GEP), a strategic public health initiative aimed at strengthening academic, clinical, and community-based partnerships.

CAPT has previously worked in the HRSA, HIV/AIDS Bureau (HAB), Division of Policy and Data as a Senior Public Health Analyst, providing advisement on programmatic policies and regulations germane to the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP). Prior to joining HAB, CAPT Cavanaugh was assigned to the HRSA Office of Women’s Health, as a women’s health advisor and subject matter expert on Departmental and Agency-wide policy and programmatic initiatives. In this capacity, she led the implementation of three high priority areas in OWH’s strategic plan, violence prevention/home visiting domestic violence benchmark, and trauma-informed care, as well as, stakeholder engagement activities. CAPT Cavanaugh has over 22 years of public health experience working in adolescent health, youth suicide prevention, mental health, health workforce, women’s health and HIV/AIDS policy.

Dr. Toni Eason, is the Director of the Division of Health Careers and Financial Support and joined the Bureau of Health Workforce in October 2020 from the Department of Labor where she served as a Branch Chief in the Medical Benefits Adjudication program. She is an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse who brings a wide range of experience in health workforce development best practices with a focus on rural health, immigration health, minority health and health literacy. Dr. Eason has spent the majority of her career dedicated to health workforce development best practices, business process re-engineering and the optimization of fiscal operations. She has more than 20 years’ experience in the healthcare space, with expertise focused on rural health, immigration health, minority health, and health literacy. Dr. Eason is an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse, who received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Howard University and dual Master of Science degrees from the University of Maryland in both Public/Community Health Nursing and Health Policy; a Doctorate in Nursing Practice from Rush University was granted, with a focus on Leadership and the Business of HealthCare and a Post-Master’s Certificate in Nursing Informatics from Walden University. Dr. Eason is also a Fellow of the American Association of Occupation Health Nurses.

Captain Sophia L. Russell, D.M., M.B.A., R.N., NE-BC, SHRM-SCP, a member of the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, is the Director of the Division of Nursing and Public Health at the Health Resources and Services Administration in the Bureau of Health Workforce, where she is responsible for the strategic guidance for a $319M/year portfolio of programs spanning more than 800 federal awards (FY20) in nursing, public health, and behavioral health. In this capacity, Captain Russell serves as principal advisor on strategies and decisions regarding national policy with regard to support of nursing practice and education, and behavioral and public health programs.

Captain Russell holds a Doctorate of Management degree in organizational leadership from the University of Phoenix and received a Master of Business Administration (with a concentration in corporate finance) from John Hopkins University. She is a graduate of Norfolk State University with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and holds a post-graduate certificate in Global Health from the University of Maryland. She is board certified as a Nurse Executive by the American Nurses Credentialing Center.

Captain Russell has spent the vast majority of her nursing career working in the field of nursing administration and workforce development and management. She began her nursing career through the Army’s Specialized Training for Army Readiness (STAR) program. Over the course of her nursing career, some of her assignments include tours of duty at the Office of the Unites States Surgeon General, Division of Commissioned Corps Personnel and Readiness; on staff at the Defense Health Agency and TRICARE Management Activity; on staff at the National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute; and as a staff nurse with the Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons.

Dr. Dailey graduated from Missouri State University and Saint Louis University with a bachelor of science in business, a master’s degree in Student Affairs, and a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration respectively. Currently she is spearheading the development of Kindred Healthcare’s new Nursing Student Program and Career Accelerator Registered Apprenticeship Program. Previously, she served as the Assistant Director for the Saint Louis University Pre-Health and Pre-Law Program and Director for the Utah Valley University School of the Arts Advising Office. Her professional and personal studies focus on the impact of mindfulness and resiliency among students and professionals in healthcare. As a manager with Kindred, she has incorporated mindfulness and resiliency training into her work across the United States.

Ana McCorkhill-Jones is a graduate of Maryville University with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and is currently pursuing her Doctorate in Nursing Practice (DNP) from Saint Louis University with a minor in Education. She is an 8 year Seabee combat veteran as a Hospital Corpsman and Construction Mechanic. Currently, she is the hospital's nurse educator over all staff at Kindred St Louis South and previously served as floor nurse and nurse supervisor at each of Kindred's hospitals in Missouri. She is instrumental in providing education on all resources available to help increase mindfulness, productivity and time management skills. She is also instrumental in reducing staff's caregiver stress and compassion fatigue due to emotional investments which naturally occur when caring for patients much longer than the national average length of stay.

Dr. Mensik earned a PhD in Nursing from the University of Arizona College of Nursing with a major focus in health systems and a minor in public administration from the Eller College of Management.

Hillary Harrison is a graduate of Texas Christians University in Fort Worth, Texas with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN). After graduation she began working as a staff RN at Texas Rehabilitation Hospital (TRH) of Fort Worth. Continuing at TRH Fort Worth, she transitioned to the role of Hospital Educator and Outcomes Coordinator. After becoming a Certified Rehabilitation Registered Nurse, she became the Infection Control Nurse and Hospital Educator for TRH Fort Worth. In 2018, she went to work for John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth as an Infection Preventionist RN and earned her Certification in Infection Control and Epidemiology. Last year she returned to Kindred Healthcare to work as part of the student programs team to connect with nursing programs and students around the country. Due to the pandemic she became an Infection Control resource for the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities and recently moved into the role of Director of Infection Control and Prevention for Kindred Hospital Rehabilitation Services.

Dr. Mensik earned a PhD in Nursing from the University of Arizona College of Nursing with a major focus in health systems and a minor in public administration from the Eller College of Management.

She has authored numerous publications including the books, "Lead, Drive, and Thrive in the System" and "The Nurse Mangers Guide to Innovative Staffing." She is a co-author for "A Nurse's Step-By-Step Guide to Transitioning to the Professional Nurse Role" and "The Power of Ten” (2nd edition), and contributed a chapter to the book "The Career Handoff: A Healthcare Leader's Guide to Knowledge & Wisdom Transfer Across Generations."

Dr. Mensik has extensive leadership experience, including employment as Administrator for Nursing and Patient Care at a Magnet-designated health system, Executive Director of Quality and Patient Safety, and System Director of Clinical Practice and Research. She has served as president of the Arizona Nurses Association as well as nationally for the American Nurses Association as Second Vice President and Director at Large on the Board of Directors. Dr. Mensik has published and presented nationally and regionally on quality, staffing, and professional practice and is an article reviewer for Nursing Outlook, World Views on Evidence Based Nursing, and Nursing Economic$.

With more than thirty years of diverse healthcare leadership experience, Jane has expertise in executive leadership, search, and consulting. An executive leader for Kirby Bates since 2007, Jane previously held senior executive search positions with regional and international search firms.

Prior to her current role, Jane served in leadership positions as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Nursing Officer in Massachusetts and Michigan. In these roles, she led the redesign and revitalization of operations and patient care services to achieve strategic outcomes. As the Vice President for Patient Care Policy for the Massachusetts Hospital Association, she worked directly with cabinet-level policy makers and provided leadership on state and federal policy and healthcare initiatives.

Jane is actively involved in professional associations including the American Organization of Nurse Leaders (AONL), the Organization of Nurse Leaders MA, RI, VT, CT & NH, and the American Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration (ASHHRA). Jane has a passion for promoting greater diversity among healthcare leadership.

Jane was awarded a Master of Science in Nursing from Boston University and received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Rhode Island. She completed a post-graduate program in Health Policy at Harvard University and received certification in Health Care Mediation through Boston University School of Public Health. She also serves as an Adjunct Faculty member at Emmanuel College School of Nursing.

Dr. Mensik earned a PhD in Nursing from the University of Arizona College of Nursing with a major focus in health systems and a minor in public administration from the Eller College of Management.

Kathy is a nationally recognized nurse leader, entrepreneur, author, and award-winning filmmaker. She has been on the executive team of several healthcare start-up companies. She is the author of numerous published articles on the healthcare workforce. Kathy wrote and directed the film, NURSES If Florence Could See US Now, an intimate look into the world of nursing today. She is co-author of the book The Dance of Caring – A Caregivers Guide to Harmony and the recently published book NURSES Cry Too, a look at loss and grief in the world of nursing. She was recognized by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses with their Pioneering Spirit Award and featured on the cover of Nurse Leader magazine, as a leader to honor. Find her at Kathy.douglas@prolucent.com.

Colleen Leners is the Director of Policy at the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). AACN serves as the voice of academic nursing, encompassing education, research, and practice. Dr. Leners was selected as a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Fellow in the office of Senator John Thune (R-SD) of the Senate Finance Committee. Dr. Leners, alongside the staff at the Senate Finance Committee, managed the Medicare and Medicaid portfolios and worked on issues of veteran’s care in Senator Thune’s office. She has maintained an active family nurse practitioner practice for over 25 years and has served our country in the United States Army Nurse Corps, which after multiple deployments overseas was honorably discharged. She has many notable achievements both civilian and military and was inducted as a Fellow in the American Association of Nurse Practitioners and awarded the Bronze Star for her service overseas.

Dr. Leners has served as the Traumatic Brain Injury Program manager, created a nurse-managed primary care clinic for Wounded Warriors at Navy Medical Center San Diego. She has also been a registered nurse and nurse practitioner for three decades. She received her DNP in Leadership from Case Western Reserve University, MSN FNP from University of San Diego and her BSN from California State University Dominguez Hills.

Aimee is a psychiatric and addictions nurse practitioner. Her background in nursing includes public health, mental health and addictions nursing. She is currently a senior instructor at the University of Colorado in the college of nursing and Denver Springs. She is a grant recipient from National Institute of Drug Abuse and American Association of Colleges of Nursing to educate nurses on opioid use disorders and medication assisted treatment. To date she has trained over 2,500 nurses nationwide as a part of her grant. Aimee’s clinical and research expertise include creating and implementing new evidence guidelines to low-barrier approaches to medication assisted treatment for substance use disorders in integrated care settings to reduce stigma and improve access to care. Aimee is also the clinical director for a $5 million legislative initiative to expand access to medication assisted treatment for Opioid Use Disorder in rural Colorado counties. Aimee’s work on the initiative included the creation and deployment of a state-wide medication assisted treatment for Opioid Use Disorder toolkit that facilitates provider ease in treating OUD. She is also currently the PI spearheading an integrated, multiyear, state-funded maternal/child SUD research project to reduce maternal mortality due to drug overdose and to improve infant-related health indictors. She continues to grow her research and expertise by pursuing her PhD by studying novel biomarkers in substance use disorder.

Brayden Kameg is an assistant professor of nursing at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing, a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP-BC), and a certified addictions registered nurse (CARN). Primarily, her research and clinical interests include substance use disorders and addiction, with focused interest in screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT), fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, and opioid use management. She also has expertise in adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and their association with adult substance use disorders, and recently evaluated rates of ACEs and substance use disorders in a sample of nearly 700 undergraduate and graduate nursing students.

She was awarded funding through the AACN and National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Mentored Training Program to develop and disseminate training materials regarding opioid use management. She worked with various professional nursing organizations to broadly disseminate these training materials, which included a three-webinar series, and then sought feedback in regards to barriers to and facilitators of opioid use management in clinical practice, particularly buprenorphine prescribing.

Yovan Gonzalez is a family nurse practitioner working as a primary care provider for the NYC Health + Hospitals system. At Gouverneur Health, Yovan has led efforts to integrate behavioral health into primary care by participating as a member of the Integrated Mental Health Services (IMHS) committee. Yovan was also the first nurse practitioner at Gouverneur to be waivered to prescribe buprenorphine. At the Roberto Clemente Center, he has focused on providing integrated care at a behavioral health facility whose clients are mainly Hispanic. He has also successfully integrated a buprenorphine clinic and screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment (SBIRT) into routine clinical practice.

Yovan is originally from Lima, Peru. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania where he received his BSN and MSN. Yovan recently completed his Doctor in Nursing Practice (DNP) degree and his post-master’s psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP) certificate at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. His DNP scholarly project focused on increasing nurses’ knowledge in the screening and management of substance use through an online SBIRT program. Yovan was a doctoral fellow of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Minority Fellowship Program and a finalist of the Don Quixote Award for the American Society of Hispanic Psychiatry in 2019. Yovan also has several publications based on his doctoral work.

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.