Staff & Faculty

Adrienne Ables, PharmD, MMedEdL

Czarina Acelajado, MD

Peter H. Addy, PhD is a licensed psychotherapist, approved clinical supervisor, and ketamine-assisted psychotherapist with a PhD in clinical psychology and 15 years of experience in psychedelic science and consciousness research. He conducted pioneering research on psychedelics at Yale University, where he co-founded the Yale Psychedelic Science Group and studied atypical psychedelic substances. Dr. Addy has authored numerous scientific articles and book chapters on psychedelics, substance use treatment, and transpersonal psychology and is an internationally recognized speaker on psychedelic science and clinical applications. He recently founded Psychedelic Affirming Education, which provides psychedelic-informed professional training for mental health clinicians.

Richard A. Ade, RN, MPH earned his Bachelor degree in occupational and environmental nursing from St. Joseph's College in 1980 and his Master's degree in Public Health from the City University of Los Angeles in 1993. He has more than 30 years experience in military nursing, focusing on radiology, military science, and public health issues.

Lori L. Alexander, MTPW, ELS, MWC is President of Editorial Rx, Inc., which provides medical writing and editing services on a wide variety of clinical topics and in a range of media. A medical writer and editor for more than 30 years, Ms. Alexander has written for both professional and lay audiences, with a focus on continuing education materials, medical meeting coverage, and educational resources for patients. She is the Editor Emeritus of the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA) Journal, the peer-review journal representing the largest association of medical communicators in the United States. Ms. Alexander earned a Master’s degree in technical and professional writing, with a concentration in medical writing, at Northeastern University, Boston. She has also earned certification as a life sciences editor and as a medical writer.

Justin Allan, MSN, FNP has been practicing as an MSN prepared Nurse Practitioner for 8 years in a variety of settings. He created the Elite Nurse Practitioner with the goal of helping form an elite group of nurse practitioners who make what they deserve and are in control of their professional and personal lives.

Randall L. Allen, PharmD

Marjorie Conner Allen, BSN, JD received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from the University of Florida, Gainesville, in 1984. She began her nursing career at Shands Teaching Hospital and Clinics at the University of Florida, Gainesville. While practicing nursing at Shands, she gave continuing education seminars regarding the nursing implications for dealing with adolescents with terminal illness. In 1988, Ms. Allen moved to Atlanta, Georgia where she worked at Egleston Children’s Hospital at Emory University in the bone marrow transplant unit. In the fall of 1989, she began law school at Florida State University. After graduating from law school in 1992, Ms. Allen took a two-year job as law clerk to the Honorable William Terrell Hodges, United States District Judge for the Middle District of Florida. After completing her clerkship, Ms. Allen began her employment with the law firm of Smith, Hulsey & Busey in Jacksonville, Florida where she has worked in the litigation department defending hospitals and nurses in medical malpractice actions. Ms. Allen resides in Jacksonville and is currently in-house counsel to the Mayo Clinic Jacksonville.

Kelley M. Anderson, PhD, RN, FNP received her undergraduate education at the University of Virginia. She completed her master's degree at the University of Texas, Austin, her post-master's family nurse practitioner education at the University of Florida, and her doctorial degree from the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. While at the University of Florida, she worked with epileptic patients in the outpatient and acute care settings. She provided care with conventional modalities and assisted in the management of patients under investigative research medications and protocols.

Anthony M. Angelow, PhD, ACNPC, ACNP-BC, AGACNP-BC, CEN, FAEN, FAANP is a Fitzgerald Faculty member. He presents the Fitzgerald Nurse Practitioner Certification Exam Review and Advanced Practice Update for adult-gerontology acute care nurse practitioners. Dr. Angelow earned his PhD in Nursing Education at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, CO, and his MSN as an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA. His dissertation research focused on nurse practitioner transition to practice.

Dr. Angelow is certified as an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner and an Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner by the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN) and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). He maintains an active clinical practice in the Division of Trauma Surgery and Surgical Critical Care at Cooper University Health Care, a Level One Trauma Center, in Camden, NJ. Dr. Angelow is an Associate Clinical Professor and Chair of Advanced Practice Nursing (Nurse Practitioner and Doctor of Nursing Practice Programs) at Drexel University’s College of Nursing and Health Professions in Philadelphia, PA.

Dr. Angelow is an active member of numerous professional organizations, including the American Nurses Association, the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, the American Association of Critical Care Nurses, and the Emergency Nurses Association. Recognizing his outstanding and long-lasting contributions to the profession, he earned Fellowship in the American Association of Nurse Practitioners and the Academy of Emergency Nursing.

Dr. Angelow is a nationally and internationally recognized content expert and speaker. He presents numerous acute care, critical care, emergency, educational, and professional topics at local, regional, national, and international conference venues. He serves as a content expert and consultant for multiple clinically based projects and has published books on adult-gerontology acute care certification preparation and acute care clinical procedures. He also serves as a content reviewer for numerous professional journals, including the Journal of Emergency Nursing, the Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, and the Journal for Nurse Practitioners.

Sally Anthony, MS, RN, Paralegal received her paralegal certification in 1992. She received her master's degree in health education in 1982 and has been a registered nurse for more than 30 years. As a medical-legal consultant for more than 20 years she has worked with attorneys on medical malpractice cases and personal injury cases. In addition, she donates her time to work with legal interns at the Gonzaga University Legal Assistance program. Her nursing practice has taken place in a variety of clinical settings that are as diverse as post-open heart advanced care and child legislative testimony. She had also worked as a health educator, consulting nurse, psychiatric/chemical dependency assistant nurse manager, regional poison center director and medical-surgical nurse. She currently works as a medical-legal consultant and is an award winning medical writer.

Leyna Antonucci, PT, DPT

Meredith Ayers, CPhT-Adv, CHW Bremo Pharmacy

Leslie Bakker, RN, MSN is an Associate Professor of Nursing at West Virginia State University Technical and Community College in Institute, West Virginia. She earned her BSN from Florida State University and her Master's from West Virginia University with an emphasis on primary healthcare. Professor Bakker's 43 years of nursing experiences have included hospital nursing in the United States and northern Europe, community health nursing, home health nursing, nursing education and community health activism. With a focus on transcultural nursing, she served as international student advisor for many years. She has designed and delivered diversity education programming for law enforcement personnel. Before retiring, her practice included health promotion activities for the gay community with an emphasis on gay youth. She has presented at several local and regional health professional conferences, and has published in professional nursing journals.

Paul Ballas, DO is a child psychiatrist and formerly chief medical officer at the Green Tree School, an approved private school for children with autism spectrum disorder, developmental delays, or emotional disturbances. He has authored peer reviewed articles on ADHD, sleep disorders, and psychopharmacology and has recently co-authored a book chapter on sleep disorders.

Dana Bartlett, RN, BSN, MSN, MA, CSPI is a Certified Specialist in Poison Information. He worked at the Poison Control Center in Philadelphia as a hotline operator from 1993 until 2011. From 2011 to the present, he has been working as a hotline operator at the Connecticut Poison Control Center. Mr. Bartlett received his BSN from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, in 1976; his MSN from Boston University in 1978; and his MA in journalism from Temple University in 1988. His clinical experience includes 6 years as an ICU nurse and 10 years as an ER nurse. He has authored more than 100 continuing education modules for RNs and allied health personnel, and he has been published in Nursing Magazine, OR Nurse, Journal of Emergency Nursing, Legal Nurse Consultant, American Nurse Today, Journal of Emergency Services, and Orthopedics Today. He has also authored textbook chapters and NCLEX material and has edited and reviewed for several major publishers.

S. Megan Berthold, PhD, LCSW is a licensed clinical social worker and holds a PhD in social welfare. She is a clinician, trainer, and researcher who specializes in the cross-cultural assessment and treatment of survivors of torture and other traumas. She is an Associate Professor and the Director of Field Education at the University of Connecticut's School of Social Work and worked with the Program for Torture Victims (PTV) in Los Angeles for 13 years, where she was a psychotherapist and the Director of Research and Evaluation. PTV was founded in 1980 and is the oldest program in the United States that provides specialized medical, psychological, and case management services to survivors of state-sponsored torture from around the world. Since the mid-1980s, Dr. Berthold has worked clinically with refugee and asylum-seeking survivors of political persecution, torture, war traumas, human trafficking, female genital mutilation, community violence, domestic violence, child abuse, and other traumas from many countries. She has extensive experience as a mental health professional in outpatient, inpatient, and residential settings. She has worked as a clinician and educator in refugee camps in Nepal, the Philippines, and on the Thai-Cambodian border. Dr. Berthold has conducted research funded federally by the National Institute of Mental Health, with colleagues at the RAND Corporation, examining the prevalence of torture and its mental and physical health consequences among Cambodian refugees in Southern California. She has also conducted federally funded clinical outcomes research with torture survivors and co-chairs the National Consortium of Torture Treatment Programs (NCTTP's) Research and Data Project. In addition, Dr. Berthold has testified extensively as an expert witness in U.S. Immigration Court in the areas of torture, rape, female genital mutilation, and other forms of trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder, mental health, and psychological evaluation. Dr. Berthold is regularly called upon to train and consult with health and mental health professionals as well as attorneys and social service providers on the topics of vicarious trauma and resilience and self care. She was selected as the 2009 National Social Worker of the Year by the National Association of Social Workers. Dr. Berthold has found that an understanding of these topics and the implementation of a self-care plan has been vital to her ability to sustain her own career serving trauma survivors over the past nearly three decades.

Nicholas Bertoni, MD

Reid Blackwelder, MD, FAAFP

Michelle Booth, RN, BSN received her Bachelor's degree in nursing from San Diego State University in 2005. Since then, she has worked primarily in emergency and critical care settings, during which time she gained an appreciation of the importance of forensic evidence collection and supportive care of assault victims. She currently works as an emergency department nurse in Santa Clara, California.

Sylvia A. Bower, RN has an extensive history in the nursing profession. She is a graduate of Grant Hospital School of Nursing and attended Franklin University in Columbus, Ohio and St. Joseph’s College in Maine, and attended Liberty University. She has been registered to practice nursing in Ohio, Texas, Missouri, Arizona, Tennessee, and Florida, and she has practiced in public health, emergency, orthopedics, long-term care, occupational health, ambulatory care, nurse recruitment, discharge planning, hospice care, and continuing education.

Ms. Bower has had a lifelong interest in long-term care, working and volunteering in a variety of settings. She has written program development for case management and was certified in nursing administration and case management. Since her retirement, she has worked in hospice as a volunteer at an inpatient unit. In 1996, Ms. Bower was diagnosed with celiac disease and began gathering research on the history and pathophysiology of the disease. She subsequently authored two books on the topic. She has also lectured extensively on celiac disease to local and national groups. She serves as a board member of the nonprofit Gluten-Free Gang of Central Ohio, which develops, provides, and promotes education, community awareness, and research for those diagnosed with celiac disease and/or gluten intolerance. Her passion is patient education for individuals and families affected by celiac disease.

Her greatest accomplishments are family of three adult children, six grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.

Jeffrey Bratberg, PharmD, FAPhA studies the essential and emerging roles community pharmacists play regarding opioid overdose, harm reduction and opioid use disorder treatment. He advocates for pharmacists’ expanded roles in medication access, public health promotion, and policy change through research, practice, and teaching. He is an associate editor of the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association (JAPhA) and co-produces and hosts a weekly public health pharmacy podcast with his pharmacy students, called “The Regimen.”

Karen Brindza, LPN is an Ohio nurse with over 30 years of experience.

Leslie Bunnage, PhD is an associate professor of sociology and director of the Lewinson Center for the Study of Labor, Inequality & Social Justice at Seton Hall University. Her research falls within the two main areas of social movement mobilization and strategic formation and labor and inequalities. Her recent projects include an analysis of Internet communication technology as a basis for cohering social movement organization (SMO) messaging and strengthening collective identity (with Deana Rohlinger), and a qualitative study of dehistoricization and rhetoric in the U.S. Tea Party movement. Dr. Bunnage also examines labor movement revitalization and intersectional racial, gender, and socioeconomic barriers to leadership development in the AFL-CIO “Union Summer” youth training program. She is currently developing a socio-legal research agenda examining the impact of family and medical leave law and policy on the materialization of workers’ rights.

Trever Burgon, PhD

Kimberly Byrd, EdD, PMSW

Kimberly Byrd, EdD, LMSW

Ian Theodore Cabaluna, MD

Nancy Campbell, RN, BSN, PHN received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from California State University, Bakersfield in 1987. She has nursing experience in a variety of clinical settings, including medical/surgical, community health, and preschool health. She was a nurse case manager for a community program supporting teen parents and a public health nurse focusing on communicable disease management. Her primary focus and passion is on direct patient care and patient education. She is presently employed as a registered nurse for the Head Start program in Tulare County, California.

Melanie Canning, RN, BSN brings over 19 years of healthcare experience, with a background in interventional radiology, emergency department, and stroke unit care. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in nursing, magna cum laude, from Vanguard University. With her passion for continuous learning, she then obtained her certificate in legal nurse consulting from Duke University. Currently, she works for a defense law firm in southern Florida. In addition to her professional work and educational endeavors, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends traveling.

Sharon Cannon, RN, EdD, ANEF

Stephen Carek, MD, CAQSM, DipABLM

Ashley Castro, LCSW is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over a decade of experience in child welfare, behavioral health, and trauma-informed systems training. She serves as a Staff Development Officer for a Public Sector and the founder of AC Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Inc., where she provides clinical therapy, consulting, and curriculum development. Her expertise bridges direct clinical practice and system-level change, with a focus on ethics, empathy, and evidence-based engagement strategies for court-involved families.

Kez Cesarz is the Trans and Non-binary Resource Coordinator with the LGBT Center of SE Wisconsin. Kez is a transmasculine non-binary human dedicated to uplifting the voices and rights of the LGBTQ+ community. With a Bachelor’s degree in psychology and an associate degree in criminal justice, Kez blends their academic background with their lived experiences to advocate for marginalized communities.

This training was created by Kez Cesarz as an employee of The LGBT Center of SE Wisconsin. The development of this training was funded through The Equity Innovation Fund, a grant provided by The United Way of Racine County.

Donna Coffman, MD attended medical school at the University of Louisville and completed her residency in Family Practice at St. John's Mercy Medical Center in St. Louis, Missouri. She is board-certified in Family Medicine and currently on staff at John Cochran VAMC in St. Louis.

Berthina Coleman, RN, MD is a registered nurse and resident who has worked extensively in various healthcare fields. She obtained her Bachelors of Science degree in Nursing from Grambling State University in 2006. She then went on to pursue further education, graduating with a Medical Degree from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in 2014. Dr. Coleman consistently worked as a nurse during her medical training process, holding several leadership positions. She firmly believes that the nursing perspective is critical in providing the best care to an ever-changing patient population.

Lisa Concoff Kronbeck, JD graduated from UCLA School of Law in June 2010 and was admitted to the California State Bar later that year. She also holds a master's degree in public policy from the UCLA School of Public Affairs, with a concentration in health and social policy. Following law school, Ms. Concoff Kronbeck worked for two years as a staff attorney in the public benefits unit at Disability Rights California, assisting clients primarily with benefits linked to disability, including Medi-Cal, Supplemental Security Income, Social Security Disability Insurance, and In-Home Supportive Services. At present, she is caring for her tiniest client thus far: her young daughter who has Down syndrome.

Michael E. Considine, PsyD, LPC is a licensed professional counselor in New Jersey and Delaware and a New Jersey Certified School Psychologist. He received his PsyD from Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 2009 and his Master's degree from Georgian Court College Graduate School in Lakewood, New Jersey. He works with children of all ages, adults, couples, and families with a wide range of emotional and behavioral issues. As a school psychologist, Dr. Considine also conducts full psycho-educational batteries and has acted as a consultant for parents of children with special needs. Most recently, he has been facilitating trainings and workshops for hospitals and schools. Dr. Considine is currently employed as an independent contractor through Mid Atlantic Behavioral Health in Newark, Delaware.

Jamielyn Cruz, MD

Victor Czerkasij, DNP, APRN-BC, FNP-C holds a Master of Science in Nursing from Vanderbilt University (Nashville, Tennessee) and a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts from Southern Adventist University (Collegedale, Tennessee). He is the recipient of the Excellence in Writing award from Vanderbilt University for his research paper The Effects of Moderate to Severe Psoriasis on Human Sexuality. Mr. Czerkasij is a certified family nurse practitioner with the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) and the American Nurse Credentialing Center (ANCC). He is also a registered histotechnologist. He currently practices as a nurse practitioner at Skin Cancer and Cosmetic Dermatology, PC, Cleveland, Tennessee, and Adult and Pediatric Dermatology, Dalton, Georgia, where he applies his skills diagnosing and prescribing for many patients on a full-time basis. He also serves as a nurse practitioner during Mohs micrographic skin cancer surgeries.

Mr. Czerkasij is a member of numerous organizations including the National Society of Histotechnology, the Dermatology Nurse Practitioner’s Association, the Southeast Association of Histotechnologists and Medical Lab Personnel, the Medical Reserve Corps of Southeast Tennessee, the Tennessee Nursing Association, the Georgia Nursing Association, and Sigma Theta Tau (the International Honor Society of Nursing). He has been published in and served as an editorial board member for the Nurse Practitioner Journal and the Journal of Nurse Practitioners. He has additional publications in Men in Nursing, Clinician Reviews, and various newspapers throughout Tennessee and Georgia.

Andrea Darby-Stewart, MD

Andrea Darby-Stewart, MD HonorHealth, University of Arizona

Robert Dean Jr, DO, MBA

Scott Deatherage, PhD

Scott Deatherage, PhD

Eric de Belen, MD

Eric de Belen, MD

Justin Delic, PharmD, BCCCP is a critical care clinical pharmacy specialist at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, New Jersey. He completed his first year of pharmacy residency at UPMC Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, followed by a second year of residency specializing in critical care medicine at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio. Following residency, he went on to practice as an assistant professor of clinical pharmacy at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, prior to transitioning into his current role as a clinical pharmacy specialist at Cooper University Hospital. His areas of expertise include pharmacology, neurocritical care, simulation education, and anticoagulation.

Marilyn Fuller Delong, MA, BSN, RN received her basic nursing education at St. Luke's School of Nursing in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, her BSN from Coe College and her MA from California State University, Long Beach. She has worked throughout the United States both clinically and as an educator. Her continuing education classes have focused on the case management aspects of the care of orthopedic and pulmonary patients, with particular focus on the long-term care needs of the elderly and disabled.

David Denino, LPC, NCC has worked in higher education and college counseling over the past several decades and is director emeritus of counseling services at Southern Connecticut State University. He served as the associate director and then director of counseling services for more than 30 years. David also supervised the university’s health services for a two-year period and led a search for a new medical director during that time. He has additionally served as an executive board member to the Connecticut Counseling Association and as secretary and treasurer for the American College Counseling Association (ACCA). David’s strengths in higher education management come from a strong background with NASPA, ACPA, the ACCA, and the American Counseling Association (ACA), and from having organized departments with regard to CAS standards. His work in residence life, student centers, career services, graduate teaching, and counseling bring a unique blend of talent to his work.

Margaret Donohue, PhD is a psychologist in Los Angeles, California. She received her doctorate from the California School of Professional Psychology in Los Angeles. Her clinical and forensic practice focuses on the areas of health and medical psychology especially complex psychological and neuropsychological assessments. She is licensed in both California and Nevada.

In addition to her private practice, Dr. Donohue currently teaches at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology in Los Angeles. She is actively involved with the California Psychological Association's Office of Professional Development as a Third Reviewer for courses for continuing education for psychologists. She is a member of the American Psychological Association, the Los Angeles County Psychological Association, and the National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology.

Dr. Donohue has frequently provided ethical consultation to colleagues in the area of professional boundaries, ethics and psychological assessment, and ethics in professional practice. Her public speaking events have included being a panel presenter in the January 1987 Los Angeles conference on ethics and boundaries for lesbian therapists. She has also presented for the California Psychological Association on the personal impact of head injuries in neuropsychologists with Jonathan Greene, PhD, in 2006.

Dr. Donohue has published articles on Tarasoff notification and racism; quality evaluation in health care; benchmarking access to outpatient services in managed health organizations; treatment of anxiety in young children; and the development of assessment techniques in evaluations of young children and assessing organizational productivity and quality.

Lauren E. Evans, MSW received her Master’s degree in Social Work from California State University, Sacramento, in 2008. Her focus was on political and community social work. She has also been a Registered International Instructor of Therapeutic Horseback Riding through the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International (PATH Intl.) since 2006. She currently works as a mental health practitioner with the homeless population.

Verlyn Evans, EdD, CCC/SLP

Abimbola Farinde, PharmD, PhD is a clinical pharmacy specialist who has gained experience in the field and practice of psychopharmacology/mental health and geriatric pharmacy. She has worked with active-duty soldiers with dual diagnoses of a traumatic brain injury and a psychiatric disorder, providing medication therapy management and disease state management. Dr. Farinde has also worked with mentally impaired and developmentally disabled individuals at a state-supported living center. Her different practice experiences have allowed her to develop and enhance her clinical and medical writing skills over the years. Dr. Farinde always strives to maintain a commitment toward achieving professional growth as she transitions from one phase of her career to the next.

Margaret Fitzgerald, DNP, FNP-BC, NP-C, FAANP, CSP, FAAN, DCC, FNAP is the founder, president, and principal lecturer with Fitzgerald Health Education Associates (FHEA), an international provider of nurse practitioner certification preparation and continuing education for healthcare providers.

An internationally recognized presenter, Dr. Fitzgerald has provided thousands of programs for numerous professional organizations, universities, and national and state healthcare associations on a wide variety of topics including clinical pharmacology, clinical assessment, laboratory diagnosis, healthcare, and nurse practitioner practice. For more than 25 years, she has provided graduate-level pharmacology courses for NP students at a number of universities. In addition, she practices as a family nurse practitioner at the Greater Lawrence Family Health Center, Lawrence, MA.

Dr. Fitzgerald also holds a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) from Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, where she received the Alumni Association Award for Clinical Excellence and is also an Adjunct Associate Professor. Dr. Fitzgerald is a member of the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee for Neighborhood Health Plan in Boston, MA.

Dr. Fitzgerald is the recipient of the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties’ Lifetime Achievement Award, given in recognition of vision and accomplishments in successfully developing and promoting the nurse practitioner role, the American College of Nurse Practitioner's Sharp Cutting Edge Award, the Outstanding Nurse Award for Clinical Practice by the Merrimack Valley Area Health Education Council, and one of the 50 Leaders in 50 Years by the Solomont School of Nursing, UMass Lowell. In addition, Dr. Fitzgerald received the Loretta C. Ford Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Nurse Practitioner Symposium for demonstrating longevity, integrity, professional achievement, and advocacy in advanced practice nursing. She is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and a charter fellow in the Fellows of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.

Dr. Fitzgerald is a Professional Member of the National Speakers Association and is the first nurse practitioner to earn the Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) designation in recognition of excellence and integrity as a speaker. She is also certified by the American Board of Comprehensive Care as a Diplomate of Comprehensive Care (DCC), a designation available to DNP graduates who are licensed advanced practice registered nurses (APRN) and nationally certified in an APRN specialty. Dr. Fitzgerald is an editorial board member of The Nurse Practitioner, American Nurse Today, Prescriber Insights, and Journal of Doctoral Nursing Practice.

She is widely published, with more than 200 articles, book chapters, monographs, and audio and video programs to her credit. Her book, Nurse Practitioner Certification Examination and Practice Preparation (now in the 5th edition), received the American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year Award for Advanced Practice Nursing and has been published in English and Korean. She has provided consultation to nursing organizations in the United States, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and the United Kingdom. Dr. Fitzgerald is an active member of numerous national and local professional organizations.

Alice Yick Flanagan, PhD, MSW received her Master’s in Social Work from Columbia University, School of Social Work. She has clinical experience in mental health in correctional settings, psychiatric hospitals, and community health centers. In 1997, she received her PhD from UCLA, School of Public Policy and Social Research. Dr. Yick Flanagan completed a year-long post-doctoral fellowship at Hunter College, School of Social Work in 1999. In that year she taught the course Research Methods and Violence Against Women to Masters degree students, as well as conducting qualitative research studies on death and dying in Chinese American families.

Previously acting as a faculty member at Capella University and Northcentral University, Dr. Yick Flanagan is currently a contributing faculty member at Walden University, School of Social Work, and a dissertation chair at Grand Canyon University, College of Doctoral Studies, working with Industrial Organizational Psychology doctoral students. She also serves as a consultant/subject matter expert for the New York City Board of Education and publishing companies for online curriculum development, developing practice MCAT questions in the area of psychology and sociology. Her research focus is on the area of culture and mental health in ethnic minority communities.

Mary Franks, MSN, APRN, FNP-C is a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner and NetCE Nurse Planner. She works as a Nurse Division Planner for NetCE and a per diem nurse practitioner in urgent care in Central Illinois. Mary graduated with her Associate’s degree in nursing from Carl Sandburg College, her BSN from OSF Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing in 2013, and her MSN with a focus on nursing education from Chamberlain University in 2017. She received a second master's degree in nursing as a Family Nurse Practitioner from Chamberlain University in 2019. She is an adjunct faculty member for a local university in Central Illinois in the MSN FNP program. Her previous nursing experience includes emergency/trauma nursing, critical care nursing, surgery, pediatrics, and urgent care. As a nurse practitioner, she has practiced as a primary care provider for long-term care facilities and school-based health services. She enjoys caring for minor illnesses and injuries, prevention of disease processes, health, and wellness. In her spare time, she stays busy with her two children and husband, coaching baseball, staying active with her own personal fitness journey, and cooking. She is a member of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners and the Illinois Society of Advanced Practice Nursing, for which she is a member of the bylaws committee.

William E. Frey, DDS, MS, FICD graduated from the University of California School of Dentistry, San Francisco, California, in 1966. In 1975, he completed residency training in Periodontics and received a Master's degree from George Washington University.

Dr. Frey retired from the United States Army Dental Corps in 1989 after 22 years of service. Throughout the course of his professional career, he has continuously practiced dentistry, the first 7 years as a general dentist and the past more than 40 as a periodontist. His military experience included the command of a networked Dental Activity consisting of five dental clinics. In his last assignment, he was in charge of a 38-chair facility. Colonel Frey was selected by the Army to serve on two separate occasions as the Chair of the Periodontal Department in Army General Dentistry Residency Training Programs.

Dr. Frey is the founder and president of Perio Plus, a practice management firm specializing in creating individually-designed hygiene and periodontal care programs for general dentists. He is also the creator of the Inspector Gum patient education series.

Dana Friedlander, Esq., PA is a practicing attorney in Tampa, Florida. She completed her undergraduate education at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, before completing her law studies at University of Florida, College of Law, in Gainesville, Florida. She worked as an Assistant State Attorney in the 13th Judicial District from 1995 to 2003, after which she entered into private practice. Ms. Friedlander is a member of the Florida Bar and the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

John Galdo, PharmD, MBA, BCPS, BCGP CPESN Health Equity

Kelsy Gibson Ferrara, MPH

Kaytee Gillis, LCSW is a psychotherapist and author with a passion for working with survivors of traumatic families and relationships. She is the author of several books, including Breaking the Cycle: The 6 Stages of Healing from Childhood Family Trauma and Healing from Parental Abandonment and Neglect. Her work has been featured in TIME magazine, BBC news, MensHealth, and other media outlets. She is a regular contributor to Psychology Today where she maintains a column with weekly articles for support for survivors.

Vincenzo Giuliano, MD, DABR, ARMDMS is a licensed diagnostic radiologist in the State of Florida with a private consulting practice and former medical faculty member, with numerous peer-reviewed scientific publications in diagnostic radiology. He is unique as a practicing radiologist with specialized certification the American Board of Radiology and American Registry of Medical Diagnostic Medical Sonography, in addition to extensive clinical experience in esthetic injections and procedures in a private practice setting.

Jason Gleason, DNP, NP-C, USAF Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) holds a doctoral degree from Montana State University and has been working as a board-certified nurse practitioner since 2001. Dr. Gleason has an expansive professional portfolio which includes 20 years of service in the USAF/Air National Guard before retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel in 2015. He has demonstrated expertise in the fields of family practice, emergency medicine, primary care, diabetes, and stroke care, and he is also a lauded national speaker and consultant.

He currently provides primary care services for our national heroes at the Veterans Health Administration and serves as a faculty member at Fitzgerald Health Education Associates. Dr. Gleason serves on multiple local, state, and national councils and boards, including the Benefis Health System Stroke Council, the Montana State Stroke Workgroup, the National VA Stroke Clinical Practice Guidelines Workgroup, the National VA APRN Council, and the Corporate Advisory Board for Carelinx by Sharecare. Dr. Gleason has been recognized from the floor of the United States Senate for his work with stroke and veterans. Out of all the roles he has had in his lifetime the most profound is being a dad to his three amazing sons.

Noah Goetzel is a Master of Public Health (MPH) candidate at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public in the Health Promotion Research and Practice certificate program and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Radio, TV, and Film Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is studying the intersection between health behavior change theory and communication campaign planning in the digital age. His thesis project evaluates the effectiveness of the Health Mentorship program at EHE Health in helping patients achieve their weight loss, nutrition, physical activity, stress management, sleep, and substance use goals. As a creative intern at EHE Health, Mr. Goetzel leads a study measuring the impact of wearable posture trainer biofeedback devices on musculoskeletal symptoms, manages EHE Health’s social media accounts, and leads patient health incentive implementation efforts. Prior to his internship, Mr. Goetzel was a liaison between clinical drug reviewers and patient and professional group stakeholders as an ORISE Fellow at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Mark S. Gold, MD, DFASAM, DLFAPA is a teacher of the year, translational researcher, author, mentor, and inventor best known for his work on the brain systems underlying the effects of opiate drugs, cocaine, and food. Dr. Gold was a Professor, Eminent Scholar, Distinguished Professor, Distinguished Alumni Professor, Chairman, and Emeritus Eminent Scholar during his 25 years at the University of Florida. He was a Founding Director of the McKnight Brain Institute and a pioneering neuroscience-addiction researcher funded by the NIH-NIDA-Pharma, whose work helped to de-stigmatize addictions and mainstream addiction education and treatment. He also developed and taught courses and training programs at the University of Florida for undergraduates and medical students.

He is an author and inventor who has published more than 1,000 peer-reviewed scientific articles, 20 text books, popular-general audience books, and physician practice guidelines. Dr. Gold was co-inventor of the use of clonidine in opioid withdrawal and the dopamine hypothesis for cocaine addiction and anhedonia. Both revolutionized how neuroscientists and physicians thought about drugs of abuse, addiction, and the brain. He pioneered the use of clonidine and lofexidine, which became the first non-opioid medication-assisted therapies. His first academic appointment was at Yale University School of Medicine in 1978. Working with Dr. Herb Kleber, he advanced his noradrenergic hyperactivity theory of opioid withdrawal and the use of clonidine and lofexidine to ameliorate these signs and symptoms. During this time, Dr. Gold and Dr. Kleber also worked on rapid detoxification with naloxone and induction on to naltrexone.

Dr. Gold has been awarded many state and national awards for research and service over his long career. He has been awarded major national awards for his neuroscience research including the annual Foundations Fund Prize for the most important research in Psychiatry, the DEA 30 Years of Service Pin (2014), the American Foundation for Addiction Research’s Lifetime Achievement Award (2014), the McGovern Award for Lifetime Achievement (2015) for the most important contributions to the understanding and treatment of addiction, the National Leadership Award (NAATP) from addiction treatment providers for helping understand that addiction is a disease of the brain, the DARE Lifetime Achievement Award for volunteer and prevention efforts, the Silver Anvil from the PR Society of America for anti-drug prevention ads, the PRIDE and DARE awards for his career in research and prevention (2015), and the PATH Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award (2016) as one of the “fathers” of addiction medicine and MAT presented to him by President Obama’s White House Drug Czar Michael Botticelli. He was awarded Distinguished Alumni Awards at Yale University, the University of Florida, and Washington University and the Wall of Fame at the University of Florida College of Medicine. Gold was appointed by the University President to two terms as the University’s overall Distinguished Professor, allowing him to mentor students and faculty from every college and institute. The University of Florida College of Medicine’s White Coat Ceremony for new medical students is named in his honor.

Since his retirement as a full-time academic in 2014, Dr. Gold has continued his teaching, mentoring, research, and writing as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Washington University and an active member of the Clinical Council at the Washington University School of Medicine’s Public Health Institute. He regularly lectures at medical schools and grand rounds around the country and at international and national scientific meetings on his career and on bench-to-bedside science in eating disorders, psychiatry, obesity, and addictions. He continues on the Faculty at the University of Florida College of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry as an Emeritus Distinguished Professor. He has traveled extensively to help many states develop prevention, education, and treatment approaches to the opioid crisis.

Michal Goldman, LCSW is a licensed clinical social worker specializing in relational therapy and therapist development. She is passionate about helping clinicians cultivate secure, ethical boundaries and deepen their self-of-therapist awareness to enhance their work with couples. Michal holds extensive training in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) and discernment counseling, with a focus on supporting couples through relational challenges. In addition to her clinical work, she writes a biweekly mental health column for a local newspaper, where she shares insights on relational health and ethical practice. Her teaching emphasizes compassionate care, cultural humility, and clinically sound decision-making in complex therapeutic settings.

Michal (Michelle) Goldman, LCSW is a licensed clinical social worker and clinical therapist who is passionate about helping therapists cultivate secure, ethical boundaries and deepen their self-of-therapist awareness to provide effective, compassionate care. She specializes in work with adults and couples navigating relational challenges and holds extensive training in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) and discernment counseling. In addition to her clinical practice, she writes a biweekly mental health column for a local newspaper.

Jean-Venable "Kelly" R. Goode, PharmD, BCPS, FAPhA, FCCP Professor and Director of the Community-Based Residency Program at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Pharmacy

Charlene H. Grafton, RN, BS, MS, CCM is licensed in two states as a Registered Nurse and was nationally certified as a Case Manager. She has worked as a Qualified Rehabilitation Provider and an Independent Nurse Case Manager. She was selected as Who's Who by American Colleges and Universities, American Nursing and also by the International Tennis Federation. Also, she is a Veteran of the Army Nurse Corps, First Lieutenant. Ms. Grafton has demonstrated her natural leadership style through volunteer work and participation on various Boards of Directors, such as the Jaycee Jaynes, Nevada Community Enrichment Program, Southern Nevada Continuity of Care Association, Florida's Governor's Council on Fitness and Sports, Nevada Tennis Association, National Senior Women's Tennis Association, Health Insight (Medicare and Medicaid) and the Executive Women's Golf League. In addition, she has presented papers and shown her teaching abilities by speaking at local, state, regional, national and international forums on a variety of subjects, including teaching techniques, lateral dominance, fitness and case management. As a writer, she has published two books about dominance and researched in areas of coordination, laterality, and sidedness from gifted to learning disabilities/problems and functional independence. Her work has also appeared in trade magazines.

Katherine Greig, MSW, PhD is the CEO of New Perspective Counseling Center LLC in Cleveland, Ohio. She is a trainer, consultant, and retired professor of social work. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Education and a Master’s in Counseling Education from Cleveland State University. Later, she received a Master’s in Social Work and a PhD in Social Administration from Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University.

Dr. Greig has worked in the fields of social work and counseling for more than 30 years. Her specialty areas include depression, anxiety, relationship issues, and Christian counseling. Dr. Greig is a certified Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) consultant, Substance Abuse Professional (SAP), and Employee Assistance Program (EAP) specialist.

Sharon M. Griffin, RN, PhD specializes in Health Education and Chronic Disease Management especially as it relates to her primary areas of study and research. She has more than 30 years of healthcare experience nationwide and is an accomplished author, presenter and consultant. She frequently lectures on the subjects of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD), Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and related disorders. Dr. Griffin is the cofounder of the University Center for Assessment and Learning (UCAL) of Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan. She enjoys writing and teaching and has been listed in Who’s Who in American Nursing, Two Thousand Notable American Women, and the eleventh edition of the World Who’s Who of Women, Cambridge, England.

Richard E. Haas, BSN, MSN, EdM, PhD, CRNA, LTC US Army Nurse Corps (Retired) is a retired nurse anesthetist and pre­hospital registered nurse (instructor) who has published extensively in various areas of healthcare research while providing clinical care in arenas ranging from academic medical centers to austere environments in the third world during both wartime and peacetime. He has a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Georgetown University, Master’s degrees in education (Boston University) and nursing specializing in anesthesia (State University of New York in Buffalo and U.S. Army), and a PhD from the University of South Carolina. He is a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps. He has taught nursing anesthesia, pharmacology, and physi­ology; mentored students in doctoral programs; and used advanced patient simulation to train students. Dr. Haas has worked in clinical, administrative, education, and research roles. He continues to work as an independent consultant, while taking more time to enjoy life with his wife of nearly 50 years and their children and grandchildren.

Margo A. Halm, RN, PhD, NEA-BC, FAAN received an Associate Degree of Nursing in 1981 from Iowa Central Community College, a BSN and Master of Arts in Nursing from the University of Iowa, in 1985 and 1987 respectively, and a PhD from the University of Minnesota in 2005. She is a member of the American Association of Critical Care Nurse's, and Sigma Theta Tau International. Dr. Halm has presented nationally and internationally, coauthored articles, and conducted nursing research studies on topics such as epidural analgesia, complementary therapies, women and heart disease, family presence during resuscitation and other family-centered interventions. Currently, Dr. Halm practices as the Associate Chief Nurse Executive of Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice at the VA Portland Health Care System in Portland, OR.

Josh Hamilton, DNP, RN-BC, FNP-C,PMHNP-BC, CTMH, CNE, FAANP is a nationally certified Psychiatric-Mental health nurse practitioner, Master Clinical Psychopharmacologist, and Family Primary Care nurse practitioner who is internationally recognized for his expert presentations on neurobiology, pharmacology, and epigenetics. Dr. Hamilton has more than two decades of nursing, leadership, and academic experience.

Flora Harp, PharmD is an Editor at TRC Healthcare. She obtained her PharmD degree from Wayne State University. She then completed a community practice residency at CVS Health, focused on corporate clinical support. After completing her residency, Flora went on to hold different roles at CVS Health, where she supported various clinical services and programs. She also spent time as a formulary management pharmacist for Medicare Part D plans at Prime Therapeutics. Prior to joining TRC Healthcare in 2016, Flora was a Clinical Services Manager at Thrifty White Pharmacy, where she oversaw various clinical programs including immunizations, rapid diagnostic testing, medication therapy management, and testing of innovative clinical service models in collaboration with payers, accountable care organizations, manufacturers, and others. She also helped support the early stages of seeking URAC accreditation for their growing specialty pharmacy business.

Megan Hawk, APRN, PMHNP-BC, CNP has been a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP) since 2013 and a nurse since 2007. She obtained her Associate Degree in Nursing from Kent State University in 2007. She went on to obtain her Bachelor’s degree from Kent State University in 2011 and her Master’s degree from the University of Cincinnati in 2013. As a nurse, she worked in an inpatient psychiatric hospital, and as a nurse practitioner, in an outpatient mental health center. She is currently the program direct of the online psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner program at Regis College. She has a passion for mental health nursing and teaching the next generation of psychiatric nurse practitioners. She is currently pursuing her doctorate of nursing practice with a focus on nursing education.

Allan G. Hedberg, PhD received his Master's in psychology from Northern Illinois University and his PhD in clinical psychology from Queen's University in Ontario, Canada. He has practiced clinical psychology in mental health centers, hospitals, and rehabilitation units as well as in private practice since 1969. More recently, he has maintained an active consultation service to patients and staff of nursing homes and assisted living facilities in the Central Valley of California. Over this time, Dr. Hedberg has consulted with staff, trained staff, and assisted in the establishment of appropriate programs for elderly patients with special needs, such as Alzheimer's disease.

Kathleen Holland, PsyD is a California-licensed psychologist, credentialed school psychologist and licensed educational psychologist, currently in private practice in Sebastopol, California. She obtained a Master’s degree in psychology from San Jose State University and a PsyD from Newport University. Dr. Holland is a member of the American Psychological Association and the American College of Forensic Psychologists. She has written and presented extensively in the areas of psychological evaluation and the provision of psychological services to a variety of patient populations.

Sharon Holt, DVM, MBA, ADN graduated from Ohio University with a Bachelor's degree in fine art in 1977. She returned to Greater Hartford Community College and she earned an Associate degree in nursing in 1979. She later received a Master's in business administration in marketing management in 1983 from University of Hartford. She received her doctorate in veterinary medicine from Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine in 1997. Dr. Holt has been working in wildlife medicine for more than 15 years and has lectured on the subject at the University of Massachusetts. Her nursing background includes acute care, emergency room, critical care, clinic settings, and case management for a non-profit visiting nurse association. She currently owns her own veterinary practice in Massachusetts and provides veterinary vaccine clinics in western Massachusetts.

Anne Horgan, LCSW

Jacqueline Houtman, RN, MA, CDP graduated with an Associate's degree from the Eastbourne School of Nursing in England in 1971. In 2000, she graduated with a Master's degree in Applied Social Science from Binghamton University, Upstate New York. During the course of her nursing career, Ms. Houtman has held various positions in the acute care hospital setting, including medical, surgical, orthopedic, ophthalmic, and intensive care units, incorporating five years of case management.

Lisa Hutchison, LMHC has more than 20 years of experience providing individual and group counseling with adults. She specifically focuses on teaching assertiveness, stress management, and boundary setting for empathic helpers. Ms. Hutchison graduated from the University of Massachusetts, Boston, with a Master’s degree in education for mental health counseling.

Vicki Ingram, PsyD, ABPP

Lisa Kathryn Jackson, MA, LPCC, MPH received her Master’s of Arts degree with a dual emphasis in Community and School Counseling from the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, in 2006. After graduating, Ms. Jackson practiced as an outpatient psychotherapist providing treatment to children, adolescents, couples, families, and adults. In 2007, she relocated to Durango, Colorado, where, as a triage clinician, she provided mental health assessments and diagnoses for a multi-access behavioral health facility (inpatient, outpatient, and substance abuse services). Ms. Jackson returned to Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 2008, where she started and maintained a private practice, earned certification in Wholistic Kinesiology, and was the Clinical Supervisor for a crisis intervention program in the local school district. Ms. Jackson went on to become the interim Clinical Director for a community mental health agency, managing clinical and case management staff, developing staff trainings, and overseeing the administration of clinical processes required by the state of New Mexico.

In her eight years of clinical work, Ms. Jackson has written more than 2,500 mental health assessments and reviewed hundreds of clinical records for medical necessity. She continues her clinical work as a Behavioral Health Care Manager in a managed care setting reviewing clinical documentation from mental health providers throughout the state of New Mexico. In 2017, Ms. Jackson received a Master of Public Health degree with a concentration in Healthcare management and Policy from Benedictine University (Illinois). She continues her work in behavioral health as the CEO and Senior Clinical Advisor with ENVIVE Solutions, LLC.

Latousha (Tasha) P. Jackson, PharmD, BCPS, QP503A received her bachelor of science in biology degree from Norfolk State University. She then went on to receive her doctor of pharmacy degree from the Medical College of Virginia (Virginia Commonwealth School of Pharmacy) in 2004. After receiving her degree, she started her career in hospital pharmacy practice at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in Norfolk, VA. After several years of hospital practice, Dr. Jackson obtained board certification in pharmacotherapy. Her experiences in hospital pharmacy practice and news of the New England Compounding Center tragedy inspired a desire to shift her practice into sterile compounding and patient safety. With renewed focus and training, she relocated to North Carolina to serve as Pharmacist Administrative Coordinator – Sterile Products at the Moses Cone Hospital in Greensboro, NC. She also went on to earn the CriticalPoint QP503A credential. Prior to joining the CriticalPoint team, Dr. Jackson served as the Compounding and Hazardous Medication Compliance Program Manager with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Durham, NC.

Tanika Johnson, EdD, MA, LPC-MHSP, LMHC, NCC, BC-TMH, CCTP is a licensed professional counselor and contributing faculty specializing in addiction, trauma, sexual assault, human trafficking, domestic violence, crisis and behavioral health interventions, anxiety, mood disorders, perinatal disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, anger and impulse control, and self-management coaching. She also has experience with education consulting and serving the special education community and the exceptional needs of children, adolescents, and adults with disabilities.

Beth Johnston, PharmD, BCPS is an associate editor at TRC healthcare, publisher of the Pharmacist’s Letter.

John V. Jurica, MD, MPH attended medical school at the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign and completed his residency training at the University of Illinois in Rockford. In 1993, he was awarded a Master's degree in Public Health from the Medical College of Wisconsin. Dr. Jurica is a board-certified Family Physician and has practiced in Kankakee, Illinois and Waukegan, Illinois, where he serves as Medical Director for an urgent care network.

He is a former CME surveyor and Chair of the CME Committee at the Illinois State Medical Society and former surveyor for, and member of, the Accreditation Review Committee of the Accreditation Council for CME. As Chief Medical Office for Riverside Medical Center, he was administratively responsible for Quality Improvement, Patient Safety, and Continuing Medical Education for the hospital.

Jessica Kamerer, EdD, MSN, RNC-NICU has worked training healthcare providers using simulation methods since 2006. She has experience utilizing simulation in academic and staff development environments. She works with college faculty, residency programs, and hospital educators to develop simulation-based educational programs. Programs range from medical student education in programs such as the family practice residency, nursing and respiratory care programs, to staff development, policy testing, and competency trainings. Her undergraduate degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania is a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and her Master's degree from Walden University is a Master of Science in Nursing, specializing in education. Her Master's degree capstone project focus was research utilizing simulation to increase the effectiveness of graduate nurse orientation in critical care units. Her Doctorate of Education degree with a concentration in organizational leadership is from Nova Southeastern University. As an expert, Dr. Kamerer provides trainings on learner-centered teaching pedagogies including simulation, as well as consults on development of simulation curriculums, research, and grant writing. Her medical background includes emergency medicine, mental health, and neonatal intensive care. She has a specialist RNC certification as a neonatal intensive care nurse. Dr. Kamerer has been published and presented locally, nationally, and internationally on a variety of topics related to simulation, innovative teaching strategies, and neonatal medicine. She is currently a nursing faculty member and Director of Corporate Programs and Lifetime Learning at Robert Morris University.

Jacob Kean, PhD

Nicole F. Keehn, RN, MSN, PsyD received a Master’s of Science, with emphasis on the pediatric critical care population, from Texas Woman’s University in 1993. She completed her doctorate in clinical and neuropsychology at Argosy University in Dallas, Texas. She was employed as the intensive care educator at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston, Texas, and as a clinical nurse in the intensive care unit at Children's Medical Center of Dallas, Texas. Mrs. Keehn is currently a clinical training director of an APPIC internship program and a pre- and post-doctoral psychology supervisor. She is also the managing partner of Lokahi Life Center, PLLC, in Dallas, Texas.

Ruth Kleinpell, PhD, ACNP-BC, FAAN, FAANP, FNAP, MCCM is Associate Dean for Clinical Scholarship, Independence Foundation Chair in Nursing Education, and Professor at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing in Nashville, Tennessee. She is certified as an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner and is known nationally and internationally for her expertise related to the APRN role. She has published and presented on the topic of building resilience for healthcare clinicians. Among her many accolades, she is a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing, the American College of Critical Care Medicine, the National Academies of Practice, the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, and the Institute of the Medicine of Chicago.

Sara Klockars, PharmD, BCPS is an Associate Editor at Prescriber Insights and Pharmacist’s Letter. She earned her PharmD degree from Ohio Northern University. She then completed two years of clinical pharmacy residency at the Medical University of South Carolina. Prior to coming to Prescriber Insights and Pharmacist’s Letter in 2019, Sara was a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist at Kaiser Permanente Colorado working alongside prescribers and pharmacists in an integrated healthcare system. She spent 12 years as part of the Primary Care team and built a practice in Dermatology, where she practiced for 4 years prior to joining TRC. In addition to dermatology, Sara’s professional interests include pharmacist and prescriber education, promoting evidence-based, cost-effective care, and other specialty pharmacy areas (rheumatology, gastroenterology, etc.).

Joel Kouame, LCSW, MBA, CAMS-II is a licensed psychotherapist, clinical supervisor, and founder of JK Counseling—a virtual group practice specializing in a variety of stress disorders. He is well trained in a number of evidence-based approaches including EMDR, IFS, Ego State, and the Gottman Method. When he is not practicing, he is serving as a social science professor, teaching a myriad of courses on human behavior. In addition, he is the founder and writer of The Shworker, a newsletter that examines social issues through a clinical lens.

A. José Lança, MD, PhD received his Medical Degree at the University of Coimbra in Coimbra, Portugal, and completed his internship at the University Hospital, Coimbra. He received his PhD in Neurosciences from a joint program between the Faculties of Medicine of the University of Coimbra, Portugal, and the University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. He was a Gulbenkian Foundation Scholar and received a Young Investigator Award by the American Brain & Behavior Research Foundation.

Dr. Lança participated in international courses and conferences on neurosciences. He has contributed to a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying the ontogenetic development of the brain opiatergic system. As a research scientist at the Addiction Research Foundation (ARF) in Toronto, he initiated research on the functional role played by dopaminergic cell transplants on alcohol consumption, leading to the publication of the first research reports on cell transplantation and modulation of an addictive behavior. Subsequently, he also investigated the role played by other neurotransmitter systems in the limbic system and mechanisms of reward, co-expression of classical neurotransmitters and neuropeptides and potential role in neuropsychiatric disorders.

He is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the Faculty of Medicine and at the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Toronto, where he lectures and directs several undergraduate and postgraduate pharmacology and clinical pharmacology courses. He was the Program Director for Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology of the University of Toronto. He has developed clinical pharmacology courses for the Medical Radiation Sciences and Chiropody Programs of The Michener Institute for Health Sciences at the University of Toronto.

Dr. Lança’s commitment to medical education started while a medical student, teaching in the Department of Histology and Embryology, where he became cross-appointed after graduation. In Toronto, he has contributed extensively to curriculum development and teaching of pharmacology to undergraduate, graduate, and medical students.

He has authored research and continuing education in peer-reviewed publications and is the author of six chapters in pharmacology textbooks. Dr. Lança has conducted research in various areas including neuropharmacology, pharmacology of alcoholism and drug addiction, and herbal medications.

He has developed and taught courses and seminars in continuing medical education and continuing dental education. His commitment to continuing education emphasizes an interdisciplinary approach to clinical pharmacology.

A. José Lança, MD, PhD received his Medical Degree at the University of Coimbra in Coimbra, Portugal, and completed his internship at the University Hospital, Coimbra. He received his PhD in Neurosciences from a joint program between the Faculties of Medicine of the University of Coimbra, Portugal, and the University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. He was a Gulbenkian Foundation Scholar and was awarded a Young Investigator Award by the American National Association for the Research of Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD).

Dr. Lança has participated in international courses and conferences on neurosciences. He has contributed to a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying the ontogenetic development of the brain opiatergic system. As a research scientist at the Addiction Research Foundation (ARF) in Toronto, he initiated research on the functional role played by dopaminergic cell transplants on alcohol consumption, leading to the publication of the first research reports on cell transplantation and modulation of an addictive behavior. Subsequently, he also investigated the role played by other neurotransmitter systems in the limbic system and mechanisms of reward, co-expression of classical neurotransmitters and neuropeptides and potential role in neuropsychiatric disorders.

He is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology at the Faculty of Medicine and at the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Toronto. He was the Program Director for Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Pharmacology of the University of Toronto. He has developed clinical pharmacology courses for the Radiation Sciences and Chiropody Programs of The Michener Institute for Health Sciences at the University of Toronto, where he also lectures both pharmacology courses and holds a Faculty position.

Dr. Lança's commitment to medical education started while a medical student, teaching in the Department of Histology and Embryology, where he became cross-appointed after graduation. In Toronto, he has contributed extensively to curriculum development and teaching of pharmacology to undergraduate, graduate and medical students. He has developed an integrated approach to clinical pharmacology, and has contributed to an evidence-based teaching of Herbal Medications in clinical pharmacology. He is also the author of six chapters in medical pharmacology textbooks.

Jeff Langford, PharmD, BCPS-AQ Cardiology, BCCP is a board-certified cardiology pharmacist with strong clinical, teaching, and interpersonal skills developed through experience in both inpatient and outpatient pharmacy. Dr. Langford is an Assistant Editor at TRC Healthcare and adjunct assistant professor at University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy. His inpatient practice includes focus in cardiovascular pharmacotherapy, and his outpatient practice includes extensive patient interaction and departmental management experience.

Susan Engman Lazear, RN, MN received her undergraduate education at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Nursing in Washington, D.C. After completing her BSN, she served as an Army Nurse at Letterman Army Medical Center in San Francisco for four years. She then attended the University of Washington School of Nursing and received a Master’s in Nursing, specializing in Burn, Trauma and Emergency Nursing. After receiving her MN, she started Airlift Northwest, the air ambulance service based in Seattle which serves the entire Northwest region, including Alaska. Mrs. Lazear left the air ambulance service to start her own nursing education and consulting business, Specialists in Medical Education. For the past 20 years she has been teaching emergency nursing courses throughout the country. She lives in the Seattle area. Mrs. Lazear continues to teach and publish. She is both an editor and contributing author of Critical Care Nursing, published by W.B. Saunders Company, in June of 1992. She served as an author and reviewer of the Emergency Nursing Core Curriculum 6th Edition, published by W.B. Saunders Company in 2007. She has been named to the Who’s Who in American Healthcare list annually since 1992.

Patricia Lea, RN, DNP, MSEd, CCRN received a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing in 1973 from Houston Baptist University in Houston, Texas. She returned to graduate school to complete a Master’s degree in Education, specifically Health Education, in 1996 from Baylor University in Waco, Texas, and a Doctorate in Nursing Practice in Executive Leadership in 2014 from American Sentinel University in Aurora, Colorado. Dr. Lea specializes in critical care nursing, with an emphasis on heart failure and sepsis. She started her career at the Houston Methodist Hospital in the cardiovascular ICU and opened an acute dialysis unit at what is now Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center in the Houston Medical Center. Dr. Lea was a Cardiovascular Clinical Coordinator and Director of the Heart Failure Clinic at Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center in Waco, Texas. In 2004, Dr. Lea returned to Houston and was employed as a Senior Research Clinical Nurse Specialist at the Texas Heart Institute coordinating stem cell and cardiac stent trials. She is currently Associate Professor and Baccalaureate Program Director at the University of Texas Medical Branch School of Nursing in Galveston, Texas.

John M. Leonard, MD Professor of Medicine Emeritus, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, completed his post-graduate clinical training at the Yale and Vanderbilt University Medical Centers before joining the Vanderbilt faculty in 1974. He is a clinician-educator and for many years served as director of residency training and student educational programs for the Vanderbilt University Department of Medicine. Over a career span of 40 years, Dr. Leonard conducted an active practice of general internal medicine and an inpatient consulting practice of infectious diseases.

Katrina Lieben, MSN, CNM received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Humboldt State University, California in 1997 and her Master's of Science in Nursing with a nurse midwifery focus from the Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing in 2008. She has worked with mothers and infants her entire career. Ms. Lieben practiced in Ketchikan, Alaska, for more than 10 years, and currently practices midwifery care in Ukiah, California.

Karen Majorowicz, RN is currently employed in the Cardiac Intermediate Care Unit at Shands Healthcare at the University of Florida, Gainesville. She received her Master's in Medical-Surgical Nursing in 1978 from the University of Maryland. Karen has created numerous instructional manuals on Medicare and has conducted educational programs on cardiovascular assessment.

John Makopoulos, MD

Maryam Mamou, BSN, RN, CRRN, CWOCN is an Irish-trained RN who has lived and worked in the United States for 20 years. During her career, she has completed a BSN and went on to become a certified rehabilitation nurse, a certified life care planner, and more recently a certified wound ostomy and continence nurse. She is a graduate of the wound ostomy and continence program at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, and is nationally certified in these areas.

Ms. Mamou has worked in various rehabilitation settings and has first-hand experience of how pressure ulcers impact patients' recovery and quality of life. She has held positions as staff nurse, unit coordinator, educator, and director of nursing in home health care. She has been involved in developing and implementing several staff education programs in a variety of settings. She was most recently employed as a wound ostomy and continence nurse at East Alabama Medical Center in Opelika, Alabama.

Jamie Marich, PhD, LPCC-S, REAT, RYT-500, RMT (she/they) travels internationally speaking on topics related to EMDR therapy, trauma, addiction, expressive arts, and mindfulness while maintaining a private practice and online education operation, the Institute for Creative Mindfulness, in her home base of northeast Ohio. She is the developer of the Dancing Mindfulness approach to expressive arts therapy and the developer of Yoga for Clinicians. Dr. Marich is the author of numerous books, including EMDR Made Simple, Trauma Made Simple, and EMDR Therapy and Mindfulness for Trauma Focused Care (written in collaboration with Dr. Stephen Dansiger). She is also the author of Process Not Perfection: Expressive Arts Solutions for Trauma Recovery. In 2020, a revised and expanded edition of Trauma and the 12 Steps was released. In 2022 and 2023, Dr. Marich published two additional books: The Healing Power of Jiu-Jitsu: A Guide to Transforming Trauma and Facilitating Recovery and Dissociation Made Simple. Dr. Marich is a woman living with a dissociative disorder, and this forms the basis of her award-winning passion for advocacy in the mental health field.

Jess Mather, CPT, LPTA. SFG, FRCms, FMS is a strength and rehabilitation professional dedicated to helping individuals experience less limitation, pain, fear, and insecurity in their bodies. With over 13 years of experience, she has supported thousands of clients aged 9 to over 99, witnessing firsthand the body's remarkable ability to adapt, strengthen, and heal. Since 2015, Jess has operated a successful telehealth practice, offering private coaching, courses, and group programs to clients in over a dozen countries. Her expertise extends to educating other therapists and healthcare providers on effectively supporting patients with complex chronic pain, trauma, and stress.

Kalynn Matisco, APRN, PhD received an Associate Degree in Nursing from Wallace College in Dothan, Alabama, her BSN from Troy State University, her Masters and Doctoral degrees from University of Alabama at Birmingham, and her Nurse Practitioner education at the University of South Alabama. Dr. Matisco has practiced in a variety of settings, including obstetrics, medical-surgical, dialysis, critical care, nursing education, nursing research, and, most recently, infectious disease. She retired from the University of Florida Division of Infectious Disease and Global Medicine in 2018 and now practices in temporary assignments with underserved populations.

John Mayer, PhD has over 35 years of clinical experience and approximately 90,000 therapy sessions under his belt. Dr. Mayer has a wealth of practical knowledge and insight into the challenges that mental health professionals face daily. As the author of over 20 books and 60 journal articles, Dr. Mayer’s contributions to the field are both vast and influential. A graduate of Northwestern University Medical School in clinical psychology, he has taught at several prestigious universities in the United States and abroad.

Chelsey McIntyre, PharmD is a clinical pharmacist who specializes in drug information, literature analysis, and medical writing. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Genetics from the University of California, Davis. She then went on to complete her PharmD at Creighton University, followed by a clinical residency at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). Dr. McIntyre held the position of Drug Information and Policy Development Pharmacist at CHOP until her move to Washington state in 2017, after which she spent the next six years as a clinical editor for Natural Medicines, a clinical reference database focused on natural products and alternative therapies. She continues to create rigorous professional analysis and patient education materials for various publications while also practicing as a hospital pharmacist. Her professional interests include provider and patient education, as well as the application of evidence-based research to patient care.

Chelsey McIntyre, PharmD is a clinical pharmacist who specializes in drug information, literature analysis, and medical writing. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Genetics from the University of California, Davis. She then went on to complete her PharmD at Creighton University, followed by a clinical residency at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). Dr. McIntyre held the position of Drug Information and Policy Development Pharmacist at CHOP until her move to Washington state in 2017, after which she spent the next six years as a clinical editor for Natural Medicines, a clinical reference database focused on natural products and alternative therapies. She continues to create rigorous professional analysis and patient education materials for various publications while also practicing as a hospital pharmacist. Her professional interests include provider and patient education, as well as the application of evidence-based research to patient care.

Sandra Mesics, CNM, MSN, RN is a native of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. She attended Penn State University where she graduated with a BS in Psychology. In 1983, she moved to Miami, Florida, where she earned a BS degree in Nursing at Barry University, graduating magna cum laude. Ms. Mesics worked as an RN in Labor & Delivery, postpartum, and newborn nursery at Mount Sinai Medical Center, Miami Beach, FL, and started work on her Master's degree in 1994. She became a certified nurse-midwife in 1997, and was the first nurse-midwife granted privileges at Mount Sinai Hospital of Greater Miami. In 2001, Ms. Mesics returned to Bethlehem, PA, to accept a faculty position teaching maternity nursing at St. Luke's School of Nursing. She also maintains privileges at St. Luke's Hospital, providing nurse-midwifery care in the women's health clinic. In 2004, Ms. Mesics became director of the School of Nursing. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau Nursing Honor Society, the American College of Nurse-Midwives, and the National League for Nursing. She served on the advisory committee for fetal fibronectin.

Sally K. Miller, PhD, AGACNP, AGPCNP, FNP-BC, PMHNP-BC, FAANP is a Fitzgerald Faculty member. She presents the Fitzgerald Nurse Practitioner Certification Exam Review & Advanced Practice Update for family, adult-gerontology primary care, adult-gerontology acute care, and psychiatric-mental health. She also teaches pathophysiology and pharmacology courses.

Beyon Miloyan, PhD received his PhD in Psychology from the University of Queensland in 2015 for his thesis on late-life anxiety disorders. He completed his postdoctoral training in the Epidemiology and Biostatistics of Aging program at the Johns Hopkins University before taking a tenure-track position in the School of Psychology and Health Sciences at Federation University, Australia. Dr. Miloyan has published 30 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters and has been teaching since 2012. He has supervised 10 student theses at doctoral, Master’s, and undergraduate levels and served as an ad hoc peer reviewer for various journals in the fields of psychology, psychiatry, and public health.

Davina Moss, PhD, CRC, CASAC, NCC is the founder and President of Positive Direction and Associates, Inc., a consulting company that also provides educational seminars for medical professionals in the community. Dr. Moss is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor, a National Certified Counselor, and a Credentialed Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counselor and has been a substance abuse counselor for more than 30 years. Dr. Moss received her Master’s degree in Deafness Rehabilitation from New York University in 1998 and Doctorate degree in Counselor Education with honors in 2005 from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Her dissertation Unresolved Grief and Loss Issues Related to Substance Abuse was published as a book titled Unresolved Grief and Loss Issues Related to Heroin Recovery in 2009. In 2017, her book The Positive Direction Model Opioid Use and Pregnancy was published.

Dr. Moss’ research interests are opioid use, the medical-patient relationship, and neonatal abstinence syndrome. She has written articles and continuing education courses and has also been a contributing author in three academic textbooks. Dr. Moss is an adjunct professor at New York University’s Applied Psychology Department and a Volunteer Research Assistant Professor at The State University of NY at Buffalo, Jacob’s School of Medicine.

Elizabeth T. Murane, PHN, BSN, MA received her Bachelor’s degree in nursing from the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio and a Master of Arts in Nursing Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, New York.

Her nursing experience includes hospital nursing on pediatric, medical, and surgical units. She lived for 15 years in a village in Eastern Papua New Guinea providing medical and linguistic/literacy services for the villagers. She was a public health nurse for a year with the Brooklyn, New York Health Department and 20 years with the Shasta County Public Health Department in Redding, California. As a public health nursing director, she developed response plans for environmental and health issue disasters for both Shasta County and adjacent Tehama County Public Health Departments.

Usker Naqvi, MD is a resident in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine/Jackson Memorial Hospital. A native of New Jersey, Dr. Naqvi spent time studying exercise physiology and nutrition prior to entering the medical profession and looks forward to integrating these into his practice. His clinical interests include sports medicine, pain management, and lifestyle interventions to improve health and physical functioning.

Joan Needham, MSEd, RNC was a graduate of Copley Memorial Hospital School of Nursing. She earned a baccalaureate degree in nursing from the College of Saint Francis in 1977 and a Master’s degree in adult education from Northern Illinois University in 1981. She was certified in gerontological nursing by the American Nurses Association and worked in nursing education at various colleges in Illinois for many years. Regrettably, Ms. Needham passed away in 2010.

Michele Nichols, RN, BSN, MA received her Associates Degree in Nursing in 1977, her Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing in 1981 and obtained her Master of Arts Degree in Ethics and Policy Studies in 1990 through the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She was Chief Nurse Executive at Valley Hospital Medical Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, and retired as the System Director for the Valley Health System University, a five hospital system in Las Vegas, Nevada. She is currently a volunteer nurse for Volunteers in Medicine of Southern Nevada.

Jane C. Norman, RN, MSN, CNE, PhD received her undergraduate education at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville campus. There she completed a double major in Sociology and English. She completed an Associate of Science in Nursing at the University of Tennessee, Nashville campus and began her nursing career at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Jane received her Masters in Medical-Surgical Nursing from Vanderbilt University. In 1978, she took her first faculty position and served as program director for an associate degree program. In 1982, she received her PhD in Higher Education Administration from Peabody College of Vanderbilt University. In 1988, Dr. Norman took a position at Tennessee State University. There she has achieved tenure and full professor status. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau National Nursing Honors Society. In 2005, she began her current position as Director of the Masters of Science in Nursing Program.

Heather O'Connell, DHA, RRT-ACCS, CPFT

Nycole Oliver, DNP, APRN, RN, FNP-C, ACNPC-AG, CEN, FAEN is a dual-certified Emergency Department, Hospitalist, and Primary Care Nurse Practitioner who graduated from the University of South Alabama’s Emergency Nurse Practitioner dual track program with her Master's and Doctor of Nursing practice degrees. She also has an MBA in Leadership.

Nycole started her APRN practice as a Hospitalist NP and began working as an APRN in the Emergency Department, where she previously practiced as a nurse. She continues to practice in both positions, as well as working in a Primary Care clinic. Dr. Oliver started teaching APRN students at the University of South Alabama in 2016. She has been a speaker and keynote speaker at several local, state, regional, national, and international Nursing and NP conferences. She is on several state and national committees and has authored in nursing textbooks and journals. She has also won several awards as an NP, showcasing her outstanding contributions to NP and emergency nursing practice.

Barbara Osborn, DNP, CRNP, WHNP-BC earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing with high honors from Rutgers University and Master of Science in Nursing from Drexel University. Subsequently, she completed her Doctor of Nursing Practice at Drexel University, with scholarly work in contraception counseling and shared decision-making. She has also completed postgraduate course work in colposcopy and ultrasound.

Osborne began her nursing career as a high-risk obstetrical nurse before working as a community-health nurse in outpatient family planning/reproductive health. She is certified as a women’s health/gender-related nurse practitioner and has practiced in both private and publicly funded outpatient health centers. She has served in clinical and leadership roles to increase nurse practitioner centered and led models of care. She also collaborated to develop and present the Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner Certification Exam Review and Advance Practice Update with Fitzgerald Health Education Associates

Lauren G. Pamulapati, PharmD, BCACP Associate Professor, Ambulatory Care, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Pharmacy, and Clinical Pharmacist, Hayes Willis Health Center/VCU Health

Barry Panzer, PhD, ACSW is a practitioner with more than 35 years of clinical experience with children, teens, adults, and families. Dr. Panzer is currently the co-director of Brooklyn Child and Adolescent Weight Specialists, the only multidisciplinary private practice for obese youths in New York City. In addition, he is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at New York Medical College. Dr. Panzer was selected as one of two mental health question writers on the American Board of Obesity Medicine committee for the board certification exam.

Dr. Panzer received a PhD with Distinction in social work from Columbia University and has served as a clinical instructor at Downstate Medical Center (at State University of new York) and adjunct professor at Columbia University. His post-graduate training includes family therapy, cognitive-behavior therapy, and child and adolescent nutrition. He has published in the areas of sudden infant death syndrome, crisis intervention, and ADHD. Dr. Panzer’s interest in childhood obesity dates to 2003 and since then he has published articles in the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, ICAN: Infant, Child, and Adolescent Nutrition, and ADHD Report. He has also made presentations at major conferences, including for the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Psychological Association, and the National Association of Social Workers. Dr. Panzer is passionate about educating and motivating colleagues to become involved in caring for families of obese youth.

John Peabody, MD

Peter Peraud, MD is a graduate of Harvard College with a degree in economics and a graduate of the University of Iowa College of Medicine. As a medical student, Dr. Peraud participated in the American Medical Association Government Relations Internship Program, working at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. He completed an emergency medicine residency on the medical staff at Advocate Christ Medical Center in suburban Chicago. Currently, he is practicing emergency medicine at Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Amanda Perkins, MSN, DNP is a DNP-prepared registered nurse with a focus in healthcare leadership. Prior to obtaining her DNP, she obtained an MSN with a focus on nursing education. She currently works full-time as an Associate Professor of Nursing at Vermont Tech and per-diem at Gifford Medical Center on the medical-surgical unit and in the long-term care facility. Dr. Perkins also sits on the editorial board, writes, and peer-reviews for the journal Nursing Made Incredibly Easy! She has experience in a variety of settings, including long-term care, residential care, medical-surgical, women and children, intensive care, and inpatient psychiatric units.

Teisha Phillips, RN, BSN received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Point Loma Nazarene University in 2005. She has nursing experience in a variety of clinical settings including multispecialty outpatient surgery, fertility, women's health, and cosmetic/aesthetic nursing. Her primary focus and passion is on direct patient care and patient education. She is presently employed as a perioperative nurse at an outpatient surgery center in the greater Sacramento area.

Candace Pierce, DNP, RN, CNE, COI is a nurse leader committed to ensuring nurses are well-prepared and offered abundant opportunities and resources to enhance their skills acquisition and confidence at the bedside. With 15 years in nursing, she has worked at the bedside, in management, and in nursing education. She has demonstrated expertise and scholarship in innovation and design thinking in health care and education, and collaborative efforts within and outside of healthcare. Scholarship endeavors include funded grants, publications, and presentations. As a leader, Dr. Pierce strives to empower others to create and deploy ideas and embrace their professional roles as leaders, change agents, and problem solvers. In her position as the lead nurse planner for Elite, she works as a project engineer with subject matter experts to develop evidence-based best practices in continuing education for nurses and other healthcare professionals.

Vanessa Pomarico, EdD, FNP-BC, FAANP is certified as a family nurse practitioner and earned a doctorate in Nursing Education from Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, CT. She practices at Northeast Medical Group (NEMG), specializing in Internal Medicine with a special interest in women’s health and transgender health care. An author, lecturer, educator, and volunteer, Dr. Pomarico is the transgender healthcare trainer for NEMG system-wide.

Rachel Popp, CPhT patient panelist

Mary Jo Pugh, PhD, RN

Julie Quinn, MD is a board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist who practiced general Obstetrics and Gynecology for four years before transitioning to a career in medical communications. Dr. Quinn completed her undergraduate education at the University of California, Davis, and her medical education at Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine. She completed her training at the Phoenix Integrated Residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology in Phoenix, Arizona.

Kismet Rasmusson, DNP, FNP-BC, FAHA, CHFN, HF-Cert, FHFSA is a nurse practitioner who has worked with Intermountain Healthcare as a heart failure specialist since 2000. She is a Family Nurse Practitioner with a Doctorate of Nursing Practice and has an appointment within Intermountain as a Professor of Clinical Research.

Kismet is a certified Heart Failure Nurse, has the HF-Cert designation by the Heart Failure Society of America, and is a Fellow of both the American Heart Association and the Heart Failure Society of America. She has worked in the advanced heart failure clinic and as a leader to promote process improvement for HF care across the Intermountain system for over 23 years. Kismet’s special interests include researching HF process improvement, heart failure and pregnancy, and discovering innovative ways to educate and engage patients with heart failure.

Stephanie Remson, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC is a family-certified nurse practitioner who graduated from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas’s Family Nurse Practitioner Program. She has worked in critical care/pulmonary, primary care, urgent care, and infectious disease. She is passionate about her role in HIV management.

Ms. Remson is a member of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP), the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA), the American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST), and the American College of Rheumatology (ACR). She also plays a very active role in the rheumatology community.

Richelle A. Rennegarbe, PhD, RN earned her RN degree from Kaskaskia College in Centralia, IL, her BSN from McKendree University in Lebanon, IL and her MS in Community Health Nursing from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in Edwardsville, IL. She earned her PhD in Health Education from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in Carbondale, IL. Dr. Rennegarbe's primary areas of expertise include community health nursing, women's health issues, nursing leadership, and chronic conditions including systemic lupus erythematosus. She is a Professor of Nursing and Director of the DNP Program at McKendree University. Dr. Rennegarbe is certified by the American Organization of Nurse Executives in executive nursing practice and certified as a Professional in Patient Safety by the Institute for healthcare Improvement.

Jessica Restivo, MS, OTR/L, NTMTC

Beth Ribet, PhD, JD is the co-founder and co-director of Repair, a health and disability justice organization. Dr. Ribet obtained her doctorate in Social Relations (Sociology & Anthropology) from the University of California-Irvine, and her law degree at UCLA, with a specialization in Critical Race Studies. Her areas of expertise include disability and employment, disability civil rights, medical sociology, healthcare advocacy, and social psychology. Her particular research and teaching interests focus on the production of new disabilities and illnesses as a result of violence, exploitation, and inequity and strategies for using law and policy to address the concerns of people disabled or injured by inequity. Dr. Ribet speaks publicly and trains healthcare, legal, and social service practitioners regarding work with vulnerable populations, including but not limited to trafficked and exploited persons, refugees, incarcerated persons, and children and youth with disabilities.

Patricia Romero, PharmD Walmart Specialty Pharmacy

Mark Rose, BS, MA, LP is a licensed psychologist in the State of Minnesota with a private consulting practice and a medical research analyst with a biomedical communications firm. Earlier healthcare technology assessment work led to medical device and pharmaceutical sector experience in new product development involving cancer ablative devices and pain therapeutics. Along with substantial experience in addiction research, Mr. Rose has contributed to the authorship of numerous papers on CNS, oncology, and other medical disorders. He is the lead author of papers published in peer-reviewed addiction, psychiatry, and pain medicine journals and has written books on prescription opioids and alcoholism published by the Hazelden Foundation. He also serves as an Expert Advisor and Expert Witness to law firms that represent disability claimants or criminal defendants on cases related to chronic pain, psychiatric/substance use disorders, and acute pharmacologic/toxicologic effects. Mr. Rose is on the Board of Directors of the Minneapolis-based International Institute of Anti-Aging Medicine and is a member of several professional organizations.

Gayle Roux, PhD, RN, CNS, FNP received her BSN from University of Nebraska, and her MS and PhD in Nursing from Texas Women's University. She has been employed in various aspects of women's care including childbearing, family planning, and women's health. Currently, she practices as a family nurse practitioner and is faculty at University of North Dakota. Dr. Roux's area of research is focused on inner strength in women living with chronic health conditions such as breast cancer. She lives in Dallas, Texas, and has two daughters. Dr. Roux enjoys cross-country skiing, traveling, and reading mystery stories.

Ronald Runciman, MD

Anele Runyion, RN, MS received her diploma in nursing from Berea College School of Nursing in Berea, Kentucky. She subsequently received a Baccalaureate and Master’s degree in psychiatric nursing from the University of California, San Francisco. She has extensive experience in psychiatric nursing, including adolescent and adult psychiatry.

For twenty years she was psychiatric nurse consultant and coordinator of psychiatric nursing consultation at San Francisco General Hospital. She was Assistant Clinical Professor in Mental Health, Community and Administrative Nursing at the University of California, San Francisco. She created and co-chaired a National Psychiatric Consultation/Liaison Conference in 1987, which provided continuing education in nursing. This conference meets annually and has subsequently become an international conference.

She created a brief curriculum and practicum in consultation/liaison nursing for graduate nursing students at UCSF that is currently being practiced. As a psychiatric nurse consultant, she assisted non-psychiatric nurses in the hospital to assimilate and integrate psychological principles into their practice. During this time, she developed a protocol for management of acute post-traumatic stress response. This protocol was adopted by the hospital as a standard care plan for nursing management of patients with acute post-traumatic stress response in the non-psychiatric areas of the hospital.

Ms. Runyion has published and spoken nationally. She was listed in Who’s Who in American Nursing in 1991-92 and 1996-97. Currently, she is a self-employed consultant and writer.

Dalia Saha, MD is a board-certified internal medicine physician with more than 15 years of clinical experience. With experience in both academic and private healthcare settings, Dr. Saha has vast exposure to many aspects of patient care and clinical medicine. Always interested in the didactic component of health care, Dr. Saha works on the education committee for the American College of Physicians and is an instructor and teaching staff for medical students and residents in George Washington University and Johns Hopkins Medical Schools. Lauded by her colleagues for her dedication and work ethic in the field of medicine, she has been awarded the Top Doctor Award in Washington, DC.

Suzanne Saldarini, MA, LPC, NCPsyA is a certified psychoanalyst and licensed professional counselor in private practice in Ramsey, New Jersey. She sees individuals, couples, children, and adolescents in both long and short-term psychotherapy. She earned psychoanalytic certification at the New Jersey Institute for Training in Psychoanalysis, where she has taught The Interpretation of Dreams and served as Curriculum and Membership chairs; she continues at NJIT as a faculty member and control analyst. Ms. Saldarini began formal study of dreams as an analytic candidate but first read Freud as a psychology undergraduate at Drew University. Her graduate career in psychology began with basic research in observation of child behavior in natural settings at the University of Kansas. A certified School Psychologist, she completed many years of practice in schools and agencies both public and private before her return to Freudian study and finally psychoanalytic training and practice. She has made continuing education presentations on Freud’s approach to dreams at annual conferences for both the New Jersey Counseling Association and the International Association for the Study of Dreams. Ms. Saldarini has also authored two children's books on dreaming, About Dreams and Harry's Dream.

Queenie Samonte, MD

Evangeline Y. Samples, MS, RDN, LD, EdD is a dietitian and writer who has worked for decades teaching patients and students about good nutrition. She earned her Masters of Science degree in Dietetics from Marshall University and earned her Doctor of Education degree from Northcentral University. Ms. Samples has an adjunct professor of nutrition, and has written numerous articles on fitness and nutrition for the lay public. She is currently a clinical dietitian practicing in West Virginia.

Mary Schmeida, RN, PhD completed her Master of Science in Nursing degree from Kent State University in 1984. Her PhD in Political Science with a specialty tract of Public Policy Analysis and Design was completed in 2005. She has more than 40 years' experience within the U.S. healthcare service delivery system. As a clinical nurse specialist in psychiatric-mental health nursing, she has held faculty positions at the university level and several research positions. Dr. Schmeida has presented numerous research papers in public health policy and healthcare at many conferences across the country. Her research is published in peer-reviewed journals, books, and international government reports.

Tina Schmidt-McNulty, DHSc, MS, ACSM-CEP, RN is an instructor in the Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition at the University of Illinois Chicago. Her academic foundation in health, exercise instruction/programming, and nursing is strengthened by specialized certifications in clinical exercise physiology and group fitness. Her professional background includes clinical nursing experience in cardiovascular care and cardiac rehabilitation, as well as coaching at the high school level, where she developed seasonal training programs. She is also an active member of the Exercise is Medicine Clinical Practice Committee.

With more than 30 years in the fitness industry as a presenter, author, coach, and instructor, Dr. Schmidt-McNulty has published numerous articles on special populations and health risk factors, and has led initiatives promoting fitness and wellness in corporate, hospital, and university settings. Her work reflects a commitment to bridging academic knowledge with practical application, encouraging student engagement, and building a strong foundation for lifelong learning in health and exercise sciences.

Christie Schumacher, PharmD, BCPS, BCACP, BCCP, BC-ADM, CDCES, FCCP Professor, Pharmacy Practice Director, PGY2 Ambulatory Care Residency Program at Midwestern University College of Pharmacy, Downers Grove Campus, and Clinical Pharmacist at Northwestern Medicine

Susan Semb, MSN, CDCES is a retired RN who received her Master's degree in nursing from the University of San Diego. Her nursing experience includes direct patient care, case management, staff development, program development, and health education. She spent the majority of her nursing career working as a diabetes educator in the health education department of a major health maintenance organization. Ms. Semb has also authored other continuing education courses for nurses published by NetCE and contributed to nursing books and other publications. In her retirement, Ms. Semb enjoys travel, line dancing, and pursuing an interest in antiques and vintage items.

Carol Shenold, RN, ICP graduated from St. Paul’s Nursing School, Dallas, Texas, achieving her diploma in nursing. Over the past thirty years she has worked in hospital nursing in various states in the areas of obstetrics, orthopedics, intensive care, surgery and general medicine.

Mrs. Shenold served as the Continuum of Care Manager for Vencor Oklahoma City, coordinating quality review, utilization review, Case Management, Infection Control, and Quality Management. During that time, the hospital achieved Accreditation with Commendation with the Joint Commission, with a score of 100.

Mrs. Shenold was previously the Infection Control Nurse for Deaconess Hospital, a 300-bed acute care facility in Oklahoma City. She is an active member of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC). She worked for the Oklahoma Foundation for Medical Quality for six years.

Jennifer Shotlander, LCSW, LCSW-C, LICSW, CEAP is a licensed clinical social worker in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia, and is a certified employee assistance professional. Ms. Shotlander is a counselor, consultant, and trainer in the employee assistance field. She provides consultation to organizational leadership, helping them to improve productivity within their organization. In addition, she provides assessment, referral, and short-term counseling to individual employees and family members who are experiencing personal problems or with other mental health and/or substance abuse concerns. Ms. Shotlander is the owner of Human Capital Plus, a provider of comprehensive EAP counseling and consulting solutions. She has provided EAP consultation to the Pentagon, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Washington Gas, and other private and public organizations. She graduated with her MSW from the University of Maryland, Baltimore, School of Social Work in 2004, where she specialized in clinical EAP. She also has a certificate in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Ms. Shotlander was a Commissioner with the Employee Assistance Certification Commission from 2010–2013 and served in leadership roles for the DC EAPA chapter. She has published in the Journal of Employee Assistance and Reflections: Narratives of Professional Helping. In 2012, she was recognized as one of the “10 New Faces to Watch in Employee Assistance.”

Joy Siegel, EdD, MBA provides solution-oriented services to seniors and their families by assessing and addressing social determinants of health. Direct services are designed to improve quality of life and address such issues as crisis intervention, aging in place, identifying financial resources, home health, housing, and social services. Joy has also worked with healthcare providers and most recently consulted with AgeWell Global, leading a grant-funded pilot designed to reduce Medicare readmissions at Holy Cross Hospital in Ft. Lauderdale. Joy has participated in research projects that include exploring quality of life and healthcare systems, loneliness, civic reengagement, and cultural competency. Her clients include Nova Southeastern University, Case Western Reserve, Jewish Community Services, and Chrysalis Health. Joy has developed an extensive catalog of continuing education courses for healthcare providers. Her latest courses focus on social determinants of health and partnerships between healthcare systems and community-based organizations. Joy was a fundraising consultant for over 15 years and worked with over 200 nonprofits raising over $300 million. She also created, produced, and hosted Good Work Radio, sponsored by the Office Depot Foundation. Joy has interviewed many celebrated heroes and celebrities and is proud to have interviewed all the U.S. presidents since George H. W. Bush.

Samantha Silverman, LCSW specializes in Post-Traumatic Growth. She is the owner of Silver Linings Mental Health, an independently owned group counseling practice, located in Colorado, focusing on trauma informed care. After she survived the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the World Trade Center, she worked for a decade with Holocaust Survivors. She is currently focusing on writing a book detailing her perseverance after the attacks as well as building the Silver Linings Institute, an online educational platform aimed at helping individuals achieve growth and resiliency after trauma.

Stephen Small, PharmD, BCPS, BCPPS, BCCCP, CNSC

Shannon E. Smith, MHSC, CST, CSFA

Megan Smith, PharmD, BCACP University of Arkansas

Brett Snodgrass, DNP, FNP-C, CPE, ACHPN, FAANP is a Family Nurse Practitioner, board certified with the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, and is an Advanced Certified Hospice and Palliative Nurse. She is a chronic pain expert with extensive experience in clinical education development and delivery, new program development, and data-driven outcomes.

Laura Sosinski, PharmD, MBA, BCPS Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy

Jon E. Soskis, BSN, RN is a retired expert in pit viper snakebite assessment and treatment. He earned his BS in Biology from Stetson University in DeLand, Florida, and his BSN from Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida, while completing his EMT training at Tallahassee Community College. Following a 30-year practice in emergency nursing at Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare, including numerous in-hospital snakebite consultations, he remains available to the local medical and nursing community for consultation during active treatment of pit viper envenomation, and annually trains Florida State University College of Medicine surgical and internal medicine residents as well as Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare Family Practice residents in the subject. He has likewise presented at hospitals in Florida and North Carolina.

Mr. Soskis wishes to recognize the years-long contributions to this work by Rick Dart, MD, PhD, Director of Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center; Jeffrey Bernstein, MD, Medical Director of the South Florida Poison Information Center, Miami; and Ed Hall, MD, South Georgia Surgical Associates.

Trae Stewart, PhD, MPH, MSN, MN, MS, PMHNP-BC, APRN is a board-certified psychiatric–mental health nurse practitioner and professor of nursing. He serves as Professor and PMHNP Program Director at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS). Dr. Stewart also teaches nationwide as faculty and continuing-education instructor with Fitzgerald Health Education Associates (FHEA). A lifelong educator, Dr. Stewart has graduate preparation in psychiatric–mental health nursing (MSN, MN), along with prior graduate degrees in public health and forensic psychology and a PhD from USC.

Mark J. Szarejko, DDS, FAGD received his dental degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1985. He received fellowship from the Academy of General Dentistry in 1994.

Eloise Theisen, MSN, NP, AGPCNP-BC is a board-certified adult geriatric nurse practitioner. She has more than 20 years of experience providing palliative care primarily to cancer, dementia, and chronic pain patients. For the last eight years she has specialized in cannabis therapy. She has helped more than 7,500 patients effectively treat age-related and chronic illness with cannabis. Hers was one of the first practices to bring a clinical dosing regimen to the use of cannabis therapy. She is the past president of the American Cannabis Nurses Association and the past interim director for the Medical Cannabis Certificate Program at Pacific College Health and Science. In that role, she co-developed the certificate and Master’s program for healthcare professionals and cannabis industry professionals. She co-authored the book Pain Free with CBD: Everything You Need to Know to Safely and Effectively Use Cannabidiol. She also contributed a chapter to the Cannabis Handbook for Nurses.

Diane Thompson, RN, MSN, CDE, CLNC has an extensive history in nursing and nursing education. She possesses a strong background in diabetes and cardiac care, starting her professional career at the cardiac care area of the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. Ms. Thompson took the knowledge and experience she learned from the Cleveland Clinic and transferred it into the home health arena in rural Ohio, after which she moved to Florida and obtained further knowledge while working as a PRN nurse in all areas, including medical/surgical, intensive care, emergency, critical care, and cardiology. With a desire to have a specific area to concentrate her profession, Ms. Thompson accepted a position as a pneumonia case manager, which led into a diabetes case manager career.

Ms. Thompson has been employed in diabetes care since 2001, when she was hired as a diabetes case manager. After the completion of 1,000 hours of education to diabetes patients, Ms. Thompson earned her certification as a diabetes educator in 2003. From 2006 to 2018, Ms. Thompson was the Director of Diabetes Healthways at Munroe Regional Medical Center in Ocala, Florida. As the director of the diabetes center, Ms. Thompson was responsible for the hospital diabetes clinicians, hospital wound care clinicians, and out-patient education program. Today, she is the nurse manager of a heart, vascular, and pulmonary ambulatory clinic at Metro Health System in Cleveland, Ohio. Ms. Thompson has also lectured at the local, state, and national level regarding diabetes and the hospital management of hyperglycemia. Ms. Thompson is a member of the ADA, AADE, Florida Nurses Association, and the National Alliance of Certified Legal Nurse Consultants.

Ms. Thompson acknowledges her family as her greatest accomplishment. She is a wife of more than 30 years and a mother of a daughter and son, of which she is very proud. Ms. Thompson credits her husband for the support needed to set a goal and achieve it. He has been by her side through nursing school and completion of her Bachelor's degree and Master's degree, which she was awarded in 2015 from Jacksonville University in Florida.

Julie Torok-Mangasarian, MA, LMFT, RPM is a mental health clinician and the Clinical Director of the California Psychological Institute in Fresno, CA. She received her MA in Counseling Psychology in 2006 and a certification in Infant-Preschooler Mental Health in 2011. She specializes in the treatment of complex and developmental trauma in young children. She has acted as a consultant and presenter on topics such as infant mental health, reflective practice, complex and developmental trauma, and attachment/attachment disorders. She utilizes her skills as a Registered Play Therapist and Endorsed Infant-Family and Early Childhood Mental Health Specialist in her daily work with infants, children, and families within the child welfare system. She has specialized training in Infant-Preschooler Mental Health and Development, Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP), Play Therapy, Infant Massage, and Reflective Practice Facilitation/Supervision.

James Trent, PhD earned his doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Mississippi in 1977. He has worked in rural community mental health, where psychiatric emergencies were managed without the benefit of adjacent inpatient psychiatric facilities. He has managed an independent practice of psychology since 1979, a practice that has included managing patients presenting with psychiatric emergencies. Dr. Trent taught at Middle Tennessee State University and Capella University, lecturing graduate students on psychopathology and psychotherapy. He supervised practicum students and interns at the VAMC Nashville, Tennessee, and at the Vanderbilt University Psychological and Counseling Center. In 2017, Dr. Trent retired from the Charleston, South Carolina, VAMC Home Based Primary Care program, where he provided psychological services to elderly veterans with chronic, comorbid illnesses that precluded their ability to receive care at the hospital and managed psychiatric emergencies among home-based veterans. Dr. Trent also acts as the Psychology Division Planner at NetCE.

Kevin Val Bismark, MD

Czarlota Valdenor, MD

Michael Van Duran, MD

John Paulo Vergara, MD

Connie Vogel, PhD, ANP is a clinical nurse specialist in psychiatric nursing and a nurse educator. She holds a Master's degree in Psychiatric Nursing and a doctorate in Family Studies. Her primary clinical focus is geriatric psychiatry. She has worked in Veteran's Affairs facilities, managed care, mental health centers, and private psychiatric practice. She currently resides in Colorado, where she works as a consultant and in teaching an online MSN program.

Julie Wallin Culligan, PhD, FAIHM, MEd, NBC-HWC, CYT-200 is a Psychologist and Whole Health Program Director at the James H. Quillen VA Medical Center, as well as Assistant Clinical Professor at the Quillen School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine. She served the Veterans Health Administration Office of Patient Centered Care and Cultural Transformation as both the National Champion for Whole Health Coaching, acting as the national field advisor for health coaching, and Whole Health National Education Champion. Dr. Culligan completed a Fellowship in Integrative Medicine from the Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine, as a Social Impact Scholar. Dr. Culligan is passionate about integrative mental health and healthcare transformation, and she enjoys lake and mountain life in NE Tennessee.

Patricia Walters-Fischer, RN, BS has worked in the healthcare field since 1992. Starting out as a nurse’s aide, she worked her way from LVN to ASN while working in several hospital units, including ICU/CCU and adult and pediatric trauma. During her career, she worked at the busiest pediatric emergency center in the country, Children’s Medical Center of Dallas Emergency Room. While there, she cared for and educated asthmatic children and their caregivers. Ms. Walters-Fischer is also an honors graduate of Washington University, St. Louis, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications and Journalism and has been writing for the past ten years in local, national, and international publications.

Junyang Wang, MSc is a Clinical Analyst in Professional Affairs and Stakeholder Engagement at the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In this role, Mr. Wang works closely on issues of demographic subgroup analyses, variability to drug response, and the Drug Trials Snapshots transparency initiative. He has led large data science projects combining patient demographic data with clinical trial site geographic data to better understand the global make-up of clinical trials across the world. Previously, Mr. Wang worked for the Public Relations firm Edelman in Los Angeles, conducted health economic research at the National University of Singapore, and assisted in developing the new Duke-Kunshan University in Kunshan, China. He completed his Masters of Science in Global Health as well as a Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology from Duke University.

Meriah Ward, DNP, FNP-BC, PMHNP-BC is a highly accomplished healthcare professional with a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree and dual certifications as a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP-BC) and Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP-BC). They currently serve as a nurse practitioner at Advance Community Health in Raleigh, North Carolina, while holding the adjunct professor position at Old Dominion University’s advanced practice registered nursing family nurse practitioner program. In addition to their clinical roles, Dr. Ward is a contract content creator for continuing medical education (CME) and a healthcare advisor for Vance-Granville Community College’s medical assistant program. Dr. Ward has authored numerous continuing education courses on a wide range of topics, including HIV, type 2 diabetes (T2D), pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), neurodivergence, and substance use disorder (SUD). Their work primarily addresses healthcare disparities in underserved communities and explores the relationship between social determinants of health and health outcomes. Within the organization, Dr. Ward also serves as a clinical informaticist, actively involved in quality improvement projects to enhance patient care, improve outcomes, and increase provider satisfaction. Dr. Ward completed the MSN, DNP, and post-graduate certificate (PGC) at Old Dominion University in 2020, 2021, and 2024, respectively. They identify as non-binary and use they/them pronouns, and their personal experience as an autistic individual informs their perspective on neurodivergence in healthcare.

Polly Warring, MSPT has worked in the physical therapy field since 1992. She began as a physical therapy tech in a variety of settings, including outpatient, acute care, skilled nursing, and specialized programs for children with ADHD. She received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biomedical Science from Texas A&M University in 1990 and graduated with a Master’s of Science Degree in Physical Therapy from Texas Woman’s University in Houston in 1997. While there, she was part of the research team that published the abstract “Quantification of EMG Activity from Five Muscles in Comparison of Four Methods of Rising from Sitting.” She has worked primarily in the adult orthopedic outpatient field since the late 1990s. Mrs. Warring is currently a freelance medical writer residing in Texas with her husband and their six children.

Susan Waterbury, MSN, FNP-BC, ACHPN entered the medical field in 1985 as a certified medical assistant and basic x-ray operator. She achieved her RN in 1990 and practiced in a variety of settings, including hospital, home health care, and hospice. Ms. Waterbury achieved her BSN in 1996 and her MSN as a Family Nurse Practitioner in 1999. She was board-certified as an FNP-BC in 2000 and has practiced in family practice, geriatrics, corporate leadership, hospice, and palliative care settings. She holds RN and NP licenses in Florida and Arizona.

In addition to her clinical roles, Ms. Waterbury continues to play an active role in educating and mentoring nurses and healthcare professionals. She has been a faculty member of the University of Phoenix since 2015, teaching in the nurse practitioner and MSN programs. She develops and presents educational programs for a variety of healthcare organizations and community groups.

Denise Wheeler, MS, ARNP is a certified nurse-midwife in Des Moines, Iowa. She earned an Associate degree in Nursing in 1975, a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing from St. Louis University in 1982 and a Master’s degree in Nursing Sciences from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1983. She has worked in a variety of settings, from out-of-hospital birth centers to tertiary care centers, and has gained significant experience in caring for women experiencing bleeding in pregnancy. She has authored papers and book chapters for publication and has been a guest lecturer at conferences for undergraduate and graduate nursing education programs.

Carol Whelan, APRN has been working in nursing education since 2000. She received her Master's degree in psychiatric/mental health nursing from St. Joseph College in West Hartford, Connecticut, and completed post-graduate nurse practitioner training at Yale University. Ms. Whelan is an Associate Clinical Professor and Lecturer at Yale University and works as an APRN at the Department of Veterans' Affairs in Connecticut, where she also serves as the Vice President of Medical Staff. She has authored many articles, textbook chapters, and books.

John J. Whyte, MD, MPH is currently the Chief Medical Officer at WebMD. In this role, he leads efforts to develop and expand strategic partnerships that create meaningful change around important and timely public health issues. Previously, Dr. Whyte was the Direc­tor of Professional Affairs and Stakeholder Engage­ment at the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research and the Chief Medical Expert and Vice President, Health and Medical Education at Discovery Channel, part of the media conglomerate Discovery Communications.

Prior to this, Dr. Whyte was in the Immediate Office of the Director at the Agency for Healthcare Research Quality. He served as Medical Advisor/Director of the Council on Private Sector Initiatives to Improve the Safety, Security, and Quality of Healthcare. Prior to this assignment, Dr. Whyte was the Acting Director, Division of Medical Items and Devices in the Coverage and Analysis Group in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). CMS is the federal agency responsible for administering the Medicare and Medicaid programs. In his role at CMS, Dr.Whyte made recommendations as to whether or not the Medicare program should pay for certain procedures, equipment, or services. His division was responsible for durable medical equipment, orthotics/prosthetics, drugs/biologics/therapeutics, medical items, laboratory tests, and non-implantable devices. As Division Director as well as Medical Officer/Senior Advisor, Dr. Whyte was responsible for more national coverage decisions than any other CMS staff.

Dr. Whyte is a board-certified internist. He completed an internal medicine residency at Duke University Medical Center as well as earned a Master’s of Public Health (MPH) in Health Policy and Management at Harvard University School of Public Health. Prior to arriving in Washington, Dr. Whyte was a health services research fellow at Stanford and attending physician in the Department of Medicine. He has written extensively in the medical and lay press on health policy issues.

Trish Wierenga, FNP-BC, IBCLC, PMH-C has been an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) in central Illinois since 2011 and a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner since 2021. She is also one of only a few local practitioners certified in Perinatal Mental Health. Trish is a member and the current Chairperson of the International Affiliation of Tongue Tie Professionals (IATP), a member of the Central Illinois Breastfeeding Task Force (CIBTF), and is a former member of the Board of the Illinois chapter of Postpartum Support International (PSI). She has spoken at conferences locally and internationally on the role of the IBCLC and in the assessment and management of tongue and lip tie issues in relation to breastfeeding challenges as well as the impact of feeding difficulties on perinatal mental health. She lives in central Illinois with her husband Brian and has four children.

Lori Wilken, PharmD, FCCP, BCACP, NCTTP, AE-C

Craig Williams, PharmD, FNLA, BCPS Oregon Health and Science University

Craig Williams, PharmD, FNLA, BCPS

Wendy L. Wright, DNP, ANP-BC, FNP-BC, FAANP, FAAN, FNAP is certified as both a family and adult nurse practitioner and is the owner of two nurse practitioner-operated clinics within New Hampshire called Wright and Associates Family Healthcare at Amherst and at Concord. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and is the recipient of both the Excellence in Research and Excellence in Clinical Practice awards, from Simmons College in Boston, Massachusetts. She was chosen by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners to receive the New Hampshire Excellence in Practice award and by her peers as the New Hampshire Nurse Practitioner of the Year. She is the nurse practitioner representative to the State of NH Immunization Advisory Board. Ms. Wright is the founder of the NH Chamber of Entrepreneurial Nurse Practitioners, an organization designed to assist nurse practitioners with independent practice issues. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners and a member of the New Hampshire Nurse Practitioner Association and Sigma Theta Tau.

Ms. Wright is adjunct graduate faculty at the Fay W. Whitney School of Nursing at the University of Wyoming and Simmons College Graduate Nursing Program, where she teaches in the doctor of nursing practice program. She has served as a defense expert witness for medical malpractice cases involving nurse practitioners. Her publications include articles and monographs on the diagnosis and treatment of arthritis and migraine.

Richard L. Wynn, BSPharm, PhD is the lead author of Lexi-Comp's Drug Information Handbook for Dentistry, now in its 25th edition, a recognized reference source in dentistry in North America. He is the recognized authority in the use of drugs in dental practice, and his credibility as an information resource to the dental health professional has been well established. Dr. Wynn has been teaching pharmacology to dental students and has been doing research in analgesia and pain control over the last 25 years.

Natalie Yates, PharmD is an Assistant Clinical Editor at TRC Healthcare, specializing in content development for Natural Medicines, a clinical reference focused on natural products and alternative therapies. She holds a Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of California, San Francisco, and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of California, San Diego. With expertise in clinical pharmacy, medical writing, and natural medicine research, Dr. Yates is dedicated to integrating evidence-based natural therapies into healthcare education, contributing to both professional and patient-focused resources.

Rosally Zamora, MD

Lloyd Zimmerman, MD, MPH received his MD from Ross University School of Medicine and his MPH from New York Medical College. He has written extensively on a variety of critical healthcare topics, such as cardiovascular medicine, gastroenterology, neurology, urology and obstetrics/gynecology. Currently, Dr. Zimmerman is an active member of Science Writers in New York (SWINY), the American Medical Writer Association (AMWA), and the American College of Health Care Executives (ACHE).