2021 Fall Summit

Susan B. Hassmiller, RN, PhD, FAAN
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Senior Adviser for Nursing

Susan Hassmiller is the Senior Adviser for Nursing at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. She was the Senior Scholar-In-Residence and Senior Adviser to the President at the National Academy of Medicine from January 2019 through August 2021. In this role, she served as a key member of the leadership team for the report, The Future of Nursing 2020-2030: Charting a Path to Achieve Health Equity, released in May 2021. In partnership with AARP, she directs the Foundation’s Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action. This national initiative is transforming health and health care through nursing, and building a healthier America.

Hassmiller has worked in public health settings at the local, state and national levels, including the Health Resources and Services Administration. She taught community health nursing at the University of Nebraska and George Mason University.

Hassmiller is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine, a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing, where she holds the Living Legend status, and sits on other advisory committees and boards, including the Hackensack Meridian Health System, UnitedHealth, Carrier Clinic, NursesEverywhere, and the American Red Cross. She is the recipient of many awards and four honorary doctorates, but most notably the Florence Nightingale Medal, the highest international honor given to a nurse by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Rebecca M. Patton, DNP, RN, CNOR, FAAN
Past President American Nurses Association

Rebecca M. Patton, DNP, RN, CNOR, FAAN, holds the Inaugural and first in the nation, Endowed Perioperative Nursing Chair, Atkinson Professorship at Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, Case Western Reserve University.  She is the past two-term president of the American Nurses Association (2006-2010). Becky has presented extensively throughout the world.  She has testified before Congress and met with major policy makers– including Presidents Obama, Bush, and Clinton when she lobbied on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.  Recipient of numerous honors, Becky was selected twice as one of Modern Healthcare “Top 100 Most Influential Persons in Healthcare”.   Her textbook, Nurses Making Policy from Bedside to Boardroom received the American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year Award in 2020.

Ruth Ludwick, PhD, RN-BC, APRN-CNS, FAAN
Professor Emeritus at Kent State University

Ruth Ludwick is a Professor Emeritus at Kent State University, Adjunct Graduate Faculty at Northeast Ohio University of Medicine, and an Adjunct Professor in the Marian K. Shaughnessy Nurse Leadership Academy at Case Western Reserve University. She is a consultant, researcher, author, and international scholar with over 200 peer- reviewed articles, book chapters and presentations. She is co-editor of the AJN award winning book, Nurses Making Policy from Bedside to Boardroom; royalties support the American Nurses Foundation Washington Policy Fellowship. Ruth is an active reviewer for numerous peer-reviewed journals and serves on several editorial boards. As a gerontological nursing researcher and educator, Dr. Ludwick’s work extends to a global network, having served as a guest lecturer, visiting professor and consultant in numerous countries.

Sean DeGarmo, PhD, RN, ENP-BC, FNP-BC, ACNS-BC
Inaugural Director, APRN Initiatives at American Nurses Credentialing Center

Sean DeGarmo, PhD, RN, ENP-BC, FNP-BC, ACNS-BC is the inaugural Director, APRN Initiatives. In this role, Dr. DeGarmo will act as the central coordinator and convener of internal and external stakeholders to provide information and coordinate on issues impacting advanced practice nursing within the ANA Enterprise. He serves as a primary resource for colleges and universities related to ANA Enterprise programs and products and establish strong relationships with APRN faculty to promote ANCC Certification. He will support data collection related to APRN practice and serve as an internal resource to multiple departments including but not limited to: ANA Policy & Government Affairs; Nursing Programs/Nursing Practice & Work Environment; Membership & Constituent Relations; and the ANCC credentialing programs. Dr. DeGarmo will also work to identify and create innovative opportunities to grow advance practice nursing business opportunities for the ANA Enterprise. Dr. DeGarmo has over 20 years of experience as a nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, flight nurse, researcher and educator in academic and non-academic institutions. He is triple-board certified by ANCC and has served on ANCC content expert panels. Dr. DeGarmo holds a baccalaureate of science in nursing from the University of the Incarnate Word; a master of science in nursing, a post-graduate degree in nursing as an emergency nurse practitioner, and a doctor of philosophy in nursing from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. His research is focused on the diffusion of innovations in healthcare with an emphasis on comparative effectiveness, cost effectiveness and user adoption.

Lisa Stand, JD
Senior Policy Advisor, American Nurses Association

Lisa Stand, JD, (she, her) is a Senior Policy Advisor at the American Nurses Association. She is a member of ANA’s Policy/Government Affairs team, representing the voice of nurses and nursing in federal regulatory matters. Her principal focus is on federal policies governing advanced-practice care, including Medicare payment and delivery reform. Her portfolio also covers nurse roles in long-term services and supports, and nurse safety. Lisa has broad health law and policy experience, with a focus on health care financing and systems, having monitored and informed implementation of major legislation such as the Affordable Care Act and creation of the Medicare drug benefit. She has advocated for federal policies to improve the lives of older people, women with low-incomes, people living with HIV, and people with unstable housing. She also led health care policy development at AARP for 10 years.

Susan Swider, PhD, PHNA-BC, FAAN
Professor, Community Systems and Mental Health, College of Nursing, Rush University

Kathy A. Baker, PhD, APRN, ACNS-BC, FCNS FAAN
Texas Christian University, Harris College of Nursing & Health Sciences

Dr. Baker is Professor and Director, Nursing Research & Scholarship at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas and the Editor-in-Chief of Gastroenterology Nursing.

Susan Dresser, PhD, APRN-CNS, FCNS
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center

Susan Dresser is the Director of an Adult-Gerontology CNS program and a critical care CNS with over 30 years of practice as an APRN.

Kimberly W. Elgin, DNP, APRN, ACNS-BC, PCCN, CMSRN
University of Virginia Health System

Kimberley Elgin, DNP, RN, ACNS-BC, PCCN, CMSRN is the Lead Clinical Nurse Specialist for the University of Virginia Health System (UVA Health). She specializes in the care of adult, acute care trauma and general surgery patients.  She also serves as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Nursing at the University of Virginia School of Nursing, with an emphasis on acute and specialty care. Elgin is the author and co-author of numerous nursing journal articles as well as the Margaret G. Tyson Innovative Teaching Endowment Award Winner from the University of Virginia School of Nursing Alumni Association. In 2019, she was elected to the Board of the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists (NACNS).  Elgin earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice from Old Dominion University, a Master of Science in Adult Health Nursing from the University of Virginia, and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Delaware.

Mary Fran Tracy, PhD, RN, APRN, CNS, FCNS, FAAN
University of Minnesota School of Nursing

Mary Fran Tracy, PhD, RN, APRN, CNS, FCNS, FAAN, was a Critical Care Clinical Nurse Specialist at the University of Minnesota Medical Center for 19 years. She is currently an Associate Professor in the University of Minnesota, School of Nursing. Dr. Tracy received a BSN from the University of Iowa, and earned a MS in Medical-Surgical Nursing and a PhD in Nursing from the University of Minnesota.

Dr. Tracy’s research area is primarily in symptom management of acute and critically ill patients. She is a Past President of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses and a past Board member of the AACN Certification Corporation and the American Thoracic Society. Dr. Tracy serves as Editor-in-Chief of the journal AACN Advanced Critical Care and has numerous publications and presentations. Dr. Tracy is a long-standing member of the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists and is a Fellow in the CNS Institute. Since 2004, she has been a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing and is a past Chair of the Academy’s Acute and Critical Care Expert Panel.

Jackeline Iseler, DNP, MSN, RN, ACNS-BC, CNE
Michigan State University

Jackeline Iseler is an Adult Health Clinical Nurse Specialist, Assistant Professor at Michigan State University College of Nursing, and Program Director of the Clinical Nurse Specialist Concentration in East Lansing, Michigan. Dr. Iseler teaches graduate nursing students and the nursing students in the Adult-Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist program. She was the first certified clinical nurse specialist at Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids, Michigan in the cardiovascular and in the adult transplant program. She has served as president of the Great Lakes Chapter of the International Transplant Nurses’ Society. And is currently serving as president of the Michigan Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists and a member of the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialist Graduate Education Committee since 2020. She serves on the Michigan Board of Nursing as the clinical nurse specialist representative. And is a Certified Nurse Educator (CNE) through the National League for Nursing in 2019. Dr. Iseler’s expertise is in the heart and lung transplant, left ventricular assist device (LVAD) patient population, transitions of care, and quality and process improvement.

Jennifer Manning, DNS, ACNS-BC, CNE
Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Nursing

Dr. Manning began her nursing career as a critical care nurse in 2000. In 2007, she began her academic career as a critical care faculty. In 2008, she completed her CNS Masters degree program and became a board certified Clinical Nurse Specialist. In 2015, she accepted the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Nursing Programs position at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Nursing. She currently teaches in the DNP (which include an adult gerontology CNS concentration) and PhD programs. She maintained a part time position at a local Magnet hospital from 2007 to present, and in 2019, she transitioned to the role of nurse researcher. Dr. Manning was appointed to the Louisiana State Board of Nursing in 2018 for a four-year appointment. In 2021, she was elected to the board for the National Association for Clinical Nurse Specialists.

Lynn Mohr, PhD, APRN, PCNS-BC, CPN, FCNS
Rush University College of Nursing

Lynn Mohr, PhD, APRN, PCNS-BC, CPN, FCNS is an Associate Professor/Associate Department Chair, Women, Children, Family Nursing at Rush University College of Nursing and serves as Program Director of the Pediatric and Neonatal Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) Programs. She has been a certified pediatric clinical nurse specialist for the past 19 years.

Mitzi M. Saunders, PhD, APRN, CNS-C
University of Detroit Mercy

Dr. Saunders is a Clinical Nurse Specialist Professor and Graduate Coordinator at the University of Detroit Mercy, Detroit, Michigan. She actively speaks on issues related to the CNS role, full scope of practice, and legal frameworks affecting CNS practice.

Patricia K. Tuite, PhD, RN, CCNS
University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing

Patricia Tuite is a critical care clinical nurse specialist with 28 years’ experience.  Currently is an Assistant Professor at the University School of Nursing and the Director of the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program and coordinator of the Adult-Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist area of concentration.  Dr. Tuite has mentored over 40 CNS students and assisted with their DNP projects since developing the DNP program in 2007. Dr. Tuite maintains a faculty practice at UPMC in addition to her teaching responsibilities.

Phyllis Whitehead, PhD, APRN, ACHPN, RN-BC
Carilion Clinic

Dr. Phyllis Whitehead is a clinical ethicist and clinical nurse specialist with the Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital (CRMH) Palliative Care Service and Associate Professor at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine. She initiated the Palliative Medicine and Moral Distress Consult Services at CRMH. She is certified in pain management and as an advanced practice hospice and palliative care nurse. Dr. Whitehead has done numerous presentations on pain and symptom management, opioid induced sedation, moral distress, and patients’ end of life preferences locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. Her research interests include moral distress and improving communication with seriously ill patients and has been funded for numerous grants for her research. She is a Board of Director member of the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialist, President-Elect of the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists, President of the Virginia Foundation of Nurses. She was a member of the ANA Moral Resilience Advisory Committee. She is a founding member and Board of Director member of the Virginia Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists. She was selected for Governor Ralph Northam’s Policy Council on Opioid and Substance Abuse this year. In 2020 she was elected as a Distinguished Practitioner Fellow in the National Academy of Practice in Nursing. She is a graduate of Radford University where she earned her BSN and MSN and earned her doctorate degree at Virginia Tech.

Sarah Taylor, MHR, MSN, RN, AGCNS-BC, CEN
Bon Secours Mercy Health Mary Immaculate Hospital

Serving on the NACNS Fall Summit State Legislative Panel is my opportunity to help state affiliates realize their potential to align with the APRN consensus model by passing legislation allowing CNSs to work to their fullest potential and evaluate the impact of the APRN Compact within their own state. Additionally, I can contribute to the learning of states without an affiliate in seeking to build one. NACNS is positioned to impact the goals and future of the state affiliates. I will contribute time, experience, and expertise to the panel to further the growth of the NACNS. This position allows me to remain active in advocacy for CNSs on a broad scale and to participate in organizational events and meetings with key stakeholders that I may not otherwise meet or collaborate with from outside this position. I am endeavored to remain an active member of the NACNS, through legislative/regulatory work and there is much to learn about sustaining the work of the NACNS

Marcia S. Cornell, DNP, MSN, APRN-CNS, RN, ACNS-BC, NPD-BC, CEN, TCRN
UH Geauga Medical Center

Marcia Cornell is a Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) for Critical Care, Emergency and Trauma Services at a UH Geauga Medical Center in Chardon, Ohio. UH Geauga is part of the 12 hospital system of which University Hospitals of Cleveland is the main campus. She received her BSN in 2000 and MSN in 2010, both from Kent State University College of Nursing. She is ANCC board certified as an Adult Health Clinical Nurse Specialist for 10+ years specializing in Emergency / Trauma care with 20 + years of nursing experience focusing in emergency / trauma, critical care and staff development. She is also ANCC board certified in Nursing Professional Development. Through the Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing, she holds certifications as a Certified Emergency Nurse and Trauma Certified Registered Nurse. Throughout her thirty plus years in emergency / trauma care as an EMT/ Paramedic, RN, Staff Development Instructor and Clinical Nurse Specialist she has maintained an ongoing commitment to the provision of quality patient care, nursing professional development and system optimization.

Demetrius J. Porche, DNS, PhD, PCC, APRN, ACHE, ANEF, FAANP, FAAN
Louisiana State University Medical Center

Dr. Demetrius J. Porche is a registered nurse and advanced practice registered nurse. Dr. Porches nursing degrees listed are his BSN in 1987 from Nichols State University, his MN in 1989 from LSUMC (Louisiana State University Medical Center), his DNS in 1995 from LSUMC, and his PhD from Capella University School of Business in 2009 for Organization and Management. He is certified as a family nurse practitioner (FNP), community public health nurse, and professional certified coach (PCC ). His clinical experience includes critical care nursing, home health, hospice care, primary care, infection control and infectious diseases. He is familiar with clinical practice guidelines, regulation, and accreditation to maintain appropriate standards of care. He served 8 years on the Louisiana State Board of Nursing, 6 years on the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational programs and served on the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education Accreditation and Report Review Comm.. Dr. Porches fellowships include (ANEF) NLN Academy of Nursing Education, (FACHE) American College of Healthcare Executives, (FAANP) American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, and (FAAN) American Academy of Nursing. Dr. Porche was appointed in January of 2021 to the AACN (American Association of Colleges of Nursing) Board of Directors. Dr. Porche chairs the Louisiana Health Works Commission.

Danny Lee, PhD, APRN-BC, CNE
Southeastern Louisiana University

O. Danny Lee has over 25 years of nursing experience in a variety of settings and a range of positions from staff to mid-level leadership positions. Has worked in Nursing Academia for 20 years. Associate Professor at Southeastern Louisiana University since 2011. An APRN / CNS and serves as a volunteer for multiple committees with NACNS. Has served in leadership positions for the Rho Zeta Chapter for the Sigma Thea Tau International Honor Society for Nursing for the past 7 years. Has served in a number of positions on Board of Directors for the American Association for Men in Nursing. Served 7 years on the Foundation Board for the American Association for Men in Nursing. Volunteer for the Men’s Health Caucus of the American Public Health Association. Teaches policy at the undergraduate, masters and DNP levels. Have served on a number of DNP and PhD Committees many focusing on policy analysis and advocacy. Assisted in the development of a data-driven model to facilitate the policy analysis, which can be used for healthcare policy analysis.

Amy Shay, PhD, RN, APRN-CNS, FCNS
Indiana University

Amy Shay is a Clinical Assistant Professor and Clinical Nurse Specialist Program Coordinator at Indiana University. She received her PhD in nursing, with a minor in Rehabilitation Science, from Indiana University in 2017. Amy is a Pulmonary Clinical Nurse Specialist with over 20 years’ experience in critical care who has lectured internationally on clinical topics. Amy’s work in ventilator associated pneumonia prevention received the Blue-Ribbon Research Abstract Award from the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology. Her work in early mobility was recognized by the U.S. Government Accountability Office and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Amy consults with the Warfighter Medical Optimization research team of the US Air Force for en route care of wounded and is the civilian CNS subject matter expert for a military critical care moral distress study. She is lead editor of the NACNS sponsored Adult-Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist Certification Review book. Amy is an American Association of Critical Care Nurses CCRN Alumnus and National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists Fellow.