Bob Dent is the senior vice president, chief operating and chief nursing officer at Midland Memorial Hospital in Midland, Texas.

Dent has more than 27 years of health care experience as a registered nurse, licensed nursing home administrator, chief nursing and chief operating officer and dean of the health sciences center at a community college. Before joining Midland Memorial Hospital in 2007, Bob was the chief nursing officer for Banner Health’s Sterling Regional MedCenter in Sterling, Colorado.

Dent previously served as past chair of the AONE Foundation Board of Directors and a member of the board for AONE and the Texas Organization of Nurse Executives. He currently serves on the boards for Midland’s YMCA, HospiceMidland, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center’s Alumni Association, Values Coach, Inc., and the University of Phoenix.

Dent is the recipient of many awards including Nursing Management’s 2016 Richard Hader Visionary Leader Award, the Texas Organization of Nurse Executives Excellence in Leadership Award and the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Distinguished Alumni Award for his leadership. Additionally, he was recognized by Modern Healthcare and Witt/Kieffer in 2006 as an Up and Comer in health care administration.

Dent earned his doctorate from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and his and his Master of Business Administration/Health Care Management degree from the University of Phoenix.

Daniel L. Gross is the executive vice president for Sharp HealthCare. Mr. Gross oversees four acute care hospitals, three specialty hospitals, Clinical Effectiveness, Global Patient Services, and Government Relations at Sharp HealthCare. Mr. Gross began his career at Sharp in 1979 as a clinical nurse at Sharp Memorial Hospital. Over the years, he served as clinical nurse IV, director of patient care services, regional director of critical care, regional director of patient care services, and system vice president of clinical services. Prior to his role as executive vice president, Mr. Gross was chief executive officer of the Sharp Metropolitan Medical Campus for 11 years where he had oversight of three hospitals, an outpatient surgery center, home care services, and two senior centers.

Mr. Gross is an immediate past member of the American Hospital Association Board of Directors, a member of the California Hospital Association Board of Directors, and a member of the Hospital Association of San Diego and Imperial Counties (HASDIC) Board of Directors. In addition, he serves on the California HealthCare Foundation Board and serves as adjunct faculty for SDSU, University of San Diego (USD), and University of California at San Diego.

Mr. Gross’s awards and honors are numerous and include the SDSU Alumnus of Distinction Award from the College of Health and Human Services (1999) and the USD Author E. Hughes Career Achievement Award (1999). In 2002 he was named the American Heart Association Volunteer of the Year, and in 1998 and 2007 Mr. Gross received the leadership award from HASDIC. Mr. Gross also is the recipient of the California Health Foundation and Trust 2010 Walker-Sullivan Health Care Fellowship. In 2012 Mr. Gross received the CHA Award of Merit, and in 2017 he received the American Hospital Association’s Board of Trustees Award.

Mr. Gross has been an integral part of the executive leadership team at Sharp, achieving numerous health care awards and recognitions including Forbes America’s Best Employers #16 – 2016; Best Health Care Provider, Best Hospital, San Diego Union-Tribune – 2015; ; Best Integrated Health Care System in California, 13th in the nation – 2010; Magnet status, Sharp Memorial Hospital and Sharp Grossmont Hospital 2006; Planetree Designation, Sharp Coronado Hospital and Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center; and Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Recipient 2007.

Mr. Gross received his BSN from Wichita State University, his MS in nursing administration from SDSU, and his DNSc from USD.

Maureen “Shawn” Kennedy, MA, RN, FAAN has been the editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Nursing since 2009. Author of several book chapters, numerous articles and award-winning editorials in AJN and other professional journals, she coauthored with Thelma Schorr, 100 Years of American Nursing-Celebrating a Century of Caring (Lippincott, 1999), a pictorial documentary of nursing in the United States in the 19th century. She’s an “author-in-residence” for Nurse Author and Editor, an online journal. Kennedy was a visiting nurse scholar at the WHO Office of Nursing and Midwifery in 2008; in 2009 she was inducted into the Hunter College Hall of Fame. In 2016, she received the Margaret Comerford Freda Award for Editorial Leadership in Nursing Publication from the International Academy of Nurse Editors. She is a member of the American Nurses Association and the New Jersey State Nurses Association, Sigma Theta Tau International and the Association of Healthcare Journalists.

David Campbell-O’Dell, DNP, ARNP, FNP-BC, FAANP, is one of the founders of Doctors of Nursing Practice and is the current President. The DNP was earned through the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis when there were only 7 DNP programs in the country. His career has taken him from acute care clinical and administrative positions, to community-based service organization, to working with the insurance industry, to later evolving into higher leadership and clinical roles. He works as a Family Nurse Practitioner with an interest in neurology and neurocognitive disorders and family/community dynamics. As an educator he has helped to develop graduate nursing programs including nurse practitioner, nurse administrator, and nurse educator. He has been a part of developing numerous DNP programs and has either taught or has contributed as an invited guest lecturer in programs around the country.

As president of Doctors of Nursing Practice, Dr. Campbell-O’Dell is honored to work with students, graduates, faculty, and key stakeholders in academia, practice, and policy development, and finance. This unique position has afforded the development of a point of view regarding where the DNP has been and where it is going. He enjoys working in paradise (Key West) while maintain a small clinical practice.

Dr. Tina Haney is an Assistant Professor at Old Dominion University School of Nursing. Dr. Haney teaches in the DNP program and is also the co-program director of a Clinical Nurse Specialist/Educator Programs. For over 30-years Dr. Haney has maintained a clinical practice as a Pediatric Clinical Nurse Specialist. She is the clinical manager the Pediatric Telehealth program at Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters. Dr. Haney has been responsible for building this new program and assuring clinical competence of the telehealth providers. Dr. Haney’s research has focused on interprofessional team based care and telehealth. She is the PI and Co-PI for several Health and Human Services Administration (HRSA) grants totally over 6 million dollars. These grants have been aimed at reaching the rural and underserved though telehealth and interprofessional collaboration. Dr. Haney has extensively published and presented on both interprofessional team based care and telelehealth both nationally and internationally. She is currently serving on the American Nurses Association task force for technology.

Dr. D’Alfonso, DNP, RN, PhD(h), NEA-BC, FNAP is Executive Director Professional Practice, Leadership Development and Research and Founding Executive Director of KP’s Nurse Scholar Academy with Kaiser Permanente In Oakland. Prior to this position, Jim was Regional Director of Patient Care Services Operations in NCAL and Associate Chief Nursing Officer at Kaiser Fremont Medical Center. As a board certified nurse executive, Jim has held executive leadership positions as CNE-COO, Associate Vice President of Patient Care, and Advanced Practice Nurse. As a former International Director of Clinical Development, Jim lived and worked for in Germany and Japan for over four years, where he led the establishment of educational centers of excellence and directed clinical research programs. Dr. D’Alfonso is currently Affiliate Faculty at the University of San Francisco and Advisory Board Member with UC Davis and Capella University. He is also Founding CNO/COO of the Watson Caring Science Institute (WCSI), a Caritas Coach, Certified HeartMath Trainer, member of the WCSI Legacy Committee and considered an expert on the topics of Caring Science and the Theory of Human Caring. He received an honorary PhD in Caring Science in 2015, bestowed by Dr. Jean Watson for his life long work in advancing global caring science practice, education, and research. Jim has published on an array of leadership topics and has authored several nursing texts, including: Designing Competencies that Count, Age Specific Care, Delivering Culturally Competent Care, and Care of the Bariatric Patient. His most recent leadership publication was in Nursing Administrative Quarterly (1/2018) and a chapter Jim authored was featured in the text “Nursing, Caring and Complexity Science”, which was AJN Book of the Year in 2012. In 2013, Jim was elected to the National Academies of Practice and the Nursing Academy as a Distinguished Practitioner and Fellow.

Dr. Dianne Conrad is a Family Nurse Practitioner with Cadillac Family Physicians, PC and is Board Certified in Advanced Diabetes Management and a certified diabetes educator. She is also an Associate Professor at Grand Valley State University’s Kirkhof College of Nursing, a track coordinator in their Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program.

She is a recognized and published authority in the Doctor of Nursing Practice education and practice as well as the use of nursing and informatics in the primary care patient-centered medical home. She has co-authored a DNP textbook, “The DNP Scholarly Project: A Framework for Success. One of the first DNP texts, the book arose from a partnership formed with colleagues Dr. Kathy Moran and Dr. Rosanne Burson after the three attended Madonna University’s first nursing doctorate cohort, graduating in 2011. Dr. Conrad was elected to Distinguished Fellowship in the National Academies of Practice and the Nursing Academy as a Distinguished Practitioner & Fellow in 2014.

Dr. Conrad has an extensive nursing practice focus including DNP practice scholarship, diabetic management, spinal cord injury prevention as well as parish nursing. In addition, she is a frequent guest speaker to nursing and other professional organizations including the National Doctor of Nursing Practice Conference. Dr. Conrad was recognized as a nurse practitioner leader by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), named to the Competency-Based Education for Doctoral-Prepared APRNs Work Group in 2017. The DNP degree from Madonna University has opened doors for opportunities at the local, state, national and international level. Dr. Conrad has presented her scholarship work on the “Utilization of Nursing and the EHR in the PCMH” at the International Council of Nurses in Melbourne, Australia.

In addition to receiving the Doctor of Nursing Practice degree from Madonna University, she received a post-master’s certificate for her nurse practitioner study at Michigan State University. She has masters and bachelor nursing degrees from Northern Illinois University and a diploma in nursing from St. Joseph Hospital in Joliet, IL.

Dr. Katherine Moran is the Associate Dean for Graduate Nursing Programs and Associate Professor at Grand Valley State University’s Kirkhof College of Nursing, in Grand Rapids, MI. She is a Fellow of the American Association of Diabetes Educators and is known for her work as a diabetes expert and practice scholar. Her work includes an award-winning textbook, co-authored with Drs. Burson and Conrad, The Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Project: A Framework for Success. This notable team also serve as consultants for universities across the U.S. on DNP program development.

Dr. Moran is a state, national, and international speaker on topics that explore the doctor of nursing practice, nursing practice scholarship, health policy and nursing, and chronic disease support in the primary care setting; her work has published in multiple peer reviewed journals. She currently serves on the American Nurses Association Policy Council for Michigan and is an international health policy consultant for doctoral nursing education at Dublin University, in Dublin, Ireland.

She is also an experienced clinician with extensive background in diabetes management and education; providing care, consultation, and education within multiple venues. Dr. Moran is a charter member/co-founder MiDNP Network and an organizing committee member for Michigan’s Roundtable of Distinction: Health Care Transformation in Michigan.

Dr. Rosanne Burson is an Associate Professor at the University of Detroit Mercy, McAuley School of Nursing where she teaches in graduate level programs and is the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program coordinator. She is part of the scholarship team that has focused on the transition of the DNP prepared nurse in academia and healthcare through practice scholarship and academic practice partnerships and has published and presented on these topics. Dr. Burson recently was a member of the AACN Task Force Defining Scholarship for Academic Nursing.

Rosanne has extensive experience in diabetes management and education in the primary care and community settings and is a Fellow of the American Association of Diabetes Educators. She is also the previous co-owner/director of My Self-Management Team, Inc. focusing on chronic disease management in the primary care setting.

Karen Kesten is a Fellow, American Academy of Nursing and Associate Professor, at George Washington University. She serves as Chair on the Board of Directors for the Certification Corporation for the American Association of Critical Care Nurses. An experienced academician, clinician and advanced nursing practice advocate, Dr. Kesten held faculty positions at Georgetown University and the Catholic University of America. Dr. Kesten was Director of Faculty Initiatives at the American Association of Colleges of Nursing where she contributed to national position papers on the DNP and APRN practice. Her publications and research focus on advanced nursing practice and competency-based education.

She has conducted research and published on healthy work environments, leadership, evidence-based practice, faculty retirements, interprofessional communication and assessment of competency in advanced practice nursing.

Dr. Kesten received a BSN from Emory University, a MSN from the Catholic University of America, and a DNP from the University of Maryland.

Dr Catherine Corrigan started her early career as a nurse and midwife in Ireland. She studied advanced practice nursing in Canada and has practiced as a Nurse Practitioner for many years in the US. She earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree and holds a Nurse Educator Certificate both from the University of Detroit Mercy. Her university level teaching experience spans across four countries and includes face-to-face as well as facilitating online courses. Passionate about research and advanced practice, she co-developed and is currently Chair of the first Advanced Practice Nursing program in the largest women’s university in the world in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Catherine is co-principle investigator for a National Traumatic Brain Injury Epidemiology study currently underway in Ireland.

Dr. Zhang is the Chief Executive Officer of Chinese Hospital and Clinics. She has extensive experience in business development, operation, marketing, growth, innovation, clinical practice and research. She has strong expertise in organizational strategic planning, leadership development, team building, healthcare delivery system design, implementation and evaluation, practice model and payment design, quality improvement and patient safety, patient experience, and health care regulations. Dr. Zhang is a national board certified Family Nurse Practitioner and Nurse Executive Advanced, who has been teaching Nurse Practitioner students as an associate clinical professor of University of California, San Francisco since 2004. She has been actively collaborating with Stanford University as a co-principal investigator on Hepatitis B studies at the Chinese Hospital site.

Dr. Zhang earned a doctor degree in healthcare system executive leadership at University of San Francisco in 2012; a Master Degree of Science and a Post-Master Family Nurse Practitioner Certificate in University of California, San Francisco in 1992 and in 1996 respectively; and a Bachelor Degree of Nursing in Sun Yat-Sen University of Medical Sciences in China in 1989

As a nurse executive and academic Dr. Maxworthy has worked in multiple settings. She spent the first part of her career as a critical care nurse in a busy open heart and trauma unit. After twenty years she moved into the world of quality, patient safety and risk. Her last clinical position was that of VP of Quality and Risk. In 2008, after completing her DNP, she started a small consulting firm, WithMax Inc., which provides high quality services for those needing support with quality improvement initiatives, healthcare simulation and medical writing assistance. Currently in a full-time tenure earning position at the University of San Francisco where she teaches in the DNP/ELDNP programs. Her areas of interest/teaching include leadership, quality, patient safety and project management. Dr. Maxworthy is the past Chair of the Healthcare Leadership and Innovations Department and is currently the Director of the BSN to DNP and Healthcare Simulation Certificate programs.

Having been a member of Sigma Theta Tau International for many years, she currently serves as Vice President for the Board of Directors. She just completed four years as Region One Coordinator (2013-2017). During 2009-2013 she was the Chair of the Fellows committee (2009-11) and the Foundation Board Chair from 2011-2013.

Over the past decade she has become very engaged in the world of healthcare simulation. In 2013, she built the simulation center at Holy Names University. She currently serves on the Society for Simulation for Healthcare (SSH) Board of Directors in the role of Secretary. She is the former Chair of Accreditation and a surveyor for the Society. In 2014, she, along with colleagues completed editing the only SSH endorsed textbook entitled “Defining Excellence in Healthcare Simulation”. She was inducted as a Fellow of the Society in 2017 as part of the inaugural cohort. Dr. Maxworthy has also published books on OPPE, FPPE and another one on Simulation Basics along with multiple articles and book chapters.

Dr. KT Waxman is a nurse leader with over 30 years of experience in health care and corporate settings. She is a tenured Associate Professor at the University of San Francisco, and is the Director of the Executive Leader DNP program. She is the Director of the California Simulation Alliance (CSA) at HealthImpact. An internationally known speaker and author, Waxman is also a past president of the Association of California Nurse Leaders (ACNL) and past board member, serving as Treasurer, for the American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE). She is active in numerous committees for the Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSH) and serves on the Finance Committee for the International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning (INACSL).

Dr. Waxman’s work has been published extensively and can be found in the Journal for Simulation in Healthcare, Clinical Simulation for Nursing, Journal of Nursing Education, Nurse Leader and Creative Nursing journals, among others. She has authored 3 books on Finance and Budgeting, and just completed the second edition of “Financial and Business Skills for the DNP”, published by Springer. Her book, “Healthcare Simulation Program Builder” through HCPro was released last year. She has authored several chapters in simulation textbooks.

Dr. Waxman received her DNP from the University of San Francisco, with an emphasis on health systems leadership and a concentration in clinical simulation. She holds certifications as Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL), Certification in Executive Nursing Practice (CENP), Certification as a Simulation Healthcare Educator (CHSE) and is a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN) and the Society for Simulation in Healthcare (FSSH). KT was recently elected as President-elect in the Society for Simulation in Healthcare and her term begins in January 2018.

Dr. Mary Lynne Knighten is a board certified nurse executive with more than 30 years of progressive management experience in leading patient care operations, developing staff, building clinical programs, improving patient satisfaction and quality outcomes, mitigating cost inefficiencies, controlling budgets, ensuring regulatory compliance, educating, conducting research, and negotiating contracts for major medical centers and teaching hospitals.

Dr. Knighten is a recognized expert, international speaker, and published author in the area of leadership, palliative care, patient-and family-centered care, and patient/family engagement.

Dr. Knighten graduated with a Doctor of Nursing Practice in 2012 from the University of San Francisco’s Executive Leadership program. Her expertise in patient- and family-centered care (PFCC) has resulted in sustainable PFCC practices, policies, and programs, including creating Patient Family Faculty roles for interprofessional education, engaging Patient Family Advisor roles to partner with organizational leaders for co-design, and sustaining robust Patient Family Advisory Council activity.

Dr. Knighten has published in the areas of grant writing with the target audience Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) students and practitioners, patient- and family-centered care leadership, health ministries. This includes:

Knighten, M.L. (2017). Health Care Grant Writing in Acute, Ambulatory and Community Care. In K.T. Waxman (Ed), Financial and Business Management for the Doctor of Nursing Practice
Knighten, M.L & Quaye, B. (2014). Patient and Family Centered Leadership. In L. Rubino, S. Esparza, & Y.R. Chassiakos, (Eds), New Leadership for Today’s Health Care Professional: Concepts and Cases.
Knighten, M.L. (2013). Health Care Grant Writing in Acute and Ambulatory Care. In K.T. Waxman (Ed) Financial and Business Management for the Doctor of Nursing Practice.
In addition, Dr. Knighten has written a series of Care Notes™ focused on mental health, advance care planning, and patient/family engagement and designed to educate patients and families.

Dr. Knighten currently serves as Adjunct Faculty at Azusa Pacific University, and Consultant at California State University, Northridge in the Department of Health Sciences, Health Administration Program. She has served as mentor and committee member for DNP students at five universities.