Keynote Speakers - DNP Intensive

DNP Intensive Conference Keynote Speakers

The following is an example from the 2020 event.

Speaker	Biography
	Dr. Kristi A. Acker, DNP, PhD, FNP-BC, AOCNP, ACHPN Assistant Professor-Clinical, Graduate NursingDr. Kristi A. Acker received her BSN from the University of Alabama in 1992 and her MSN from Mississippi University for Women in 1999. In 2009, she received her DNP from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and in 2019 she received her PhD from William Carey University. Dr. Acker is ACCN certified as a Family Nurse Practitioner and holds specialty certifications in both Oncology (AOCNP®) and Hospice and Palliative Advance Practice Nursing (ACHPN®). She has extensive training in leading difficult patient and caregiver conversations and has completed the American Cancer Society’s VitalTalk ® workshop, the US Department of Health and Human Services Train-the-Trainer program on shared-decision making, holds STAR Oncology Rehabilitation Certification and has completed the core ELNEC Train-the-Trainer curriculum. She is a Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association (HPNA) approved educator. Dr. Acker has extensive clinical experience in palliative care and hematology/oncology. She maintains her clinical practice with Oncology Associates of West Alabama, providing outpatient oncology services at the Manderson Cancer Center @ DCH. Although she has devoted her advance practice career to oncology, Dr. Acker has maintained a commitment to advance palliative care, not only at end of life, but for all patients dealing with serious illness. On a state level, Dr. Acker was appointed by the State of Alabama Medical Director to serve on the State Advisory Council on Palliative Care and Quality of Life, where she is serving a second term. Nationally, she was elected to serve a 3-year term on the Board of Directors for the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association (HPNA). Dr. Acker belongs to numerous professional organizations including the American Nurses Association, Alabama State Nurses Association, American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, Honor Society of Nursing (Sigma Theta Tau), Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association, and the Oncology Nursing Society, among others.
	Dr. Patricia Carter, PhD, RN, CNS Professor Assistant Dean for Graduate Programs, Capstone College of Nursing at The University of AlabamaDr. Patricia Carter was appointed as Professor and Assistant Dean for Graduate Programs at the Capstone College of Nursing at the University of Alabama in January, 2020. Prior to arriving in Tuscaloosa, Dr. Carter was a senior faculty at the University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing. During her tenure at UT Austin, Dr. Carter served in a number of administrative roles including Assistant Dean for Student and Clinical Affairs, Holistic Adult Health Division Chair, and Program Director for the Leadership in Diverse Settings program. These diverse roles have afforded Dr. Carter the opportunity to support the growth and development of students and faculty members across all levels of the nursing curriculum. Over the course of her 30+ year career in nursing, Dr. Carter has worked with patients and families in acute care (Medical Surgical/ Oncology), home health, and hospice settings. This rich clinical work influenced Dr. Carter’s scholarly focus. For over 20 years, her research and scholarly work has focused on understanding factors that contribute to quality of life (even at the end of life) for vulnerable populations. Specifically, Dr. Carter has developed and tested behavioral interventions to promote sleep quality in cancer and dementia patient populations and their family caregivers. To facilitate this work, Dr. Carter is an active member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society, the Oncology Nursing Society, and Nursing’s Honor Society – Sigma Theta Tau.
	Dr. Angela Collins-Yoder, PhD, RN, CCNS, ACNS, BC, SCRN Clinical ProfessorDr. Collins is a Clinical Professor of Nursing at the Capstone College of Nursing in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. She also has a joint position as a Critical Care Clinical Specialist at Ascension Sacred Heart. She received her BSN from Samford University, MSN at Medical College of Georgia, and PhD from The University of Alabama in Birmingham. Her mentor and dissertation chair is a former national president of AACN, Dr. Marguerite Kinney. Dr. Collins has a 44-year history of clinical nursing experience. She has published over 25 articles in the areas of pharmacology, aortic trauma, and platelet pathophysiology. Dr. Collins assisted in the production of a microsimulation technology product called, Clinical Decisions: Patient Outcomes. This microsimulation is the recipient of the Alabama League of Nursing Excellence in Education award, and the Region 8 Sigma Theta Tau Pinnacle Award for technology. She also speaks locally, regionally, and nationally on topics of clinical relevance to post-anesthesia care, surgical case studies, and critical care pharmacology. She is a past AACN NTI speaker, and a National ASPAN (American Association of Perianesthesia Nurses) AANN (American Association of Neuroscience Nursing) speaker. Angela received a Circle of Excellence Award in Teaching Award in 2005 from AACN .
	Jason E. Farley, PhD, MPH, ANP-BC, AACRN, FAAN Professor Director, PhD Program / REACH Initiative Co-Director Clinical Core, Hopkins Center for AIDS Research Past President, Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (ANAC)Professor Jason Farley is a nurse practitioner for the Division of Infectious Diseases AIDS Service within the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. His portfolio of research includes the development of multi-component interventions designed to improve HIV treatment and prevention across the cascade of care. Through innovative technological solutions, improvements and advancement of task-sharing approaches, or nurse and/or peer case management interventions, Dr. Farley’s work has a large clinical impact on care and prevention of HIV and tuberculosis. He leads the Johns Hopkins HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) within the School of Medicine and is founder of the REACH Initiative of the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, where he is also PhD Program director. This includes the DNP/PhD Clinical Research Scientist Program, which he developed. Dr. Farley is a past president of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (ANAC), the world’s largest HIV-focused nursing organization.
	Dr. Cheryl Beaube Hines, EdD, MSN, CRNA Clinical Assistant ProfessorDr. Hines received her B.S.N. from Jacksonville State University in 1980. She earned a M.S.N. in Anesthesia from the State University of New York at Buffalo while serving in the United States Army and in 2015 she completed her EdD from the University of Alabama. Dr. Hines began working at the University of Alabama as a part-time instructor in 2014, and transitioned to full time faculty in 2018. She has been a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist for 35 years and continues to maintain her certification. She is a member of the Alabama State Nurses Association, American Nurses Association, Alabama Association of Nurse Anesthetists, American Association of Nurse Anesthetists, American Association of Critical Care Nurses, and Sigma Theta Tau. Dr. Hines’s research interests include educational strategies to support teaching and learning related to clinical judgment and the care of the complex client.
	Dr. JoAnn S. Oliver, PhD, RN, ANP-BC, CNE ProfessorDr. Oliver began teaching at The University of Alabama Capstone College of Nursing in January 2002. She has taught in both the undergraduate and graduate nursing programs. Dr. Oliver is an ANCC Board Certified Adult Health Nurse Practitioner and NLN Certified Nurse Educator. She earned her Ph.D. at Georgia State University. While attending Georgia State University, she received the Promise of Nursing for Georgia Regional Faculty Fellowship, an educational support funding award. Dr. Oliver also received the Sigma Theta Tau International Epsilon Alpha Chapter Research Committee Award. Dr. Oliver completed a one-year post-doctoral Health Disparities Research Training Program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She is a federally funded researcher. Her research focuses on cancer health disparities, with a major focus on cancer in the areas of education, screening, and decision-making. Dr. Oliver has co-edited a journal, authored over 30 publications and presented at local, state, national, and international levels. Dr. Oliver is actively involved in Community Based Participatory Research and works with a collaborative multidisciplinary team of researchers both locally and internationally. In 2014, Dr. Oliver was recognized and received the Capstone College of Nursing Outstanding Scholarship Award. Dr. Oliver serves on the Susan G. Komen, North Central Alabama Board of Directors and as 2017 Board President. She serves on the leadership team of the African Caribbean Cancer Consortium, a NCI-EGRP supported consortium that supports international collaboration and research. She is a Faculty Associate and Executive Board member of the Alabama Research Institute on Aging. Dr. Oliver is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.
	Dr. Debra Pettit Burns, PhD, MSN, MSPH Associate ProfessorDr. Burns received her Ph.D. in Health Sciences with an emphasis in International Health from Touro University. Her doctoral preparation included directed studies in the areas of epidemiology, statistics, health promotion, and disease prevention. She completed a post-doctoral residency in Outcomes Research at the University of Alabama – Birmingham. Along with a Master of Science in Nursing she also holds a Master of Science in Public Health. Dr. Pettit Bruns has worked in a variety of patient care settings, including neurological trauma, critical care, and organ donation. Currently she teaches Health Policy and Politics, Population Health, research, and theory courses at the graduate level. Dr. Pettit Bruns has published and presented nationally and internationally related to her research interest areas of international health promotion, community health promotion, and organ donation. She is currently conducting research based in the Cuban health model of prevention and how to apply those methods in the United States.
	Dr. Suzanne Prevost, PhD, RN, FAAN Angelyn Adams Giambalvo Dean ProfessorDr. Prevost was appointed as professor and dean of the Capstone College of Nursing at the University of Alabama in August, 2013. From 2008 – 2013, she served as associate dean at the University of Kentucky College of Nursing. During the previous ten years, she held the National HealthCare Chair in Gerontological Nursing at Middle Tennessee State University. From 1993-1998, she was the Director of Outcomes Evaluation and Nursing Education at the University of Texas Medical Branch. Earlier in her career, she worked as a Clinical Nurse Specialist and critical care staff nurse. Dean Prevost received her bachelor’s degree at Villa Maria College in Pennsylvania, her master’s degree at the Medical University of South Carolina, her doctoral degree at Texas Woman’s University. She has completed a Hartford Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences; and she is a Robert Wood Johnson Nurse Executive Fellow. Dean Prevost is a certified online instructor; and has been a certified trainer with both the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association and the End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC). Her research has focused on evidence-based practice, improving end-of-life care in nursing homes, and increasing the use of technology in nursing education. She served as the clinical editor of the journal Nursing Clinics of North America from 2007 to 2012.
	Dr. Felecia Wood, PhD, RN, CNL ProfessorDr. Wood received her B.S.N. from Alderson Broaddus College in 1977. She earned the M.S.N. from West Virginia University in 1981 and the PhD from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 1988. Dr. Wood teaches online graduate students in the DNP, MSN, and EdD programs. Dr. Wood is a member of the Alabama State Nurses’ Association; Sigma Theta Tau, International; National League for Nursing; Rural Nurse Organization; and the Alabama Health Literacy Initiative. Dr. Wood has conducted research addressing diabetes self-management particularly focusing on the use of technology for ethnically diverse rural dwellers, specifically health literacy needs. Her research efforts have transitioned to a focus on educating graduate students who are practicing nurses in strategies to improve health literate communication and to ensure a health literate organization. This current research was funded by Sigma Theta Tau, International and the Chamberlain College of Nursing.