DR. CAROL HUSTON
Keynote Speaker
Dr. Huston is a Professor Emerita from the School of Nursing at California State University, Chico (CSUC), having taught there from 1982-2019. She assumed the position of Director of the School from 2010-2015. Dr. Huston also served as the Interim Executive Director of the CSUC Student Health Center from April-October 2022.Dr. Huston was named one of seven CSUC Master Teachers in 1999/2001 and was the 2001/2002 CSUC Outstanding Teacher. She was also named CSUC Outstanding Professor in 2008/2009. In 2021, Dr. Huston received the Distinguished Alumnae Award from the University of Iowa.Dr. Huston has published 7 books on leadership, management, and professional issues in nursing (27 total editions) as well as more than 150 articles in leading professional journals. Her book Leadership Roles and Management Functions in Nursing (2023) published its 11th edition in spring 2023 and has been translated into five languages. The 6th edition of Professional Issues in Nursing: Challenges and Opportunities published in 2022. Her first children’s book, When Little Girls Dream, published in 2019. In addition, Dr. Huston has keynoted/presented at >300 healthcare conferences worldwide.In November 2007, Dr. Huston was inducted as a Fellow into the American Academy of Nursing. In addition, she served as the 2007-2009 President of the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI). As President, she oversaw strategic planning, program implementation, and fiduciary oversight of approx. 130,000 nurses in 470+ chapters, in more than 90 countries. In addition, she served as Co-Chairperson of the 2010 International Year of the Nurse (IYNurse) Initiative (a global partnership effort between Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing, the Nightingale Initiative for Global Health, and the Nightingale Museum of London). In addition, Dr. Huston has led interprofessional healthcare delegations around the world, to locations including China, Vietnam, Cambodia, India, Russia, Cuba, Peru, Hungary, and Poland for the People to People Citizen Ambassador Program and Nanda Journeys. A trip to Ireland is planned for June 2023.Dr. Huston also served as the lead faculty for the STTI Experienced Nurse Faculty Leadership Academy (2014-2019) and as the Leadership Facilitator/Coordinator for the STTI Global Healthcare Leadership Institute (2015-2019). She also was a member of the Enloe Medical Center (Chico, CA) Board of Trustees from 2012-2020 and served as Chairperson of that Board from 2016-2019. She also served as a Director-at-Large for the California Association of Colleges of Nursing Board of Directors from 2012-2013 and as an Invited National Advisory Board member for Assessment Technologies Institute (ATI), a leader in online testing, assessment and remediation within the nursing industry from 2010-2016. Dr. Huston continues to work as a leadership consultant in workforce planning, leadership succession, planned change, organizational restructuring, team building, conflict resolution, and culture change.
Marci Ebberts & Kristin Sollars
Breakout Speakers
Marci Ebberts
Marci Ebberts (MSN, APRN-FNP, CCRN-K) has multiple advanced degrees including a MSN in nursing education as well as an FNP. She currently spends half of her work time as a clinical education specialist at St. Luke’s Health system in Kansas City, Missouri, she is a powerful teacher and mentor for new graduate nurses. The other half is spent caring for patients as an advanced practice provider. She’s a hardcore fan of the Kansas Jayhawks and is busy competing in triathlons and raising her 4 girls. She’s an enneagram 9 and can see the best in every situation. Her favorite part of being a nurse is patient education, she brings enthusiasm, ADHD and empathy everywhere she goes.
Kristin Solars
Kristin Sollars (MSN, RN, CCRN) has a MSN in nursing education. However, the degree she uses the most is that first BA in Psychology, turns out this is handy as a nurse and a mother. She and Marci worked together as clinical education specialists at St. Luke’s for 7 years. During the pandemic the bedside pulled Kristin out of her education role and back to patient care. She currently works as a float nurse for the St. Luke’s Health system, floating between 7 ICUs. Kristin loves CrossFit, even if her right knee does not. Her favorite part of being a nurse is a heated debate with a feisty physician. She is an enneagram 8. She brings persuasiveness, a little bit of anger and a special ability to speak calmly in crisis everywhere she goes.
Ryan Pferdehirt
Breakout Speaker
Ryan Pferdehirt serves at the Center for Practical Bioethics and as an Instructor of Bioethics at Kansas City University. His work focuses on developing and growing competencies of member ethics committees, individual consultants and the general public. He serves as a leading ethics specialist for over 20 hospital systems and hospice organizations. Ryan has experience in directing a clinical ethics consultation service and conducting several hundred ethics consultations, he served on and chaired multiple hospital ethics committees and IRBs and championed ethics education in all aspects of patient care. His research areas include moral philosophy, end-of-life ethics, philosophy of language, and advance care planning ethics. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Pittsburgh, a master’s degree from Creighton University, and his doctorate from Loyola University Chicago.
ERIN DARK
Breakout Speaker
Erin Dark has been an Associate Counsel in the Legal Department of Mosaic Health System since 2018. In this role, she reviews, drafts, analyzes, and negotiates contracts and legal documents. She also researches and provides advice on a wide range of legal and compliance issues and works to anticipate and mitigate potential areas of risk for the organization. She’s on the Grievance Committee, Contract Review Committee, and Risk On Call. Prior to joining Mosaic, Erin served as Corporate Counsel for HRS Erase, a healthcare revenue cycle management company in Lee’s Summit, MO; as the Director of Medical-Legal Partnerships at Legal Aid of Western Missouri in Kansas City, MO; and as a Staff Attorney at Legal Aid of Western Missouri in Warrensburg, MO. Erin obtained her Juris Doctorate from The Saint Louis University School of Law (St. Louis, MO) in 2007 and her Bachelor of Arts from Truman State University (Kirksville, MO) in 2002. She lives in Lake Lotawana, Missouri with her husband, Shane, and two sons, Colin (10) and Miles (6). She enjoys spending any spare time swimming and boating on the lake, cheering at her sons’ baseball games, baking, and practicing Pilates.
KATIE WOOD
Breakout Speaker
Katie Wood has been with Mosaic Health System since 2016. In her role as Associate Counsel in the Legal Department, she reviews, drafts, analyzes, and negotiates contracts and legal documents. She also researches and provides advice on a wide range of legal and compliance issues and works to anticipate and mitigate potential areas of risk for the organization. She’s on the Grievance Committee, Touchstone Committee, Institutional Review Board, and Risk On Call. Prior to joining Mosaic, Katie worked at Legal Aid of Western Missouri for 9 years on the Public Benefits team where she assisted low income Missourians with issues related to state-run programs, such as Medicaid, Blind Pension, Food Stamps, and Temporary Assistance. She’s from South Arkansas and graduated from the University of Central Arkansas and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law. Katie lives in Overland Park, Kansas with her husband, Mitch, and her children, Cora, Nellie, and DJ, ages 9, 7, and 5.
TREY DROWNS
Breakout Speaker
Member of the Mosaic Legal Team
Trey is a lifelong resident of Northwest Missouri. He grew up in Clarksdale, a small town of 300 people just outside of St. Joseph. He attended elementary school and high school at Maysville R-1. After high school Trey attended Missouri Western State University and now at the age of 42 has enrolled in school to further his education. Trey celebrated his 10 year anniversary with Mosaic this past June. He started out on the financial side at Mosaic before transferring to the Legal and Risk Department in 2018. He is currently the Risk Management Coordinator for Mosaic. When Trey looks at his career to this point he often refers to a quote from Confucius, a Chinese philosopher who is popularly known as the “Teacher of All Teachers”. “It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop.” That’s been Trey’s motto in his career. He didn’t go the traditional route to get where he’s at today. He describes it a slow process with many difficulties along the way. But faced them with perseverance, focus and determination. 2013 was a big year for Trey. He not only started his tenure at Mosaic, but also married the love of his life, Katy. They have one child, Cooper who is 5 and started kindergarten this fall. They are huge Mizzou, Chiefs and Royals fans. One interesting thing about Trey is that he loves to sing. He sings each week at the church he attends in St. Joseph. He’s performed the National Anthem for the Kansas City Royals, the University of Missouri, the SEC Conference and numerous local events.
KELLY CLAYCOMB
Breakout Speaker
Kelly Claycomb has always been a lifelong resident of northern Missouri, where she started her career as a registered nurse in 2000 at Northwest Medical Center in Albany, MO. She primarily worked on the medical-surgical floor and truly enjoyed the variety only a rural hospital could provide. Along the way, her passion for nursing education developed, and she started providing clinical instruction to PN students from North Central Missouri College in 2002. In 2007 she started full-time as a nurse educator NCMC-Maryville in the PN program. Kelly later transitioned to the Trenton campus in 2010, where in 2016, she began teaching in the PN-ADN program. She became Program Director of the PN-ADN program in 2018, managing approximately 120 students in 3 programs while continuing to provide teaching in the classroom, clinical and simulation lab. She is also an adjunct instructor in the RN-BSN program at Northwest Missouri State University. The daily interactions with her students and watching them transition into registered professional nurses are what motivate her to continue in nursing education. As a tenured faculty member, Kelly was awarded the Governor’s Excellence in Teaching Award by the Missouri Community College Association in 2021. She earned a Master’s degree in Nursing Education in 2012 and is enrolled in the Doctorate of Nursing Practice in Educational Leadership program at American Sentinel College of Nursing at Post University with a projected graduation of April 2024. She lives in rural Harrison County with her husband, son, a college sophomore, and daughter, a high school junior. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, gardening, and living the quiet country life with her busy family.
NINA SPEARS
Afternoon Keynote Speaker
Nina is a transformational nurse leader with 19 years of experience in professional nursing. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a Master's in Nursing-Family Nurse Practitioner at Prairie View A&M University. She is also certified by the American Nurses Credentialing Center as a Nurse Executive. Nina has served as a Clinical Nurse Leader, Nurse Education Specialist, Nurse Program Leader, and Magnet Director. In addition, she has disseminated through publications and posters about the engagement of nurses in advancing nursing excellence. Nina is the Nurse Administrator for Nursing Practice, Quality, Education, Professional Development, and Magnet at Mayo Clinic Arizona. One of her philosophies in leadership includes -caring for the people yields superior results.
KAREN MURRAY
Breakout Speaker
Karen Murray is a pediatric critical care registered nurse. She graduated in 1986 from an ADN program and returned to school to complete her BSN in 2021. For the last 30 years she has worked at Children’s Mercy Hospital- Kansas City. She currently is working as an Apheresis nurse. She has been an integral part of bringing shared governance to the forefront of her hospital. She has accomplished this by leading a team of nurses to write unit council guidelines. She has written and published articles about the process. She is currently working with a team of nurses to ensure all nursing-based committees are structured using shared decision-making guidelines. Her passion is to make sure every nurse has a voice and the ability to use it.
ANDREA SANDUSKY-URY
Breakout Speaker
Andrea Sandusky-Ury has been a lifelong resident of Maryville, MO, and she has spent her 20-year nursing career at Mosaic Medical Center Maryville (formerly SSM Health St. Francis Hospital). She graduated from Missouri Western State College with her BSN in 2003. Andrea was hired to work as a medical surgical nurse at St. Francis Hospital. She spent 7 years working in that role and enjoyed bedside nursing immensely. In the following years, Andrea cross-trained to Labor & Delivery, Recovery and postpartum nursing and to the House Supervisor role at St. Francis Hospital. After 6 years in the House Supervisor role, Andrea became the Nurse Manager of the Medical Surgical Unit in 2016. During her time as Medical Surgical Nurse Manager, Andrea developed a multidisciplinary daily huddle, leading to improved communication with patients; a fall tree initiative that brought increased awareness to fall data; and implemented night shift Hospitalist telemedicine as well as ICU telemedicine. She also helped plan and implement the opening of the Oncology and Infusion Center at St. Francis Hospital in June 2017. Andrea led the Medical Surgical, ICU, Infusion and Oncology departments through a successful and challenging transition in ownership in 2019. During the pandemic, Andrea and the Maryville ER Director opened a Covid Infusion department, providing monoclonal antibody infusions and antiviral infusions to patients. Currently, Andrea is the Director of Infusion Services, Oncology, Case Management & House Supervisors at Mosaic Medical Center Maryville.
Breakout Speaker
DANELLE REAGIN
Breakout Speaker
Danelle Reagin is a resident of the Chillicothe/Trenton, Missouri area and has spent 25 of her 27-year nursing career at Hedrick Medical Center. She graduated from North Central Missouri college with her ADN in 1996. She was hired as a medical surgical staff nurse and spent a year in that role until transitioning to Hedrick Home Health and Hospice as a case manager from 1997-1999. From 1999-2001 she transitioned back to Hedrick Medical Center where she continued to work as a medical surgical staff nurse. In 2001 she transitioned to the emergency department until 2011. During that time, she additionally worked as an agency nurse around Kansas City mainly in the emergency department but also worked on medical surgical telemetry floors and ICU. She completed her Bachelor of Science in nursing through Mid-America Nazarene University out of Olathe Kansas. From 2011-2012 she worked as a surgery staff nurse. In 2012 she changed roles to clinical educator at Hedrick Medical Center where she served until 2013. In 2013 she once again transitioned back inpatient and worked as a ICU/PCU staff nurse and relief house supervisor allowing her to start her master’s program. In 2015 she completed her Master of Science in Nursing with specialization as a Family Nurse Practitioner. In 2015 she took a role as hospitalist at Hedrick Medical Center until 2021. During that time, she assisted in starting the hospitalist program at Wright Memorial Hospital in Trenton Missouri. In 2021 she took a position at Hedrick Family Care which is a rural health clinic where she currently remains.
DEBBIE HOFFMAN
Breakout Speaker
Debbie Hoffman has served as Vice President of Patient Service at SSM Health St. Francis Hospital and Mosaic Medical Center – Maryville for the last 10 years. She has successfully led multiple quality and operational improvement projects, as well as several renovation projects. She is directly responsible for all operational, financial, and growth strategies for hospital service lines including Inpatient Acute Care, Women’s Services, Behavioral Health Services, Emergency Services, Surgical Services, Pharmacy Services, Nutrition Services, and Outpatient Services. Debbie is responsible for the quality and safety of the patient care provided by nursing services, and the development of policies, programs, and services consistent with the goals and objectives of the organization. With more than 30 years of nursing experience, Debbie strives to empower nursing and advocate for the profession. Quality and safety are her priorities, and she is proud of her organization’s recent Leapfrog Grade A rating and Chartis Rural Top Hospital award in 2023. Debbie has served on several boards and committees throughout her career. Recently one of her professional highlights was being a panel presenter at the Missouri Organization of Nurse Leaders Annual Nursing Leadership Forum.
TABITHA FRANK
Breakout Speaker
Tabitha Frank is the Nurse Supervisor for the Nodaway County Health Department in Maryville, Missouri. Tabitha is an experienced public health nurse with 15 years of service. As a nurse leader, she is responsible for the coordination and management of various public health contracts. Tabitha provides oversight of the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program and the immunization program. In addition, she serves as an epidemiology specialist, lead case manager, and childcare health consultant. Tabitha played an integral part in the H1N1 and COVID-19 pandemic responses, managing mass vaccination clinics and case investigations. She is also a certified child passenger safety technician and a certified CPR instructor. Tabitha is a member of the Northwest Nursing Advisory Committee. She is affiliated with several professional organizations, including the American Nurses Association (ANA) and Sigma Theta Tau. Tabitha earned her BSN degree from Missouri Western State University. Currently, she is working towards an MSN degree from Northwest Missouri State University.