Professional. Vanessa has over ten years of coding experience and over twelve years of auditing experience. She started with Carolinas Healthcare System in 2008.

Education. Vanessa earned a Bachelor of Science from the University of Maryland at College Park and an Associates degree in Health Information from Central Piedmont Community College. She is a member of the American Academy of Professional Coders and has been the past president of the Carolina Coders; she is also a member of the American Health Information Management Association AHIMA.

Personal. She spends her free time ballroom dancing, roller skating and enjoying life with her four felines who are named Emerald, Jamocha, Lady Grey and Earl Grey.

Presentations at Charlotte AHEC
5th Annual Coding Conference: Following a Patient through the Stages of Care
4th Annual Coding Conference of the Carolinas

Professional. He is a recipient of the C.V. Winter Advocacy Award from the North Carolina Caring Dental Professionals and serves as the Volunteer Coordinator and Independent Contractor for the same organization. Dr. Claytor lectures throughout North Carolina and the U.S. on the Opioid Epidemic, Burnout. Perfectionism and Addiction and recently spoke at the Southeastern Conference on Addiction and Behavioral Health and the Annual Session of the Colorado Dental Association on these topics. Bill writes for several dental publications and online magazines about digital dentistry, endodontics, cone beam technology and is a Key Opinion Leader for Dentsply Sirona

Dr. Claytor manages a blog named "Ask Bill" on www.digitalenamel.com where he addresses current and relevant issues facing dentists today, including substance abuse, burnout and professional burnout.

Education. Dr. Claytor graduated from the University of North Carolina School of Dentistry and completed a two-year General Practice Residency at the Medical University of South Carolina. He received the Academy of General Dentistry's coveted Fellowship and Mastership, and most recently the prestigious AGD Lifelong Learning and Service Recognition Award. Dr. Claytor earned a certificate in Chemical Dependency Counseling from Union College and currently serves on the Dental Well-Being Advisory Committee of the American Dental Association in Chicago.

Personal. Bill and his wife Lisa enjoy life with their two children, William and Jennifer, and their Jack Russell Terrier, Bailey. During the first week of March each year, Bill and his wife, Lisa, are glued to their computers watching the Iditarod in Alaska and have helped sponsor a dog team over the years. While being a devoted UNC sports fan, he has developed a love of curling, and can be found watching the sport on NBCSN late at night.

Presentations at Charlotte AHEC
8th Annual Dental Procrastinators Symposium: Adapting to Evolving Times
7th Annual Dental Procrastinators Symposium: Oral Health for the 21st Century
Marijuana Use Amongst Our Dental Patients and Our Profession's Response

Professional. Sarah Greene is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 30 years of experience, with a special focus on child trauma and collaboration. Since her retirement as Director of Mecklenburg County Trauma & Justice Partnerships in 2018, she has held various part-time contract and consulting roles, most recently providing virtual behavioral health care to individuals experiencing medical challenges and life transitions.

For over two decades, Sarah has enjoyed a partnership with the Yale Child Study Center and New Haven Department of Police Service, from which she has learned tremendously. This work has focused on improving joint responses to children exposed to violence (CEV) and has resulted in local relationships that have continued to enhance her professional growth, primarily with her clinical team and police colleagues. She is one of the founders of two Charlotte-Mecklenburg mental health-police collaborations: The Child Development-Community Policing (CD-CP) and the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) programs. The latter led to thriving relationships with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Charlotte, Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s office, multiple community agencies, and individuals living with mental illness. Building on this experience and knowledge, she was a contributor to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention funded International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) toolkit, “Enhancing Police Responses to Children Exposed to Violence”, published in 2017.

Education. Sarah received her Master of Social Work degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1987. She has provided training locally and nationally, most notably to hundreds of police officers and their clinical partners. As an educator and a clinician, she enjoys the connections she makes and believes they drive the process.

Personal. When she isn’t working Sarah enjoys traveling with her husband, cooking, and spending time with her four-legged children, a dog and two cats.

Professional. Melanie Bunn is a nurse, teacher, trainer, speaker, coach, consultant, support group facilitator, researcher, mom, daughter and sister. She combines these roles with a love of travel and a fear of boredom to create a way of supporting herself and her family while improving the lives of people with living with dementia, their families, and other care partners. She is associated with Dementia Alliance of North Carolina (formerly known as Alzheimer’s North Carolina), Teepa Snow’s Positive Approach to Care, Bunn Consulting, and Duke University School of Nursing.

She is a skilled and experienced advanced practice nurse and nurse educator, conducting over 200 presentations and trainings annually to health professionals, community organizations, first responders, families and others. She was part of the award winning Accepting the Challenge DVD with Teepa Snow. Her research participation has focused on improving care of older people, especially those with cognitive impairment, through improving the education of inter-professional teams and families. She has volunteered as an Alzheimer’s Support Group Facilitator for over 25 years.

Education. Melanie received her undergraduate degree in nursing from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, her Master’s Degree in Family Health Nursing from Clemson University and a Post-Master’s Gerontological Nurse Practitioner Certificate from Duke University.

Awards. In 2014, she was awarded the Dr. Ewald W. Busse Award by the NC Division of Aging and Adult Services Department of Health and Human Services for her contributions to improving the care of older adults with dementia and their families. In 2012, she received the Potter’s Hand award for similar contributions. In 2001, she was named Educator of the Year by the Eastern North Carolina Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. The North Carolina Nurses Association named her Gerontological Nurse of the Year in 1995.

Presentations at Charlotte AHEC
Advanced Approaches in Improving Rehab Outcomes for People Living with Dementia
Surviving Isolation: A Guide for Staff, Families and Residents Impacted by Social Distancing and COVID-19 (and other infections)
Creating Successful Rehabilitation Outcomes for People Living with Dementia

Professional. Ms. Swiderski developed Carolina Simulation Center in 2007 to serve the simulation education needs of Atrium Health. As the AVP of Simulation Services, she is responsible for leading a team of 17 focused on best practices in simulation across the span of prelicensure through ongoing continued competency for multidisciplinary learner groups. Carolinas Simulation Center became accredited by the American College of Surgeons as a Comprehensive Education Institute in 2008 and by the Society for Simulation in Healthcare in 2010.

She was inducted into the SSH Fellowship Academy in January of 2020. She became a Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator (CHSE) in the initial pilot group in 2012 and currently serves on the CHSE Readiness Review Advisory Team as lead faculty and the Associate Editor of the CHSE Readiness Review Manual.

Ms. Swiderski is a member of the SSH Accreditation Council and Chair of the Quality Sub-Committee, Lead Accreditation Site Reviewer, New Reviewer training developer and course faculty, Fellowship Standards developer, and SSH Journal Article Reviewer. She is also a member of the Administration and Management Committee for ACS Accredited Education Institutes.

Education. She received her Bachelor's Degree in Nursing from the University of North Carolina Charlotte, and her Master's Degree in Nursing with a focus on Educational Leadership from East Carolina University. She holds a certification as a Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator (CHSE) since 2012, and from the Society for Simulation in Healthcare Fellowship Academy (FSSH) since 2020

Presentations. As an active leader in the simulation community, Ms. Swiderski has presented at multiple forums and is the current Chair of an informal simulation alliance she founded in 2008 for the surrounding regions called Carolinas Healthcare Simulation Alliance-Piedmont (CHSA-P), which recently expanded to include CHSA-Western and CHSA-Midlands with over 100 centers represented.

Professional. Josh has extensive experience in pharmacy education and continuing education. He also holds a faculty appointment in the Division of Practice Advancement and Clinical Education and has been named director of the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy Office of Continuing Education. He will continue his work at Charlotte AHEC and spend part of his time as the director of the Office of Continuing Education at the School. In this new role, Josh will lead the vision, creation, implementation and assessment of continuing education programs and efforts for the School.

Prior to joining CHS and UNC, he served as faculty at the University of Georgia and South Carolina College of Pharmacy, with clinical practices in Ambulatory Care/Family Medicine with the Athens Veterans Affairs Community Based Outpatient Clinic and Greenville Health System.

His research interests include diabetes management, interdisciplinary education, transitions of care and advancing pharmacy practice.

Education. He is an alumnus of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. He received his Pharm.D. from Wingate University and completed his residency training at the University of Georgia College of Pharmacy.

Personal. He lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with his wife, Brittany, and daughter, Annelise.

Professional. Connie Mele, a Psychiatric-Mental Health/Addictions Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN), spent her more than 30 years in the field working to advance the treatment of addiction. Among her numerous accomplishments providing treatment to patients and teaching new PMH nursing students, Connie also stepped forward to address the challenges facing inmates struggling with mental health /addiction issues.

Connie formed a Task Force of criminal justice officials to work together and develop an algorithm to identify appropriate jail diversion steps - from what police personnel can do when they encounter a person with mental illness or substance use disorders all the way to helping people struggling to find permanent housing. A new Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Training Program was developed for police officers and detention personnel to better support those they encounter struggling with mental health, substance use and developmental disabilities. To date, more than 1,000 officers have been trained. This effort is another great example of an experienced PMH practitioner using the nursing process to identify a population in need and getting the right stakeholders to the table to successfully address a need in the community.

She retired in 2018 as the Assistant Public Health Director. She opened her own counseling practice working with people and healthcare practitioners who suffer from addictions, anxiety, depression, and compassion fatigue. In addition to her practice, she works with upcoming leaders through a Leadership Development Program she developed, based on her 20+ years of leadership in non- profit and government sectors. She developed the first weekly Support Group for Nurses with Substance Use Disorders. She volunteered her service as the facilitator of the group for over 20 years. She continues to work on improving the health of nurses in Mecklenburg County as a continuation of her RWJ program Public Health Nurse Program, believing that nurses can have positive impacts on the health of their communities while also improving their own health.

Personal. She loves to travel, enjoying beach sunrises and mountain sunsets, experimenting in the kitchen and writing letters. Spending time with family, friends, her husband Ron and her rescue dogs, Riley and Crystal, are essential to her mental health.

Presentations at Charlotte AHEC
Understanding Your Patients and their Substance Use Disorder
Improving the Culture of Health for Nurses

Professional. Ms. Cullen currently holds the position of Associate Director in the Standards Interpretation Group in the Division of Healthcare Improvement at The Joint Commission. In this role, Ms. Cullen is responsible for working closely with accredited and certified organizations to interpret The Joint Commission standards, identify vulnerabilities, and improve their performance. She also conducts intra-cycle monitoring calls, coaching calls, and responds to inquiries from accredited organizations and the public related to compliance with Joint Commission standards. Ms. Cullen reviews and determines the status of post-survey reports, clarifications, measures of success, and evidence of standards compliance submitted as part of the survey process. She provides leadership and guidance within the team in all aspects of the accreditation process through clinical expertise in infection prevention and customer relationship management and supports the field representative cadre and other customers through the provision of expert interpretation, guidance, and collaboration.

Prior to joining The Joint Commission, Ms. Cullen worked as an Infection Preventionist for 15 years. Most recently, she was the Manager of Infection Prevention at a major metropolitan medical center. She has also led infection prevention in a variety of health care settings including long-term acute care, community and county hospitals. Ms. Cullen has consulted with many other organizations to help review and develop their infection prevention programs, and she has presented infection prevention topics at local, national and international events.

Education. Ms. Cullen received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of St. Francis, Joliet, Illinois, and a Master of Science in Nursing from Loyola University Chicago, Illinois, with a focus in Population-based Infection Control and Environmental Safety. She received a Master of Business Administration in Healthcare Administration from Western Governors University. She is also Certified in Infection Control (CIC).

Professional. Marilyn Ghezzi, MSW, LCSW, is a Clinical Associate Professor at the UNC - Chapel Hill School of Social Work. Before joining the faculty in 2008, Ms. Ghezzi worked for 24 years as a clinical social worker in the public mental health system. She uses her practice experience and mental health expertise to enrich her teaching in the MSW program. She teaches courses that cover an array of mental health topics including Differential Diagnosis, Mental Health Practice, Group Psychotherapy, and Brief Treatment approaches. Marilyn most enjoys teaching about psychotherapy and likes to take an integrated approach which emphasizes the similarities in psychotherapy approaches rather than the differences. ‬‬‬‬‬‬

Marilyn has won numerous teaching awards since joining the faculty at UNC Chapel Hill and was voted "Most Outstanding Faculty Member" by the 2013, 2014, 2017 and 2019 graduating classes at UNC-CH School of Social Work. Marilyn was also awarded the UNC-CH 2017 Distinguished Teaching Award for Post-Baccalaureate Instruction.

Education. Marilyn is a "double heel" having received her BA and MSW from UNC - Chapel Hill.

Personal. Marilyn lives in Chatham County with her husband and a cranky cat. Her happiest pastimes are being outside, walking or swimming, spending time with family and reading.

Presentations at Charlotte AHEC
Key Issues in Assessing and Treating Serious Mental Illness

Professional. Victor joined North Carolina DHHS as ‪Director of the NC Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, Substance Abuse Services in March of 2020, with responsibility and oversight of the public community-based mental health, intellectual and other developmental disabilities, substance use, and traumatic brain injury system in North Carolina. Prior to accepting this role, Victor spent six years as Vice President of Behavioral Health with Atrium Health. Based in Charlotte, NC Victor had responsibility for operations of Atrium’s largest behavioral health hospital, Behavioral Health Charlotte (BHC). Victor has over 30 years of experience in human services, primarily dedicated to building and strengthening community resources to serve individuals living with mental illness. ‬‬‬‬‬‬

Victor currently serves on the board of directors of American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) NC. He is also former board chair of NAMI NC, and a member of American Association of Suicidology (AAS), and NASW-NC. Victor is a former member of the Board of Directors of National Council for Behavioral Health, i2i Center for Integrative Health, and RI International.

Awards. Victor’s awards and recognitions include 2019 Black Mental Health Symposium - Mental Health Advocate of the Year, 2019 Atrium Health Excellence in Diversity && Inclusion Award, 2018 Distinguished Alumni Award from East Carolina University School of Social Work, Pride Magazine 2018 "Best of the Best", and i2i Center for Integrative Health 2018 Innovation Award for "Whole Person Care", 2012 National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) NC, Mental Health Professional of the Year.

Education. Victor graduated Magna Cum Laude from North Carolina Central University with a bachelor’s degree in Business Management, and received a Master of Social Work (MSW) from East Carolina University.

Personal. He is the husband of Dr. Charletta Armstrong and the father of 3 sons, Carter, Alonzo, and Victor Jr.

Presentations at Charlotte AHEC
Accreditation Update Conference
Suicide Doesn't Discriminate: Suicide Prevention in Minorities

Professional. Prior to joining Levine Children's Specialty Center, Manuel spent a year with the Performance Excellence Center learning how to be a Lean Leader. He learned the value of coaching, leading cross-functional teams to drive improvements in quality, cost, and job satisfaction by using lean principles. His prior work history includes being an Assistant Director of Radiology for sixteen years at Atrium Health University City Hospital.

Education. Manuel received his Master of Science in Leadership and Management at Montreat College and a Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Management at Pfeiffer University. In 1998, he was accepted in the second class for Radiology Practitioner Assistant (RPA) program at Webber State University, Ogden Utah. He graduated in June of 2000 and passed his boards on the first try. His education afforded him the opportunity in healthcare to make a difference while helping to save lives.

Personal. He was born and raised in Laurinburg, North Carolina and moved to Concord, North Carolina in 1996. He has a son who is working in his hometown as a part-time Fireman and part-time 911 Dispatcher. He has a daughter who is currently a junior at UNC-Chapel Hill and a niece which is a second daughter who is a senior at UNC-Greensboro. He has been married to his wife for twenty-four years and they both work in healthcare with Atrium Health. A fun fact is that he is a certified Driver's Education Instructor by the NCDMV.

Professional. Jodi Flick is a Clinical Associate Professor with the University of NC at Chapel Hill School of Social Work, and is a member of the N.C. Suicide Prevention Task Force and the Triangle Coalition for Suicide Prevention; she also facilitates the Chapel Hill Survivors of Suicide Loss Support Group.

She is a licensed clinical social worker and has provided direct services in out-patient and in-patient mental health, as a Crisis Counselor with the Chapel Hill Police Department, in poverty relief services and in medical social work, with over 40 years of clinical social work experience.

Ms. Flick has considerable experience teaching at conferences, colleges and local organizations. She is actively involved in volunteer work and community organization around social justice and service issues. Ms. Flick is a dynamic trainer who actively engages participants in the learning.

Professional. Jay has practiced pharmacy in many different settings. He has worked as a pharmaceutical researcher, a community pharmacist, and a hospital pharmacy intern. Following law school, he clerked for Judge Bruce Selya of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, then practiced as an appellate litigator for nine years in Washington, DC, and Charlotte.

Jay is an adjunct professor at the UNC, Wingate, and Campbell Schools of Pharmacy; currently he is the Executive Director at The North Carolina Board of Pharmacy, created by the North Carolina Legislature to protect the public health, safety, and welfare in pharmaceutical matters. The Board sets standards for academic and practical experience programs prior to licensure, issues permits to operate pharmacies and annually renews licenses and permits.

Education. Mr. Campbell earned his Bachelor of Science degree in pharmacy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his juris doctor degree from Vanderbilt University School of Law.

Presentations at Charlotte AHEC
Jay presents our annual Pharmacy Law Updates and has been doing this for years, receiving stellar reviews.

Professional. L.B. has been a nurse for more than 30 years and a nurse practitioner for 20 years. Her background is in all aspects of cardiovascular nursing. She has also been involved in education for more than 15 years, as a nurse educator at Novant Health and most recently in academia. She currently is the Faculty Specialist for the AG-ACNP program, a collaboration between Atrium Health and UNC-Charlotte. She has been a nurse practitioner in multiple cardiovascular specialties including general cardiology, cardiothoracic surgery, vascular surgery, preventive cardiology, structural heart disease, and heart failure. She is currently a practicing acute care nurse practitioner in advanced heart failure at Sanger Heart and Vascular Institute.

Education. L.B. earned a Diploma in Nursing from Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Wingate University, and her Master of Science in Nursing from the University of South Carolina. She is currently pursuing her doctoral studies at UNC-Charlotte. She is certified as a Cardiac Vascular Nurse, Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, and a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality. Her research interests include quality improvement initiatives around medication prescribing in heart failure and previously in vascular surgery patients.

Personal. L.B. enjoys giving back to her profession. She is the current President of the Metrolina Coalition of Nurse Practitioners and Regional Liaison for North Carolina Nurses Association's NP Council for the Metrolina Region. She also serves on the American Board of Internal Medicine's Cardiovascular Board as its APP member. She enjoys lecturing on cardiovascular topics, whenever she gets the opportunity.

Professional. Joshua Diliberto practices psychotherapy and yoga instruction as a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor in the state of North Carolina, National Board-Certified Counselor (NCC), and Registered Yoga Instructor (RYT). He also provides trainings and workshops on trauma, well-being, and resilience at Community Care Partners. Joshua Diliberto is one of the Charlotte AHEC Scholars Faculty Members.

He is the owner of Examined Life, PLLC, an existential-humanistic psychotherapy practice, integrating mindfulness and yoga, neuroscience of trauma and resilience, person-centered therapy, and existential philosophy.

He served as coordinator of the Integrated Care Training Program with Community Care Partners, to integrate mental health care with practice of medicine. As a specialist in behavioral health integration, he is a catalyst in the transformation of healthcare systems into clinically integrated models of whole person care.

Education. He earned his Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from the University of North Carolina Charlotte and received his 200-hour yoga instructor certification from Gotta Yoga University (in progress with 500 hour certification @ 12 Sparrows).

Personal. In his personal time, he enjoys outdoor play, yoga, soccer, hiking, gardening, tea, cooking healthy foods, traveling, enjoying music, art, dance, meditation, and life-long learning.

Professional. Dr. Thompson is an Associate Professor and the Associate Chair of Public Health Sciences at UNC Charlotte. He directs UNC Charlotte's CAHME-accredited and nationally ranked Master of Health Administration (MHA) Program and is the Acting Director of APHI, the Academy for Population Health Innovation, a unique partnership between UNC Charlotte and Mecklenburg County Public Health. He previously served as Program Director of the MPH Program and the graduate programs in Health Informatics & Analytics. Dr. Thompson has over 20 years' experience in actively developing, leading, and seeing accredited public health and health administration programs domestically and internationally.

Dr. Thompson's professional practice focuses on competency-based workforce development and assessment as well as community-driven programmatic interventions.

Through his competency-based, global workforce development initiatives, he currently serves as an Adjunct Associate Professor of Public Health and external advisory board member at the American University of Armenia, Yerevan, Armenia. Past efforts include supporting public health and health administration program development in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Lebanon, among other locations.

Education. Dr. Thompson earned his doctorate in public health (DrPH) in 2002 specializing in Health Services Research and Evaluation through the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He holds a master's degree in Emergency Health Services from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and a bachelor's degree in biology from the Johns Hopkins University.

Personal. As a first-generation college student, Dr. Thompson appreciates how fortunate he was to have teachers, mentors, and role models who inspired and guided him. He is committed to paying their generosity forward.

Research Interests. Competency-based education; accreditation; community assessment; program evaluation; chronic disease; health disparities; community-based research; translational research; international/global health; health services research; survey design; quality of care.

Professional. Dr. Osunkwo (Dr Ify) is a Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics at Atrium Health, and Director of the Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) Enterprise at Levine Cancer Institute/Atrium Health, Charlotte, NC with 25+ years' experience in SCD and hematology. She is Principal Investigator (PI) of the $9.8m Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) funded ST3P-UP Transition Study evaluating the comparative effectiveness of structured education-based transition programming with/without peer mentoring to improve acute care utilization for SCD.

She is the lead mPI for the $4.3m Health Resources Service Administration (HRSA) funded SCD Treatment Demonstration Project titled the EMBRACE [Education and Mentoring to BRing Access to CarE for SCD] Network - a regional collaborative to improve access to care for SCD.

She was director of clinical operations for the Aflac Cancer Center at Egleston's pediatric comprehensive SCD program at Emory University and published the first randomized placebo control trial of vitamin D to ameiorate daily pain in SCD.

After a nearly 10 year pediatric hematology tenure at Emory, she founded the adult SCD program at LCI/Atrium Health using a tiered, decentralized care delivery framework to establish a population based care model for SCD across NC/SC. This program improved quality of life of persons with SCD while demonstrating the positive impact of evidence based, culturally sensitive chronic disease management on reducing health care costs, readmission rate, length of stay and mortality with a remarkable increase in pateint engagement and satisfaction with care.

Dr. Osunkwo has over 35 peer review publicatons, numerous abstracts and editorials, is a sought after national and international speaker in field of SCD. She hosts biweekly zoom video calls to educate the SCD community about COVID-19 and how to stay healthy in a pendemic aptly dubbed "Zoomin N2U – SCD and Coronavirus". She has been a guest on various national and international roundtables and podcasts focused on SCD awareness. Dr Osunkwo co - chairs the steering committee for the Sickle Cell World Assessment (SWAY) survey the largest patient and provider internationl survey on impact of SCD on daily lives.

Dr. Osunkwo serves on various national comittes for the American Society of Hematology, Secretary for the Adult Sickle Cell Providers Network and is the new the Editor In Chief of Hematology News.

Education. She earned her MD from University of Nigeria, MPH from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD and completed pediatric residency at University of Medicine and Dentistry of NJ, followed by a pediatric hematology/oncology/BMT fellowship at Columbia University, NY.

Education. Dr. Villanueva is a graduate of and received his medical degree from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland. He completed a residency in psychiatry at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii and a fellowship in forensic psychiatry at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC. He also holds a certification in LGBTQ Health from Drexel University. He has had an extensive career as a US Army psychiatrist, spending 16 years in the Army, which included a year-long deployment to Iraq.

Professional. He is currently a psychiatrist with Atrium Health in Charlotte, NC where, he serves as the Psychiatry Clerkship Director, the Associate Program Director for the Psychiatry Residency Program, and the Co-Medical Director of the Behavioral Health Advanced Clinical Practitioner Fellowship Program.

He is an advocate for diversity and inclusion in healthcare, with particular interest in LGBTQ mental health. He has spearheaded efforts to raise awareness in LGBTQ health such as establishing an annual LGBT healthcare symposium with the Charlotte Area Health Education Center. He has spoken nationally and internationally on LGBTQ mental health as well as on the topic of minorities in clinical trials.

Dr. Villanueva is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatric at Carolinas Medical Center and an Adjunct Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill School of Medicine.

Professional. David Carl was hired by Atrium Health in 1989 to be the department administrator of the Clinical Pastoral Education Program. His nine-year clinical background and ministry at St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Washington, D.C. gave him a sensitivity and love for working with the mentally ill. David came to Charlotte after founding the Department of Pastoral Care at Cabell Huntington Hospital, Huntington, WV, where he served as director for six years. Those two experiences helped to shape his creativity, appreciation for pastoral care and education, and his administrative abilities.

David is an ordained Elder in the United Methodist Church and has a particularly strong belief in the value of spirituality during hospitalization. He is a Certified Educator in the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education and is also a board-certified chaplain with the Association of Professional Chaplains. In 1998, David received the Anton Boison Award from the Association of Mental Health Clergy. He has served on the Institutional Review Board and is an ethics consultant with the Hospital Ethics Committee at Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center.

In addition, David serves weekly as an instructor for the Atrium Health's New Employee Orientation program as well as the New Physician and APP Orientation. In the last several years, he has been instrumental in getting the Atrium Health Code Lavender initiative underway. This initiative was implemented to combat compassion fatigue and burnout experienced by all Atrium Health teammates in 50 hospitals and 900+ care locations across three states. In 2019, he was an honoree of the Atrium Health Pinnacle Award.

Education. David holds a bachelor's degree from Randolph Macon College and a Master of Divinity degree from Drew Theological School.

Professional. Angela Hosking is currently the Director of Nursing for the Levine Cancer Institute for Atrium Health. She has been in her current role for almost 5 years and an Atrium employee since 2002. She began her career at Atrium in 2002 as an oncology bedside nurse and grew into her first formal leadership role, Clinical Supervisor, after ascending the clinical ladder and leading in shared governance. Ms. Hosking became a first-time nurse manager for 4T Oncology at CMC main in 2011 and later assumed the nurse manager position of 4B Bone Marrow in 2014. She joined the Levine Cancer Institute in 2015 and has had the opportunity to help the Central region open LCI 2 in 2019. She feels that she has been blessed to have many wonderful mentors along her career path and role models that inspired her along the way.

Education. Ms. Hosking began her traditional education as an English major with a BA from the University of Florida in 1990. She had always wanted to be a writer and had a passion to pursue this later in life and is now the author of Woman on Top: Lead Like a Lady Boss published in 2019. She pivoted to a career in nursing after the birth of her first daughter and graduated with a BSN from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She obtained her MBA and MSN-Leadership from Grand Canyon University in 2015 and is dual certified in Oncology and as a Nurse Executive.

Personal. As a passionate (female) nursing leader, Ms. Hosking started a women's leadership/empowerment blog in 2015 which is now located at heronetribe.com. Her work experience, love of teaching and inspiring other women leaders led to an opportunity to speak as a keynote nationally and internationally and teach workshops on confidence building, slaying imposter syndrome, and leading as an authentic woman leader. She has been married to her high school sweetheart for 30 years and raised two adult daughters. She is a bibliophile and often finds herself reading 3 or 4 books at one time. She loves learning, challenging herself and others to live their best lives, and working with an amazing team of leaders at LCI.

Presentations at Charlotte AHEC
Maximize Your Lady Boss Leadership Advantage

Overview. Ms. Bey is the founder and owner of Harmony Health Therapeutic Services and an Adjunct Professor with Johnson C. Smith and Winthrop Universities. Ms. Bey is also an NC Supervisor for Clinical Social Workers.

Education. Ms. Bey completed her education at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She has over 20 years’ experience working with children and families. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with the North Carolina Social Work Licensing Board and is Nationally Certified as an Advanced Level Complex Trauma Clinician, Gang Specialist and Parent Educator.

Experience. Her experience in the clinical field includes but is not limited to Crisis Intervention, Assessment, Individual, Group and Couples Counseling, and Trauma. She also has practice experience using Mindfulness, Spiritual Social Work, African Drumming and Dance as a therapeutic tool. Her training experience includes Advocacy, Ethics, Implicit Bias, Systematic Disparities, Anti-Racism, Group Therapy, Child Welfare, Parent Education, Gang Intervention, Human Trafficking, and Domestic and Teen Dating Violence. Ms. Bey has taught courses that include Group Therapy Advanced Practice, Human Behavior in the Social Environment, Interpersonal Skills, Trauma and Social Work Practice, Generalist Social Work Practice, Social Work Ethics, Field Instruction and more.

Ms. Bey offers treatment, training and supervision through an Eclectic Humanistic Approach, which is a person-centered, strengths-based approach. The belief is that the participant is the expert of his or her life experiences. She is a guide and coach in the treatment or learning process, offering tools, feedback, resources, skills and techniques to assist the individual in the healing or learning process, and employs uses treatment modalities that are trauma-informed and evidence-based. Ms. Bey loves spending time with her family, engaging in community work and traveling.

Professional. Pam has served in the nursing profession for 40 years in a variety of roles including leadership, education, consultant, and national presenter. She is “Atrium Proud”, having served in various functions including leadership, program coordinator, mentor, and educator. Prior to becoming part of Atrium Health, Pam’s experiences included nursing faculty, nurse manager and director, project management, and extensive work in the legal aspects of nursing practice. Pam’s scholarly activities include published author in Professional Nursing Journals and textbooks, serving on the advisory panel for the American Nurses Association (ANA), and acting as a mentor in the ANA mentorship program. Pam maintains certification in medical-surgical nursing and nursing professional development.

Education. Pam earned her Master's in Nursing Administration from Clemson University and a Bachelor's Degree in Community Health from East Tennessee State University.

Personal. Pam is actively involved in her church, enjoys cooking, exercising and going to the movies.

Presentations at Charlotte AHEC.
Medical Surgical Nursing Certification Review Course
Legal Aspects of Nursing Documentation
Excellence in Nursing Education
Ethical Dilemmas in Nursing

Work Experience. Dr. Efstathiou serves as Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology at HMS and the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). His clinical practice focuses on treatment of patients with prostate, bladder, testicular and other urologic cancers, as well as proton beam and brachytherapy, and he serves as Director of the Genitourinary Division in Radiation Oncology and Clinical Co-Director of The Claire and John Bertucci Center for Genitourinary Cancers Multidisciplinary Clinic. His commitment to service/patient care has been recognized as honoree for the MGH Cancer Center's "The One Hundred" and as nominee for the Brian A. McGovern Award for Clinical Excellence.

Education. Dr. Efstathiou holds a B.S. from Yale University, M.D. from Harvard Medical School (HMS), Ph.D. from University of Oxford, and completed his residency training in the Harvard Radiation Oncology Program.

Research. His research has informed clinical practice guidelines and focuses on the effectiveness of advanced/emerging therapies for prostate cancer including proton beam, as well as the adverse effects of hormonal therapy, improving radiation therapy for testicular cancer, and long-term outcomes of bladder-sparing chemoradiation for bladder cancer. He is the recipient of significant grant funding and serves as Principal Investigator of multiple studies including a multi-center randomized phase III trial of IMRT versus proton beam for localized prostate cancer using patient-reported outcomes.

Lectures. He lectures nationally and internationally and holds leadership positions in Radiation Oncology including within the cooperative groups (NRG), professional societies (ASTRO), and National Cancer Institute (NCI). Other projects of his include the development of web-based patient decision aids/support tools, evaluating the multidisciplinary approach to cancer care, and global oncology outreach efforts with Botswana.

Professional. Amy started her social work career in North Carolina's public child welfare system. She later worked as a clinical social worker in a variety of mental health settings, predominately as a child, adolescent, and family therapist. In 2015, Amy joined the faculty at the UNC-CH School of Social Work, where she teaches courses in the MSW program and serves as a faculty member in the field education program. Amy is also a North Carolina Certified Clinical Supervisor, providing supervision and consultation to LCSW-A's in North Carolina.

Amy's practice and research interests include trauma-informed models of care, provider resilience, child and adolescent mental health, and the intersection of child welfare and behavioral health services. Amy enjoys providing training on a variety of practice topics and appreciates learning from and further supporting the important work carried out by our human service professionals.

Education. Amy earned a Bachelor's Degree from Washington University in St. Louis. She went on to receive a Master of Social Work Degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she graduated as a Child Welfare Education Collaborative Scholar.

Personal. Amy lives in Chapel Hill, NC, with her husband, two daughters, and energetic dog. She attempts to balance work and family time and enjoys reading.

Professional. Advancing through a series of promotional opportunities since August 2000, Monifa Drayton has proudly served Atrium Health in a variety of core functions including business development, market strategic planning, relationship development and integrating systems and departments. Prior to 2014, she served as the Administrator for Carolinas HealthCare System-Huntersville, Lake Norman's first free-standing emergency room and medical complex which led to national recognition for achieving scores within the 100th percentile in 2013 and 2014. Beginning in March 2014, Monifa has served in the Quality Division as the Assistant Vice President overseeing credentialing and bylaws functions. Other roles include overseeing community health and business development initiatives for Carolinas HealthCare System-University and Behavioral Health. Having a passion for developing leaders, she also serves as a consultant for L.E.A.D. Square, a leadership development firm focusing on diversity, women, and young leaders.

Education. Monifa earned her Masters of Public Administration from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and a bachelor's degree in psychology from South Carolina State University.

Personal. In her free time, Monifa enjoys running and golf, attending live music and theatre events, and taking part in community service.

Presentations at Charlotte AHEC.
Cubicle to Corner Office: How to Advance Your Career in a Multi-Cultural Society
When Culture and Corporate America Collide

Professional. Dr. Tasillo has been a Physical Therapist for over 11 years, and her entire career has been with Atrium Health, practicing in the acute care setting. Her areas of expertise are oncology, bariatrics, fall prevention, volume management, and treatment of the general medical patient.

Personal. She loves to bake! She has run three marathons, has two kids, Cooper, who is 9, and Kennedy, who is 7. nct Faculty, Atrium Health Union Family Practice Residency Program. His clinical interests include diabetes, insulin pump therapy, hypothyroidism.

Presentations at Charlotte AHEC.
Management of the Cancer Patient in the Acute Care Setting
Sensitivity and Safe Patient Handling of the Bariatric Patient

Professional. Dr. Donnie Nuzum has been on faculty at Wingate University Levine College of Health Sciences since 2004. He is currently an Associate Professor of Pharmacy and maintains an Ambulatory Care site at Union Family Practice in Monroe, NC. Prior to that, he was Director of PGY2 Ambulatory Care Residency at Wingate University School of Pharmacy; Visiting Professor, Kobe Gakuin University Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kobe Hyogo, Japan; Assistant professor of Pharmacy, Wingate University School of Pharmacy; and Clinical Instructor, Dept of Clinical Pharmacy, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, School of Pharmacy.

Education. Dr. Nuzum completed his undergraduate education with a BS in Biology from The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas. He received his Doctor of Pharmacy from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, School of Pharmacy, Amarillo, Texas. He completed his PGY1 Pharmacy Practice residency at the University of Colorado Hospital, Denver, Colo. and his PGY2 Ambulatory Care residency at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, School of Pharmacy, Denver, Colorado. He is board certified in Ambulatory Care Pharmacy (BCACP), Advanced Diabetes Management (BC-ADM), Diabetes Care and Education Specialist (CDCES), and a Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner (CPP). He is also an Immunization Provider and trained in Basic Life Support (BLS). He is on the Speakers Bureau for Novo Nordisk and Astra Zeneca and Adjunct Faculty, Atrium Health Union Family Practice Residency Program. His clinical interests include diabetes, insulin pump therapy, hypothyroidism.

Presentations at Charlotte AHEC.
Updates of the American Diabetes Association (ADA) Guidelines
Annual Diabetes Conference
Vice Chair, Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Forum of NC

Overview. David draws on his professional experiences with project management, quality improvement and performance improvement for the classes he teaches at Charlotte AHEC. A former university department chair and community college instructor, David has also worked extensively as a Director of Health Information Management for health care systems as well as in healthcare information technology departments.

Education. He has a BS Degree from Emory University in Medical Science, an MA from Central Michigan University in Management and Supervision / Health Care Administration as well as an MS in Computer Information Systems from Nova Southeastern University. An aspiring musician, in his downtime David can usually be found with an acoustic or electric guitar in hand, learning new songs and techniques.

Professional. He is interested in innovative techniques that harness the power of interactive learning to transfer skills effectively to the learner, including decision-based learning and gamification. A passionate, life-long learner and educator, David is interested in innovative techniques that harness the power of interactive learning to transfer skills effectively to the learner. For example, his Livestream class series on “Adapting to the New Normal After Covid-19: Rapid Cycle Repair for Disrupted and Broken Work Processes“ incorporates exercises where learners choose between alternative solutions to help build their new skills.

Overview. Dr. Maureen Walsh Koricke is Director of the Master of Health Administration program and Assistant Professor of Health Administration at Queens University of Charlotte. She also teaches workshops at Charlotte AHEC on performance improvement methodology and the use of data for improving healthcare delivery. Since 2017 she has served as a member of the NC AHEC Scholars Program: Charlotte Regional Advisory Committee.

Professional. Throughout her career, Dr. Walsh Koricke has worked with professionals in a variety of health care settings teaching quality improvement methodology and coaching direct care teams. She has worked in hospitals, ambulatory care, and home health settings. This work provides the foundation for her research which focuses on teamwork in patient safety and performance improvement in care delivery. Additional research examines graduate student perceptions of online learning and curriculum evaluation.

Dr. Walsh Koricke works as a consultant to provide quality improvement education, coaching, project management, and leadership development for health care providers. Her work has been presented at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) National Forum, National Health Care Quality (NAHC) Conference, and at the Academy Health Research Meeting.

Prior to Queens University she was with Atrium Health at the Center for Advancing Pediatric Excellence (CAPE) teaching and coaching quality improvement work with faculty, residents, and interprofessional health care teams at Atrium Health Levine Children’s hospital and outpatient pediatric clinics. In 2016 CAPE’s work was recognized with the Children’s Hospital Association Pediatric Quality Award in the Delivery System Transformation category.

Education. She received her Ph.D. in Public Policy from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and both an MS in Health Service Administration and BSN from D’Youville College in Buffalo, NY.

Personal. Dr. Walsh Koricke is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives, the Association of University Programs in Health Administration, and Academy Health. She lives in Charlotte with her husband, daughters, and rescue dog and cat. When not talking about quality improvement you can find her on her yoga mat, hiking the beautiful NC trails, or cheering on her favorite basketball teams.

Presentations at Charlotte AHEC
Data Analysis – Using Data to Improve Care Delivery
Working the Data – Using Data to Improve Care Delivery

Education. Howard Winokeur is the founder of the Winokuer Center for Counseling and Healing in Charlotte, North Carolina where he maintains a full-time clinical practice. He completed his Ph.D. in 1999 at Mississippi State University where he developed the first course in Grief Counseling Skills.

Background. As the founder of TO LIFE, a not-for-profit educational and counseling organization, Dr. Winokuer was the associate producer of seven PBS specials and helped pilot one of the first teen suicide prevention programs in the Southeast. He has taught numerous courses and been a guest lecturer at many colleges and universities including New York University, Rochester University, The University of North Alabama, Queens University, Appalachian State University, George Washington University and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Dr. Winokuer has conducted workshops and seminars throughout the United States as well as thirteen foreign countries including programs for St. Christopher’s Hospice and St. George’s Medical Center in London, England; The National Assistance Board in Barbados; The United States Embassy at The Hague, Netherlands; The University of Lisbon in Lisbon, Portugal; and for The Centre on Behavioral Health at Hong Kong University. He wrote a bi-monthly column entitled “Understanding Grief” in The Concord Tribune and hosted a regular radio show on WEGO entitled Life Talk. He was a consultant to WBTV after the tragedy of 9-11 and has been the mental health “professional on call” for Fox TV’s news show “The Edge”. In the past year few years, he has appeared twice on the radio show “Healing the Grieving Heart” and has been interviewed by the ACA Journal, Counseling Today, as well as in The Staten Island Advance, The Houston Chronicle, The Charlotte Observer, The Detroit Free Press and the Chicago Tribune. Dr. Winokuer also led an international delegation of funeral directors to Russia and Holland to study death and funeral practices in those countries.

Professional. Dr. Winokuer has been actively involved in the field of dying, death and bereavement since 1979. He has presented workshops and seminars to many organizations including: The National Funeral Directors Association; TAPS – Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors; The University of North Carolina’s Department of Neurological Surgery; the Tennessee Health Care Association; and Presbyterian Hospital. He also developed the crisis management plan for the Cabarrus County School System. Howard has been an active member of The Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) for almost four decades and has served in numerous leadership positions. In his almost forty years of membership, he has chaired the national public relations committee, co-chaired the 2000 and 2003 national conference, served on the Board of Directors, was one of the organizers for the 2011 International Conference on Grief and Bereavement in Contemporary Society and is a past president of the Association for Death Education and Counseling. Dr. Winokuer is a co-editor of Grief and Bereavement in Contemporary Society: Bridging Research and Practice (Routledge, 2011) and Sibling Loss Across the Lifespan: Research, Practice and Personal Stories (Routledge, 2017). He is also the co-author of Principles and Practices of Grief Counseling (Springer, 2012) and Principles, Practices of Grief Counseling 2nd Edition (Springer, 2016) and Principles, Practices of Grief Counseling 3rd Edition (Springer, 2020).

Personal. 1967 was my senior year in high school. I attended East Mecklenburg here in Charlotte. At that point in my life, school and learning were not a high priority, instead, I was playing in a band, playing on the tennis team and working as an usher, at what is now the Bojangles Arena. Unfortunately, I failed senior English and didn’t graduate. I was quite embarrassed about not graduating, and I decided to leaving Charlotte and running away and joining Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus. I worked with the Circus for parts of 1967, 1968, 1969 and 1970. I had two jobs with the Circus: my main job was working in the concession department, I also played saxophone in the Circus rock and roll band. I did come back to Charlotte the fall of 1967 and took an English class at Central Piedmont Community College and got my GED. I think that I was probably the only one in my high school class who didn’t graduate and ended up earning an associate degree, a bachelor’s degree, two master’s degrees and a PhD. Many years later when I was working on my first master’s degree in Counseling at UNCC when I happen to run into my high school English teacher. She was in the first year of the program, I was in the second year. I became her mentor, and years later, her husband told me that “it was because of my help, she was able to finish her master’s degree”. In 1979 when I founded TO LIFE, a non-for-profit educational and counseling organization, she was my first volunteer. The universe works in funny ways.

Overview. Maya Schultz is a public high school science teacher in her twentieth year of teaching.

Work Experience. Maya Schultz is currently a Biology and Forensic Science teacher at Cuthbertson High School in Union County, North Carolina. She has taught for Union County Public Schools since 2007. She has also been a faculty member at East Chapel Hill High School in Chapel Hill, NC where she taught Biology, AP Environmental Science, and Biology 2, and at Belleville High School in Belleville, MI, where she taught Biology and Horticulture.

Education. Maya Schultz received her Bachelor of Arts in Biological Science with a Concentration in Ecology and Systematics from Cornell University, her teaching certification from Eastern Michigan University, and her Master of Science Education from North Carolina State University. She is also a National Board Certified Teacher.

Personal Motivation for Teaching at AHEC. As a teacher in my twentieth year of public education, I have been a part of numerous attempts at closing the achievement gap for students of diverse backgrounds. In my experience, students didn’t make significant strides in performance, nor did I see an impact in terms of motivating or preparing our youth to enter fields historically underrepresented by their demographic. In 2012, I was approached by the AHEC Heroes Program and asked if I would help with the enrichment portion of their summer camp as well as present a few times a year at the monthly club meetings. This tied in perfectly with my professional and personal goal of improving student performance regardless of background. I began a relationship with AHEC that has lasted almost ten years. Some of the students I encountered my first year with the program are now outstanding medical professionals. I am proud to have been a small part of their achievement and I am grateful to be a small part of the successes of future students.

Awards
2011-2012 Teacher of the Year Finalist for the Southwest Region
2011-2012 Teacher of the Year for Union County Public Schools
2006-2009 Elmo’s Chair in Excellence in Teaching High School Math or Science for CHCCS
2004          Recipient of the North Carolina Entomological Society Outstanding Secondary Teacher

Publications
“Video Games and Universal Design: A Vehicle for Problem-Based Learning”, Submission to The Science Teacher, 2006.
“Learning Science Through Immersive Video Games”, submission to The International Journal of Science Education, 2006.
“How To Write “How-To” Books with High School Ecology and Horticulture Students” The American Biology Teacher. Vol 65, Num 6, pps 432 – 435, 2003.

Presentations at Charlotte AHEC
Super Science Saturdays! The Beat Goes On! All About Heart Anatomy
Super Science Saturdays! I've Got a Bone to Pick with You
Super Science Saturdays! CSI: A Day in the Life of a Medical Examiner
And a host of anatomy and physiology workshops for our Health Careers Club students!

Overview. Dr. Ruhlen serves as the Vice President of the Division of Medical Education at Atrium Health and as Director of Charlotte Area Health Education Center. He is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and holds a Master of Science in Health Care Management from the Harvard School of Public Health. He trained in general pediatrics at Children’s Hospital National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. In his previous roles at ProMedica in Toledo, Ohio, he served as Vice President of Medical Affairs at Toledo Children’s Hospital and Corporate Vice President of Medical Informatics and was appointed president in 2008, just prior to relocating to Atrium Health (then Carolinas Health System). Ruhlen has exercised national leadership positions in the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Society of Hospital Medicine, the Accreditation Review Commission on Education of the Physician Assistant, and the Accreditation Review Committee of the ACCME.

Dr. Ruhlen’s progressive career experiences have taken him from the private physician office through practice as one of the nation’s first identified pediatric hospitalists to large group practice. He has taught medical students, advanced clinical practice students, residents, and fellows throughout his career and has served as a mentor for numerous practicing physicians as well as quality executives of international firms. Ruhlen has been engaged in the development and accreditation of CME for more than 30 years.

Personal. Dr. Ruhlen enjoys playing keyboards and he is learning a variety of stringed instruments. He is a photographer, a woodworker, a genealogist and a student of the Civil War. He is an advocate for the under-served and deeply committed to the resolution of healthcare inequities.

Overview. Eugene is a physician with over 40 years of experience in clinical and administrative medicine. He has worked in private practice, academic medicine and corporate medicine. He has presented and published nationally and internationally on diabetes related topics and currently serves as a reviewer for several publications.

Work experience. Eugene currently serves as the Medical Director for Performance Improvement at the Charlotte AHEC. He has previous work experience as the Chief Medical Officer of the Cape Fear Valley Health System in Fayetteville, NC and as Consulting Associate in the departments of Medicine and Community and Family Medicine of the Duke Southern Regional AHEC. He consults widely on diabetes therapeutics and technology.

Professional. Eugene holds a BSE degree in Electrical Engineering from Princeton University and a MD degree from Duke University. He did his internship and residency at Duke University Health System and returned to the clinical faculty in 1996 after 15 years of private practice. In 2000, he was hired as the Medical Director of Primary Care and Specialty Practices of the Cape Fear Valley Health System and in 2011. He is actively involved with the American Diabetes Association and serves as the inaugural chair of the Primary Care Interest Group and as member of the Know Diabetes by Heart Advisory Group.

Personal. Gene enjoys traveling internationally with his wife of 50 years. He also enjoys skiing with his wife and grandson and spending time with his family.

Presentations at Charlotte AHEC
Diabetes and Cardiovascular Co-Morbidities at the 32nd Annual Diabetes Conference: Diabetes Today—Looking Beyond the Numbers

Overview. Starting her relationship with AHEC in 2009, Mary Elizabeth leverages her 25+ years of experience with leadership teams to serve the healthcare community. Mary Elizabeth has created and delivered over a dozen unique and customized courses for AHEC, teaching students realistic tips, tricks, and tools on how to improve communications between individuals to build stronger, cohesive teams.

Work experience. Mary Elizabeth is an award-winning business owner, consultant, certified trainer, and coach. While her experience spans many industries, she truly considers it a privilege and honor to work with healthcare clients. Mary Elizabeth has served healthcare professionals within Public Health, School Nursing, and the Juvenile Correction System. She plans to continue to serve and support the professionals of the healthcare industry for as long as they will have her.

Personal motivation for teaching at AHEC. I received a call one morning in November that my Mom had a heart attack and was being rushed to the hospital. She lived in Illinois just outside of Chicago, and I lived in Charlotte, NC. Following a call from my brother with the words, “You should come now.” I was on a plane that evening. Arriving at the hospital at 2:00 AM, I was allowed into I.C.U. where I found my Mom on a ventilator and unconscious.

I was met by a compassionate ICU nurse who guided my family and me through what was about to be the most difficult 24 hours of decision making we had ever made. Later as she was being moved to hospice, where about a week later she would leave us, I asked the nurse what I could do for her. The nurse said, “Just pay it forward; you will know how.” Despite my immediate thought of, “I have no idea how… you have done so much”, her words resonated with me and I never forgot them.

Fast forward a year or so, and my phone rang with a request for a custom-designed workshop for AHEC. Although I have never been a fan of what is referred to as “one-and-done” training sessions, I immediately said yes. I saw that nurse's face in my mind and felt her words in my heart. This, I thought was my chance to pay it forward. And so began my connection to AHEC.

Publications.
RESET Your Buttons®, 2009 Authorhouse

Presentations at Charlotte AHEC
An Interactive Guide to Healthy and Productive Conflict
Discover the DISC Assessment - Increase Motivation, Reduce Conflict, Improve Productive Behavior
Discover D.I.S.C. to Build Effective Relationships
Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team™
Know Your Role to Boost Team Efficiency
RESET Your Buttons for the Healthcare Professional™
RESET Your Buttons for Great Customer Service™

Overview. Dr. Hollowell is a full-time faculty member at Atrium Health’s Carolinas Medical Center General Practice Residency program. The GPR program trains seven to ten residents each year in the interrelationships of oral and general health and the specialized care necessary for management of patients in the hospital setting. He also serves as Dental Director of the Atrium Health Dental Clinic where he oversees the clinical operations of the hospital’s general dentistry program, coordinating almost 7,000 patient visits per year. The clinic receives patient referrals from physicians and dentists across the Charlotte metropolitan area requesting expertise in developmental and medical conditions that require special considerations or adjustments to the patient’s oral healthcare services.

Work experience. Dr. Hollowell launched his career in residency education at the University of North Carolina’s School of Dentistry as GPR Director and Clinic Director of the UNC Hospitals Dental Clinic. Success at UNC led to the opportunity at Atrium Health and Carolinas Medical Center 6 years ago. Since coming to Charlotte, Dr. Hollowell has helped assure that the GPR and Oral Medicine Programs remain some of the most sought-after residency programs in the Southeast.

Upon completion of his residency program he accepted the position of Director of Dental Services at WakeMed in Raleigh, NC, treating medically complex and developmentally disabled patients in the hospital setting. Meanwhile, he held an appointment as a Clinical Assistant Professor with UNC’s Department of Dental Ecology and inspired UNC dental students to care for patients with special needs and provide care to medically complex patients. Upon leaving the Raleigh position, he was Dental Director of the Murdoch Developmental Center in Butner, NC. This state-operated developmental center provides services and support to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), complex behavioral challenges, and/or medical conditions whose clinical treatment needs cannot be supported in the community.

Education. Dr. Hollowell received his bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry from UNC-Chapel Hill and a Certificate in Medical Technology from UNC Hospitals. He obtained his Masters of Life Sciences with a focus in microbiology from North Carolina State University before returning to UNC to earn his D.D.S. and complete the two-year general practice residency program at UNC Hospitals.

Affiliations. Dr. Hollowell is a Diplomate of the American Board of Special Care Dentistry. He is a Fellow of the American Association of Hospital Dentists, the American College of Dentists, the International College of Dentists, and the Pierre Fauchard Academy. Dr. Hollowell has served as President of the UNC Dental Alumni Association Board of Directors, Chair of Special Care Dentistry Association’s (SCDA) Council on Hospital Dentistry, member of the ADA House of Delegates, and he was the 2011 President of the North Carolina Dental Society. In April, Dr. Hollowell will be honored with the Lawrence Chasko award for service to SCDA in the area of hospital dentistry beyond the customary expectations of his elected position while embodying the finest qualities of character, dedication, and ethical standards exemplified by Dr. Chasko.

Personal. Dr. Hollowell has also been an active volunteer with his local dental societies, his church, and the local Cub Scout and Boy Scout troops. He and his wife Donna enjoy travelling and spending time with their family, including a son, daughter, and three grandchildren.

Presentations at Charlotte AHEC
Nitrous Oxide Sedation

Overview. Greg has over 30 years' experience and capitalizes on a rich background of clinical knowledge, educational skills and personalized coaching to collaboratively journey with the client toward being the best version of themselves.

Work experience. Greg has practiced within several roles including general and specialized nursing care, therapeutic massage, energy therapy, clinical aromatherapy, and integrative health coaching. He offers a unique blend of integrative services that focus on optimizing health and wellness for clients with their goals being the target outcome. His unique integrative holistic approach toward achieving balance and wellness truly empowers the client to gain and maintain control of their most important aspects of health.

Publications.
Perceptions of dying well and distressing death by acute care nurses Becker C, Wright G, Schmit K
Applied Nursing Research (2017)

Patient satisfaction with nursing care in an urban and suburban emergency department
Wright G, Causey S, Dienemann J et al.
Journal of Nursing Administration (2013)

Presentations at Charlotte AHEC
Introduction to Integrative Therapies - May 16, 2020
Inhaled Clinical Aromatherapy: Level II
Inhaled Clinical Aromatherapy
Integrative Health Therapies: Aromatherapy & Healing Touch

Overview. Catherine is a licensed clinical social worker with 25 years of social work experience in a variety of healthcare settings.

Work experience. Catherine currently serves as a Program Coordinator with Atrium Health's Your Care-Your Choice where she has the privilege of providing advance care planning education to healthcare professionals and community members. She has worked with Atrium Health for 19 years and brings her experience across outpatient and inpatient settings to enrich her teaching.

Professional. Catherine holds a BS in Sociology from Guilford College and a MSW from UNC-Chapel Hill. Catherine is certified to teach Respecting Choices First and Advanced Steps.

Personal. Catherine lives in Matthews with her husband, David. They have two daughters (22 and 19) and two cats. She volunteers her time as a board member for Monroe Road Advocates (MoRA), a community advocacy non-profit.

Presentations at Charlotte AHEC
The Respecting Choices First Steps© Advanced Care Planning (ACP) Facilitator Certification Course
Respecting Choices ADVANCED Steps© ACP Facilitator Certification Course
Respecting Choices First Steps© Advanced Care Planning (ACP) Facilitator Certification Course

Overview. Kim is a licensed clinical social worker with over 30 years of healthcare experience in Texas and North Carolina. She has diverse work experience in clinical services, process and performance improvement, higher learning at both the collegiate and professional level as well as program development.

Work experience. Kim works as a Program Coordinator for Your Care-Your Choice at Atrium Health. Her career has focused on working with people who have serious illnesses in the hospital, in palliative care and in hospice. She is committed to teaching clinicians and the community about advance care planning and advance directives. Kim helped to start a community-wide coalition in Denton, Texas to increase awareness about advance directives, and won an award from the Texas Partnership for End-of-Life Care. She was instrumental in reviving the Southern Piedmont Regional Coalition of the North Carolina Partnership for Compassionate Care; a group that is working to remove barriers to the completion of advance directives.

Professional. Kim has her BA in Social Work from Baylor University, and her MSSW from the University of Texas at Arlington. She is among the first social workers in the nation to be certified as an Advanced Palliative and Hospice Social Worker. Kim is a Respecting Choices First and Advanced Steps Certified Instructor. She is a frequent speaker at local, state and national conferences.

Personal. Kim resides in Charlotte with her husband of 39 years. They have two married daughters and 6 grandchildren. Kim and her husband love to camp and to hike.

Presentations at Charlotte AHEC
The Respecting Choices First Steps© Advanced Care Planning (ACP) Facilitator Certification Course
Respecting Choices ADVANCED Steps© ACP Facilitator Certification Course
Respecting Choices First Steps© Advanced Care Planning (ACP) Facilitator Certification Course

Overview. Elizabeth Harvey, DPT is a physical therapist specializing in treatment of patients with complex neurologic and orthopedic involvement. She has over 17 years of experience in early intervention, outpatient orthopedics, school-based and sub-acute rehabilitation settings. She has been using the modality of tape for over 11 years. Currently she serves Kinesio University as a Curriculum Design Specialist and a member of the KTAI Research Committee. She is the owner of ABC Therapies, LLC in Moncks Corner, SC.

Work experience. Dr. Harvey is the owner of ABC Therapies, LLC Harvey uses her specialized training to assist pediatric patients. One of her specialties allows her to use NDT and a multi-modality approach including Kinesio tape for sensory feedback and alignment, as well as MNRI treatment. She is an instructor at Kinesio University, Infant Massage USA, and VOLUNTEERS at Trident Technical College where she offers a taping lab to up and coming COTAs.

She has been a consultant for various projects including the international Jiguar milestone app for parents and pediatricians, the PaSS Method curriculum, and the B.E.L.T. ™ (Bacteria Elimination using Light Therapy). Prior to these engagements, Dr. Harvey has experience working in a variety of settings as a Physical Therapist.

Professional. Dr. Harvey received her Bachelor of Science in Biology from Newberry College and her Master of Science in Rehabilitation from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. She received her Doctorate Degree in Physical Therapy from AT Still University. She is a Certified Kinesio® Tape Instructor, and a Certified Educator of Infant Massage - Infant Massage USA. Additionally, she holds the Guardian Way™ NMES Certification, the Trismus Certification - ARK J Program UNC, and the Beckman Oral Motor™ Protocol Certification.

Presentations at Charlotte AHEC
Kinesio Taping® Assessments, Fundamental Concepts and Techniques (KT1 & KT2)
Kinesio Taping® Advanced Techniques and Clinical Reasoning (KT3/Day 3)
KT4: Specialty Neurological Concepts of the Kinesio Taping® Method: Influencing the Adult Nervous System

Personal. Elizabeth LOVES playing the ukulele, she started playing it in Hawaii and now takes it with her wherever she goes around the world – Honduras, Kenya. It makes such a sweet sound. Music has a way of building bridges, especially across cultures. Therapy and travel are high on her list of favorite things to do...so if there is a medical mission trip, she is usually on board! She has three boys – a barrel full of monkeys. Never a dull moment in her little home!

Work experience. William M. Thompson, Jr., M.D., FACS currently serves on the surgical faculty at Mercer University School of Medicine where he practices the full range of general surgery and trauma surgery. His interests include surgical education, surgical quality, and gastro-intestinal surgery.

Professional. Dr. Thompson received his bachelor's degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology and his MD degree from Medical College of Georgia, and his Doctorate of Medicine from the Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine in Augusta, Georgia in 1982. He then completed his residency in General Surgery at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center & Affiliated Hospitals in Dallas, Texas where he was on the faculty in surgery for twelve years.

Dr. Thompson serves as an Associate Professor of Surgery and Associate Chair of Clinical Education for the Department of Surgery at Mercer University School of Medicine. He also serves as the Associate Program Director for the General Surgery Residency Program at The Medical Center of Central Georgia. He is also the Director of the Simulation Center at The Medical Center of Central Georgia.

Presentations at Charlotte AHEC
Dr. Thompson is the Invited Keynote Lecturer at the 13th Annual GI/HPB Conference: Advances in Treatment Strategies in Charlotte, NC

Work experience. Stephanie Glickman, LCSW of Glickman Consulting provides training and consultation services, currently works with a non-profit organization, The Family Centered Treatment Foundation and is a Graduate Adjunct Professor with Johnson C. Smith University School of Social Work. She has over 15 years' experience working with a wide variety of populations with extensive training in patterns of domestic violence, family systemic therapy, self-injurious behaviors and leadership development. Her experience in the field spans from micro through macro level involvement lending itself to an array of consultative advice and leadership development.

Presentations at Charlotte AHEC
Ethics: Revamped, Revived and Energized - February 28, 2020
LCSW Exam Prep: Experiential Learning to Boost Your Knowledge
Influential Leadership: Harnessing Your 5 Points of Power
Ethical Considerations in Clinical Supervision: Oh No She Didn't!
Storybook Skin: The Addiction to Self-Injury

Social Media
Instagram: glickmanconsulting
Facebook: glickmanconsulting101

Overview. Joann is an executive with over 30 years of healthcare experience in urban, rural, and the VA health systems. She has diverse work experiences in clinical services, strategic planning, project management, performance improvement, continuing professional education, learning and development, leadership development, and consulting.

Work experience. Joann currently serves as Assistant Vice President of Charlotte AHEC, part of the NC AHEC Program, and Atrium Health. Charlotte AHEC serves an eight-county region to provide continuing professional development, practice support, library services, workforce development and student services as well as support graduate medical education for NC healthcare professional and the communities served. During her career, Joann has led clinical laboratory services, transformed departments to achieve goals and to improve productivity and performance. She has consulted with organizations and provided resources through education and process development. Joann has worked for Atrium Health for 23 years in various roles as well as other healthcare systems and a health department.

Professional. Joann holds a BS in Medical Technology from Western Carolina University, and both MBA and MHA from Pfeiffer University - Charlotte. She is a Fellow in the American College of Health Care Executives (ACHE) and is the incoming ACHE NC Regent (2020-2023). She has served as Board Member at Large in the local chapter of ACHE, Greater Charlotte Healthcare Executives. Joann served two (1 year) terms as President and Treasurer and 1 year as President-Elect and Immediate Past President. Joann holds a certification as a Diversity Professional (CDP). She served a three-year term (2017-2020) and served as Chair in 2019 on the ACHE Higher Education Network Committee and two 1-year terms (2018-2019) on the ACHE Volunteer Giving Committee. Joann received the Distinguished Service Award from ACHE. Joann is a member of the UNC Charlotte MHA Advisory Board for a three-year term (2016-2019) where she shares her observations and experiences in health administration to help ensure students receive the education that will best prepare them for careers in health administration.

Personal. Joann resides in Charlotte, North Carolina with her husband of 35 years. Joann has one daughter who is a physical therapist. Joann volunteers in her spare time, serves as a mentor and enjoys giving back and making a difference in the lives of others.