Dr. Aimee Paulson is a family medicine board certified family nurse practitioner, professor, and current president of the California Association for Nurse Practitioners. Her early nursing career began in Minnesota as a float-pool, trauma- certified ER and ICU registered nurse. Her current clinical practice as an FNP for the past 20 years has involved care across the lifespan for multi-generation families and addiction medicine.

Laura M. Wagner, PhD, RN, GNP, FAAN is a Professor and the Winnifred Montgomery Endowed Chair in Aging at the University of California, San Francisco. Her research spanning the past two decades has focused on improving geriatric care with a particular emphasis in supporting the nursing workforce. She has several NIH- funded studies currently focused on supporting the dementia care workforce.  Dr. Wagner received her BSN from Case Western Reserve University; her MSN from University of Pennsylvania; and her PhD from Emory University.

She loves being a nurse and loves to encourage others to pursue a career in nursing. In 2016, Dr. Wagner founded the FirstGenRN program, a career development and mentoring program, aimed at supporting people like herself— the first in their family to attend and graduate from college. Since, the FirstGenRN has been implemented in several SF Bay Area nursing schools and she is a national presence in the First-Gen community-including being an inaugural board member of the Journal for First-generation student success.  

Major Sara Rogers was born in Newport, Rhode Island, and Commissioned in the Army Nurse Corps in December 2015. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a minor of Military Science from the University of Maine, Orono, School of Nursing and commissioned through the University of Maine’s Reserve Officer Training Corps. MAJ Rogers is a board certified Medical Surgical Registered Nurse.

Her military assignments include staff and charge nurse at Joint Base Lewis McChord, WA on the Medical Surgical Unit and Mother-Baby Unit. Surgical Nurse Liaison at Joint Base Lewis McChord, WA. MTOE Assigned Personnel to the 14th Combat Support Hospital at Fort Benning, GA. MTOE Assigned Personnel to the 47th Combat Support Hospital, Joint Base Lewis McChord, WA. Staff and charge nurse of the Medical Surgical Nurse at Fort Stewart, GA. Emergency Department staff nurse at Fort Stewart, GA. Clinical Nurse Officer in Charge of the Ambulatory Surgical Unit, Fort Stewart, GA. Reserve Officer Training Corps Brigade Nurse Counselor at Joint Base Lewis McChord, WA.

Major Rogers’s military schools include Army Medical Department Basic Officer Leader Course, Action Officer Development Course, Manager Development Course, Supervisor Development Course, Joint Forces Combat Trauma Management Course, Army Medical Department Captain’s Career Course, and Clinical Nurse Officer in Charge Course.

Major Rogers’s awards and decorations include Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal (2 awards), Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Medal, Armed Forces Service Medal, and Army Service Ribbon.

Jane Crofut is a Healthcare Planning and Medical Education Specialist at GSBS Consulting. With more than 25 years of experience in healthcare and medical education, Crofut is a respected developer and leader of simulation lab designs that support rapidly evolving, experiential learning pedagogies. Crofut's expertise in business analytics, curriculum delivery requirements, and quality patient care give her a unique perspective that enables her to combine operational optimization with future-forward, flexible space design. It's a perspective gained through a varied career that began as a trauma flight nurse and spans advocacy for patient safety and outcomes, roles in academia and healthcare administration, and architectural planning. In the past 15 years, Crofut has helped more than 40 institutions implement innovative health and educational programs with visioning, business planning, funding, space design, specialty equipment selection, curriculum development, program implementation, and faculty education.

Dr. Kimberly Long is a highly accomplished senior healthcare executive and consultant with more than 35 years of distinguished leadership in healthcare delivery, higher education, community services, executive mentoring, and coaching. She currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of the Association of California Nurse Leaders (ACNL) and as a Legal Nurse Consultant and Expert Witness, collaborating with attorneys on medical malpractice and personal injury litigation. Dr. Long is also the owner of Compass Executive Group, Inc. and co-owner of RayPar Logistics LLC.

Prior to her role at ACNL, Dr. Long held progressive executive leadership positions including Hospital Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer, Senior Vice President and System Chief Nursing Officer, Vice President for Clinical Services, and Director of Cardiovascular Operations. Her clinical background includes experience as a cardiac surgery recovery nurse, pediatric and adult intensive care unit nurse, and nurse practitioner specializing in genetic blood disorders and chronic disease management.
Dr. Long holds a Doctor of Health Administration and both Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Nursing. She is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE), reflecting her sustained commitment to excellence in healthcare leadership.

In recognition of her contributions to healthcare and the community, Dr. Long received the 2024 Senior Executive Award from the American College of Healthcare Executives, CAHL Chapter. She has also been honored with numerous distinctions, including Community Service Award, Lifetime Achievement Award, Woman of the Year, Excellence in Nursing Leadership, Excellence in Clinical Care Quality, and Alumni Icon from the University of Phoenix School of Advanced Studies.

Dr. Haesook Kim has worked to improve the quality of care for older adults and to advance nursing education. As person-centered and evidence-based care are core values in her nursing practice and education, she has consistently sought to incorporate them into her teaching. As a clinician, she has worked in orthopedics, telemetry, geriatrics, pain management clinics, and nonprofit primary care clinics. She has participated in various research projects, including behavioral symptoms of dementia, elder mistreatment, and culturally competent care for ethnic minority older adults. The findings from those studies have been published in journals and presented at conferences. Recently, her research has expanded to focus more on nursing education, particularly on integrating Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) into the Nurse Practitioner curriculum. For the SIGMA (International Nursing Honor Society), she currently serves as Treasurer of the Nu Xi at Large chapter and Region One.

Sean Paul Carleton, MA, RDT, LCAT, is the Program Manager for the Office of Behavioral Health Simulation Service at NYC Health + Hospitals | IMSAL. He launched the behavioral health simulation service line across the 11-hospital NYC Health + Hospitals system in March 2025, overseeing programs including Opioid Use Disorder simulation training, Violence Prevention Academy for crisis de-escalation, and the Psychiatric Social Health Technician Sim-Ternship program. Sean holds an MA in Drama Therapy from New York University and brings a unique interdisciplinary approach to healthcare simulation, integrating creative arts methodologies with evidence-based medical education. Sean's work has been presented at the International Conference for Medical Simulation in Healthcare and featured in healthcare media coverage.

Dana George Trottier (he/they), PhD, LCAT, RDT/BCT, centers their work around healthcare simulation, debriefing, and experiential learning. He holds a PhD in Counselor Education & Supervision from Antioch University Seattle and advanced training in LGBTQ healthcare from the Fenway Institute. Dana is the Director of the Healthcare Simulation Fellowship Program at NYC Health + Hospitals/Simulation Center, where he provides educational and administrative leadership for one of the largest interprofessional simulation fellowship programs globally. His simulation-focused scholarship and curriculum development address psychological safety, implicit bias mitigation, standardized patient methodology, forum theater, debriefing practices, and interprofessional educator development to support equitable care outcomes. Drawing on creative arts–based approaches, Dana integrates embodiment, role-play, and performance theory into crisis response training and simulation education. He serves as adjunct faculty in Drama Therapy at New York University and is co-editor of Creative Arts Therapies and the LGBTQ Community.

Patricia Fernandez is a PhD candidate at the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at the University of California, Davis, and is a new member of the Saint Mary's College of California Nursing community. As a K–12 educator, her research examines how educational experiences shape pathways into health careers for students from historically redlined communities. She is the co-creator of the SHINES pathway program, which promotes access, belonging, and career readiness in nursing for high school and early community college students interested in a career in nursing. Her work, published in the American Journal of Nursing, focuses on early mechanisms such as self-efficacy and belonging as drivers of workforce diversity.

Leah Korkis is an accomplished nursing leader with a Master of Science in Nursing as a Clinical Nurse Specialist and a certified Nursing Professional Development practitioner. She serves as the Director of Clinical Education and Nursing Excellence within Keck Medicine of USC, where she leads initiatives in professional and clinical development, nursing research and evidence-based practice, and nursing recognitions and designations. In addition to her leadership role, Leah is a part-time faculty member in the MSN program at Mount Saint Mary’s University. Her dedication to advancing nursing extends beyond these roles. She also is a mentor through the Association of California Nurse Leaders (ACNL), an abstract reviewer for the ANCC Magnet Conference, and a peer reviewer for the American Journal of Nursing..