Dr. Kristen Barbee has over 25 years of nursing experience, with 14 of those years in nursing education. As a nurse educator, she has taught and/or directed programs at the associate, baccalaureate, and master’s levels. Currently program director of the baccalaureate program at Wingate University, Dr. Barbee values the accreditation process and the program improvement that occurs due to ACEN accreditation. She is currently working on development of an RN-BSN completion program option for the university.

Dr. Barbee received her diploma from Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing, her BSN from Gardner-Webb University, her MSN in Nursing Education from East Carolina University, and her PhD in Nursing from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She has held the CNE certification since 2006 and was an NLN LEAD leadership program participant in 2014. She is currently involved in research examining the relationship of grit and purpose in nursing school applicants and students.

Dr. Barbee has served as a site visitor for ACEN since 2016 and has a passion and enthusiasm for conducting site visits. Networking and evaluating other programs is truly a passion. She has also been honored to serve on the Evaluation Review Panel since 2017. Her first site visit serving as a team chair occurred in spring 2018.

Dr. Barbee believes that one of the best ways to know more about an organization is to serve that organization in some capacity or role. She was the Public Relations Director on the N-OADN Board of Directors from 2006-2008; Secretary of the NC ADN Council from 2005-2010; Secretary for the National Association of Bariatric Nurses from 2012-2013; Director of the Qualitative Research Interest Group for the Southern Nursing Research Society from 2012-2014; and President of the Upsilon Mu chapter of Sigma Theta Tau from 2015-present.

Dr. Joy Cole, PhD, RN is a nurse educator who promotes the ongoing development of the nursing profession and the educational process. Dr. Cole knows that an effective, efficient healthcare system must be championed by educated professionals who are unwavering patient advocates, dedicated knowledge builders, and responsible resource stewards. She embraces the challenge to transform healthcare and works collaboratively with other professionals in clinical, educational, and research venues to accomplish this goal.

As a registered nurse, Dr. Cole’s experience spans decades and includes direct patient care, education of both undergraduate and graduate-level nursing professionals, and service to community members to promote wellness and compassionate inclusion. Dr. Cole holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Nursing Education from the University of Northern Colorado.

Diane Evans-Prior, DNP, MSN, RN is a long-time New Mexico resident. She has worked as a bedside nurse in hospital, long-term care, orthopedics, home health, and intermediate care settings. Passionate about sustainability in nursing, she has been a nursing instructor at Central New Mexico Community College (CNM) since 2001, moving into the director role in 2012 where she still serves as the Associate Dean. During her tenure, she has helped the program nearly double in capacity, accepting 96 students three times annually. In addition to the program growth, she has made the program more accessible, affordable, and ethnically diverse for the student population it serves.

Committed to rural and urban nursing education needs, Dr. Evans-Prior helped to develop and implement the New Mexico Nursing Education Consortium (NMNEC) curriculum, which is fully shared and implemented amongst 12 publicly funded colleges and universities across the state. This consortium has provided the opportunity for the prelicensure BSN to be offered at eight community college locations through a unique partnership with the state’s three universities. This groundbreaking model also allows for seamless transfer between NMNEC schools.

Dr. Evans-Prior earned her doctorate of nursing practice from the University of New Mexico in 2016, focusing her studies on the need for transition-to-practice programs in both hospital and non-hospital settings. Because of her doctoral work, she contributed to the development of the ACEN Transition-to-Practice Accreditation Standards that are in place today. She currently serves on the NMNEC Leadership Council, the executive team of the New Mexico Center for Nursing Excellence, and the New Mexico Action Coalition; she also volunteers as a peer evaluator, team chair, and Evaluation Review Panel member for the ACEN. She presents regularly at both national and local conferences, and she has authored many publications. In her off-hours, Dr. Evans-Prior enjoys spending time with her husband of more than 30 years and her two children.

Dr. Shari Gholson, DNP, RN, CNE has 33 years of nursing experience, including 20 years in nursing education. She is a professor of nursing at West Kentucky Community and Technical College and is serving as Dean of the Nursing Division and program coordinator of the Associate Degree Nursing Program since 2006.

Shari earned her Doctorate in Nurse Practice from Northern Kentucky University, Master’s Degree in Nursing from Vanderbilt University (clinical nurse specialist) and a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Murray State University. She also holds the Certified Nurse Educators credential. She has served the college in a number of leadership roles including faculty representative to the WKCTC Board of Directors, chair of the Kentucky Community and Technical College Nursing Curriculum Committee, and has presented at local, state, national, and international conferences/workshops.

Dr. Gholson has served as an ACEN site visitor since 2013, a team chair since 2015, and an Evaluation Review Panel member since 2016. She is a member of several professional associations including Sigma Theta Tau International, American Nurses Association, National League for Nursing, Kentucky Deans and Directors, Kentucky Council of Associate Degree Nursing, and Kentucky Nurses Action Coalition.

Shari considers it an honor walk beside nursing faculty of WKCTC as they chose to teach those that will follow them into the nursing profession and values the opportunity to do the same with the ACEN organization.

Dr. Sherri Lindsey, DNP, MSNEd, RN received her doctorate in nursing practice focused on specialty nurse executive leadership from the University of Nevada – Reno, and she is currently the Nursing Department Chair at the College of Southern Nevada. She strongly advocates for mentoring of new graduate nurses. She encourages students to be involved in a variety of community service organizations that provide them with opportunities to utilize their critical thinking skills as nurses. Her professional interests, aside from mentoring, include increasing graduate nurse retention after the first two years of nursing school. Dr. Lindsey started Nurse to Nurse Constituents, tutoring nursing students while in school and for NCLEX preparation.

Dr. Lindsey’s passion is educating nurses in becoming excellent healthcare providers. As a result of being a member of the groundbreaking National Council of State Board of Nursing simulation study in 2010, her professional interests focus on the use of simulation in nursing education. Additionally, she serves as a member of the American Nurses Association, Golden Key Honor Society, Nevada Action Committee, Nevada Alliance for Nursing Excellence, Nevada Nurses Association, Nevada Nurse Foundation, Organization of Associate Degree Nursing, and Sigma Theta Tau. She was recently honored by the Nevada Nurses Foundation with the People’s Choice Chief Nursing Officer of the Year award for her contributions as a leader; for providing a positive, supportive, and collaborative work environment for colleagues; and for fostering the enhancement of the nursing profession in Nevada.

Her prior positions include Director of Education for Las Vegas Rehabilitation and Director of Quality for Encompass Rehabilitation (formerly Health South Rehabilitation). Dr. Lindsey has previously served in various nursing positions, including intensive care, outpatient surgery, and for Willis Knighton Health Systems in Shreveport, Louisiana as Case Manager. Willis Knighton Health Systems is comprised of four acute-care hospitals, five urgent care centers, 18 specialty care centers, two community health and wellness centers, three extended care centers, a senior care community, hospice, and home health.

Dr. Cheryl Osler, EdD, MS-CNS, LMHC, MSL, RN, CNE has 32 years of nursing experience, including 19 years in nursing education. She is a nursing professor at Spokane Community College and is serving as the Associate Dean of Nursing since 2015. She is currently working on developing an RN to BSN program option for the college.

Dr. Osler earned a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of Southern California, a Master’s Degree in Community Mental Health Nursing from the University of Hawaii (clinical nurse specialist), a Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology from Argosy University, a Master of Studies in Law from the University of Southern California, and a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Seattle Pacific University. She also holds the Certified Nurse Educators credential and worked as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in private practice for ten years.

Dr. Osler has served as an ACEN peer evaluator since 2013 in the capacity of a team member, team chair, and Evaluation Review Panel member, and is an external consultant for nursing schools preparing for an ACEN site visit. She is serving on several boards, including MultiCare Human Subjects Institutional Review Board, Girls Scouts of Eastern Washington & Northern Idaho Board of Directors, Inland Empire Nurses Association Board, the Clinical Placement Northwest Board of Directors as Vice President, Greater Inland Northwest American Red Cross Board of Directors, and serves as a certified Disaster Mental Health Counselor, and youth disaster preparedness educator for the American Red Cross.

Dr. Osler is certified in healthcare compliance and business law. She is passionate about compliance and owns Healthcare Compliance Northwest, a health care compliance and legal nursing consulting company.

Dr. Debbie Rahn, EdD, MSN, RN Director of the Reading Hospital School of Health Sciences (RHSHS), is a current member of the ACEN Board of Commissioners and is seeking reelection for a second term of service. While serving on the ACEN Board of Commissioners for the past few years, Dr. Rahn has served on the finance and substantive change committees, as well as serving as an ERP chair and a site visitor. In Dr. Rahn’s current position as Director of the School of Health Sciences, she is responsible for the leadership of multiple diploma and certificate programs including nursing (RN), medical imaging (MI), surgical technology (ST), clinical pastoral education (CPE), Medical Laboratory Science, Diagnostic Medical Sonography, phlebotomy, Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), Advanced EMT, and paramedic programs. Dr. Rahn is a graduate of RHSHS (Nursing Program), Penn State University (BSN), Villanova University (MSN in Nursing Education), and Drexel University (doctorate degree in Educational Leadership and Management with a focus in Higher Education). Dr. Rahn has provided leadership at the school to create dual admission programs for the Nursing, MI, and ST Programs whereby students are dually admitted to a local four year university, receive both a diploma from RHSHS and an associate degree from the university at the time of graduation, and then have the opportunity to seamlessly transition into the university’s BSN (nursing) or Bachelors of Health Sciences (MI, ST) programs. The role as Director of a School of Health Sciences requires that Dr. Rahn work with a variety of program accreditation agencies.

Dr. Rahn has held multiple roles in professional and academic settings including staff nurse, Assistant Head Nurse of an inpatient psychiatric setting, Nurse Manager of an inpatient oncology unit, nursing program faculty, curriculum coordinator, director of a nursing program, and her current role as Director of the School of Health Sciences. She was awarded two grants to increase the use of simulation pedagogy in nursing education. Dr. Rahn has held a variety of leadership roles especially in the areas of ethics, nursing education, and nursing research. Debbie Rahn is a founding member of the Berks Regional Nursing Research Alliance, a grassroots organization representing multiple academic and practice partners, and designed to engage nurses in research and evidence base practice in a geographic area void of a major academic research institution. Dr. Rahn has a long-standing interest in bio-ethics, and currently serves as the vice-chair of the Reading Health System Ethics Committee. One of Dr. Rahn’s research interests is in the role of nursing teamwork related to patient outcomes including nurse-sensitive patient outcomes. She has presented at a variety of local, regional and national conferences, and her research on Transformational Teamwork has been published in the Journal of Nursing Care Quality (JNCQ).

Dr. Rahn is a member of multiple professional organizations and has served the profession on state and national committees including Pennsylvania Coalition for the Advancement of Nursing Education (PCANE), Pennsylvania Academic Progression in Nursing (PAPIN), National Education Progression in Nursing Collaborative (NEPIN), Hospital Association of Pennsylvania task force on healthcare workforce, and was the former co-chair for the Pennsylvania Southeast II Regional Action Coalition, addressing recommendations related to nursing education from the Institute of Medicine’s The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health, (IOM, 2011).

Cheryl Shaffer, PhD, RN, PNP, ANP is the College Associate Dean for the School of Nursing at Suffolk County Community College in Long Island, New York. Dr. Shaffer has served as the nurse administrator for the associate, mobility, and practical nursing programs at her institution for the past six years, and she has been a member of the faculty for 17 years. She leads the faculty in the nursing programs offered on three campus locations.

Dr. Shaffer has served the ACEN since 2014 as a peer evaluator and as a team chair for focused, multiple program, and coordinated site visits; she has also served as an Evaluation Review Panel member. Additionally, she continues to serve as a peer evaluator for the New York State Education Department Office of Professions for associate and practical degree nursing programs.

Dr. Shaffer has experience in curriculum redesign, strategic planning, and expansion in program enrollment greater than 50%. She currently serves as co-chair for the State University of New York (SUNY) transfer path in nursing revision representing the lower division/associate degree transfer pathway. She spearheaded two joint-admission agreements (“2+2”) with local universities for associate degree students to be dually enrolled into an RN-to-BS completion program.

Dr. Shaffer has published in peer-reviewed journals, served as a PhD dissertation committee member, and is a frequent conference speaker. She is managing a grant from the New York State Department of Health that funds tuition, fees, and equipment for healthcare workers’ retraining to become a licensed practical nurse.

Prior to her professional career in nursing education, Dr. Shaffer worked as a nurse practitioner in a family practice.

Dr. Shaffer holds a PhD in nursing research from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, a master’s of science degree from Syracuse University, and a bachelor’s of science degree from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Vivian Yates has served as the Dean of Nursing at Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland, Ohio since 2013. She is responsible for the management of a multi-campus nursing program that includes practical and associate degree nursing programs with traditional, LPN to RN, and accelerated tracks. Over 800 students are enrolled in the programs with 42 full-time faculty.

With over 35 years in the nursing profession, Dr. Yates has a background in clinical nursing, academia, nursing administration, and nursing program accreditation. Her clinical background is medical-surgical and psychiatric nursing, serving in both clinical and managerial positions in hospital settings. She has over 25 years of teaching and administrative experience in nursing education; teaching in baccalaureate, associate degree, and practical nursing programs. Her research background includes examining the various facets of cultural diversity in nursing and health care.

Dr. Yates has extensive experience in the area of nursing education accreditation. She served as the Associate Director for Program Accreditation Support for the Accrediting Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) in Atlanta, Georgia from 2009 – 2011. She began serving as a site visitor in 1997, and served on several Evaluation Review Panels from 2000 – 2009. She has served as a consultant for nursing programs across the country and has presented at national forums on nursing program accreditation.

Dr. Yates is a member of several national and state nursing organizations including the American Nurses Association, the National League for Nursing, the Ohio Council of Associate Degree Nursing Education Administrators, and the Organization for Associate Degree Nursing. She has served as vice-president and president of her local chapter of the Ohio Nurses Association. She is a member of several nursing advisory boards in northeast Ohio, and serves on the Board of Directors at University Hospitals in Cleveland.

Dr. Yates earned an associate’s degree in nursing at Lorain County Community College, a bachelor’s degree in nursing at the University of Akron, a master’s degree in nursing at Kent State University, and a PhD in education at the University of Akron.

Dr. Kathleen Zajic, EdD, MSN, RN is Professor of Nursing at the College of Saint Mary (CSM) in Omaha, Nebraska. In her 28 years at CSM, Dr. Zajic has served in many administrative and appointed roles including Professor of Nursing, Director of Undergraduate Nursing, Chair of Health Professions, and the Associate Dean of Health Professions. Her career path and roles have been diverse but Dr. Zajic has a passion for nursing education and finds her true home in the classroom and clinical settings. In addition, Dr. Zajic has assumed a variety of appointed and elected roles within the nursing program, division, and college-wide committees; including being elected by her peers to serve as Chair; Faculty Assembly Council.

Dr. Zajic earned her EdD (with an emphasis in Health Professions) from the College of Saint Mary, her MSN (with an emphasis in Community Health Nursing and Nursing Leadership and Management) from the University of Nebraska Medical Center, and her BSN from Creighton University. Dr. Zajic has expertise in curriculum design, program evaluation, leadership, and community health nursing. Dr. Zajic has also served as a consultant within and outside of nursing on curriculum development, design, implementation, program assessment, and an array of public health initiatives.

Dr. Zajic has served as an ACEN site visitor since 2013, ERP chair since 2018, and was a member of the ACEN Standards and Criteria for Transition to Practice Task Force from 2016-2018. Dr. Zajic was elected to the Board of Commissioners in 2016, serving as the Chair of the Substantive Change committee since 2017. Dr. Zajic is a member of several professional organizations including Sigma Theta Tau International, Gamma Pi Chapter, the National League of Nursing, and the National Association of Local Boards of Health. Dr. Zajic provides extensive community service, serving as past chair for the Pottawattamie County Board of Health, Saint Albert School system Wellness Initiative Committee, and the Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) Nurse-Family Advisory Board. When Dr. Zajic is not in the classroom or clinical area she can be found providing health care services to the underserved and vulnerable populations in the Omaha metropolitan area.

Carolyn McCormies, MS, RN, APRN, FNP-BC has been a registered nurse for 30 years and a board-certified family nurse practitioner since 2004. She has a love for rural healthcare, and she also practices as an advanced practice provider caring for patients of all ages. She has practiced in most areas of nursing, and she has had the privilege of traveling to Honduras on medical missions and caring for the people of that culture.

McCormies has participated in writing NCLEX© test questions several times and was on the standard setting panel for the 2019 NCLEX© RN examination.

McCormies serves on the Arizona State Board of Nursing. She has served on the Education Advisory Committee, a subcommittee of the board for the past nine years. McCormies also currently serves as a District Board member of Mt. Graham Regional Medical Center. She graduated with an associate’s degree from Mesa Community College, then received her baccalaureate and master’s in nursing as well as her family nurse practitioner certification from Arizona State University. Her greatest accomplishment is being a wife, mother, and grandmother.

McCormies’s professional memberships include the Arizona Nurses Association, the American Nurses Association, the National League for Nursing, the Organization for Associate Degree Nursing, and Sigma Theta Tau. She was name “Outstanding Nurse Champion” in Arizona by the Arizona Nurses Association in 2017.

McCormies has contributed to the ACEN as a peer evaluator. She has also served as a site visitor for the National League for Nursing Center of Excellence (NLN).

Dr. Demica Williams, DNP, RN, CNE has dedicated 20 years to the nursing profession. She received her Bachelors of Science in Nursing from Bowling Green State University (Ohio) and her Masters of Science in Nursing with a concentration in Adult Acute Clinical Nurse Specialist from the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, GA. She most recently completed a Doctor of Nursing Practice in Nursing Administration with an Educator track at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. Dr. Williams has over 10 years of experience as a nursing professor in associate, practical, and BSN programs, and 5 years of experience as a Department Chair of Nursing for ACEN accredited nursing programs. She has served as a program evaluator for ACEN since 2015 and has participated in evaluation review panels for ACEN. Dr. Williams has experience with grant writing; specifically, to assist nurse educators. In 2016 she received a grant for faculty to attend a CNE review course on campus, which resulted in over 90% of her full-time faculty becoming certified nurse educators. Dr. Williams also became a certified nurse educator due to this endeavor and has contributed as a published author to CNE exam preparation review materials.

Dr. Williams transitioned from academia to the full-time nursing practice environment in 2017. Currently, she is a Clinical Nurse Educator for the Intermediate Care service line at University Hospital in Augusta, GA, which holds a Magnet Hospital designation. During her tenure with University Hospital, she has been able to participate in PTAP accreditation as a facilitator for nurses enrolled in the Nurse Residency Program. She spearheaded opening and educating a Discharge Center to assist with patient flow in 2019. She went on to publish an article in Nursing Matters, the hospital newsletter about the logistics of the new center. She has also collaborated with nursing administration to develop programs that focus on retention of new graduate nurses and nursing support staff.

She has been able to maintain a professional relationship with ACEN as a program evaluator representing nursing practice and as a member of the Evaluation Review Panel. She continues to work as an Adjunct Professor for Auburn University. Her professional memberships include the Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN), the Georgia Nurses Association (GNA), the South Carolina Nurses Association (SCNA) and Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing.

Dr. Lisa Young, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC is a board-certified family nurse practitioner with over 27 years of advanced practice nursing experience. Her clinical experience expands within higher education administration in multiple leadership roles and clinical practice in academic health centers, federally-qualified health centers, and retail health care.

Dr. Young is a graduate of the University of Iowa and Saint Xavier University. She is a member of several professional organizations, which include the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, American Nurses Association, Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society, and the Illinois Society of Advanced Practice Nurses.

During her career, she was active in nurse practitioner advocacy, statewide and nationally, and the recipient of several honors. She is a consultant for Alex Associates Health and Educational Consultants.  She is currently in clinical practice in Indiana with a focus on obesity management. Dr. Young continues additional clinical practice in underserved communities to give back and address ethnic and health disparities.

Dr. Steve Eckman is chancellor of York College in York, Nebraska. His career in higher education has spanned over 40 years. In his various roles he has served as Vice President for Student Development, Director of Institutional Effectiveness and Research, Vice President for Advancement and Executive Vice President at three different institutions. During that time he has also taught as an Associate Professor in the field of Biblical Studies. He was president of York College for eight years during which time he has also served the Higher Learning Commission as a peer reviewer, substantive change panel reviewer, financial panel reviewer and team chair. His peer review work has included on-site reviews of schools of nursing that award the bachelor’s degree. He has served in an administrative role at a previous institution that started a RN to BSN program which now offers the master’s degree in nursing.

Dr. Sintich has more than 40 years of higher education administrative experience holding various administrative positions at several community colleges including Union, Morris and Warren. More recently, at Warren County Community College, Dr. Sintich served as Dean of Students, Assistant Dean of Curriculum, Dean of Academic Affairs, Chief Academic Officer and Provost. Following his years of college administration, he became Chairman of the Departments of English, Math, History, Psychology, Science and Sociology while teaching as a full-time Professor of History and Social Science.

At Warren County Community College, Dr. Sintich initiated and helped develop several programs to enhance enrollment goals such as nursing, automotive, food and beverage and a unique offering for veterans known as V.I.P.E.R (Veterans In Pursuit of Educational Readiness). The Viper program recognizes the skill and training that veterans receive in their MOS (military occupational specialty) and other military preparedness and translates these learning experiences into the form of equivalent college credit.

Dr. Robert A. Sintich, EdD, MS has more than 40 years of experience working with nursing students and administrators. He obtained his undergraduate degree from the University of Scranton, as well as a master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling. His doctoral degree was awarded by Rutgers University upon completion of his doctoral thesis which centered on the study of the community college system in the State of New Jersey. He has participated and directed staff in the participation and presentation of many accreditation reports submitted for Diploma and Associate Degree nursing programs. As Provost at Warren County Community College, Washington, New Jersey, he spearheaded launching the nursing program that continues to date, which was the first new nursing associate degree program put forward in New Jersey in 20 years.

Dr. Sintich recognizes that time is a precious commodity. He cannot imagine any other profession that he feels more privileged to serve as a Public Member then that of the ACEN Board of Commissioners.

Susan Zlotlow, Ph.D. retired after more than 18 years as the Director of the Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation and an Associate Executive Director of the Education Directorate at the American Psychology Association. She received her undergraduate degree at the University of Rochester and her M.A. and Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Connecticut. She also received an honorary doctoral degree from Palo Alto University. Dr. Zlotlow’s publication and presentation history includes articles on child development and socialization, teaching, and accreditation in psychology.

Dr. Zlotlow taught at Wheaton College (Massachusetts) and has taught undergraduate and graduate classes at the University of Maryland at College Park. She served as a consultant to the public-school system in Albuquerque, New Mexico as well as engaged in clinical practice in Albuquerque, New Mexico and inner-city Baltimore. Prior to working in accreditation, Dr. Zlotlow served as the Assistant Dean in the Graduate School at the University of Maryland, College Park working on internal and external grant funding, including the institutional IRB, research review committees, as well as committees focused on campus resources for graduate students and faculty.

In her more than 18 years in accreditation, Dr. Zlotlow served as the Chair of the External Recognition Issues Committee of the Association of Specialized and Professional Accreditors, a group of programmatic and specialized accreditors that met with members of the Department of Education and Congress on issues related to accreditation. She also represented that group as a negotiator in the 2007 negotiated rulemaking hearings on accreditation issues in the US Higher Education Act. She also served for two terms as a member of the Council on Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) committee of Specialized/National Accreditation. Dr. Zlotlow served on the Sullivan Commission that reviewed how accreditation standards in health professions impact diversity of those professions. She has received awards for her service from the American Psychological Association, several training councils in psychology, as well as from the Association of Specialized and Professional Accreditors.