ACEN Elections

Donna Mitchell, PhD, RN is the former Dean of the College of Professional and Technical Studies at the University of Rio Grande, a position she held since 2011. She retired in September 2022 and began employment at Ohio University as an adjunct professor. Prior to her dean appointment, she served as the director of the University of Rio Grande Holzer School of Nursing for ten years. She has also served in many other administrative roles such as elected Chair of the Faculty Association and Chair of the School of Nursing.

Dr. Mitchell holds a BSN and MSN, with an emphasis on education and administration, from The Ohio State University, and a PhD in nursing with a focus on research from the University of Cincinnati. She is a clinical specialist in medical surgical nursing which is currently on inactive status. Dr. Mitchell has served as a consultant in nursing curriculum design.

With over 42 years of experience in nursing education, Dr. Mitchell has taught in associate degree, baccalaureate and master’s degree programs for a number of different universities both full and part time and she still enjoys teaching on a part time basis. She is past president of the Ohio Council of Deans and Directors of Baccalaureate and Higher Degree Nursing Programs (OCDD) and a former member of Ohio Council of A.D.N. Education Administrators (OCADNEA). She is an active member of Sigma Theta Tau International.

Dr. Mitchell has proudly served ACEN as a peer evaluator and team chair for initial, continuing, focused, and multiple program site visits as well as a member of the Evaluation Review Panel for several years. She also was a member of the ACEN 2017 Standards and Criteria Revision Team. Donna Mitchell is currently serving on the ACEN Board of Commissioners.

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Brittney Humphres, MSN, RN, became a Registered Nurse in 2001 after obtaining her Associate of Applied Science in Nursing from Northeast Mississippi Community College. She furthered her education by obtaining a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in Nursing, with an emphasis in nursing education, from the University of North Alabama. Her clinical expertise includes working in post-surgical cardiovascular step-down, intensive care, progressive care, and outpatient surgery settings.

Her career in nursing education began at Northwest Shoals Community College (NWSCC) in 2008 as a nursing training and recruiting coordinator/lab instructor. While in this position, she integrated high-fidelity simulation in all courses in the nursing curriculum. From 2009 to 2016, she served as a nursing instructor for practical and associate degree nursing students. Her specialties included medical-surgical, critical care, and health assessment. In 2016, she assumed the role of Director of Nursing Education, becoming the nurse administrator of the practical and associate nursing programs which span over two campuses. Additionally, in 2020, she was appointed the Executive Director of the Phil Campbell Campus and Nursing Education. As such, along with serving as the nurse administrator for NWSCC’s nursing programs on both campuses, she is responsible for the supervision and direction of day-to-day operations of NWSCC’s Phil Campbell Campus, in rural Northwest Alabama. She is an active participant in several NWSCC committees, including the President’s Executive Cabinet, the Student Services Council, the Cultural Affairs Committee, the Safety and Security Committee, and the Scholarship Committee. She was awarded the Alabama Community College System’s (ACCS) Award of Excellence as NWSCC Faculty of the Year in 2012 and the ACCS’s Award of Excellence as NWSCC Administrator of the Year in 2023.

During her time as nurse administrator, her team successfully navigated the following: a curricular change from a medical model to a concept-based model in the fall of 2016, an ACEN focused visit for curricular change in the spring of 2017, the initial ACEN accreditation for the practical nursing program in 2020, the many opportunities for growth and development in the pandemic and post-pandemic era, continuing accreditation of the associate and practical nursing programs in 2023, transitioning to the Next-Generation NCLEX, and the implementation of a hybrid practical and associate nursing program option. Additionally, she recently assisted the Dean of Workforce Development, Institutional Effectiveness, and Advancement in coordinating the physical reunification of the five Health Science Programs on NWSCC’s Shoals Campus and in identifying the location and assisting in procuring a grant for a Multidisciplinary Health Studies Simulation Center on the Shoals Campus. Currently, she is assisting in the leadership of a multi-million-dollar renovation of the Phil Campbell Campus, which includes state-of-the art nursing classrooms, skills laboratories, and simulation laboratories.

She is actively involved in the ACCS’s Nursing Deans and Directors group, which provides input and guidance in system-wide curricular and policy development for practical and associate degree programs. The networking among ACCS Nursing Deans and Directors group also provides mentoring for newer nurse administrators and a route of advocacy for nursing students and nursing education in the State of Alabama.

She has been happily volunteering with the ACEN since 2016 as a site visitor. In 2020, she began serving as team chair and as a member of the ERP. It brings her great joy to alleviate the stress that comes with having a site visit by exhibiting kindness and collegiality while assessing compliance with the ACEN Standards and Criteria.

When not working, she enjoys spending time with her husband of 22 years, their two young daughters, her extended family, and church family.

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Dr. Brandy Larmon has been a registered nurse since 2005 with a background in Geriatrics, Women’s Health, Obstetrics, and Pediatrics. She worked as a floor nurse, charge nurse, nursing supervisor, and unit manager. She began her teaching career at Mississippi University for Women (MUW) in 2008 and was a first year nursing student clinical and classroom faculty member until 2018, at which time she became Chair of the Department of Associate Degree Nursing at (MUW). She is now full Professor with Tenure, after almost 16 years in nursing education. She transitioned into the role of Dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences in 2022. She has continued to teach at all levels of undergraduate education, specifically in learning strategies and research. She has also served as a Site Visitor for ACEN since 2014 and an ERP member since 2019. Most recently she served on the Nominating Committee and looks forward to other ways to serve as well.

Dr. Larmon graduated Cum Laude from Mississippi University for Women in 2005 with a Bachelors in Nursing. She continued her education at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, and in 2008, she graduated with a Masters in Nursing-Healthcare Administration. In 2015, Dr. Larmon graduated from Delta State University with an educational doctorate in Professional Studies/Higher Education where her dissertation focused on the relationship between self-directed learning readiness and student retention in nursing education. She also recently received a certificate in Inclusive Leadership: The Power of Workplace Diversity from the University of Colorado.

Dr. Larmon has served on various organizations and committees/boards at the local, state, and national level with examples such as her community’s Junior Auxiliary, her local chapter of Sigma Theta Tau, Mississippi’s Deans and Directors Executive and General Council, and NOADN’s Research Task Force.

She has been published in Teaching and Learning in Nursing, presented at the state level, and has also been a reviewer for both book chapters and full text nursing resources. Dr. Larmon has also been noted as Among the Best College Professors for her community in both 2017 and 2021, and was also awarded the Faculty Enhancement Grant twice by MUW’s Alumni Association.

Dr. Larmon resides in her hometown of West Point, MS with her husband of twelve years, Neil, and their two children, Lily and Wyatt.

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B. Kent Wilson, MSN RN CNE, has 33 years of professional nursing experience in a variety of healthcare settings (primarily critical care and administration) and academia (practical nursing, associate degree, and baccalaureate level). Throughout his career, he has presented at local, state and national conferences, most recently as a Plenary Session speaker at the 2023 Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing Annual Conference titled, “Intentional Recruitment and Retention: Cultivating the Best Environment to Work and Learn.” He is a National League for Nursing (NLN) Certified Nurse Educator (CNE), National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD) Excellence Award recipient, and Chancellor’s Leadership Fellow for the Community and Technical College System of West Virginia (CTCSWV).

Mr. Wilson has held the position of Dean and Nurse Administrator for the School of Nursing and Emergency Medical Services at BridgeValley Community and Technical College, located in South Charleston, West Virginia, since 2010 and implemented the state’s first and only Paramedic-to-RN Advanced Placement Option leading to an Associate Degree in Nursing. In addition, he’s created and implemented a 16-Month Accelerated Program Option, VoTech-RN Option, and an innovative High School-RN Program Option. Kent was a founding member of the West Virginia Consortium of Associate Degree Nursing Programs (WVCOADN) and helped design the state’s concept-based curriculum for its five member schools.

He has been a domestic and international Initial and Continuing Accreditation Site Visitor (since 2015), Team Chair (since 2017), and Evaluation Review Panel (ERP) member (since 2016) for the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN). In addition, Kent has done both focused and verification visits. He is also the current Association of Deans and Directors of Nursing Education (ADDNE) / Nursing Education Foundation of West Virginia (NEFWV) President and President of the West Virginia Organization of Associate Degree Nursing (WVOADN).

He has served on several practical, associate, and baccalaureate degree advisory committees and has written two multi-million-dollar grants, and other grants, which has been used to fund a new nursing simulation wing at his college, for use to send faculty to local, state, and national conferences for continuing professional development, and to implement retention programs for students which has improved program completion.

In his spare time, Kent likes to travel domestically and internationally, watch tennis, attend college football and basketball games, is active in church, loves to landscape, swim, and camp with his with family and two very-spoiled, but deserving, Goldendoodles- Rusty and Gunner. In addition, he is an avid Boston Red Sox fan, West Virginia University football, basketball, and baseball fan, and is on a national search for the best local ice cream.

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Dr. Kathleen Zajic EdD, RN has accumulated extensive experience throughout her 40-year nursing career, emphasizing nursing education for the past 33 years. She currently serves as a Professor of Nursing at the College of Saint Mary in Omaha, Nebraska.

With nearly 15 years of active involvement in the Accreditation Committee for Education in Nursing (ACEN), Dr. Zajic has contributed as a Peer Evaluator, Evaluation Review Panel (ERP) member, and former Board of Commissioner (BOC) member. During her BOC tenure, she served as Vice-Chairperson and chaired various sub-committees, including a recent role on the search committee for the ACEN Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Her academic background includes a Doctorate in Education (with an emphasis in Health Professions) from the College of Saint Mary, a master’s degree in nursing (MSN) from the University of Nebraska Medical Center, and a bachelor’s degree in nursing (BSN) from Creighton University. Dr. Zajic has held diverse leadership roles, such as Director of Undergraduate Nursing, Chair of Health Professions, and Associate Dean of Health Professions. Throughout her career, she has presented at local, national, and international forums.

Dr. Zajic credits her professional trajectory to her enriching experiences and strong ties with ACEN. While her career has taken various paths, her enduring passion lies in nursing education, accreditation, and public health. Beyond the classroom and clinical settings, Dr. Zajic dedicates her time to providing healthcare services to underserved populations in the Omaha metropolitan area and enjoys spending quality time with family and friends.

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Julie Kendall has been a nurse educator for the last 23 years. She is a professor in the RN to BSN Program at Lone Star College and played an integral role in the writing and development of the proposal for submission to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and Texas Board of Nursing in 2017. She was also instrumental in developing the curriculum and was the sole instructor when the program began in 2020. Before her current position, Dr. Kendall served as the Director of Nursing Programs at Lone Star College-Montgomery for six years and worked as nursing faculty at the associate degree level for 14 years at Lone Star College-North Harris.

Julie earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice from American Sentinel College of Nursing and Health Sciences at Post University, a master’s degree in nursing from the University of Texas-El Paso, a certificate as a women’s health nurse practitioner from the University of Texas Southwestern, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

Dr. Kendall has been a site visitor for the ACEN since 2016, serving as both a site visitor and team chair. She has been a member of the Evaluation Review Panel since 2019 and holds the credential of Certified Nurse Educator from the National League for Nursing. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau, the National League for Nursing, the Lone Star College RN to BSN Curriculum Team, Lone Star College-Montgomery Faculty Senate, and is a past member of several state-level and college committees.

Dr. Kendall believes her role as a nurse educator is multi-faceted. As a facilitator of learning she strives to instill in each a student a spirit of inquiry and a passion for lifelong learning, supporting them as they earn their degree and encouraging them to advance their education. As a mentor, she guides students as they embark on their professional journey, encouraging them to develop their talents that will later serve them in a variety of positions in the clinical setting. As an instructor, Dr. Kendall believes it is her responsibility to challenge students intellectually, to help them develop the knowledge and skills essential in their current role as a registered nurse as well as prepare them for positions in leadership, research, informatics, and nursing education. She strongly believes in and supports excellence in nursing education and is committed to ensuring nursing programs meet national accreditation standards.

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Dr. Tracy Arnold, DNP, RN, CNE currently serves as a Professor and Director of the Hunt School of Nursing at Gardner-Webb University, in which she provides leadership for four levels of nursing education – associate, bachelor, master, and doctorate. With over 21 years of experience in the nursing profession, Dr. Arnold has held various clinical and academic leadership roles, including serving as a Nurse Manager, BSN Licensure and Program Coordinator, Chair of Pre-Licensure Nursing Programs, and Associate Director of the Hunt School of Nursing.

Dr. Arnold holds four degrees in nursing, including a Doctor of Nursing Practice, a Master of Science in Nursing with an emphasis in Nursing Administration, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, and an Associate of Science in Nursing. She currently serves as Chair of the Promotion and Tenure Committee at the University. She is a member of the North Carolina Nurses Association, in which she previously served as a DNP Council member, the North Carolina Council of Higher Education in Nursing, and Sigma Theta Tau. She has served as a Master Reviewer for Quality Matters for Higher Education since 2016 and as a Peer Reviewer since 2014. She completed the National League for Nursing LEAD program in 2018. In July 2023, Dr. Arnold received the 2022 Journal of Holistic Nursing Writing Award for Practice for her collaborative work on human trafficking with her DNP Project Student.

In her current role as Director, Dr. Arnold provides significant support to all programs related to meeting accreditation standards with both ACEN and the North Carolina Board of Nursing. She has served as a resource for other Program Directors in the surrounding community seeking accreditation. In addition, she has been an ACEN Peer Evaluator since 2014 and a Team Chair and Evaluation Review Panel member since 2018. Dr. Arnold enjoys collaborating with nursing colleagues through the accreditation process as we all advocate to support the interests of nursing education, nursing practice, and the public.

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Dr. Michele Pedulla has been a nurse for 39 years, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of South Florida, a Master of Science in Nursing, following the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (PNP) track from the University of Central Florida, and her Doctor of Nursing Practice from the University of Florida.

Dr. Pedulla’s bedside nursing experience is varied in the pediatric arena. As an RN, she spent most of the years in acute care, primarily pediatric hematology-oncology. The nurse practitioner role opened up an entire new world with primary care, caring for children from newborn to 21 years of age. Although Dr. Pedulla is the Associate Dean of Online Graduate Nursing and associate professor at Regis College, she continues to practice as a primary care PNP part-time.

Dr. Pedulla has been involved in graduate nursing education since 2012, primarily in the online format. Her roles have included adjunct and full-time faculty, assistant graduate program chair, pediatric nurse practitioner program director, assistant dean, and associate dean.

Dr. Pedulla is a member of ANA and NAPNAP, both locally and nationally. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing and presented at the Biennial Convention in October 2017. Dr. Pedulla is a peer evaluator for Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) since 2019 and served as a team chair in 2022. She served as an Evaluation Review Panel Member (ERP) in Spring, 2022. She has published in the Journal of Pediatric Health Care, completed a joint project with NAPNAP and AANP as the pediatric clinical expert creating an educational tool for all NPs to use, and has worked as a subject matter expert in a variety of arenas, including education, administration, and advanced practice nursing.

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Heather is a lifelong resident of Oklahoma but has spent most of her nursing career working in Arkansas. She has worked in both acute care and education settings with the majority of her bedside care in labor and delivery.

Heather began her nursing career as a bedside nurse in an acute care facility in labor and delivery in 2002. Committed to nursing education she began as an adjust instructor for Carl Albert State College in 2004, where she worked in either a full-time or adjunct capacity until 2020. In 2018 she became the Director of Women and Infant Services at Washington Regional Medical Center (WRMC) where she continues her work to ensure equitable care for women throughout Northwest Arkansas. She is a member of the Arkansas Perinatal Quality Collaborative and the POWER workgroup. WRMC has been named a high performing hospital for Maternity Care (Uncomplicated Pregnancy) by the U.S. News and World Report for two years based on quality outcomes.

Heather has served ACEN since 2015 as a peer evaluator, team chair, and on the Evaluation Review Panel. She continues to work as an adjust instructor for several schools teaching pre-licensure and RN-to-BSN students.

Heather graduated with her associate degree from Carl Albert State College, then received her baccalaureate and master’s in nursing from Northeastern State University, before she earned her doctorate of nursing practice from Samford University in 2015, focusing on improving processes in obstetric care. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband of more than 25 years and watching her three sons in their numerous sporting events.

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Dr. Demica Williams has dedicated over 20 years to the Nursing profession. She received her Bachelors of Science in Nursing from Bowling Green State University (Ohio) and her Master's of Science in Nursing with a concentration in Adult Acute Clinical Nurse Specialist from the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, GA. She completed a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree in Nursing Administration with an additional Nurse Educator track at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. Dr. Williams has over 15 years of experience as a nursing professor in associate, practical, baccalaureate and master’s degree programs. She also has several years of experience as a Department Chair of Nursing for ACEN accredited nursing programs. She has served as a peer evaluator for the ACEN since 2015 and has participated in evaluation review panels for the ACEN. Dr. Williams has experience with grant writing; specifically, to assist nurse educators with professional development and certification. In 2016 she received a grant for faculty to attend a CNE review course 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 back to the nursing practice environment in 2017. Currently, she is the Director of Allied Health and Nursing Partnerships at Piedmont Augusta in Augusta, GA. During her tenure with the hospital, she has been able to participate in the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Practice Transition Accreditation Program (PTAP) as a facilitator for new graduate nurses. 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 regarding patient throughput. She also has collaborated with nursing administration to develop programs that focus on the retention of new graduate nurses and nursing support staff. These include the development of a cadre of inpatient staff nurses who also now work as adjunct faculty to support clinical training for nursing students. This promotes a seamless process to transition new graduate nurses to nurse extern positions, and ultimately roles as new graduate nurses.

Currently she leads the partnership that exists between the Piedmont Augusta Hub and the area’s largest technical school; Augusta Technical College, in an effort to increase the number and quality of nurses and allied health professionals in the community.

Dr. Williams has maintained a professional relationship with the ACEN as a peer evaluator representing nursing practice. She continues to work as an Adjunct Professor for Augusta University. Her professional memberships include the Association of critical care nurses (AACN), the Georgia Nurses Association (GNA), the South Carolina Nurses (SCNA) and Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. Her role on the Board of Commissioners represents the collaborative relationship between nursing practice and academia .

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Sandeep Gopalan, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and Professor, is the Founder of the Futures Institute at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. He is the recipient of $4.6 million in federal funding for establishing the institute to conduct cutting-edge research in areas including AI, sustainability and climate change, and healthcare outcomes.

Prof Gopalan has served in leadership roles in universities in the US, UK, Ireland, and Australia. He has substantial accreditation experience as an Accreditation Liaison Officer, and commissioner with CHEA recognized accrediting bodies.

He has also served on several Boards including the Maryland Economic Development Commission, the Salisbury Board of Appeals, the Arizona Aerospace and Defense Commission, and the American Bar Association Commission on Immigration.

Gopalan was educated at the National Law School of India, and Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar.

As a researcher, he has worked on areas including the regulation of new technologies, privacy law, and social norms-based approaches to behavior change. His legal academic research has been published in journals including at Georgetown, Vanderbilt, Northwestern, Buffalo, University of Pennsylvania, Cardozo, etc., whereas business research has been published in journals including the European Accounting Review.

Gopalan is also a widely published media columnist, and his work has appeared in print and television media in locations including the US, the EU, Ireland, Australia, India, Singapore, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Dubai, etc. It has been published in outlets such as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, The Hill, Al Jazeera, the Irish Times, the Khaleej Times, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, etc.

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With 25 years of accreditation experience, including service on three accreditation commissions and leadership roles in site visits and self-studies, Ronald Hunt brings a wealth of expertise to the Accreditation Commission on Education in Nursing (ACEN). Retired from a distinguished career in academic dentistry administration as a board-certified public health dentist, his passion for voluntary association work has led him to focus on accreditation over the past decade.

His accreditation service includes roles on the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) from 2004 to 2008, the Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education (ACME) from 2015 to 2020, and the Accreditation Council for Art Therapy Education (ACATE) from 2020 to 2024. Notable achievements include leading comprehensive site visits for CODA and serving as ACATE Chair, along with receiving recognition for his outstanding contributions as a site evaluator.

In his academic leadership roles, including as Associate Dean at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Midwestern University Arizona, and as Dean at Virginia Commonwealth University, he successfully guided dental education programs through self-studies and accreditation cycles.

His commitment to sharing knowledge is evident through numerous presentations and publications on accreditation topics. Additionally, he has held leadership positions in professional organizations such as the American Dental Education Association and the Dental Quality Alliance, further demonstrating his dedication to advancing dental education and quality assurance.

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FairahSolomon has been a nurse since 2005 working in a variety of settings fromphysician offices to labor and delivery and the neonatal intensive care unit.She completed her nursing education journey by working her way through all thedegree options from Licensed Practical Nurse to associate degree to bachelor’sdegree, and finally master’s degree in nursing education. She began her careerin nursing education in 2014 as a part-time clinical instructor and then in2017 as a full-time faculty at a large state university. In 2019 she moved intothe role of AAS Program Coordinator and assists faculty, staff, students, andcommunity stakeholders with any needs related to the program.

Fairah is a site visitor for the ACEN and has completed five site visits with asixth planned for Spring 2024 as well as serving the ACEN on the EvaluationReview Panel in Spring 2024. She has enjoyed presenting at the ACEN conferencesseveral times and is looking forward to serving the ACEN in the capacity ofNominating Committee member if chosen for this role.

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Dr. Rachel Ardern is an assistant professor of nursing at Weber State University (WSU) in Ogden Utah. Dr. Ardern holds a bachelor of nursing from the Queensland University of Technology, a master of nursing from the University of Southern Queensland, and a doctorate of health science in nursing from the Queensland University of Technology.

Dr. Ardern has a variety of clinical experiences with the predominance being in the intensive care environment. She has worked as a critical care educator in a 600+ bed hospital helping to lead the introduction of post-graduate qualifications into the graduate program for the emergency, coronary care, and intensive care units. Dr. Ardern transitioned into the academic environment in 2011, starting with the Australian Catholic University in Queensland, Australia. Dr. Ardern worked within a national team to assist with developing foundations, medical-surgical, and high-dependency nursing courses including labs, simulation, and didactic structures.

In the middle of 2015, Dr. Ardern moved overseas to Brigham Young University – Idaho, and was an integral part of the transition from an associate nursing program to a baccalaureate program. Once the program had been established, in July 2017, Dr. Ardern moved to Weber State University. In 2020 Dr. Ardern received the Scholastic Award of the Year from Sigma Theta Tau, Nu Nu chapter, and in 2021 she was further awarded the Community Service award also from Sigma Theta Tau, Nu Nu chapter. Dr. Ardern has publications in simulation structures and was integral in developing the WSU nursing undergraduate simulation experience.

Dr. Ardern is committed to engaging students in their learning and ensuring that nursing programs are available to meet the needs of their local community and the profession as a whole. This is why, in 2023, she began working with ACEN as a peer evaluator, an experience she thoroughly enjoys.

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