Dr. Mary Wakefield is associate dean at the School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of North Dakota; director and professor (tenured) of the Center for Rural Health at the School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of North Dakota, in Grand Forks, ND. She has served as Center Director since November 2001. Established in 1980, the Center for Rural Health addresses changing rural environments by identifying and researching rural health issues, analyzing health policy, strengthening local capabilities, developing community-based alternatives, and advocating for rural concerns. Dr. Wakefield has expertise in rural health care, quality and patient safety, Medicare payment policy, workforce issues, and the public policy process. She has presented nationally and internationally on public policy and strategies to influence the policymaking and political process. She has authored many articles and columns on health policy and she is on the editorial board of a number of professional journals, including the editorial board for the Journal of Rural Health, Nursing Economics, and Annals of Family Medicine.

Saba Brelvi, MPH

Saba Brelvi is program director for The California Wellness Foundation, assigned to the Foundation’s women’s health and diversity in the health professions health issues. Her responsibilities include reviewing letters of interest and grant proposals and making funding recommendations related to those health issues. Before joining TCWF, Ms. Brelvi was director of health services for Huckleberry Youth Programs in San Francisco. Prior to that position, she worked as research and program associate for Grantmakers In Health and as program coordinator for Mission High School Health Center in San Francisco.

Mary Mincer Hansen was the first nurse to be appointed Director of the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) and served in that capacity from 2003- 2007. Prior to becoming director she was a Research Fellow at IDPH and directed the CDC-supported patient safety research program.  Dr. Hansen has extensive experience as a health care professional as well as an educator, researcher, and policy advisor at the state and national levels in the fields of nursing and public health administration, improving patient outcomes, promoting patient safety, and creating effective health care coalitions. Dr. Hansen serves in numerous leadership roles including as a member of U.S. Senator Tom Harkin's Nursing Advisory Committee, a charter member of the National Health Policy Council and co-chair of Senator Hillary Clinton's Iowa health care provider's for Hillary.  During her tenure as Director of IDPH, she was Chair of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) Prevention Policy and was elected President of ASTHO in 2006.  Currently Dr. Hansen is President of Hansen Health Care Consultation.

Joanne Kirk Henry EdD, RN, CS

JoAnne Kirk Henry is an emerita faculty member in the School of Nursing and an adjunct faculty member in Community Health. She has had extensive involvement in community health and policy work.  Dr. Henry has served as the Director of the VCU Office of Health Policy until 2004 and the School of Nursing Community Nursing Organization until 2006. She has developed a network of University and community contacts for consultation, information sharing, and influence in policy making. She currently serves as the Founding Director of the Central Virginia Nursing Leadership Institute, 2007 PIN funded project.

Dorothy L. Powell, EdD, RN, FAAN

Dr. Dorothy Lewis Powell is a seasoned Nursing Educator and Administrator with over 30 years of experience. Currently, she is Director of the Office of Global and Community Health Initiatives in the School of Nursing at Duke University. Prior to coming to Duke in January, 2006, Dr. Powell spent the previous 18 years as Chief Academic Officer for Nursing at Howard University. Beyond her academic and administrative roles, much of Dr. Powell’s career incorporates service to the community, particularly low income and minority communities. She was responsible for the development of a unique career training program, Nursing Careers for Homeless People, which has won national recognition. Dr. Powell has also been engaged in international development work. This work has been primarily focused in southern Africa. She provided technical assistance and consultation on primary health care development to ministries of health, schools of nursing, hospitals and health care systems. She provided assistance to Swaziland, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, and South Africa. She also has experience in Columbia, South America and areas of the Caribbean. In Dr. Powell’s current position as Director of the Office of Global and Community Health Initiatives at Duke University, she will likely target Central America, the Caribbean, Africa, and parts of Asia.

Cindy Shemansky MEd, RNC, LNHA, FNGNA

Cindy Shemansky is the Director of Education for the Masonic Home of New Jersey, a 527 bed non-profit Residential, Assisted Living and Long Term Care Community in Burlington, New Jersey. She has 20+ years of clinical experience in the Long Term Care setting, and began her career as a nursing assistant. Ms. Shemansky is Past President and a Fellow of the National Gerontological Nursing Association, (NGNA), a nursing organization founded in 1984 for those interested in promoting quality care for the older adult. She is also a published author who has presented at numerous conferences at the national, state and local level in areas related to the care of the older adult, end-of-life care and the provision of education in the long-term care setting. Ms. Shemansky is a graduate of Mercer Medical Center School of Nursing in NJ; she earned her Bachelors Degree in Education at St. Joseph’s College in Maine and her Masters degree in Educational Technology at City University in Washington.

Mary Lou de Leon Siantz PhD, RN, FAAN

Dr. de Leon Siantz received her BSN degree from Mount Saint Mary’s College in California, her MSN in Community Mental Health/Child Psychiatric Nursing from the University of California, and her PhD in Human Development from the University of Maryland. Prior to joining Penn Nursing, 2007, Dr. de Leon Siantz previously served as Professor, Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies, and Director of the Milagros Center of Excellence in Migrant Health at Georgetown University. She is an Affiliate Professor in the Department of Family and Child Nursing, University of Washington. Dr. de Leon Siantz is currently the Assistant Dean of Diversity and Cultural Affairs at Penn Nursing. Dr. de Leon Siantz is also a founding member and former President of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses. She is a member of the Secretary of Health and Human Service Task Force Advisory Committee on Infant Mortality for a second term, a founding member of the WHO/Pan American Health Organizartion Mental Health Nursing Network of the Americas, and a former member of the National Advisory Council National Institute of Nursing Research. In addition, Dr. de Leon Siantz is a Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellow. She has also been awarded a Senior Fellowship by the Fundacion Solaridad Mexicano Americano in Mexico City in 2003, was named one of the top Latinas in Health and Science by Hispanic Magazine in 2004, and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing.

Rebecca Wheeler RN, BSN

Rebecca Wheeler recently completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing in Atlanta, GA, where she was awarded a Full Fellowship. After serving as the Second Vice President for the Georgia Association of Nursing Students, she was elected National Student Nurses’ Association President for 2005-2006. In her role as president, Ms. Wheeler represented NSNA at conventions and meetings, including those of the American Nurses Association, the National League for Nursing, the Nursing Organizations Alliance, as well as the International Council of Nurses. She also focused on developing the student nurse associations in Puerto Rico. Before coming to nursing, Ms. Wheeler was a teacher, teaching English in Spain, and high school Spanish and French in the United States.