Karen Gabel Speroni, PhD, RN, BSN, MHSA

Research Consultant

Karen Gabel Speroni Consultation LLC

Dr. Speroni is a research infrastructure and process expert who uniquely integrates organizational missions with research goals to facilitate evidence-informed practice of nursing, ultimately to advance the practice of nursing, including patient outcomes and work environment.

She has over 30 years of experience in biomedical research and hospital consultation, including hospital-based research, nursing excellence and evidence-based practice, as well serving on Institutional Review Boards, and university teaching.

• Serves as a consultant and educator with the American Nurses Association, for hospitals on their Magnet® and Pathway to Excellence® journey; Certificate Holder, Fundamentals of Magnet
• Is adjunct faculty at Johns Hopkins School of nursing, serving as a Principal Investigator in multi-center, international research; 
• Provides research consultations to develop and sustain research programs for Magnet recognition for multiple health care systems and hospital, including Johns Hopkins and University of Maryland Shore Regional Health; and
• Presents research processes and research findings nationally and internationally, and Authors research / healthcare-related publications.

Beth Ulrich, EdD, RN, FACHE, FAONL, FAAN

Professor, Department of Graduate Studies

University of Texas Medical Branch School of Nursing

Beth Ulrich is a nationally recognized thought leader who is known for her research studying nurse work environments, and the experiences of new graduate nurses as they transition from nursing school into the workforce, and for her leadership in developing the roles of nephrology nurses and improving the care of nephrology patients. Dr. Ulrich has extensive experience as a healthcare executive, educator, and researcher.  She is currently a professor of nursing at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) School of Nursing at Galveston, teaching in the DNP Program, and Editor-in-Chief of the Nephrology Nursing Journal.  

Dr. Ulrich is a past president of the American Nephrology Nurses' Association, a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives, a Fellow in the American Organization for Nursing Leadership, and a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing. She has been recognized as a Distinguished alumnus of the Medical University of South Carolina School of Nursing and the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Nursing. In 2018, she received the Marguerite Rodgers Kinney Award for a Distinguished Career from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. In 2023, she was named the recipient of the Nell J. Watts Lifetime Achievement in Nursing Award from Sigma Theta Tau.

Dr. Ulrich has been the primary investigator on a series of national nursing workforce and work environment studies, including five studies of nurse work environments conducted for the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses.  She has numerous publications and presentations on topics including nurses' work environments, how new graduate nurses transition into professional nurses, developing and supporting preceptors, and nephrology nursing.  Both editions of Dr. Ulrich’s books Mastering Precepting (2012, 2019) and Mastering Simulation (2014, 2020) have received AJN Book of the Year Awards. The 3rd edition of Mastering Precepting was published in July 2023.

Kathy Arthurs PhD, MSN, RN, NPD-BC, RNC-OB

Magnet Program Director

Houston Methodist Baytown Hospital

Dr. Kathy Arthurs has 39 years of experience in nursing practice.  She holds a board certification in Nursing Professional Development and Inpatient Obstetrics.  Her career includes clinical nursing in medical-surgical and maternal-child practice areas.  She enjoyed roles in nursing education including a faculty position at West Texas A&M School of Nursing and a Director of Education position at Houston Methodist Baytown Hospital.  Most recently, she serves as the Magnet Program Director at Houston Methodist Baytown Hospital and led the organization through two successful Magnet® designations.  Her passion is mentoring nurses and leaders to advance the culture of nursing excellence using the Magnet® Model as a guiding framework.  She engages nurses and interprofessionals in evidence-based practice and research.  Her scholarly work is included in the Journal of Nursing Education and Practice and has been presented at the American Nurses Association Enterprise Research Symposium.

Benita N. Chatmon, PhD, MSN, RN, CNE

Assistant Dean for Clinical Nursing Education

LSU New Orleans School of Nursing

Dr. Benita Chatmon is the Assistant Dean for Clinical Nursing Education and holds the rank of Assistant Professor of Clinical Nursing. She also holds an appointment at Children’s Hospital in New Orleans as their nurse researcher and an appointment in the school of Graduate Studies.

Dr. Chatmon has been a registered nurse for more than 15 years and a nurse educator for the past 13 years. Dr. Chatmon is a Certified Nurse Educator through the National League for Nursing and a Certified Adult and Youth Mental Health First Aid Instructor through the National Council for Wellbeing. She has taught in both the undergraduate and graduate program and currently teaches only in the graduate program teaching in Nurse Educator courses and Research courses.

• Previously served as the Faculty Organization Chair in the LSU Health New Orleans School of Nursing
• A member of several committees focused on the education of nursing students to include curriculum committee, Academic Undergraduate Council, Academic Graduate Council, and LSU Health New Orleans Faculty Senate.
• Currently serves as President for Louisiana State Nurses Association.
• Serves as a member of the Louisiana Action Coalition, the Board of Trustees for the Louisiana Nurses Foundation, and the Board of Trustees for CrescentCare, a Federal Qualified Health Center (FQHC)

In addition, she also serves on national committees and boards to include the Association of Black Nursing Faculty, National Black Nurses Association, and SNRS.

Brandee Duncan, MSN, RN, NE-BC, NPD-BC

Magnet Program Director

Houston Methodist Clearlake Hospital

Brandee is an experienced nurse with over 20 years of practice in critical care, employee health, clinical education, clinical leadership, and Pathway to Excellence™ and Magnet® Program coordination. She holds Nurse Executive and Nursing Professional Development board certifications. Brandee has been with the Houston Methodist system for 17 years, leading Houston Methodist Clear Lake Hospital through two Pathway to Excellence™ designations, and the hospital’s initial Magnet document submission. She enjoys developing herself and others to positively impact outcomes in her role as Magnet Program Director.

Sarah Fleming MBA, BSN, RN, NE-BC

Associate Chief Nursing Officer

Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital

As Associate Chief Nursing Officer, Fleming has oversight of inpatient operations and nursing services. She has vast experience in quality, performance improvement, advancing Magnet® initiatives and leadership of medical/surgical, orthopedic, telemetry and observation clinical units.

 Fleming began her nursing career in the Texas Medical Center at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital in the step-down Intensive Care Unit (ICU). As a clinical nurse, she became actively involved in leading hospital-wide Shared Governance, where her passion for leadership grew. In 2013, Fleming joined the Quality Department at Houston Methodist West Hospital as a performance improvement coordinator. In 2014, she was promoted to medical/surgical nurse manager. Fleming joined Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital in 2018 as director of Acute Care Services and was promoted to associate chief nursing officer in December 2019.

As an advocate for the health of all moms and babies, Fleming is an active member of the Montgomery County March of Dimes Executive Leadership Team. She is the Board of Directors Secretary for the Houston Organization of Nurse Leaders (HONL), and is a member of the American Nurses Association (ANA) and the Texas Nurses Association (TNA). She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at the University of Texas Medical Branch and received her Master of Business Administration at Texas A&M University. She is board-certified by the American Nurses Credentialing Center as a Nurse Executive.

Fleming resides in Katy, Texas with her husband and daughters, Eleanor and Sophia.

Rebel L. Heasley DNP, MHA, RN, NE-BC, CHPN

Director of Palliative Care & Dialysis Services

Houston Methodist Clear Lake Hospital

Dr. Rebel Heasley is the Director of Palliative Care, Dialysis, and Volunteer Services at Houston Methodist Clear Lake Hospital (HMCL).

Rebel began her career with an Associate of Arts Degree in Nursing from Catonsville Community College in 1990. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing in November 2006 and a dual Master’s in Nursing and Health Administration in November 2008 from the University of Phoenix. In 2022, she was awarded a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree from the University of Texas at Arlington. She worked for almost 20 years in home health, then found her passion, and has worked for the last 10 years in the hospice and palliative care arena.

Rebel has driven evidence-based practice projects at HMCL since 2017 to increase access to palliative care while reducing mortality rates and readmissions; projects include adopting palliative care triggers and expanding palliative care services into the emergency department and outpatient cancer center. Presentations include ICU Triggers Impact Palliative Care in a Big Way and Engaging Palliative Care in the Emergency Department Can Reduce Early Deaths. She was also the principal investigator for the randomized control trial “The Impact of Palliative Care Interventions on 30-day Hospital Readmissions.”

Rebel is a Board-Certified Nurse Executive and Certified Hospice and Palliative Nurse. She is a member of The Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing and the American Nurses Association. She is also a member of the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association, where she currently serves as the President of the Greater Houston Chapter.

Royanne Lichliter, MSN, RN, CPN

Director of Quality Education and Simulation

Texas Children’s Hospital

Royanne Lichliter, Director of Quality Education and Simulation at Texas Children's Hospital, obtained her BSN from Mesa State College in 2003. Royanne started her career at Children’s Hospital Colorado as a bedside nurse on the Inpatient Medical Unit. In 2016, she transitioned to Texas Children's Hospital, where she currently serves as the Director of Quality Education and Simulation at. Through the years, she has gained over 15 years of leadership experience. In 2017 Royanne received her Masters of Science in Nursing Leadership from Western Governors University. 

While at Children’s Hospital Colorado, Royanne led many quality projects. In addition, she also was the PI for a study comparing to different methods for obtaining samples for antibiotic levels in pediatric patients.  This later was published, “Therapeutic antibiotic serum concentrations by two blood collection methods within the pediatric patient: A comparative effectiveness trial.” 

Royanne became a simulation instructor at Children’s Hospital Colorado in 2008 where she helped lead and conduct low fidelity codes throughout the organization.  Her passion for providing patients with safe care led her down the road of quality and safety, where she became a clinical lead on multiple initiatives and sought out opportunities that improved care, such as simulation. 

Royanne has collaborated with others to do some pre-conference presentations for simulation, such as “Optimize High Reliability: Use simulation as a QI-Patient Safety Improvement Tool”; “Simulation as Key Driver for High Reliability”; “Simulation as a Quality Tool”; “Leader Rounding Simulations”, etc. In addition, she has collaborated to submit many simulations related abstracts for publication. 

Molly McNett, PhD, RN, CNRN, FNCS, FAAN

Assistant Director

The Ohio State University College of Nursing

Dr. McNett is a Professor of Clinical Nursing at The Ohio State University and Assistant Director of Implementation Science at the Helene Fuld Health Trust National Institute for Evidence-Based Practice (EBP). Dr. McNett’s research centers on care of critically ill patients after severe neurological injury.

In her work, she has led funded, multi-site studies, and routinely leads international, interdisciplinary guideline development groups in critically synthesizing the research literature to generate meaningful practice recommendations. She has extensive experience working with leadership teams in health systems to apply research findings and evidence-based practice recommendations using an implementation science approach.

She routinely leads interdisciplinary teams in creating infrastructures for EBP and research, and has led numerous task forces to integrate key components of research, evidence-based practice, implementation science, and quality improvement initiatives into healthcare settings.