Below are the opening and closing keynotes from the 2024 AAOHN Virtual National Conference that took place on June 5-6, 2024.
Opening Keynote Speaker
Lawrence Fung, MD, PhD
Dr. Lawrence Fung is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. He is the director of the Stanford Neurodiversity Project, director of the Neurodiversity Clinic, and principal investigator at the Fung Lab. His work, which focuses on autism and neurodiversity, traverses from multi-modal neuroimaging studies to a new conceptualization of neurodiversity and its application to clinical, education, and employment settings. His lab advances the understanding of neural bases of human socio-communicative and cognitive functions by using novel neuroimaging and bioanalytical technologies.
Using a community-based participatory research approach, his team devises and implements novel interventions to improve the lives of neurodiverse individuals by maximizing their potential and productivity. His work has been supported by various agencies including the National Institutes of Health, Autism Speaks, California Department of Developmental Services, California Department of Rehabilitation, as well as philanthropy. He received his PhD in chemical engineering from Cornell University, and MD from George Washington University. He completed his general psychiatry residency, child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship, and postdoctoral research fellowship at Stanford.
Closing Keynote Speaker
Dethra Giles, MBA, MSCM
Born in Miami, Florida, it was high school where Dethra realized she had a gift for leadership and an ability to change people's lives positively. Dethra attended Mercer University, where she received her B.A. in English and Spanish. After graduation, she started her career in the non-profit arena as the program director for Central GA Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA). Her thirst for education persisted and she went on to attain her MBA and a Master of Science in Conflict Management. Dethra's clients have taken her worldwide to speak to audiences from the Czech Republic to Colombia for Black Enterprise, Kaiser Permanente, and Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Initiative. Dethra commonly says, "If you listen to me long enough, I will have you believing in yourself, taking action, changing your life, and transforming your company."
Catherine Dempsey Lecture Speakers
The Catherine Dempsey Lecture is special to our membership as it honors the first president of our association, formerly called the American Association of Industrial Nurses (AAIN) and her dedication to nursing and nursing education.
Melissa Bartholomew, MSN, BSW, RN, AGPCNP-BC
Melissa Bartholomew is a nursing instructor at DeSales University where her primary teaching responsibilities include teaching undergraduate and graduate students in population health, community & public health nursing. Her passion is educating students about social determinants of health; improving health education and advocacy for patients. She is currently a PhD candidate at Indiana University of Pennsylvania where her research focus is social determinants of health curriculum in nursing education. She received her MSN with AGPCNP certification from the University of Cincinnati and her BSN and BSW from Misericordia University.
Ann Marie Loiseau, DNP, MS, RN, CSN, CCM
Ann Marie Loiseau is an assistant professor of nursing at DeSales University located in Pennsylvania. She teaches at the graduate level: Clinical Prevention in Population Health; Health Policy; Health Informatics, Quality and Safety. She also has taught Community and Public Health Nursing and the Chronically Ill Adult at the undergraduate level. She has volunteered at local free clinics and in the community for programs such as the Strengthening Families, an effort to improve parental/guardian and youth skills to prevent the use of drugs and alcohol and other risky behaviors. She is passionate about improving social determinants of health in all clinical and non-clinical settings. Ann Marie received a Doctor of Nursing Practice from DeSales University with a scholarly project focused on occupational health nurses’ knowledge and experience with health literacy. Her Master’s of Science degree is from the University of Scranton and Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Bloomsburg University.
AAOHN General Session
Janice Hartgens, RN, MPH
Janice joined the Council in July 2023, Janice is a registered nurse executive with over 30 years of management and leadership experience in both the hospital environment and transportation industry. Since joining the Council, Janice has taken on the responsibility of leading the effort to get naloxone into every workplace in America. Before joining NSC, Janice was retired after working 30 years for UPS. Her last assignment at UPS was Vice President of Operations Safety, where she oversaw the development of specific strategies, processes, and procedures to help UPS achieve organizational objectives for U.S. Small Package Operations. Over her 30-year career with UPS Janice had various assignments in Occupational Health, Labor Relations, and Operations. Janice received her diploma in nursing from the Ann May School of Nursing in New Jersey, her undergraduate degree in Business from St. Joseph’s College in Standish Maine, and her Master of Public Health from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.
Claire Stroer Bryant, MPH, CHES
Claire is a public health professional working on the National Safety Council’s workplace wellbeing initiatives. She is responsible for planning, implementing and evaluating initiatives, such as addressing workplace substance misuse, overdose, and impairment.
Lisa Bultman, RN, BSN