Michele Farrington is a program manager at University of Iowa Health Care. Michele is certified in pain management nursing and received a BSN from the University of Iowa. Michele previously served as a

study coordinator, evidence-based practice (EBP) mentor, and staff nurse in pediatrics with clinical expertise in pediatric oncology. Michele has numerous peer-reviewed publications and has given multiple local, regional, national, and international presentations. Michele is actively involved in professional nursing organizations and is a past recipient of the Society of Otorhinolaryngology and Head-Neck Nurses (SOHN) Outstanding Service Award, SOHN Honor Award, Ear, Nose and Throat Nursing Foundation Literary Awards, Nursing Excellence in Clinical Education Award, Clinical Performance Improvement Award, Making a

Difference Award, and 100 Great Iowa Nurses.

Courtney Heid is a registered nurse specializing in adult hematology oncology/stem cell transplant and cellular therapy, clinical research coordination, and evidence-based practice. She has seven years of nursing experience and over 14 years experience in the healthcare field.

Seth Jackson is a staff nurse on the ECMO team at University of Iowa Health Care. He has participated in EBP efforts at Iowa since 2015 and has completed the EBP internship. Seth considers himself fortunate to have been invited to serve as a peer mentor in subsequent EBP internships, working on various projects throughout University of Iowa Health Care.

Elyse Laures is a nurse scientist at University of the Iowa Health Care and adjunct faculty at the University of Iowa College of Nursing. Her primary research focus is on implementation science. In addition, she teaches, mentors, and facilitates EBP across the healthcare system using the Iowa Model. Her primary focus in the College of Nursing is related to DNP projects. 

Kirsten Hanrahan is the director of Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice for University of Iowa Health Care. Dr. Hanrahan is well versed in EBP, clinical research, and innovation. She has numerous publications, national and international presentations, and has been named one of Iowa’s 100 Great Nurses, a 2019 Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, and a 2020-2021 Mayday Pain & Society Fellow. 

Dr. Kimberly Hunter is chief nurse executive at University of Iowa Health Care and associate dean for clinical practice at University of Iowa College of Nursing. She joined University of Iowa Health Care in April 2021. From March 2022 until November 2023, she assumed additional leadership responsibilities as interim associate vice president for University of Iowa Health Care and interim CEO of University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics.

As chief nurse executive, Dr. Hunter leads the Department of Nursing Services and Patient Care, providing administrative oversight to nursing services, care coordination, rehabilitation therapies, and respiratory care. She fosters a commitment to EBP; shared governance; nurse recruitment, retention, and professional development; and team-based, interdisciplinary collaboration throughout the continuum of care. 

Dr. Hunter’s professional experience includes more than 35 years of health care management experience – including nearly 20 years of collective experience at Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic. She currently serves on the American Association of Colleges of Nursing Board of Directors.

Dr. Hunter earned a Master of Science in Nursing and Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. In 2017, she earned a Doctor of Nursing Practice in Health Systems Leadership from Chamberlain University. 

Hunter is credentialed by the American Nurses Credentialing Center as a Nurse Executive Advanced–Board Certified.

Dr. Jacqueline Medland (“Jackie”) currently serves in both the academic and practice arenas—as an Associate Clinical Professor in the Doctor of Nursing Practice Program, Innovation Leadership at Arizona State University, and as Principal at MedValence Inc., an organization development firm for hospitals, health systems, and physician practices. Dr. Medland has enjoyed a strong and vibrant history as a critical care nurse, cardio-vascular Clinical Nurse Specialist, Nurse Educator, and Nursing Executive across university and community-based settings in urban and rural United States. 

Dr. Medland’s interests include strategies for building environments of excellence through high-impact leadership, and professional health and wellness. The University of Illinois, College of Nursing, has honored her with the Power of Nursing Leadership SAGE Award, and she was recognized with the Distinguished Educator Award from Sigma Theta Tau, Alpha Omicron. Dr. Medland’s unique ability to inspire others comes from her love of teaching and her unwavering belief in each individual’s personal power. 

Dr. Williams is an associate professor of management and entrepreneurship and the Henry B. Tippie Research Fellow in Entrepreneurship at the Tippie College of Business, University of Iowa. 

She conducts interdisciplinary research on the micro-foundations of collaboration, innovation, and meaning among team members and boundary spanners across diverse professions and organizations. Michele examines how psychological processes, such as perspective and emotion regulation, influence the evolution of interpersonal trust, cooperation, and innovation in team, leader-subordinate, and strategic relationships. She has conducted research in hospitals for over 15 years and currently collaborates with colleagues from the College of Nursing, University of Iowa Health Care, and hospitals across the country. Michele teaches entrepreneurship, leadership, and negotiation.

She has authored papers and case studies that have been published in notable academic journals, including the Academy of Management Review, Strategic Management Journal, Nurse Leader, and the Journal of 

Nursing Administration. She presented at AONL this Spring and speaks widely at academic and professional conferences on her research topics. 

Dr. Paule Valery Joseph is a senior investigator and chief of the Section of Sensory Science and Metabolism at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, with a joint appointment at the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. She serves as founding co-director of the National Smell and Taste Center.

As a nurse scientist and board-certified family nurse practitioner, Dr. Joseph has built a program of research at the intersection of chemosensory biology and clinical care, examining how smell, taste, and chemesthesis shape metabolic health, addiction, and neurodegenerative disease. Her work bridges bench science and bedside practice, with translational findings that inform screening, patient assessment, and evidence-based clinical protocols. She has authored more than one hundred fifty peer-reviewed publications, with her work cited over 7,500 times.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, she co-founded the Global Consortium for Chemosensory Research, an international network of nearly 800 scientists across more than 70 countries that produced some of the earliest population-level evidence linking smell loss to infection. She is also the author of a forthcoming book on smell and human experience, written for general audiences.

Dr. Joseph is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine, a Guggenheim Fellow, a TED Fellow, a Presidential Leadership Scholar, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. Her TEDx talks have brought chemosensory science to broader public audiences, reflecting her commitment to translating research beyond academic settings.

Born in Venezuela, Dr. Joseph immigrated to the United States at sixteen and began her education at Hostos Community College in the Bronx. She completed her training across the City University of New York, the College of New Rochelle, Pace University, and the University of Pennsylvania. Her career reflects a sustained commitment to nursing leadership, mentorship, and the advancement of evidence-based practice across clinical, academic, and public health settings.

Elyse Laures is a nurse scientist at University of the Iowa Health Care and adjunct faculty at the University of Iowa College of Nursing. Her primary research focus is on implementation science. In addition, she teaches, mentors, and facilitates EBP across the healthcare system using the Iowa Model. Her primary focus in the College of Nursing is related to DNP projects. 

Dr. Paule Valery Joseph is a senior investigator and chief of the Section of Sensory Science and Metabolism at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, with a joint appointment at the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. She serves as founding co-director of the National Smell and Taste Center.

As a nurse scientist and board-certified family nurse practitioner, Dr. Joseph has built a program of research at the intersection of chemosensory biology and clinical care, examining how smell, taste, and chemesthesis shape metabolic health, addiction, and neurodegenerative disease. Her work bridges bench science and bedside practice, with translational findings that inform screening, patient assessment, and evidence-based clinical protocols. She has authored more than one hundred fifty peer-reviewed publications, with her work cited over 7,500 times.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, she co-founded the Global Consortium for Chemosensory Research, an international network of nearly 800 scientists across more than 70 countries that produced some of the earliest population-level evidence linking smell loss to infection. She is also the author of a forthcoming book on smell and human experience, written for general audiences.

Dr. Joseph is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine, a Guggenheim Fellow, a TED Fellow, a Presidential Leadership Scholar, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. Her TEDx talks have brought chemosensory science to broader public audiences, reflecting her commitment to translating research beyond academic settings.

Born in Venezuela, Dr. Joseph immigrated to the United States at sixteen and began her education at Hostos Community College in the Bronx. She completed her training across the City University of New York, the College of New Rochelle, Pace University, and the University of Pennsylvania. Her career reflects a sustained commitment to nursing leadership, mentorship, and the advancement of evidence-based practice across clinical, academic, and public health settings.

Donna Brimeyer has 35 years in nursing and leadership roles. She specializes in guiding perioperative and procedural teams through high‑acuity, fast‑moving environments. Donna is passionate about elevating practice standards and has spent the past two decades using the Iowa Model to lead evidence‑based and quality improvement initiatives that strengthen patient outcomes and support bedside clinicians.

Laura Cullen, DNP, RN, FAAN leads evidence-based practice at University of Iowa Health Care. She is internationally recognized as an EBP and implementation expert. Her work has led to innovation in practice; improved patient safety; improved patient, family and staff satisfaction; reduced hospital LOS and costs; and transformation of many organizations’ EBP infrastructure. Dr. Cullen has over 100 publications and presents nationally and internationally. She has received multiple awards and supported numerous awards for the department.

Donna Dolezal has been the nurse manager at the University of Iowa Health Care Ambulatory Center for 11 years. Her prior experience includes nurse manager in the main OR post anesthesia care unit (PACU), phase 2 recovery, day of surgery (DOSA) and surgery specially clinic. She has worked on several EBP projects with frontline staff including preop oral Tylenol, sleep apnea screening, postop nausea and vomiting nurse-led interventions, special needs patients, and patient education.

Sarah Hackbarth started her nursing career in the medical intensive care unit (MICU) in 2025. She has made the transition from staff nurse to assistant nurse manager, and now serves as nurse manager. As the unit that leads University of Iowa Health Care in nurse-led EBP internships and quality improvement projects, Sarah is very proud of MICU’s commitment to EBP.

Abby Lewis has 16 years of nursing experience, including 12 years in leadership on a medical/surgical cardiac intermediate unit. She has collaborated on multiple evidence-based practice initiatives, most recently a fall prevention project. Abby is passionate about actively engages both staff and patients throughout the EBP process to foster collaboration, ownership, and meaningful outcomes.

Jessica McDaniel is a nurse leader with a strong focus on patient experience, quality, and safety. She currently serves as a nurse manager at University of Iowa Health Care. She leads work that uses evidence, data, and patient feedback to guide practice and improve outcomes, including patient perceptions of care. Jessica is passionate about supporting staff, meaningful recognition, and creating reliable, evidence-informed processes that help ensure safe, high-quality, patient centered care.

Katie Reed is a nurse manager at University of Iowa Health Care where she provides clinical and operational leadership across ten ambulatory walk-in clinic sites, including urgent care, occupational health, and sports medicine. Her work centers on quality improvement, care delivery redesign, and the use of real-time data to improve access, patient flow, and patient and staff outcomes in an academic medical center.

Donna Dolezal has been the nurse manager at the University of Iowa Health Care Ambulatory Center for 11 years. Her prior experience includes nurse manager in the main OR post anesthesia care unit (PACU), phase 2 recovery, day of surgery (DOSA) and surgery specially clinic. She has worked on several EBP projects with frontline staff including preop oral Tylenol, sleep apnea screening, postop nausea and vomiting nurse-led interventions, special needs patients, and patient education.

Kirsten Hanrahan is the director of Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice for University of Iowa Health Care. Dr. Hanrahan is well versed in EBP, clinical research, and innovation. She has numerous publications, national and international presentations, and has been named one of Iowa’s 100 Great Nurses, a 2019 Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, and a 2020-2021 Mayday Pain & Society Fellow. 

Dr. Jacqueline Medland (“Jackie”) currently serves in both the academic and practice arenas—as an Associate Clinical Professor in the Doctor of Nursing Practice Program, Innovation Leadership at Arizona State University, and as Principal at MedValence Inc., an organization development firm for hospitals, health systems, and physician practices. Dr. Medland has enjoyed a strong and vibrant history as a critical care nurse, cardio-vascular Clinical Nurse Specialist, Nurse Educator, and Nursing Executive across university and community-based settings in urban and rural United States. 

Dr. Medland’s interests include strategies for building environments of excellence through high-impact leadership, and professional health and wellness. The University of Illinois, College of Nursing, has honored her with the Power of Nursing Leadership SAGE Award, and she was recognized with the Distinguished Educator Award from Sigma Theta Tau, Alpha Omicron. Dr. Medland’s unique ability to inspire others comes from her love of teaching and her unwavering belief in each individual’s personal power. 

Courtney Heid is a registered nurse specializing in adult hematology oncology/stem cell transplant and cellular therapy, clinical research coordination, and evidence-based practice. She has seven years of nursing experience and over 14 years experience in the healthcare field.

Elyse Laures is a nurse scientist at University of the Iowa Health Care and adjunct faculty at the University of Iowa College of Nursing. Her primary research focus is on implementation science. In addition, she teaches, mentors, and facilitates EBP across the healthcare system using the Iowa Model. Her primary focus in the College of Nursing is related to DNP projects. 

Jaime (Printy) Brandt is a former standout women’s basketball player at the University of Iowa and the head coach of the Liberty High School girls basketball team in North Liberty, Iowa. As a Hawkeye, she was one of the program’s all-time leading scorers, finishing her collegiate career ranked fourth in school history and earning recognition as one of Iowa’s top players.

After her playing career, Brandt transitioned into coaching, leading her alma mater, Linn-Mar High School, before becoming the founding head coach at Liberty High School. Known for her leadership and player development, she has helped build Liberty’s girls basketball program into a competitive force, highlighted by milestones such as the program’s first state tournament appearance.

In addition to coaching, Brandt is a fourth-grade teacher at Christine Grant Elementary School, where she is committed to supporting and inspiring students in the classroom as well as on the court. She is widely respected for her experience, competitive background, and dedication to mentoring young people both academically and athletically.

Molly Kucera is the director of the Ambulatory Surgery Center at University of Iowa Health Care. With more than 25 years of perioperative leadership experience, she is known for advancing evidence‑based practice, safety culture, operational excellence, and innovative solutions in surgical care. Molly is actively involved in national nursing leadership through both AONL and AORN, serving on AONL’s Education and Nominations Committees and holds multiple leadership roles within AORN, including chapter president, ASC specialty assembly chair, and national mentor. Her work focuses strongly on leadership mentorship, including her doctoral project centered on building structured mentor–mentee relationships through a formalized development process. A frequent national presenter, Molly contributes to the advancement of nursing innovation, simulation-based learning, and culture transformation. She is currently completing her Doctor of Nursing Practice at the University of Iowa, where she continues to champion leadership development and innovative strategies that elevate perioperative nursing and patient care.

David Gould is a public scholar and member of the University of Iowa faculty. He has served the University of Iowa as visiting associate professor at the Public Policy Center, an administrator at the Belin-Blank International Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development, the associate director of professional student development in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, a lecturer in the Department of Health and Human Physiology, and the first Obermann Center Public Scholar. Dave also worked with Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh’s Downtown Project in its effort to transform Las Vegas into the “most community-focused large city in the world.” 

For over a decade, the focus of Dave’s work has revolved around reimagining higher education, and in turn, he has created several distinctive university courses concentrated on issues of meaning and community engagement. These courses have garnered considerable media attention and professional recognition. From 2010 – 2025, graduating seniors at the University of Iowa have recognized Dave as one of the top faculty and staff members “who has had a positive effect on their life.” Dave received the 2025 Award for Campus Support, 2020 Honors Teaching Award, and 2019 David J. Skorton Staff Excellence Award in Service to the University of Iowa, among others. 

Dave is also a sought-after public speaker with presentations that include the commencement address for the University of Iowa College of Liberal Arts & Sciences; keynote for Educating 21st Century Adolescent Learners in Tokyo, Japan; Luther College Convocation; keynote for Next Gen. Summit; TEDxUNI; TEDxIowa City; and TEDxQuincyStudio. 

Dave directed the documentary Two Sides of the Moon at the Atlanta International Documentary Film Festival, Newport Beach Film Festival, UNSPOKEN Human Rights Film Festival, and FLICKERS: Rhode Island International Film Festival, among others. He also produced The Checker King on HBO2, and Freestyle: The Victories of Dan Gable (HBO Signature). Currently, Dave is executive producing the feature film Gable. 

For what it’s worth, Dave can also hold his breath for 1 ½ minutes and touch his tongue to his nose.

Elyse Laures is a nurse scientist at University of the Iowa Health Care and adjunct faculty at the University of Iowa College of Nursing. Her primary research focus is on implementation science. In addition, she teaches, mentors, and facilitates EBP across the healthcare system using the Iowa Model. Her primary focus in the College of Nursing is related to DNP projects.