Meet the New APGAP Board Members!

We are thrilled to announce that our governing board has six new members! We wanted to give all of our members the opportunity to get to know these new leaders, so we’ve interviewed each of them. 

Meet your 2020 APGAP Board (New members have a * next to their names):

Immediate Past-President: Britney Broyhill, DNP, ACNP-BC
President: Tamra Langley, MSN, AGACNP-BC
President-Elect: Lacey Buckler, DNP, ACNP-BC*
Treasurer: Deb Stein, ACNP-BC*
Membership Chair: Dayna Morgan
Membership Chair-Elect: Michelle Alland*
Education Chair: Angela Forbes*
Education Committee Chair-Elect: Dana Williams*
Social Media Chair: Camille Petraitis Valente
Social Media Chair-Elect: Anne Vail*

APGAP: Please tell us a little bit about your position, what it entails, and why it interests you. 

Lacey:
The position of President-Elect interests me because of APGAP advocates for APRN education and program development in order to bridge the gap between education and practice.  As President-Elect of APGAP, I will have the opportunity to influence learning practices that can translate easily to the bedside which will hopefully result in a decrease in the time it takes for new APPs to transition to practice and full patient load once they have graduated. 

Deb:
As Treasurer of APGAP I have had the opportunity to be actively engaged in the development of the organization and observe it’s growth and financial health. It has helped me understand more about not only APGAP as an organization but also how organizations in general operate and grow.

Michelle:
I will be stepping into the role of Membership Chair-Elect.  This role interested me because I am eager to connect more APRN leaders who currently administer a post-graduate program, or who are interested in starting one.

Angela:
I am newly elected to APGAP as the Education Chair and I am still just learning about the position and what it entails. 

Dana:
My newly elected position is the Education Committee Chair, Elect. This position will allow me to work collaboratively with the other members of the board to support the educational resources, needs, and materials provided for the members of APGAP.

Anne:
I have recently assumed the position of APGAP Social Media Chair-Elect. I am so excited about this position to explore and strategize the best ways to reach the right people; I have much to learn! I find the evolution of human connection through social media platforms to be incredibly interesting. To remain relevant in business, education, etc. you must be present, active and engaged online. People are consuming more information online than anywhere else and are using social media as a primary platform to connect. Because post-graduate education is an exploding field of interest, hospital leadership teams are hungry for best-practice on how to build, improve and sustain these programs. APGAP is the best resource to advocate for and fund this inquiry, and this is largely accomplished through social media! I feel a personal obligation to put out a quality product that will be useful for idea-generating, resourcing information, mentorship and building the community of post-graduate education. I believe my position this year will be in a primary learner role to the Communication Chair for a better understanding of how we are currently operating and potentially providing some of my professional expertise to enhance our goals.

APGAP: Please share a bit about yourself and your professional background.

Lacey:
I am the Assistant Chief Nurse Executive for Advanced Practice, Cardiovascular, Neurosciences, and Interventional Services at the University of Kentucky Healthcare System. I’ve been in this role since April 2015 and, prior to that, I held multiple roles in the Cardiovascular service line. One thing I’m proud of was the part I played in developing the Office of Advanced Practice a UKHC in 2008 which now oversees more than 500 Advanced Practice Providers in the system.  As an Acute Care nurse practitioner, I have a clinical practice in Cardiology and I oversee the nursing functions for more than 1000 nursing care team members. I’ve also held an Adjunct Faculty position at the University of Kentucky College of Nursing since 2010 where I teach in both the Acute Care and DNP leadership tracks. I received my MSN/ACNP from the UK College of Nursing in 2006 and earned my Doctorate of Nursing Practice in 2013. I’ve been at UKHC for 17 years and am a proud member of the University of Kentucky community. My husband (also an APP) and I reside in Nicholasville with our 8-year-old daughter and Bernedoodle puppy Chewy. 

Deb:
I am a Nurse Practitioner in the fields of Critical Care and Oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC). Throughout my career, I became involved in various aspects of education as a clinical instructor for nurse practitioner students to developing an onboarding program for new advanced practice providers (APP) entering critical care. I became an Education Specialist for the Critical Care Service at MSKCC and, with institutional support, was able to create a Critical Care APP Fellowship. This past year I was promoted to APP Fellowship Manager at MSKCC and have been building and launching a variety of APP Fellowships including the Pediatrics APP Fellowship and Neurology/Neurosurgery APP Fellowship with the assistance of a phenomenal group of APPs with whom I am collaborating on this endeavor.

Michelle:
I was introduced to the world of post-graduate APRN education when I myself became a nurse practitioner fellow in cardiology at the Mayo Clinic in 2014. Thereafter I joined the inpatient cardiology team at Mayo Clinic, where I continue to practice.  I also remained involved in the cardiology nurse practitioner fellowship-initially as faculty, followed by the associate program director, and ultimately as program director in 2018.

Angela:
I am an Advanced Practice Provider with the Cancer and Blood Disorders Center at Seattle Children’s Hospital. I started my career at Seattle Children's Hospital as a unit coordinator in the cancer care unit. I was inspired by the nurses on that unit to pursue a career in nursing. I then went on to receive my master's degree from New York University, where I was honored as the Distinguished Graduate. I was also awarded the Division of Nursing Alumni Association, Master's Achievement Award. After graduation, I worked at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, specializing in caring for critically ill children with cancer and other immunological diseases. I returned to Seattle Children's Hospital in 2011 to continue my career as an Advanced Practice Provider.  I’ve presented internationally, nationally and locally on a variety of pediatric acute care topics. Since July of 2017, I’ve been a member of the leadership team for the Advanced Practice Provider fellowship at Seattle Children's Hospital. The mission of the APP fellowship program is to provide a protected year of training for newly graduated nurse practitioners and physician assistants. Originally from Belfast, Northern Ireland, I now live in Seattle with my daughter, Chloe and our dog Cookie. My interests include traveling, watching bad British television and reading.

Dana:
I’m an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner in the Department of Critical Care Advanced Practitioners at St. Luke’s University Health Network, where I’ve been for over 10 years. I’ve also held multiple leadership roles over the years including Lead Advanced Practitioner at the Anderson Campus, Co-Director of the Emergency Medicine and Critical Care Advanced Practitioner Fellowship Program and Lead Advanced Practitioner in Education for the Department of Critical Care Advanced Practitioners. Before joining St. Luke’s, I began my career in nursing and subsequently as a nurse practitioner at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. I received my BSN from the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing and my MSN from Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing. 

Anne:
I earned my Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington in 2007. I started my nursing career as a RN in the Coronary Care Unit and Cath/EP Lab and worked there for seven years before transitioning to advanced practice. I pursued higher education at Duke University School of Nursing to obtain my Master of Science in Nursing with Adult-Gerontology Nurse Practitioner and Doctor of Nursing Practice. My NP career began in Inpatient Infectious Disease as a consultant where I eventually discovered my clinical passion for geriatric medicine. My family moved to North Carolina where I took a job with Atrium Health at Senior Care. In 2017, I advanced my profession by accepting the APP Specialty Director of Geriatric Medicine in addition to my clinical role. Then in 2019, I accepted a primary position as the NP Fellowship Director. I continue to work clinically in geriatric medicine in the ambulatory memory clinic. I am active within the Association of Post-Graduate APRN Programs as the current Social Media Chair and the Co-Lead of the Mentorship and Leadership Development in the DNP Community at Atrium Health. This year I was selected for the 2020 NCNA Leadership Academy and am excited about this opportunity to engage with nurse leaders from across North Carolina. In my free time, I love spending time with my husband and four energetic fun-loving boys.  

APGAP: What about APGAP has been most valuable for you?

Lacey:
The most valuable resource APGAP has is the strong networking opportunities it provides members. Not only can you get a strong foundation for your program but you can also talk with others who are working through the same things your institution may be dealing with. The resources are endless and provide an opportunity to build a strong and successful program!

Deb:
The most valuable aspect of APGAP membership has been the ability to network with other APPs that are building and maintaining fellowships throughout the country. Being able to speak with others, learn from their experiences and develop new approaches to building and growing my organization’s fellowships and work through challenges has been invaluable.

Michelle:
APGAP has afforded me many opportunities to network with other individuals who share a passion for post-graduate APRN education.  The information gained from attending APGAP’s annual meeting is priceless-especially since the material on this specialized topic is very difficult to find elsewhere.

Angela:
I am new to APGAP and I am excited to network with other Advanced Practice Providers involved in Fellowships.  I am hoping to mentor other APPs in the development of Advanced Practice Provider Fellowships.

Dana:
Without a question, the networking and sharing of ideas have been one of the most valuable experiences that I have had with APGAP.

Anne:
I love that APGAP is expanding the opportunities for nurse practitioners to participate in post-graduate education and training programs. They are the resource for NPs to find high-quality programs, hospital systems to develop strong fellowship infrastructure and the benchmark of excellence in this growing platform.

Please give them all a warm welcome!