NACN-USA 2025 Conference Schedule
NACN-USA 2025 Conference Schedule
Thank You to Our Sponsors
Friday, July 11th
Bonnie Blachly, NACN-USA President
Zachary McAllister, NACN-USA Conference Chair
Bonnie Blachly, NACN-USA President
Zachary McAllister, NACN-USA Conference Chair
Christine Niles
Christine Niles has worked in media for more than a decade, first launching her Forward Boldly radio network in 2012. After this, she worked as a senior producer, reporter, and investigative journalist at St. Michael’s Media for 10 years. She has published hundreds of stories and programs.
In 2023, she went out on her own and founded Stella Maris Media, a faith-based organization that features her popular weekly podcast Forward Boldly, along with her newscast Catholic News Roundup. Christine has been a leading voice and proponent of Catholicism; supporting Catholic Teachings, and encouraging Catholics to stay true, firm, and strong in their Catholic Faith.
Christine was born in Saigon, Vietnam one year before it fell to the communists and has lived in France and England. She graduated from Notre Dame Law School with a Juris Doctor in Law (2000-2003), a Master of Studies in Theology from Oxford University, and a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from The University of Florida. She lives in South Carolina with her family, which includes four children, two cats, two dogs and a horse.
Diana Ruzicka, MSN, MA, MA, RN, COL, U.S. Army Retired.
CICIAMS General Secretary.
In 1935, Pope Pius XI addressed nurses at the II World Congress of Catholic Nurses warning about materialism and paganism permeating everywhere. This presentation presents the three guiding principles His Holiness proposed to prevent the secularization, de-Christianization and removal of Christ from the bedside. Pope Francis’ words are also presented.
Rosemary Khoshi Mthethwa, MPH, PhD, RN.
International President, International Catholic Committee of Nurses and Medico-Social Assistants
Bonnie Blachly, MN, BSN, RN, CEOLD
NACN-USA President
Vicky Pebsworth, OP, PhD, RN
NACN-USA Director Region 9
Dr. Pebsworth has worked a critical care nurse, administrator, policy analyst and research scientist primarily focusing on public health policy and patient safety. She has served on two federal vaccine advisory committees and as a consultant on informed vaccine decision making and enhancing the safety of vaccines and vaccination practices.
Marie Romagnano, MSN, RN, CCM-R
College of Our Lady of the Elms. Chicopee MA .Founder Healthcare Professionals for Divine Mercy, Apostolate of the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception.
Marie F. Romagnano, MSN, RN, CCM-R, is an Assistant Clinical Professor at Elms College School of Nursing (Chicopee, MA). She received her B.S.N at the University of Utah and her M.S.N. in Nursing Education at the College of Our Lady of the Elms. She is the Founder of Healthcare Professionals for Divine Mercy in 2001, which is an official Apostolate of the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception (Stockbridge, MA). She has worked as a Catastrophic Injury Nurse and Nurse Case Manager for 34+years and has had extensive experience with death and dying patients. She is the author of Nursing with the Hands of Jesus: A Guide to Nurses for Divine Mercy that extensively examines the need for spiritual care of the patient and is a “how to” guide for nurses, currently used as a textbook at Elms School of Nursing for “The Spiritual Care of the Patient” class she developed. Since 2001 she has hosted major seminars, appeared on National and International Television and Radio and given numerous speeches on the spiritual care of the sick, injured and dying. Marie Romagnano, MSN, RN, CCM-R has been the chief organizer, director and speaker of annual Medicine, Bioethics and Spirituality educational conferences sponsored by Healthcare Professionals of Divine Mercy since its inception in 2005 to the present. Speaking topics related to Catastrophic Injury Management with integration of bioethics and spirituality according to Joint Commission Guidelines and case studies of patients she had managed.
Mary Gannon Kaufmann, MS. RDN, MA, BCC.
National Association of Catholic Chaplains, Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics. Elizabeth City, Colorado.
Mary is a Registered Dietitian in private practice, specializing in integrative and functional nutrition. With extensive experience as a diabetes educator and eating disorder dietitian, she also has years of service as a Board-certified Healthcare Chaplain, supporting individuals from diverse spiritual and religious backgrounds, including Hospice and Palliative Care. Mary has just published a new book: The Renewed Practitioner: How Spiritual Care Transforms Nutrition, Dietetics & Lifestyle Medicine to train healthcare practitioners and nurses in spiritual care. She has presented at conferences and workshops across the US and Canada and has been featured on radio spots. Passionate about holistic, whole-person care in lifestyle medicine, Mary is committed to helping both patients and colleagues find deeper meaning and purpose in their lives and professions. Warm, welcoming, and knowledgeable, she is dedicated to enhancing healthcare practice.
Bonnie Blachly MN, BSN, RN, CEOLD.
President NACN-USA. Adjunct Faculty Retired, University of Washington, Bothell Gentle Passage Doula Collective, President BLB Nurse Consulting Services, President/Owner, Parish Nurse, St. Mary Magdalene Parish, Everett, WA.
Bonnie has served as: Long Term Care as a Director of Nursing and Nursing Home Administrator, Home Health Agency Director, Faculty at University of Washington, Bothell, Faculty at Western Washington University, Faculty at Northwest University, and Gentle Passage Doula Collective, President.
Bonnie has devoted her career to working with older adults and those coming to the end of their life. She developed a Hospice Program with a SNF in collaboration with a Hospice Physician. She taught classes at the university level on Death and Dying and Community Health. She became an End-of-Life Doula in retirement and works with people facing terminal illness and actively dying.
Saturday, July 12th
Bishop Joseph L. Coffey
Bishop Joseph L. Coffey, after heeding a call to the priesthood, attended St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia, PA. He later graduated with a Master of Divinity degree (M.Div.) and was ordained a priest in 1996 by Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua. Then in 2000 he earned a Master of Arts (MA) in Moral Theology. While still in seminary in 1992, Father Coffey was given permission to enter the U.S. Navy Chaplain Candidate Program with the rank of Ensign. He stayed in the Navy Reserve for the next nine years, and in 2001 was given permission for full-time active duty as a Navy Chaplain.
Bishop Coffey’s duty assignments have included: Combat Assault Battalion, Okinawa, Japan; Division Officer and Command Chaplain on board USS GEORGE WASHINGTON (CVN 73), home ported in Norfolk, VA, with a 6 month deployment to the Arabian Gulf; Command Chaplain at the U.S. Coast Guard Training Center, Cape May, NJ; Marine Air Group 39, Camp Pendleton, CA, an assignment that included a seven month deployment to Camp Leatherneck, Helmand Provence, Afghanistan; U.S. Navy Recruiting Command, St. Louis, MO; Command Chaplain on USS RONALD REAGAN (CVN 76), home ported in Yokosuka, Japan, with a six-month deployment to the South Pacific Ocean; and his final assignment as Assistant Chief of Staff for Religious Ministry, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego, CA.
Bishop Coffey’s military awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, the Navy Commendation Medal with two (2) gold stars, the Navy Achievement Medal with two (2) gold stars, the Navy Sea Service Medal, the National Defense Medal, the War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the War on Terrorism Service Medal, and the NATO Service Medal, and three (3) Battle E Ribbons. He retired as a Navy Captain. On October 16, 2024 he was awarded the Philopatrian Sourin award by the Philopatrian Literary Institute at the Union League in Philadelphia, PA where 454 people were in attendance to celebrate this special occasion.
Bishop Joseph Coffey is the son of the late Dr. William F. X Coffey, M.D., and Roseanita Schubert Coffey. He is the fifth of nine children and the proud uncle of 46 nieces and nephews, and 42 great nieces and nephews. He was raised in Philadelphia and is a life-long fan of all Philly sports teams.
Anne Reeser, DNP, MSN,APRN-BC
NACN-USA Treasurer, CICIAMS UN NGO Representative
Erica Smith, MPH, Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach. Louisiana.
Elaine C. Hardy, PhD, RN. St. John’s College of Nursing. Louisiana.
Annually $3.6 billion is spent for American clinicians to go on mission trips – that often result in unintended harm to partners in low-resource areas. Global health education helps clinicians build skills to serve many cultures, whether in the local hospital or at a clinic thousands of miles away.
Sr Cecilia Adache, DOSF RPHN, MPH, BNSC, RN, RM, CFCP, CFCE, NFP
Women’s menstrual and fertility cycles have been shrouded in mystery since the beginning of time. Most women still do not know about the workings of their cycles of fertility and infertility. Every woman has the right to know how her cycles function in order to understand the way her body works for the maintenance of her health, and couples can use this knowledge to plan their family and build their future as a couple!
These mysteries have been unraveled through the CREIGHTON MODEL FertilityCare™ System (CrMS) and the new women’s health science of NaProTECHNOLOGY.
Richard Becker, DNP, MA, RN
Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Indiana
This workshop builds understanding of moral distress among nurses and the importance of reducing its harmful impact through fostering moral resilience. Moral distress is defined along with related ethical issues and concepts, including the significance of conscience. Case studies will provide ample opportunity for application and discussion.
Christopher Kelly, MSN, RN, CEN, EMT-B
Alta Vista Regional Hospital, Las Vegas
My journey to nursing went from work as a wildland firefighter, to work in rural EMS, then to nursing school. I hold an emergency nurse certification and have recently completed my master’s in nursing management. I currently work as a night house supervisor at Alta Vista Regional Hospital in rural Las Vegas, New Mexico (not the one in Nevada). In 2022 I presented a paper on conscience rights in healthcare at the World Congress of Catholic Nurses.
Teresa Sipos, D.Min. MSED, RN
Trinity Counseling LLC CEO, Lancaster, OH
Teresa Durbak Sipos D.Min., RN serves as a behavioral healthcare chaplain and has taught mental health & addictions nursing at three state universities. Teresa completed her BSN from the University of Tulsa, MSEd. from the University of Dayton and Doctor of Ministry from St. Mary Seminary and School of Theology.
Franciscan Missionaries of our Lady University School of Nursing, Baton Rouge Louisiana
Michele L. Blackwell, PhD, RN, CNE.
Christina M. Rochester MSN, RN.
REACH is a faculty-driven initiative that integrates Catholic healthcare ethics across the Nursing curriculum. This presentation outlines its development, ethical reasoning framework, assessment methods, and unexpected benefits like deeper mission integration and faculty collaboration, offering practical insights for embedding values-based ethics education within health-related academic programs.
Judith Rogers Fruiterman PhD, MSN, BSN, RN
Director, Malek School of Nursing Professions Marymount University, Arlington, Virginia
Melissa Leisen, PhD, RN
Marymount University, Arlington, Virginia
Dr. Melissa Leisen, RN, has been a pediatric nurse for 25 years and has fifteen years of experience in academia. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Nursing at Marymount University in Virginia. Her research focuses on nursing education and the preparation of nurses to serve children with disabilities.
Innovative Online Bridge Program to Improve Admission and Retention of BSN Nursing Students at a Hispanic Student Serving Institute
The purpose of this project was to increase admission and retention of students who did not meet the admission GPA required for the BSN nursing program. These students were offered, at no cost to them, an evidence-informed online bridge course. The bridge course included instruction on study skills, critical reading strategies, review of essential math skills, and physiology. Instruction was delivered through synchronous and asynchronous methods.
As a result of this program, students were admitted to the program who would have previously been denied and were able to persist into the second semester. This program improved admission and retention rates. Of the eight students admitted to the bridge course, one student never attended the course and one student changed majors. The mean pre-test result was 42% and the post-test results were 90%. Retention of students who completed the bridge program after the first-semester nursing courses was 100%.
Deacon, Mariusz Mark Kosla, MSN, MA, CCRN-CMC. Chicago, IL
Deacon Mariusz Mark Kosla was ordained a Permanent Deacon in the Archdiocese of Chicago, Illinois in 2010. He holds an adjunct faculty position at the University of Saint Mary of the Lake Seminary where he serves in various roles as a Permanent Deacon and Registered Nurse.
In Nursing, he has over 30 years’ experience and holds a Master’s degree in Nursing (MSN) and a Master of Arts (MA) degree. He has a wide range of knowledge in Critical Care and Cardiology where he holds active Certifications as a Critical Care Registered Nurse (CCRN) and a Cardiac Medicine Certification (CMC). He has expertise in resuscitation science, and ethical consulting just to name a few.
Deacon Mariusz is passionate about End-of-Life issues and issues related to the ethical care of patients and their families. He has presented many such topics to the public, the laity, and his colleagues in the medical and nursing fields, locally and nationally.
He challenges the professional nurse to be vigilant in all current health care delivery arenas, safeguarding the patient’s right to ethical decision making, advocating for their spiritual care, and not dismissing the moral conscience of each patient and clinical care giver.
Deacon, Mariusz Mark Kosla, MSN, MA, CCRN-CMC. Chicago, IL
Deacon Mariusz Mark Kosla was ordained a Permanent Deacon in the Archdiocese of Chicago, Illinois in 2010. He holds an adjunct faculty position at the University of Saint Mary of the Lake Seminary where he serves in various roles as a Permanent Deacon and Registered Nurse.
In Nursing, he has over 30 years’ experience and holds a Master’s degree in Nursing (MSN) and a Master of Arts (MA) degree. He has a wide range of knowledge in Critical Care and Cardiology where he holds active Certifications as a Critical Care Registered Nurse (CCRN) and a Cardiac Medicine Certification (CMC). He has expertise in resuscitation science, and ethical consulting just to name a few.
Deacon Mariusz is passionate about End-of-Life issues and issues related to the ethical care of patients and their families. He has presented many such topics to the public, the laity, and his colleagues in the medical and nursing fields, locally and nationally.
He challenges the professional nurse to be vigilant in all current health care delivery arenas, safeguarding the patient’s right to ethical decision making, advocating for their spiritual care, and not dismissing the moral conscience of each patient and clinical care giver.
Sunday, July 13th
Sr. Anne Victory, HM, MSN, RN.
Sr. Anne Victory, HM, RN, MSN is currently serving as a member of the Leadership Team of the Sisters of the Humility of Mary. She served as Director of Education for the Collaborative to End Human Trafficking, Cleveland, OH from 2010-2021 and is now a volunteer for the organization. A nurse by profession, she served for 32 years as a clinician, educator, and administrator in nursing and as Vice President for Mission and Director of Staff Education at St. Joseph Hospital, Lorain, OH, (now named Mercy Health and part of the Bon Secours Mercy Health System).
Sr. Anne is one of the founding members of the Alliance to End human Trafficking (formerly US Catholic Sisters Against Human Trafficking) and past president of the board. She has given presentations to a wide variety of audiences on the issue of human trafficking. One of the lenses through which Anne views human trafficking is as a public health issue–one that requires a collaborative, trauma-based approach involving multiple systems and service providers. She recently received the Servant Leader Award from the Sisters Against Trafficking, a philanthropic organization associated with Talitha Kum, the international network of Sisters and others working across the globe to end human trafficking. Sr. Anne holds a BSN from St. John College, Cleveland, and a MS in Nursing from Ohio State University.
Joann Iverson, DNP, RN. St. Martin’s University, Lacey, WA.
Dr. Iverson’s work includes experience and research to provide safety and healthcare for homeless populations. Her efforts have led to increased advocacy for medical respite and safe parking for those living unhoused in her community. Some projects that have been influenced by her research include Catholic Community Service’s Nativity House Medical Respite Program, Pierce County’s Safe Parking shelter, and a future Medical Respite Shelter in Tacoma, Washington, due to open in 2026. Medical Respite reimbursement has taken it first step in Washington State. The Healthcare Authority has submitted a preproposal, CR 101 for Medical Respite for Homeless populations (https://www.hca.wa.gov/assets/101-24-05-081.pdf).
Valeria Kubanick, PhD, RN, PMH-BC Fort Salonga, NY.
Therapeutic Communication for Catholic Nurses. Learn how to be self-aware of feelings, empathy and communication through the lens of a Catholic nurse. Identify biblically based examples of communication; how it is used for the betterment of patient care; navigate modern times using Catholic therapeutic communication in the nurse-patient relationship.
Bonnie Blachly MN, BSN, RN, CEOLD.
President NACN-USA. Adjunct Faculty Retired, University of Washington, Bothell Gentle Passage Doula Collective, President BLB Nurse Consulting Services, President/Owner. Parish Nurse, St. Mary Magdalene Parish, Everett, WA.
NACN-USA 2025
Conference Committee
Zachary McAllister
MSN, RN, Conference Chair
Anne Reeser
DNP, MSN, APRN-BC
Bonnie Blachly
MN, BSN, RN, CEOLD
Theresa Newlin
MSN, APRN, ANP-BC
Patricia Sayers
DNP, RN
Sylvia Suarez-Ponce
MAPS, BS-HCL, RN, CIC
Andrea Flewelling, MSN, RN
Communications Chair