Board of Commissioners

Dr. Tracy Arnold, DNP, RN, CNE currently serves as a Professor and Director of the Hunt School of Nursing at Gardner-Webb University, in which she provides leadership for four levels of nursing education – associate, bachelor, master, and doctorate. With over 21 years of experience in the nursing profession, Dr. Arnold has held various clinical and academic leadership roles, including serving as a Nurse Manager, BSN Licensure and Program Coordinator, Chair of Pre-Licensure Nursing Programs, and Associate Director of the Hunt School of Nursing.

Dr. Arnold holds four degrees in nursing, including a Doctor of Nursing Practice, a Master of Science in Nursing with an emphasis in Nursing Administration, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, and an Associate of Science in Nursing. She currently serves as Chair of the Promotion and Tenure Committee at the University. She is a member of the North Carolina Nurses Association, in which she previously served as a DNP Council member, the North Carolina Council of Higher Education in Nursing, and Sigma Theta Tau. She has served as a Master Reviewer for Quality Matters for Higher Education since 2016 and as a Peer Reviewer since 2014. She completed the National League for Nursing LEAD program in 2018. In July 2023, Dr. Arnold received the 2022 Journal of Holistic Nursing Writing Award for Practice for her collaborative work on human trafficking with her DNP Project Student.

In her current role as Director, Dr. Arnold provides significant support to all programs related to meeting accreditation standards with both ACEN and the North Carolina Board of Nursing. She has served as a resource for other Program Directors in the surrounding community seeking accreditation. In addition, she has been an ACEN Peer Evaluator since 2014 and a Team Chair and Evaluation Review Panel member since 2018. Dr. Arnold enjoys collaborating with nursing colleagues through the accreditation process as we all advocate to support the interests of nursing education, nursing practice, and the public.

Diane Evans-Prior, DNP, MSN, RN is a long-time New Mexico resident. She has worked as a bedside nurse in hospital, long-term care, orthopedics, home health, and intermediate care settings. Passionate about sustainability in nursing, she has been a nursing instructor at Central New Mexico Community College (CNM) since 2001, moving into the director role in 2012 where she currently serves as the Dean. During her tenure, she has helped the program nearly double in capacity, accepting 96 students three times annually. In addition to the program growth, she has made the program more accessible, affordable, and ethnically diverse for the student population it serves.

Committed to rural and urban nursing education needs, Dr. Evans-Prior helped to develop and implement the New Mexico Nursing Education Consortium (NMNEC) curriculum, which is fully shared and implemented amongst 12 publicly funded colleges and universities across the state. This consortium has provided the opportunity for the prelicensure BSN to be offered at eight community college locations through a unique partnership with the state’s three universities. This groundbreaking model also allows for seamless transfer between NMNEC schools.

Dr. Evans-Prior earned her doctorate of nursing practice from the University of New Mexico in 2016, focusing her studies on the need for transition-to-practice programs in both hospital and non-hospital settings. Because of her doctoral work, she contributed to the development of the ACEN Transition-to-Practice Accreditation Standards that are in place today. She currently serves on the NMNEC Leadership Council, the executive team of the New Mexico Center for Nursing Excellence, and the New Mexico Action Coalition; she also volunteers as a peer evaluator, team chair, and Evaluation Review Panel member for the ACEN. She presents regularly at both national and local conferences, and she has authored many publications. In her off-hours, Dr. Evans-Prior enjoys spending time with her husband of more than 30 years and her two children.

Emily Fink hasbeen in nursing education for 22 years. She is the Director of NursingEducation Programs at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College in North Carolina. Dr.Fink has worked with the ACEN – Accreditation Commission for Education inNursing – as a site visitor and team chair since 2019.

Dr.Fink believes that quality nursing education is necessary to graduate studentswho can provide safe and effective patient care and who can emulate clinicaljudgment skills in the clinical setting.

Emily Fink enjoysspending time with her husband antiquing. She also has a 19-year-old son, Benjamin,who is a freshman at UNCC majoring in history.

Dr. Linda Godley, PhD currently serves as Professor of Nursing, Director of the Center for Accreditation, Assessment, Compliance, and Evaluation Management, and Interim Director of Graduate Nursing Programs at Alcorn State University. She is also an active member of the Planning, Management and Evaluation Committee, Graduate Council, a member of the ASU and the School of Nursing Promotion, Rank, Tenure, and Leave Promotion Committees, the School of Nursing Administrative Council, and the School of Nursing Faculty Organization.

Dr. Godley has 46 years of experience as a nurse educator in institutions of higher learning. She was a member of the founding faculty in Alcorn’s Department of Associate Degree Nursing in 1977. After leaving Alcorn in 1990, she served as Assistant Professor of Nursing at Louisiana State University at Alexandria for two years and Assistant Professor of Nursing at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette for three years. Returning to Alcorn in 1995, Dr. Godley served as Assistant Professor and Chair in the Department of Associate Degree Nursing for 10 years. She also served as Chair in the Graduate Nursing Program for three years and as Dean of the School of Nursing for five years.

Dr. Godley has been an Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) Peer Evaluator since 2008. She serves in the roles of Team Chair and Team Member. Dr. Godley is also a member of the ACEN Evaluation Review Panel and has served on the Appeals Panel.

Dr. Godley earned a Bachelor’s Degree at University of Louisiana at Monroe (formerly known as Northeast Louisiana University) and a Master’s Degree at Northwestern State University of Louisiana. She earned a Doctorate of Philosophy Degree in Nursing from Southern University and A & M College.

Dr. Mary Grady, DNP, RN, CNE, CHSE has 40 years of experience in the nursing profession. She began her journey in 1982 as a Licensed Practical Nurse and became a Registered Nurse in 1989 after obtaining a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. She furthered her education by obtaining a Master of Science in Nursing, and a Doctorate of Nursing Practice.

Dr. Grady’s journey in the nursing profession has taken her down numerous paths. She has been a nurse at the bedside in the specialty of pediatrics, medical surgical nursing, rehabilitation, and public health. In the area of academia, she has taught nursing students entering LPN and RN associate degree programs in the role of an Adjunct Clinical and Lab Instructor, full-time Nursing Lab Coordinator, full-time faculty (lecture, lab, and clinical duties), and managed simulation lab coordination for a total of 20 years. Since 2020, Dr. Grady has served as the Nursing Programs Administrator at Lorain County Community College (LCCC) located in the city of Elyria, Ohio. She oversees the practical nursing and associate degree nursing programs that serve over 400 students at this community college located 25 miles west of Cleveland.

Dr. Grady believes strongly that nursing education is the gateway to nursing practice. Believing so strongly in that statement has led her to publish and present scholarly work over the years on topics related to nursing education and how to engage with students.

Dr. Grady’s background includes leadership in professional nursing organizations such as the Ohio League for Nursing. She currently serves as an Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) Peer Evaluator and has participated on the ACEN Evaluation Review Panel numerous times.

When Dr. Grady is not busy doing nursing related activities, you can find her baking cookies. One year her family had to have an intervention with her since the amounts of cookies being baked in a week were more than they or the neighbors could consume.

Dr. Amy Hall, PhD, RN, CNE is a Professor of Nursing and the Dean of the School of Nursing at Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She currently leads faculty, students, and staff in the BSN, RN to BSN, MSN-FNP, and DNP Nurse Anesthesia programs.

Dr. Hall earned her BSN and PhD in nursing from Saint Louis University and her MS in nursing from the University of Illinois-Chicago. Dr. Hall has expertise in curriculum design, program evaluation, and nursing leadership. She has developed and taught study abroad courses in a variety of countries including England, China, Portugal, and the Dominican Republic. Dr. Hall also consults with other nursing programs in designing and implementing curricular change and designing effective program assessment and evaluation plans.

Dr. Hall has been an ACEN site visitor since Fall 2008 and became a team chair in Fall 2011. She served as an Evaluation Review Panel Member (ERP) from January 2012-July 2015 and was a member of the Board of Commissioners from 2015-2021. During her term on the Board of Commissioners, Dr. Hall chaired the 2017 ACEN Standards and Criteria Revision Subcommittee for baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral nursing education programs. She participated on the 2023 ACEN Standards and Criteria Review Steering Committee, with a special focus on Curriculum and Outcomes. She also serves as a visitor for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).

Additionally, Dr. Hall is a member of several professional associations including Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing, the National League for Nursing, the American Nurses Association, the Louisiana State Nurses Association, and the Baton Rouge District Nurses Association. Dr. Hall is also the secretary for the Louisiana Council of Administrators of Nursing Education (LACANE). A certified disaster nurse, Dr. Hall has provided professional presentations nationally on a variety of topics such as evidence-based teaching and learning strategies, designing and evaluating a concept-based curriculum, and leading faculty through change. When she is not spreading her passion for nursing and nursing education with others, Dr. Hall co-authors Fundamentals of Nursing, and enjoys cooking, baking, pacing races, and running marathons.

Brittney Humphres, MSN, RN, became a Registered Nurse in 2001 after obtaining her Associate of Applied Science in Nursing from Northeast Mississippi Community College. She furthered her education by obtaining a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in Nursing, with an emphasis in nursing education, from the University of North Alabama. Her clinical expertise includes working in post-surgical cardiovascular step-down, intensive care, progressive care, and outpatient surgery settings.

Her career in nursing education began at Northwest Shoals Community College (NWSCC) in 2008 as a nursing training and recruiting coordinator/lab instructor. While in this position, she integrated high-fidelity simulation in all courses in the nursing curriculum. From 2009 to 2016, she served as a nursing instructor for practical and associate degree nursing students. Her specialties included medical-surgical, critical care, and health assessment. In 2016, she assumed the role of Director of Nursing Education, becoming the nurse administrator of the practical and associate nursing programs which span over two campuses. Additionally, in 2020, she was appointed the Executive Director of the Phil Campbell Campus and Nursing Education. As such, along with serving as the nurse administrator for NWSCC’s nursing programs on both campuses, she is responsible for the supervision and direction of day-to-day operations of NWSCC’s Phil Campbell Campus, in rural Northwest Alabama. She is an active participant in several NWSCC committees, including the President’s Executive Cabinet, the Student Services Council, the Cultural Affairs Committee, the Safety and Security Committee, and the Scholarship Committee. She was awarded the Alabama Community College System’s (ACCS) Award of Excellence as NWSCC Faculty of the Year in 2012 and the ACCS’s Award of Excellence as NWSCC Administrator of the Year in 2023.

During her time as nurse administrator, her team successfully navigated the following: a curricular change from a medical model to a concept-based model in the fall of 2016, an ACEN focused visit for curricular change in the spring of 2017, the initial ACEN accreditation for the practical nursing program in 2020, the many opportunities for growth and development in the pandemic and post-pandemic era, continuing accreditation of the associate and practical nursing programs in 2023, transitioning to the Next-Generation NCLEX, and the implementation of a hybrid practical and associate nursing program option. Additionally, she recently assisted the Dean of Workforce Development, Institutional Effectiveness, and Advancement in coordinating the physical reunification of the five Health Science Programs on NWSCC’s Shoals Campus and in identifying the location and assisting in procuring a grant for a Multidisciplinary Health Studies Simulation Center on the Shoals Campus. Currently, she is assisting in the leadership of a multi-million-dollar renovation of the Phil Campbell Campus, which includes state-of-the art nursing classrooms, skills laboratories, and simulation laboratories.

She is actively involved in the ACCS’s Nursing Deans and Directors group, which provides input and guidance in system-wide curricular and policy development for practical and associate degree programs. The networking among ACCS Nursing Deans and Directors group also provides mentoring for newer nurse administrators and a route of advocacy for nursing students and nursing education in the State of Alabama.

She has been happily volunteering with the ACEN since 2016 as a site visitor. In 2020, she began serving as team chair and as a member of the ERP. It brings her great joy to alleviate the stress that comes with having a site visit by exhibiting kindness and collegiality while assessing compliance with the ACEN Standards and Criteria.

When not working, she enjoys spending time with her husband of 22 years, their two young daughters, her extended family, and church family.

Dr. Monica Kidder, DNP, MEDSURG-BC, NPD-BC, CNE has 26 years of nursing experience, including 13 years in nursing education. She is the Curriculum Coordinator at Covenant School of Nursing and is responsible for the oversight of the RN program and LVN-RN Track. She also serves as director of the Certified Patient Care Technician course for those beginning their journey to becoming a nurse. Prior to her role as Curriculum Coordinator, Dr. Kidder served as the Student Retention Coordinator, and fundamentals and pathophysiology instructor.

Dr. Kidder earned her DNP with an emphasis in educational leadership from American Sentinel University in 2016, her MSN with an emphasis in leadership and healthcare organizational management from Regis University in 2005, and her BSN and BGS (Liberal Arts) from the University of Nevada, Reno in 1996 and 1995, respectively.

Acknowledging the importance of student retention, Dr. Kidder spends much of her time researching the connections between student and institutional support and resources to predict and promote student retention. Once admitted into nursing school, she, like many, recognizes the importance of graduation and the successful achievement on the NCLEX. Passionate about helping students think critically, she is both a scholar and faculty educator for the Next Generation NCLEX.

Dr. Kidder has served as an ACEN peer evaluator since 2017. She loves the opportunity to review other programs through the collaborative and supportive process. During her free time, she can be found in an RV with her family or standing on the banks of a lake, casting in a line hoping for that next big catch.

Dr. Nancy Phoenix Bittner, PhD, CNS, RN has held multiple roles in academic nursing settings in associate to doctoral level education for over 30 years. Her progressive leadership roles have led her to the current position as Vice President and Professor at Lawrence Memorial/Regis College. Dr. Bittner has been involved in accreditation with ACEN for over 20 years. She has filled the role of program evaluator, Evaluation Review Panel member, Appeals Panel member and has been a Commissioner. She has been on accreditation evaluation teams for the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), The Massachusetts Department of Higher Education (MA DHE) and the New England Commission for Higher Education (NECHE). As a curriculum and evaluation expert, she has consulted for a wide range of nursing programs nationally and internationally.

Dr. Bittner has participated in several state and regional nursing committees and workgroups including as co-leader for the MA Action Coalition. She is active in a number of professional organizations at the state and national level. Dr. Bittner has held practice-based roles including roles in professional development, as a critical care CNS and nurse research scientist. She continues to pursue research in nursing education and practice. Her area of research is focused on critical thinking and processing, especially in students and newly licensed nurses, as well as issues related to the nursing faculty shortage. She has published several articles and conducted numerous presentations related to her research at the state, regional, national, and international levels. In addition, she has a long history of global initiatives in both South America and Africa which have also been published.

B. Kent Wilson, MSN RN CNE, has 33 years of professional nursing experience in a variety of healthcare settings (primarily critical care and administration) and academia (practical nursing, associate degree, and baccalaureate level). Throughout his career, he has presented at local, state and national conferences, most recently as a Plenary Session speaker at the 2023 Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing Annual Conference titled, “Intentional Recruitment and Retention: Cultivating the Best Environment to Work and Learn.” He is a National League for Nursing (NLN) Certified Nurse Educator (CNE), National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD) Excellence Award recipient, and Chancellor’s Leadership Fellow for the Community and Technical College System of West Virginia (CTCSWV).

Mr. Wilson has held the position of Dean and Nurse Administrator for the School of Nursing and Emergency Medical Services at BridgeValley Community and Technical College, located in South Charleston, West Virginia, since 2010 and implemented the state’s first and only Paramedic-to-RN Advanced Placement Option leading to an Associate Degree in Nursing. In addition, he’s created and implemented a 16-Month Accelerated Program Option, VoTech-RN Option, and an innovative High School-RN Program Option. Kent was a founding member of the West Virginia Consortium of Associate Degree Nursing Programs (WVCOADN) and helped design the state’s concept-based curriculum for its five member schools.

He has been a domestic and international Initial and Continuing Accreditation Site Visitor (since 2015), Team Chair (since 2017), and Evaluation Review Panel (ERP) member (since 2016) for the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN). In addition, Kent has done both focused and verification visits. He is also the current Association of Deans and Directors of Nursing Education (ADDNE) / Nursing Education Foundation of West Virginia (NEFWV) President and President of the West Virginia Organization of Associate Degree Nursing (WVOADN).

He has served on several practical, associate, and baccalaureate degree advisory committees and has written two multi-million-dollar grants, and other grants, which has been used to fund a new nursing simulation wing at his college, for use to send faculty to local, state, and national conferences for continuing professional development, and to implement retention programs for students which has improved program completion.

In his spare time, Kent likes to travel domestically and internationally, watch tennis, attend college football and basketball games, is active in church, loves to landscape, swim, and camp with his with family and two very-spoiled, but deserving, Goldendoodles- Rusty and Gunner. In addition, he is an avid Boston Red Sox fan, West Virginia University football, basketball, and baseball fan, and is on a national search for the best local ice cream.

Dr. Kathleen Zajic EdD, RN has accumulated extensive experience throughout her 40-year nursing career, emphasizing nursing education for the past 33 years. She currently serves as a Professor of Nursing at the College of Saint Mary in Omaha, Nebraska.

With nearly 15 years of active involvement in the Accreditation Committee for Education in Nursing (ACEN), Dr. Zajic has contributed as a Peer Evaluator, Evaluation Review Panel (ERP) member, and former Board of Commissioner (BOC) member. During her BOC tenure, she served as Vice-Chairperson and chaired various sub-committees, including a recent role on the search committee for the ACEN Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Her academic background includes a Doctorate in Education (with an emphasis in Health Professions) from the College of Saint Mary, a master’s degree in nursing (MSN) from the University of Nebraska Medical Center, and a bachelor’s degree in nursing (BSN) from Creighton University. Dr. Zajic has held diverse leadership roles, such as Director of Undergraduate Nursing, Chair of Health Professions, and Associate Dean of Health Professions. Throughout her career, she has presented at local, national, and international forums.

Dr. Zajic credits her professional trajectory to her enriching experiences and strong ties with ACEN. While her career has taken various paths, her enduring passion lies in nursing education, accreditation, and public health. Beyond the classroom and clinical settings, Dr. Zajic dedicates her time to providing healthcare services to underserved populations in the Omaha metropolitan area and enjoys spending quality time with family and friends.

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