Speakers
Gale Adcock, MSN, RN, FNP-BC, FAANP, FNAP, FAAN
Gale Adcock is a family nurse practitioner in her second term in the North Carolina Senate following 8 years in the state House and 7 years on the Cary, NC town council. Adcock is the first APRN to serve in the 170-member NC legislature and the first nurse to serve in the state Senate.
Senator Adcock models collaboration among individuals of different experiences, perspectives, and ideologies, describing her style of bipartisanship as “living in the aisle.” She has championed legislation to expand access to care and remove barriers to practice for pharmacists, physician assistants, behavioral health therapists, psychologists and APRNs. She believes clinicians’ skill in patient advocacy is their roadmap for policy influence at every level.
From 1994 through 2020, Adcock was the chief health officer for global software company SAS, managing operations of its large onsite primary care center. She has a nursing diploma, a BSN from East Carolina University, and an MSN and FNP certificate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is adjunct faculty at East Carolina University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Duke University, Wake Forest University and Case Western Reserve University. She is past president of the NC Nurses Association, past chair of the NC Council of Nurse Practitioners, past chair of the NC Center for Nursing, and a former member of the NC Board of Nursing. Adcock is a fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, a distinguished policy fellow of the National Academies of Practice and a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing.
Maryann Alexander, PhD, RN, FAAN
Dr. Maryann Alexander is a distinguished authority in regulation and public policy with over two decades of impactful leadership in nursing. Currently a visiting professor at Vanderbilt University, Dr. Alexander brings extensive academic and policy expertise to the institution.
As chief officer of nursing regulation at the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) for 19 years, Dr. Alexander established an internationally acclaimed research program, launched a dynamic legislative and advocacy initiative and founded the International Center for Regulatory Scholarship, the first program of its kind to enhance regulator education, leadership and networking. Dr. Alexander also established and led the Journal of Nursing Regulation as editor‑in‑chief.
Before joining NCSBN, Dr. Alexander served as executive officer of the Illinois Board of Nursing and practiced as an advanced practice registered nurse. She also held an assistant professor appointment at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Master of Science degrees from Northwestern University and her PhD in Nursing with a specialization in health policy from the University of Illinois at Chicago. A fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, Dr. Alexander has authored numerous scholarly articles and book chapters, earned national research awards and delivered keynotes and presentations on national and international platforms. In 2024, she was honored with the prestigious National League for Nursing's President’s Award for her dedication to nursing education and regulation.
Carolyn J. Heinrich, PhD
Dr. Carolyn J. Heinrich is a University Distinguished Professor of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations and Political Science and the Patricia and Rodes Hart Professor of Public Policy, Education and Economics at Vanderbilt University. She holds secondary appointments in economics and in health policy in the School of Medicine. Her research focuses on education, workforce development, health and social welfare policy, and public management. She received the David N. Kershaw Award for distinguished contributions to the field of public policy analysis and management in 2004; was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Public Administration in 2011 and the National Academy of Social Insurance in 2023; and received the H. George Frederickson Award for career contributions to the field of public management in 2024. She has served as the president of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management and the Public Management Research Association, and in the 2022-23 academic year, she held the George Eastman Professorship at the University of Oxford.
Ruth Kleinpell, PhD, APRN-BC, FAAN, FAANP, MCCM
Dr. Ruth Kleinpell is an internationally recognized nurse researcher, clinician and educator with extensive expertise in patient- and family-centered care, advanced practice nursing and outcomes research. Her work spans critical areas including ICU care, telehealth, older adult outcomes and the evolving role of acute care nurse practitioners. She has led and collaborated on numerous funded studies, including initiatives supported by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the Tennessee Department of Health, and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Her research has examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on thousands of advanced practice nurses and ICU clinicians worldwide, as well as strategies to improve patient and family engagement in ICU research and care delivery.
Dr. Kleinpell currently serves as Vice Dean, Interim Senior Associate Dean for Research and Professor of Nursing at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing. She is widely published, an editor of the award-winning text Outcome Assessment in Advanced Practice Nursing, and a leader in national and international initiatives to advance clinical scholarship and evidence-based practice. Her contributions have been recognized with numerous honors, including induction into the Sigma Theta Tau International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame and the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties Lifetime Achievement Award.
Brendan Martin, PhD, MA
Dr. Brendan Martin serves as director of research at the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, where he leads high-impact studies shaping nursing education and workforce policy. With more than 15 years of experience in quantitative modeling and over 70 peer-reviewed publications, Dr. Martin has spearheaded national research initiatives examining the impact of COVID-19 on prelicensure nursing education, the U.S. nursing workforce and advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs).
His recent work includes nationally recognized studies on APRN workforce trends, rural nursing populations and regulatory issues such as the APRN Compact, providing critical insights to inform workforce planning and policy decisions. In addition to his research leadership, Dr. Martin contributes to the development of future scholars through his teaching in the International Center for Regulatory Scholarship, advancing evidence-based practice and research capacity in nursing regulation.
Gretchen McCullough, MSN, RN, NEA-BC
Gretchen K. D. McCullough serves as the chief nursing officer for Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tennessee. She has dedicated her career to the nursing care of infants, children and women, expanding and developing access to nursing and specialty services in vulnerable communities. Prior to her tenure at Monroe Carell, she served Oregon Health and Science University and Doernbecher Children’s Hospital as associate chief nursing officer for women’s and children’s services and before that, Penn State Health as senior director of women’s, children’s, and dermatology services.
Her clinical foundation is as a pediatric hematology and oncology nurse and she has provided clinical care in numerous care environments including acute care, ambulatory care, home care and community care settings. Clinical special interests include strategic modeling to reach women and children in rural health care deserts, palliative care for infants and children, and preventative social and family unit focused nursing care. She holds a Master of Science in Nursing Administration and is board certified as an advanced nurse executive by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Her graduate work focused on transformational change management strategies during mergers and acquisitions in the health care industry and she enjoys contributing to rapidly evolving health care systems.