Bridgett Bilenski has served as a certified school nurse with the North Allegheny School District since 2012 and has held the position of head nurse for the district for the past ten years. She is also an adjunct faculty member at Millersville University in the Wehrheim School of Nursing. In addition, Bridgett provides professional development on adverse childhood experiences to educators across Allegheny County through the Intermediate Unit, focusing on the impact of trauma on students’ health, relationships, and academic success. Bridgett is an active member of the National Association of School Nurses and the Pennsylvania Association of School Nurses and Practitioners. She currently represents the southwest region of Pennsylvania on the PASNAP Board and serves as the organization’s Membership Co-Chair. She recently co-authored a chapter in the textbook Clinical Considerations in School-Based Health: An Evidence-Based Guide for Physicians, Advanced Practice Providers, and School Nurses. Before transitioning into school nursing, Bridgett worked for several years in neonatal and pediatric intensive care units in Pittsburgh, including Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. A lifelong resident of Pittsburgh’s northern suburbs, she enjoys spending time with her husband and family, reading a good novel, and participating in activities through her church.

Kelly Braun, RDH, MSDH, serves as the rural primary care and integration coordinator at PORH. Kelly leads the office’s technical assistance activities for Rural Health Clinics (RHC) in Pennsylvania. In addition to technical assistance, Kelly focuses on care integration, with a special emphasis on oral health. Kelly implemented in Pennsylvania the DentaQuest Institute-funded (now CareQuest) program, the Medical Oral Expanded Care (MORE Care) Collaborative. This program focused on integrating oral health, specifically the primary and secondary prevention of dental disease, into primary care practice in RHCs. A Registered Dental Hygienist and a Public Health Dental Hygiene Practitioner, Kelly worked in a hospital-based clinical practice prior to coming to PORH. In her role, she serves as advisor to Health Teeth Heathy Children, a program of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. She also serves as the Executive Director of the American Board of Dental Public Health and is an adjunct faculty member for Concorde Career College’s dental hygiene program. Kelly holds an A.S. and a B.S. in Dental Hygiene (BSDH) from the Pennsylvania College of Technology. She obtained an M.S. in Dental Hygiene (MSDH), with an emphasis on education, from the University of Bridgeport in 2013. Kelly completed the National Rural Health Association’s Fellows program in 2021 and became a fellow of the American Dental Hygienists’ Association in 2023

With over three decades of nursing experience and nearly two decades as a certified school nurse, Raco brings a lifelong passion for advancing school health and nursing education. Currently, she serves as a Nursing Education and Practice Specialist with the National Association of School Nurses (NASN), where she leads and manages grant-funded educational initiatives and professional development programs for school nurses nationwide. She is the Project Lead of the CDC and NASN Coordinated Support System for Students with Epilepsy project. Her diverse background spans pediatric bone marrow transplant nursing, district-level school health leadership, university-level program director, and lecturer. An accomplished author, conference speaker, and dedicated advocate for school health, her work has been honored with several awards, including PA Southeast Region School Nurse of the Year, PA Southeast Region School Nurse Administrator of the Year, and PA School Nurse Administrator of the Year. Driven by a commitment to excellence in nursing practice, education, and leadership, she continues to advocate for school nurses and student health nationwide.

Dr. Karen Coyne is an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing. She teaches pediatrics, obstetrics and coordinates the school nurse program which includes a certificate and master’s degree in school nursing. Dr. Coyne is passionate about community nursing and spent many years working as a school nurse in diverse school districts. She was instrumental in development of Children Hospital of UPMC’s CHECS nurse program. CHECS (child health evaluation coordination services) nurses support child welfare in Allegheny County and beyond. Dr. Coyne is founder/president of Boost Girls in Care (our sponsored foundation), which provides new bras to children/people in foster care, independent living, homeless, and others in need. Dr. Coyne strives to engage her students in mindfulness to improve emotional intelligence and is currently studying the progression of emotional intelligence in nursing students. Karen is married to her husband, Michael, whom they share 3 wonderful children and 4 grandchildren while enjoying their busy life which includes a working farm, antique shop and full-time careers. Dr. Coyne serves on the PASNAP board as State Data Collection Manager, AWHONN regional co-chair, and is a member of ANA, where she recently presented at the International Congress of Nursing in Montreal, Canada.

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Meg Friesen is an RN/School Nurse with Huntington County Community Schools, Huntington, Indiana. Meg serves as an Epilepsy School Nurse Navigator for the Coordinated Support System for Students with Epilepsy, co-representing the pilot state, Indiana, for the project. Meg also works at Parkview Huntington Hospital as an emergency department nurse and at Parkview Behavioral Health as a psychiatric nurse. Meg recently finished her Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner degree through the Indiana University School of Nursing. She is passionate about supporting schools to create environments where physical, social, mental, and emotional health are valued equally. She believes that school nurses, in partnership with counselors, teachers, administration, and community organizations, can make this a reality.

Chad is an award-winning writer, editor, filmmaker, and teacher with a national reputation for communication work in both health care and academia. In 2007, Businessweek magazine named him one of the Top 25 Undergraduate Business Professors in the country. In 2001, People magazine named him a national Vaccine Hero for his work in health and science communication.

Karen Krisch is a recognized expert in mindfulness, wellness, and self-care for educators, leveraging 23 years of experience as an award-winning school administrator in the Bellefonte Area School District. Her comprehensive background covers the entire educational spectrum, including work in elementary, middle, and high school settings, as well as experience in mental health, juvenile justice, and workforce education with students experiencing poverty. This diverse experience provides her with a holistic view of the challenges faced by both students and staff. In 2023, her commitment to education earned her the title of National Distinguished Principal for Pennsylvania by the Pennsylvania Principals Association and the National Association for Elementary Principals. As an administrator in Bellefonte, Karen successfully championed and implemented whole-school initiatives in safety, mindfulness, and self-care, simultaneously training hundreds of staff and students over the last decade. She is a published author, a certified Mindful Schools Program alumna, and continues to contribute to research in the field through her work with Penn State. Karen's driving purpose is to share her story and provide simple, actionable strategies to help professionals combat stress and burnout, making her an ideal partner for impactful training and wellness initiatives.

Dr. Olympia is a 1996 graduate of Jefferson Medical College. He completed his General Pediatrics residency and chief residency at the DuPont Hospital for Children/Thomas Jefferson University (Wilmington, DE/Philadelphia, PA), and his Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellowship at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore/Albert Einstein College of Medicine (Bronx, NYC). He has been an attending physician at the Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center since 2005. He was born in Toledo, Ohio, and raised in Philadelphia, PA and Wilmington, DE.

Brian Parker is a member of the most sought after Foundation in North America on the subject of Appearance and Performance Enhancing Substances, the Taylor Hooton Foundation. Brian serves as the Director of Education for the Foundation which was founded in 2004, the year following the loss of the Hooton Family’s youngest son Taylor. After studying at Elon University and working in baseball, Brian has spent the past 12 years with the organization speaking directly to thousands of people raising awareness about the widespread use of these substances. This program provides a pragmatic view of these substances – What are they? Who is using? Where are they coming from? What are the social issues and pressures driving their usage? How do we navigate dietary supplements? What are the dangers? The program will provide factual information about the world of Appearance and Performance Enhancing Substances so that together we can provide a crucial conversation to our students about properly achieving their goals while living and competing the right way.

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Morgan Plant has been a registered lobbyist in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania since 1981. Prior to that time she worked in Washington D.C. in a variety of positions that afforded her the opportunity to become familiar with the workings of the Federal government and the U.S. Congress. In 1989 she founded her own firm, Morgan Plant & Associates, and has been advocating and lobbying successfully for her clients, most of whom are health and human service organizations or associations, ever since.

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Michael Riley, Director, Resuscitation Education Michael Riley has over 18 years of experience in emergency medicine and resuscitation. He has worked as a nationally registered paramedic in the pre-hospital and in-hospital settings. As an innovative leader, he is currently the Director of Cooper University Health Care's Center for Resuscitation Education & Community Engagement in Camden, New Jersey. Mike focuses on the importance of preventing cardiac arrest, promoting early recognition and management of a deteriorating patient, providing high-quality CPR, and ensuring the best post-arrest care. Mike has built a community engagement team to reduce the disparities in CPR, educate everyone on the life-saving skills of CPR, and teach them how to use an AED. Mike has worked to bring resuscitation education to underserved communities and is implementing an AED community donation program in partnership with the Cooper University Foundation to allow access to more public AEDs.

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Elizabeth Rudolph is an attorney and nurse who founded JurexNurse.com, a company that trains nurses to be certified as Professional Legal Nurse Consultants. Elizabeth obtained her Bachelor’s in Nursing, Master’s in Nursing, and law degree from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN. She has been a nursing faculty member, and she has practiced law for many years in Memphis, TN. A nationally known speaker and author on legal issues in nursing, Elizabeth has provided presentations at over two thousand conferences, including at the National Association of School Nurses. Elizabeth is honored to return to this conference, having provided a presentation at last year's conference on how nurses can reduce their liability exposure. Elizabeth has authored numerous publications on legal and nursing issues, many of which are available in books, courses, and online. In addition, Elizabeth has been featured in network television programming. Elizabeth lives in Memphis, TN, with her husband and four sons.

Colleen Schultz, M.Ed., RN, CSN, is the Director of the Division of School Health for the Pennsylvania Department of Health with a decade of experience in school nursing focusing on the K-5 population. Colleen is a Certified School Nurse and has a Masters in Health Education from Penn State and has presented to both small and large groups on a variety of school health topics. As Director, she plans, directs, and implements statewide consultation and reimbursement programs for health services performed in schools. Colleen develops program policy and goals, serves as a liaison with school districts, private organizations and external stakeholder groups, and collaborates to provide evidence based school health resources. She has presented to both small and large groups on a variety of school health topics.

Dr. Clayton J. Stitzel, DC, is a leading expert in non-surgical scoliosis treatment and genetic-based scoliosis research. With over 24 years of clinical experience and a background in biomechanics and kinesiology from Penn State University, Dr. Stitzel has pioneered a proactive, functional-medicine approach to scoliosis care. He is the founder of ScoliSMART Clinics and developer of the ScoliSMART Activity Suit, TorsoTrainer, and CurveIQ Genetic Variant Test. His work bridges genetics, neurology, and musculoskeletal science to prevent scoliosis progression and improve lifelong outcomes. Dr. Stitzel has authored 32 books on scoliosis, contributed to multiple peer-reviewed research studies, and is recognized internationally as an innovator in non-invasive, neuro-muscular, and metabolic scoliosis treatment.