Meet the Advisory Committee

Dr. Arrell is an active member of ANA Minnesota and works in a pediatric NICU.  She is also the THRIVE project leader for her employer, the Mayo Clinic.

As Press Ganey’s Associate Chief Nursing Officer and Partner, Strategic Consulting, Dr. Mary Jo Assi is responsible for leading strategies to achieve nursing and caregiver excellence by delivering compassionate connected care, strengthening caregiver resilience and engagement, and improving the health care practice and work environment, within a framework of high reliability and safety.  During her more than 35 years of nursing experience, she has worked as a clinician, nurse educator, advanced practice registered nurse and nurse executive.  More recently, Mary Jo held the position of Director of Professional Practice and Magnet Program Director for ten years in both community hospital and academic medical center settings, and during that period was appointed to the Commission on Magnet Recognition-a position she held for six years.  As the Vice President for Nursing Practice and Innovation at the American Nurses Association, she led several groundbreaking nursing initiatives at the national level, including the creation and launch of the Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation Grand Challenge, a social movement aimed at improving the health of the nation’s 4.0 million nurses, and the development of position statements and white papers focused on critical issues for nursing including workplace violence, incivility and bullying, nurse fatigue, and optimal staffing for safe patient care. Mary Jo was appointed as a fellow to the American Academy of Nursing in 2016.

Dr. Debora Hess is a Clinical Strategy and Practice Lead for Human under the office of the Chief Nursing Officer.  She has had over 35 years of experience in various positions within nursing homes, hospitals (medical and surgical floors, as well as Pediatric ICU and PACU) and has been Director of Nursing over several Medicare Certified and private pay home care companies.  Recently as clinician, nurse educator and nurse management leader, her work has focused on strategies to provide clinical and quality excellence to all aspects of the private pay portion of Humana’s organization ensuring compliance with Federal and State regulations as well as CHAP Standards.  Her current focus is to lead the enterprise-wide mission to improve the health and well-being of the nursing population.  She is excited to partner with the American Nurses Association through the ANA Foundation and the Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation Initiative and to join the Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation Advisory Committee.  Debora has been instrumental in developing Humana’s Nurses Mentor Nurses program that pairs mentors and mentees to work together to develop leadership skills and to further their own growth and development.  She also works closely with experienced Nurse Ambassadors and supports newly hired nurses through the Nightingale Outreach Program to ensure nurses feel connected, engaged, and empowered to have their voice and opinions heard.  Debora is an RN, licensed in Connecticut, New York, and Texas, and holds a PhD in Organization and Management with a specialization in Leadership, MSN degree from the University of Rochester NY, and has a certification in Certified Professional Healthcare Quality, and is Care Management Certified.

Dr. Heidi Holtz is a nurse leader and nurse scientist conducting research designed to promote a healthy work environment, support nurses’ well-being, and improve patient outcomes by creating models of high-quality patient care in critical care settings. Dr. Holtz was a research fellow at Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics. As a postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Holtz collaborated with and was mentored by experts in the field of researching moral resilience and moral distress in healthcare. She has special interest in researching the construct of moral resilience and applying that research to develop innovative approaches to foster moral resilience in healthcare environments. Dr. Holtz’s observations of nurses’ adversity, along with her own experiences as a nurse led to her aspirations to support nurses in building resiliency and fostering a safe environment to practice. Dr. Holtz’s current research is focused on providing interventions to support nurses healing and overall well-being following moral injury and trauma experienced during the COVID pandemic. Her goals include supporting nurses and healthcare clinicians and empowering them to be able to maintain their professional identity, protect themselves and their well-being, and prevent the frequency of burnout.

Dr. Bernadette Melnyk is Vice President for Health Promotion and Chief Wellness Officer (CWO) for The Ohio State University. She also is the Helene Fuld Health Trust Professor of Evidence-based Practice, Founder of Helene Fuld Health Trust National Institute for Evidence-based Practice and Fromer Dean, the College of Nursing, Professor of Pediatrics and Psychiatry at the College of Medicine.  Dr. Melnyk is globally recognized for her expertise and work in mental health, evidence-based practice, clinician health and well-being, and intervention research as well as her innovative approaches to population health and wellness.  She has received numerous national and international awards and is a frequent invited keynote speaker at professional conferences throughout the U.S. and globe.  Dr. Melnyk has over $36 million dollars of sponsored funding, is an editor of eight books, and has authored over 590 publications.  In her role as Chief Wellness Officer at Ohio State, which was the first CWO role at an institution of higher learning in the U.S., she spearheads population health and well-being for 40,000 faculty and staff, and 66,000 students.  Dr. Melnyk served a term on the United States Preventive Services Task Force, the National Advisory Council for the National Institute of Nursing Research, and the behavioral health standing committee for the National Quality Forum.  She is an elected fellow of the National Academy of Medicine, the American Academy of Nursing, the National Academies of Practice, and the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.  She also is a current member of the National Academy of Medicine’s Action Collaborative on Clinician Well-being and Resilience, Editor-in-Chief of the journal Worldviews on Evidence-based Nursing and is Chair of the National Forum for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention. 

Lisa Deffenbaugh Nguyen, MS, CAE is the Executive Director of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association (APNA), an organization that provides leadership to promote psychiatric-mental health nurses, improve mental health care for culturally diverse individuals, families, groups, and communities, and shape health policy for the delivery of mental health services.  With membership inclusive of PMH nurses at all levels and in different settings, APNA champions psychiatric-mental health nursing and mental health care through the development of positions on key issues, the dissemination of current knowledge and developments in PMH nursing, and collaboration with stakeholders to promote advances in recovery-focused assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and evaluation of persons with mental health disorders.  Lisa Nguyen assumed the role of APNA Executive Director in January 2020 after more than 12 years with APNA, most recently as Associate Executive Director, Operations.  She graduated from the University of Virginia with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and Music, holds a Master of Science Degree in Forensic Psychology from Tiffin University, and is a Certified Association Executive through the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE).

Cynthia Peterson, PhD, RN, NE-BC, CCRN-K is a Nurse Scientist at Baystate Medical Center, and an Assistant Nurse Manager and Nurse Scientist at The University of Vermont Medical Center. She completed her PhD in Nursing from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her professional areas of focus are nursing leadership, well-being and resilience programming, evidence-based practice program development, and global health service-learning to enhance cultural humility among nurses. She recently completed the Nurse Coach program through the Integrative Nurse Coach Academy.

Evan Thoman currently serves as the Chief Well-Being Officer for Emory Healthcare in Atlanta, GA. In this role, he leads the Office of Well-Being, focusing on fostering a culture that promotes both individual resilience and organizational well-being. His work is centered on addressing systemic challenges, improving communication, and creating healthier workplace environments. Throughout his career, Evan has developed and led well-being programs for leading organizations in the federal government, healthcare, and non-profit sectors. His work has earned him numerous awards and distinctions, including Excellence in Worksite Wellness, Fit-Friendly Worksite, Worksite Innovation Award, and Best and Brightest in Wellness. Evan holds a Bachelor's Degree in Exercise Science and a Master of Science in Organizational Training and Development from Marshall University. He is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) through the Project Management Institute (PMI) and a Certified Wellness Practitioner (CWP) through the National Wellness Institute (NWI). Additionally, Evan is pursuing his Ph.D. in Healthcare Leadership, furthering his commitment to advancing organizational well-being through evidence-based research and strategic leadership.  Evan currently serves as co-chair for the Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation Advisory Committee.