Amy Huff has served her hometown community through her work at Hazel I. Findlay (a Skilled Nursing Facility, or SNF) for more than 30 years. She has fulfilled many various nursing roles during this time. In 2007, she became the Infection Preventionist, but as is the case in many SNFs, she wears several hats. She is active in the local county Emergency Operations Center as the long-term care Liaison, the Regional Medical Response Coalition as the Long-Term Care Workgroup Chairperson, and APIC both at a Chapter and the National level as the Member Secretary and on the National Conference Committee, respectively. She also serves as an APIC Faculty member and has prior experience training new Infection Preventionists. Amy finds it immensely rewarding to be able to mentor new Infection Preventionists.

Barbara A. Smith, RN, BSN, MPA, CIC, FAPIC is the principal of BA Smith Consulting, LLC which provides infection prevention support to ambulatory surgery, endoscopy and dialysis centers in the New York metropolitan area. She has also worked with IPRO, a quality improvement organization, to provide on-site visits to long term care facilities

She was an infection preventionist at the Mount Sinai Morningside and Mount Sinai West campuses in New York City where she also served as the infection prevention consultant for Mount Sinai International. Ms. Smith has provided infection prevention consultation to the Kuwait Ministry of Health.

As an APIC consultant, Ms. Smith has trained staff at major New York City hospitals on personal protective equipment. Currently she is working with other APIC consultants to update the APIC’s EPI intensive curriculum. She served on the Board of Director for the national Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology. She is a member of APIC’s Emerging Infectious Disease Task Force and a clinical editor of the APIC Text Online.

A graduate of Hunter College and New York University, she served on the Advisory Board of Medical Reserve Corps of New York City and the American Council for St. Luke’s International Hospital in Tokyo. She served on the clinical advisory board of COVID SMART and Healthcare Laundry Accreditation Council.

Nancy O'Connor has worked in the Infection Control/Employee Health field and been certified in IP for over 25 years. She has led programs at Hillside Family of Agencies in Rochester, NY, Strong Memorial Hospital/University of Rochester, Salem Health System in Salem, Oregon, Providence Health System in Portland, Oregon (Regional Director of IPC for all Providence healthcare facilities in Oregon) and is currently the System Director of Infection Prevention and Employee Health for Cayuga Health System based in Ithaca, NY. She is a Registered Nurse and has a wide range of experience in Quality/Performance Improvement, Regulatory Compliance, Patient Safety, Risk Management and has served as a Chief Operating Officer. Nancy has provided a variety of consultation services, including to LTC and hospice facilities. She has been published in The American Journal of Nursing, American Journal of Critical Care, and worked with the CDC and Oregon Health Authority Public Health Division to investigate a COVID outbreak in a rehabilitation center. Nancy has extensive training and experience in implementing Lean/Kaizen models and projects and has a Six Sigma Black Belt. Her teaching experience includes curriculum writing for the MS Program Infection Prevention and Epidemiology, Great Falls University, Great Falls, Montana, authored and taught IP training courses for Oregon Health Authority, 2016 and 2017 and worked with HANYS (Hospital Association of New York State) as a presenter for APIC certification preparation sessions. Additionally, she has authored and presented IP education at state and national conferences. Nancy has been an APIC member for many years and has been actively involved as an APIC policy reviewer, served on the APIC National Public Policy Committee and was the Oregon-Southwestern Washington APIC Chapter President. She served as the Chairperson for the Oregon Health Care Acquired Infection Committee from 2010-2014. She has is currently in Upstate NY.

DeAnn Richards has worked in Infection Prevention and Occupational Health for over 28 years. She has an associate degree in occupational therapy and nursing, followed by her bachelor's in nursing. She is certified in infection control, long-term care infection control, healthcare quality, and patient safety. DeAnn combined her experience in her previous role as a regional lead at Lake Superior Quality Innovation Network (Lake Superior QIN to support the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) priorities for health care quality improvement) with working in all types of setting including outpatient. She supported the Wisconsin Hospital Association in the Hospital Improvement Innovation Networks (HIIN) and WI Department of Health Services regarding new Infection Preventionist education through subcontracts. In 2020, she started her own consulting business – D. Richards Infection Prevention. This opportunity allowed DeAnn to apply her experience in multiple settings and her love of infection prevention.

Janet Riese worked in the infection control field for over 20 years. She served as the Officer of Infection Control/Prevention at the Mary Lanning Healthcare system for 20+years. Since then, she served as a till in for the current IP/EH programs there, assists with audits and med refills in the clinics at MLH, and is a District Representative for the Nebraska Infection Control Network – District V. Janet is also a consultant for APIC. She is a faculty member also for APIC and has taught the EPI and ASC Intensives, LTC, and IC Basics courses. Janet, also, is a reviewer and editor for courses. She has also participated in writing LTC test questions and revising questions for the CIC study course. Janet also consults with CAH and LTCs in Nebraska. She has provides mentoring to new IPs/EH nurses in Nebraska.

Janet has served APIC (Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology) in numerous leadership positions, including as President of International APIC, founding the St. Louis Chapter and acting as the first President, serving on the National BOD and chairing the Consultants’ Focus Group as Leader for 30 years. Janet has consulted for hundreds of Long Term Care facilities, was a lead author in the Long Term Care chapter in the APIC Text and an editor of the book “Infection Prevention Guide to Long Term Care Facilities”. Janet was also a presenter, creator and reviewer of the APIC EPI Course for Long Term Infection Preventionists. Janet was also recognized as a recipient of an APIC Blue Ribbon Award and served as the lead author of the abstract The Red Box Strategy: An Innovative Method to Improve Isolation Compliance and Reduce Costs demonstrating a cost savings of >$100 K and reflecting “exemplary scientific merit and high interest in the field of infection prevention” with the Unity team. Earlier, her APIC team launched the first Bioterrorism Readiness Plan that was then modeled by CDC, AHA and other healthcare facilities and associations for subsequent versions. Janet’s adventures in Infection Prevention included consulting on a Native American reservation and acting as an Interim Director to the largest hospital in the state of Alaska in Anchorage and their extended care facility for over a year. She has authored, lectured and consulted internationally as a leader in Infection Prevention for over 30 years. Janet lives in Bradenton, Florida and is an avid bicyclist, a member of the Dominican laity and is a past member of the Anna Maria Island Dragon Boat rowing team.

Jennifer K. Spivey, MSN, RN, CNOR, CIC, FAPIC, LTC-CIP is a graduate of the University of Indianapolis’ Masters in Nursing Education program and is an independent infection prevention (IP) consultant; J. K. Spivey FAPIC IP Consulting; LLC owner. She is Past President and three term board of director (BOD) for APIC Indiana Chapter 076. She was awarded APIC’s highest honor of Fellow of APIC (FAPIC) in 2016 in the inaugural class, and developed the Mentoring Committee and peer nominated Mentoring award for APIC IN in 2016. Jennifer was the awardee of the 2020 APIC Indiana Mentoring Award and in 2023 the BOD voted to re-name the award after her years of service in the state; Jennifer Kraft Spivey Mentoring Award APIC IN. Jennifer is a well-known expert in infection prevention in Indiana with 24 years’ experience in infection prevention and 25 years’ experience in perioperative services, thus is board certified in each. Most recently she served 5 years as the Indiana Department of Health (IDOH) Program Manager for Infection Prevention; focusing in Long Term Care COVID-19 outbreak, and hired and trained 11 IPs and 1 EPI during the outbreak in 2020. Jennifer has consulted in Acute care, LTACHs, Dialysis, Wound Care clinics, Behavioral Health inpatient hospital and LTC regarding infection outbreaks and proactive ICARs across Indiana. She is a proficient national speaker and has presented at APIC, AACN, and NTI National Conferences from 2011 to 2022.

Kathy Auten, RN, MSN, CIC is Director of Infection Prevention and Control at Children’s Mercy – Kansas City, located in Kansas City, Missouri. Ms. Auten holds a Master of Nursing from Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas. She has infection prevention experience in rural and community acute care, ambulatory, behavioral health, and academic medical centers in both adult and pediatric populations. Ms. Auten has served APIC at a national level by designing education programs for IPs on construction; surveillance; prevention of infections in the operating room; cleaning, disinfection, and sterilization. She completed a quality improvement project with an emphasis on reducing HAIs through leadership rounds and received the 2021 New Investigator Abstract Award from APIC. She has leveraged her experience on the APIC Education Committee to actively participate in developing and refining educational content to guide the development from novice to expert IP and selected as lead for the 2022 Cleaning Disinfection and Sterilization Conference subcommittee. Ms. Auten is currently participating as a subject matter expert for a grant-funded research project which entails developing infection prevention training for Missouri schools and authoring a chapter in the APIC text.

Kayla has worked in Long-Term Care since 2006, starting as a CNA working her way up to RN. In 2014, she accepted the Infection Preventionist/Staff Development Nurse position for Valley Senior Living, a 196 bed facility. Due to the changing regulations and demands on the Infection Prevention role specifically in Long-Term Care, the position in this facility was later spilt allowing for her to dedicate her full attention to Infection Prevention. In addition to her role at Valley Senior Living, Kayla has served on the Long-Term Care Test Development Committee with CBIC in 2021 and as an Item Writer for the Long-Term Care Committee with CBIC in 2022. She has also been a part of her local APIC chapter since 2014 and served as the Committee Chair in 2022. Kayla has also spent some time working as an Adjunct Clinical Instructor sharing her passion for Long-Term Care with the upcoming Licensed workforce and historically has proctored CNA Testing for the state of North Dakota.

Lela Luper, RN BSN CIC FAPIC T-CHEST, is currently Manager of Infection Prevention and Control at the Chickasaw Nation Department of Health in Ada, OK. For over twenty years, Lela has been an infection preventionist in the rural hospital and ambulatory care setting, providing her with the skills, critical thinking, and leadership abilities to promote infection prevention initiatives and patient safety. She has been board certified in infection prevention and control since 2004. Luper was an inaugural member of APIC’s Fellow class. A member of the APIC-Oklahoma Chapter, Lela has served as both the treasurer and chapter legislative representative. Lela has served on the Member Services Committee, Branding taskforce, Annual Conference Committee, Education Committee, APIC Board of Directors, and was recently elected to the Nominating and Awards Committee. She currently serves at the Facility Guidelines Institute as a revision cycle and steering committee member, as well as on the SHEA Educational Committee. Lela contributed to developing the Roadmap for the Novice Infection Preventionist and the Association for Healthcare Environment text. She serves as faculty for APIC educational courses.

Linda Behan, BSN, RN, CIC is currently a consultant and President of Long Term Care Infection Prevention, LLC. She served as the Corporate Vice President of Infection Prevention and Control for Genesis HealthCare and has been certified in infection prevention and control since 2011. Linda has presented at APIC Annual Conferences on Antibiotic Stewardship, a Novel Technology to Reduce UTIs and Incontinence-Associated Dermatitis, Enhanced Barrier Precautions to Control Multidrug Resistant Organisms and Infection Surveillance. She is a presenter on infection prevention and control topics for healthcare and other professional associations. Linda was a member of the Technical Expert Panel entitled “The Comprehensive Unit-Based Safety Program (CUSP) for Antibiotic Stewardship.” Linda is a member of the faculty for AHCA’s Infection Preventionist Specialized Training (IPCO), contributing modules on Antibiotic Stewardship in Nursing Homes and Water Management Plans. She served on the APIC Professional Development Committee and the APIC LTC Task Force. Linda was a subject matter expert for the development of the APIC LTC-CIP certification preparation course.

Linda Greene has over 30 years' experience in Infection Prevention. She has served in many leadership roles in infection prevention. Most recently she was the Director of Infection Prevention, at the University of Rochester Highland Hospital, Rochester, New York. In May of 2022, she retired from her full-time position and is currently an infection prevention consultant for acute and long-term care. She continues to support Highland Hospital on a Per Diem basis. She has extensive experience in Infection Prevention in the acute care, long-term care, and ambulatory surgery settings. She held leadership roles in her local Association of Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) chapter before becoming a member of the APIC Board of Directors in 2010. She served as National APIC president in 2017. Greene was also president of the board for APIC Consulting Services in 2015, and she continues to serve APIC and the IPC profession in myriad ways, including as an advisor and contributor to APIC position papers and implementation guides, APIC representative to the 2020 CDC Decennial Steering, Committee, faculty for APIC courses and as a consultant for APIC consulting. She is a frequent presenter at regional, national, and international conferences. Linda serves as National Faculty for several national HAI reduction projects. She has served on several advisory panels on public reporting of HAIs, and has received several awards in infection prevention, leadership, and nursing. She has authored several peer-reviewed publications and textbook chapters.

Lynn Fine has been an Infection Preventionist at the University of Rochester Medical School for over 20 years. She has been board certified in Infection Prevention since 2001, and is also an APIC Fellow. She has served on APIC's Research and Education committees, and was a contributing author on APIC's The Infection Preventionist's Guide to the Laboratory and their Ready Reference for Microbes. She also served as a section editor for the APIC Text. She is currently a faculty member for APIC's EPI Intensive and Certification Preparatory Classes. She is both a national and international speaker and enjoys teaching and mentoring others.

Marlene Fishman Wolpert, MPH, CIC, FAPIC, is an independent infection prevention and control consultant and a long-term care infection preventionist at Lifespan Health System in Rhode Island. She has extensive experience in Behavioral, Rehabilitation, Ambulatory, Acute Care, Long-Term Care and University settings. As an APIC consultant, Marlene taught courses for long-term care inspectors and surveyors. She wrote material for the APIC Acute Care and LTC Epi Intensive courses and also worked with Ambulatory Care Centers to prepare for accreditation. As an APIC faculty member, Marlene taught many Epi Intensive courses in multiple states for both acute and long-term care. She has numerous publications, chairs the APIC practice resources editorial panel and serves on several Rhode Island teams.

Prinu Gabriel has a Master’s Degree in Science specializing in Molecular Biology and a post grad diploma in Medical Microbiology. She has worked as a Clinical Microbiologist for about 10 years and then transitioned to Infection Prevention in 2010. She currently works as Director for Infection Prevention for an acute care hospital. She has certifications as specialist in microbiology (SM) from ASCP and certification in infection control (CIC). She also has teaching experience as an Adjunct Professor for Indian River Community College, FL teaching Life Science and Microbiology. Prinu is active APIC member and serves in several committees within her hospital like the Hospital Quality and Patient Safety, Environment of Care, Hospital System Infection Prevention Cabinet etc.: She chairs the Tarrant County Infectious Disease Council along in Tarrant County, Texas. She serves as a strong advocate for evidence-based practices. She is a strong believer of communication and enjoys teaching. She partners with the education department and help with various training within her hospital system with new processes, new product usage, Infection Prevention education for RNs, PCTs, OR personnel etc. Infection Prevention is an evolving and dynamic field and she continues to learn and grow.

Rochelle Beard is a registered nurse and infection preventionist with career experience in pediatrics, acute and long term care, employee health, quality improvement, leadership, and education. Rochelle

obtained her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) from Xavier University in 2009 and her Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) with a public health emphasis in 2016, which led her into the field of infection prevention. Over the course of the next five years, Rochelle grew the

infection prevention and control programs in two healthcare facilities in the Louisville, Kentucky area. Over the years, Rochelle’s work in infection prevention has been recognized by her peers through receipt of three APIC chapter rewards. She is also currently serving on the

board for the Kentucky Association for Healthcare Quality (KAHQ) as the Director of Publications and Marketing.

Sharon Williamson, MBA, BSMT(ASCP)SM, CIC, FAPIC has been employed by Texas Health Resources for the past 34 years and is currently the Senior Director of Infection Prevention for the healthcare system. Sharon earned her Bachelor of Science in Medical Technology from Lamar University and her MBA in Healthcare Management from University of Texas at Tyler. She is certified as both a Medical Technologist and Specialist in Microbiology by the American College of Clinical Pathologists (ASCP). She is also certified in infection control and epidemiology by the Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology (CBIC) and has received the Fellow of APIC (FAPIC) designation. Sharon has served as Secretary for the Dallas/Ft. Worth APIC Chapter, as a member of the national APIC Board of Directors, and as Treasurer for national APIC. She was a mentor for the Health Research and Educational Trust (HRET) CAUTI Fellowship program and has been an active member of the APIC Faculty for the past 9 years, developing and teaching online and face-to-face education courses.

Tara Millson, DNP, RN, CIC, FAPIC, LTC-CIP has over 10 years' experience in Infection Prevention and is currently the Director of Infection Prevention at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, DC. Tara has extensive experience in Infection Prevention in acute care, long-term care, and dialysis settings, and has worked as an Infection Prevention consultant on the NHSN team at the CDC. She holds a Doctor of Nursing Practice in Infection Prevention from Loyola University Chicago and is board certified in infection prevention and control (CIC) and long-term care (LTC-CIP). She has also authored several publications, nursing text chapters, and abstracts and has presented nationally. Tara has served APIC in various roles including as President of her local APIC Chapter and as vice-chair and chair of the national APIC Practice Guidance Committee from 2020-2023. As an APIC Consultant, Tara has trained local health departments on the ICAR process in long-term care, and has assessed Infection Prevention and Control practices for dialysis centers and long-term care centers throughout the Northeast US. Tara joined APIC Faculty in 2024 and enjoys teaching and mentoring others.