Executive Management Team

Helen R. Connors, RN, PhD, Dr PS (Hon), FAAN
Associate Dean and Professor
University of Kansas, School of Nursing Executive Director of the KU Center for Healthcare Informatics
Email: hconnors@kumc.edu
913-588-1614

With her innovative vision and ability to marshal change, Dr. Helen R. Connors has forged a distinctive path in the nursing profession. As the KU School of Nursing's Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Executive Director of the KU Center for Healthcare Informatics, Dr. Connors strives to expand the use of advanced information technologies for education and practice, to establish policy for telecommunications and telehealth, and to promote the image of nursing nationally and internationally.
Dr. Connors is a recognized leader in educational innovations. Through her efforts, the School of Nursing has developed academic and business partnerships with such entities as the Kansas Health Institute, Cerner Corporation and HealthGate Corporation to support and expand the use of health care information technologies.
Her innovative efforts to bring the classroom to nurses and to increase the number of nurses in rural areas were included in Time magazine and CNN’s spotlight on the "Heroes of Medicine." Dr. Connors has a BSN from Villanova University, a MSN from Russell Sage College, a PhD from University of Kansas, and an Honorary Doctorate of Public Service from Russell Sage.

Diane J. Skiba, Ph.D., FAAN, FACMI
303-724-8527
Diane.Skiba@ucdenver.edu
http://www.uchsc.edu/nursing/informatics.htm

Diane J. Skiba, Ph.D., FAAN, FACMI, is a Professor and Health Care Informatics Option Coordinator at the University of Colorado Denver School of Nursing. Since 1982, she has taught nurses in the field of nursing informatics. She currently is funded by the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) Division of Nursing Advanced Nurse Education for a training grant to prepare nurses in the field of informatics. This grant supports their online Master’s degree program and funds the I-Collaboratory, an innovative online community to support informatics learners.

Secretary Leavitt recently appointed her to the National Advisory Council on Nurse Education and Practice (NACNEP). NACNEP advises the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Congress on policy issues related to the Title VIII programs administered by the HRSA Bureau of Health Professions Division of Nursing, including nurse workforce supply, education and practice improvement.

She writes a column on Emerging Technologies for Nursing Educational Perspectives journal. She along with Dr. Mary Anne Rizzolo co-chair the Education Collaborative of the Technology Informatics Guiding Education Reform (TIGER) Project.

Pamela R. Jeffries, DSN, RN, FAAN
317-274-8010

Pamela R. Jeffries, DSN, RN, FAAN, Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs and Associate Professor at Indiana University School of Nursing has over 25 years of teaching experience. She has received numerous university, national, and international teaching awards for her endeavors. She is currently the Project Director of a 3-year simulation study funded by the National League for Nursing and the Laerdal Corporation. With her project director position, she has led a group of 8 project coordinators in a multi-site research study with several of the highlights being the development of a theoretically-based simulation framework, development of two-quantitative instruments to measure simulation design features and educational practices in simulation, and four phases of research data from 8 sites supporting the use of simulations in nursing curricula. Jeffries’ research focus, in addition to simulations has been in online learning development, implementation, and evaluation, innovative teaching strategies, and learning outcomes associated with these innovative strategies. Jeffries’s grant experience includes her role as the PI on two NIH SBIR and STTR grants, Co-PI on a 3-year Department of Educational grant (FIPSE), and PI on an NLN grant and several internal grants totaling over 1.2 million dollars. Jeffries has numerous publications, peer-reviewed presentations, and serves as a consultant nationally and internationally on simulation design, implementation, and development and online teaching and learning strategies and evaluation.

Mary Anne Rizzolo, RN, EdD, FAAN
212-812-0315

Mary Anne Rizzolo earned her doctorate in Communication, Computing, and Technology in Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. She is the Senior Director of Professional Development at the National League for Nursing, where she is responsible for program planning, development, and implementation. Dr. Rizzolo came to NLN from Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Publishers, where she was Executive Director of NursingCenter.com, a web portal for nurses. Previously, Dr. Rizzolo worked at the American Journal of Nursing Company as Director of Interactive Technologies. In that capacity, Dr. Rizzolo was author and Principal Investigator of a Special Projects Grant from the Division of Nursing, PHS, DHHS that developed the award-winning World Wide Web site AJN Online, the precursor of NursingCenter.com. While at AJN Company, Dr. Rizzolo also developed award winning interactive videodisc and other CD ROM and multimedia programs that won national and international awards. Dr. Rizzolo has been a faculty member and director of Learning Resource Centers in ASN, BSN and masters degree nursing programs. She has presented at numerous national and international conferences on computer applications for nursing education, and has written several articles and book chapters. She was the recipient of Sigma Theta Tau's International Honor Society of Nursing, Region 6 Information Technology Resources Award, received the International Recognition Award for Advancement of Computer Technology in Healthcare from Rutgers University, was inducted into Seton Hall University’s College of Nursing Hall of Honor, and is a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing.

Dr. Rizzolo brings a background in nursing education, a wealth of past experiences with a variety of technologies, a national perspective on faculty development needs, and the resources of the NLN to reach faculty across the nation in all types of nursing programs.

Diane M. Billings, RN, EdD, FAAN
317-852-7124

Diane M. Billings, RN, EdD, FAAN, Chancellor’s Professor Emeritus, Indiana University School of Nursing is an internationally known expert on e-learning. She is experienced in mentoring faculty to adopt and use educational technologies and innovations. She is the recipient of state and federal grants to develop web-based instruction. She serves on editorial boards of 5 nursing education journals.