Leadership

Bernadette Melnyk is vice president for health promotion and chief wellness officer at The Ohio State University where she also is the Helene Fuld Health Trust Professor of Evidence-based Practice in the College of Nursing and professor of pediatrics and psychiatry in the College of Medicine. She is also founder of the Helene Fuld Health Trust National Institute for Evidence-based Practice in Nursing and Healthcare. Melnyk is recognized globally for her expertise in evidence-based practice (EBP), child and adolescent mental health, clinician well-being, and intervention research as well as her innovative approaches to population health and well-being. Melnyk is a frequent keynote speaker at national and international conferences, and has presented hundreds of workshops on EBP, mental health, health and wellness, and intervention research throughout the nation and globe. She is editor of 7 books focused on EBP, child and adolescent mental health, intervention research, evidence-based health assessment, and leadership, innovation and entrepreneurship. Melnyk has more than 540 publications and over $36 million dollars of sponsored funding from NIH, AHRQ and foundations as a principal investigator. She is an elected fellow of the National Academy of Medicine, the American Academy of Nursing that has recognized her three times as an Edge Runner (twice for her evidence-based COPE programs), the National Academies of Practice, and the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. Melnyk served a four-year term on the United States Preventive Services Task Force, the National Advisory Council for the National Institute for Nursing Research, and the Behavioral Health Standing Committee of the National Quality Forum. She also served as vice-chair of the National Forum for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention and received an honorary doctor of science degree from the State University of New York. Melnyk is editor-in-chief of the top ranked journal Worldviews on Evidence-based Nursing. She was appointed to the National Academy of Medicine’s Action Collaborative on Clinician Well-being and Resilience in 2017 on which she still continues to serve and is the founder and current president of the National Consortium for Building Healthy Academic Communities. She received her bachelor of science in nursing from West Virginia University, her master of science in nursing degree and pediatric nurse practitioner education from the University of Pittsburgh, and her PhD in clinical research and psychiatric nurse practitioner education from the University of Rochester.

Lynn Gallagher-Ford is chief operating officer of the Fuld National Institute for EBP, where her work is dedicated to research, education and consultation focused on the development, promotion, integration, implementation and sustainability of evidence-based practice in both academic and clinical settings.

Gallagher-Ford’s clinical background in maternal-child health and nursing administration spans 30 years. She served in a variety of roles ranging from bedside clinician to chief nursing officer, in which she gained extensive experience and expertise in teaching and implementing evidence-based practice in real-world clinical settings. Gallagher-Ford is currently active as a consultant, facilitator and keynote presenter at national and international conferences and education programs.

Gallagher-Ford co-edited the book Implementing the EBP Competencies in Healthcare: A Practical Guide for Improving Quality, Safety & Outcomes. Her publications include co-authorship of multiple studies that have had a dramatic impact on the current body of knowledge about evidence-based practice and influenced strategic imperatives to address new challenges. She also contributed as a lead author in the American Journal of Nursing EBP Series, which received the Sigma Theta Tau Publication Award for 2011.

She serves as assistant editor of Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing and is the editor of the column “Implementing and Sustaining EBP in Real-World Healthcare Settings,” which features best evidence-based strategies and innovative ideas on how to promote and sustain evidence-based practices and cultures in clinical organizations.

Gallagher-Ford’s research is focused on the science behind evidence-based practice, with particular focus on the influence of nurse leaders and contextual issues. She was inducted into the National Academies of Practice and the Nursing Academy as a Distinguished Practitioner and Fellow in 2013 and the American Academy of Nursing as a fellow in 2017.

dean.1040@osu.edu

614-292-9388

Jennifer Dean graduated from The Ohio State University with a Doctorate of Nursing Practice and a Master of Science in Nursing. She has over a decade of acute care nursing experience that ranges from medical-surgical to neurological critical care. Dean is board certified as an Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AGACNP) and a member of Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI). Her goal is to continue to foster the spirit of clinical inquiry in those she works with and educate others on evidence-based practice.

Karey Dufour taught and served as a facilitator for the EBP immersion since 2014 and has conducted or mentored several evidence-based practice initiatives during her Air Force career. Previously, she was assigned as a medical inspector, medical operations directorate, Headquarters Air Force Inspection Agency, at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico. She led teams that conducted the Medical Component of the Air Force Inspection System. She retired from the United States Air Force as a colonel in June 2021. Dufour has been a nurse for over 26 years. 

Dufour received her BSN from the University of Maine, a Master of Arts in Management/Business Management from Webster University, a Master of Science in Nursing from Wright State University and a Master of Strategic Studies from the Air War College. She obtained her Doctor of Nursing Practice from Wright State University. She is a certified Adult-Gerontological Clinical Nurse Specialist with a sub-specialization in flight and disaster nursing. Her expertise includes trauma/emergency nursing, relations and human capital management, executive medicine, disaster management, leadership development, team building, academia and curriculum development.