AACN Dallas - Annual Critical Care Symposium

Amy K. McCarthy, DNP, RNC-MNN, NE-BC, CENP is the Chief Nursing Officer at Hippocratic AI, where she leads efforts in leveraging generative AI to enhance access to healthcare. A passionate advocate for transformational, heart-led leadership, McCarthy is dedicated to creating innovative, patient-centered, and nurse-supportive environments through cutting-edge technology and policy influence. She earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) in Executive Leadership from The George Washington University and has spent over a decade collaborating with state and national nursing leaders to drive workforce improvements, enhance patient outcomes, and support nurses—both at the bedside and in leadership roles. With a clinical background in women’s and infants’ health, McCarthy has been a steadfast advocate for this patient population, championing policies and initiatives that improve maternal and neonatal care. McCarthy currently serves as President of the Texas Nurses Association and previously held a Director-at-Large position on the American Nurses Association Board of Directors, where she worked to address critical issues such as safe staffing, workplace violence prevention, and racial equity in nursing.

Dr. Gary Schwartz is a thoracic surgeon with expertise in thoracic oncology, minimally invasive thoracic surgery, airway surgery, lung transplantation and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. He practices at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, TX, where he serves as the Chief of the Department of Thoracic Surgery, the Surgical Director of Lung Transplantation, the Director of Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation, and the Surgical Director of Major Airway Disorders.

Dr. Samuel Mandell is an Associate Professor of Surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and Medical Director of the Parkland Regional Burn Center, one of the nation’s largest and busiest burn centers. He leads multidisciplinary initiatives to improve outcomes and quality of care for burn and trauma patients from resuscitation to long-term recovery. Dr. Mandell completed his medical degree at University of Massachusetts Medical School and general surgery residency at the University of Washington, where he also earned a Master of Public Health and completed fellowships in Surgical Critical Care and Burn Surgery. Nationally, he serves on the Board of Trustees of the American Burn Association and on multiple committees of both the ABA and the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma, where he is Co-Chair of the Preventable Death Reporting Work Group. His academic work focuses on burn quality metrics, long-term outcomes, and systems-level improvement in trauma and critical care. He is widely recognized for his commitment to education, mentorship, and developing the next generation of burn and trauma surgeons, with a career that bridges frontline clinical care, academic scholarship, and leadership in quality and verification systems.

My research focuses on developing a deeper understanding of how nurses and nursing care contributes to outcomes for patients with acquired brain injury.

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Jame Restau, DNP, APRN, ACNS-BC, ACHPN, works in Supportive Palliative Care at Baylor & Scott and White Medical Center in Irving, Texas. Jame completed her undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Texas at Austin. After graduation, she moved to the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex to start the Supportive Palliative Care program at Baylor Irving. During her tenure, Jame has helped grow the program serving patients and families dealing with serious and life-limiting illnesses. Jame’s background in Hematology/Oncology helped to spur her passion for Palliative Care. Jame completed her post-master’s Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) in May 2024. The focus of her DNP project, decreasing hospital-acquired pressure ulcers, developed from the frustrations shared by staff. Using skills of communication, collaboration, and teamwork on the unit, Jame’s work with the staff decreased pressure ulcers for the first time in two years. Jame developed these skills at one of the community hospitals in Texas's most extensive not-for-profit healthcare system. Jame has participated in quality improvement and research projects focusing on educating staff on Palliative Care and standardizing communication and collaboration. Jame also served on system-wide committees such as Ethics, Advance Practice Professionals Development, and Nursing Education. She is the former Texas Clinical Nurse Specialists treasurer and is the NACNS representative of the American Nurses Association (ANA) Policy and Reimbursement Advisory Committee. Jame has recently obtained Adjunct Faculty status at Michigan State University and actively precepts CNS students from Texas and Oklahoma.

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Nathan Stewart is a CVICU Nurse Educator at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. He has over seven years of experience in cardiovascular critical care across multiple high-acuity centers in the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex. His work focuses on leveraging educational technology and simulation to enhance clinical reasoning, hands-on competency, and patient safety in complex cardiac and ECMO populations. He has presented nationally and internationally on innovative approaches to critical care education.

Laura Zebreski graduated from Baylor University School of Nursing in December 1999. She then began working in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, where she stayed for 12 years. After this, she was a school nurse for 5 years and completed her Master's of Science in Nursing Education from Walden University in 2018. She began to teach nursing for Baylor University Louise Herrington School of Nursing in 2019 and completed a Doctor of Nursing Practice in Executive Nurse Leadership in December 2022 from the University of Texas at Tyler. She currently works in the Neonatal ICU at Parkland Health System and teaches for Baylor University Louise Herrington School of Nursing.

Since the beginning of my professional nursing career, I have focused on building a solid base of bedside clinical experience with specializations in comprehensive stroke, general neuroscience, and neurosurgical care. Neuroscience has always been an item of keen personal interest, given the frontier’s constantly evolving landscape with plenty of avenues for interdisciplinary research and education. I have a particular interest in cognitive neuroscience, stroke care, rehabilitation, and translational research targeted towards improving the quality of care we deliver in the inpatient setting. While working in the COVID ICU through the pandemic, I also developed a keen interest in bioethics and end-of-life care. It was a difficult time for me professionally as I had to reconsider whether it was the correct choice to continue with nursing after all the morally distressing situations I encountered. I have recently transitioned to rapid response nursing, but retained my focus on stroke care delivery, having recently completed a project that focused on improving time-to-treatment benchmarks for often-underdiagnosed inpatient stroke cases. I am currently enrolled as a graduate student in the Bioethics Program at the School of Professional Studies at Columbia University, with an expected graduated date of May 2026. My master’s thesis will tackling the safe and conscientious delivery of medical aid in dying (MAiD) to the terminally ill and to those with psychiatric illnesses. Going forward, I intend to pursue a doctorate degree in health policy in order to continue performing translational research that bridges the gap between the care we deliver at the bedside as nurses and the reality of the broken healthcare system of which we are part.

Shannon Chalk, MSN, RN, NE‑BC, CCRN‑CMC, is the Nurse Manager of the Surgical Intensive Care Unit at UT Southwestern Medical Center and a seasoned critical care nurse with more than 25 years of experience. She is known for building high‑performing teams and driving measurable quality improvements. Shannon has presented nationally on patient safety and critical care practice and is a recipient of multiple professional honors, including recognition as a Dallas–Fort Worth Great 100 Nurse. She is passionate about developing future nurse leaders and fostering cultures of accountability, excellence, and belonging.

A nursing leader with 19 years of healthcare experience, who is passionate about nursing ethics, nursing excellence, improving patient outcomes, and nurse mentoring. Amanda’s experience includes direct care, clinical education and accreditation, nursing project management, regulatory education, peer review, and professional practice and nursing research development. She has published and presented both locally and nationally.

Kelly Murphy is the Magnet Program Manager at Parkland Health in Dallas, TX. She has been a nurse for 22 years, with over 16 years of nurse leader experience & is helping lead Parkland’s dual ANCC Pathway to Excellence and Magnet with Distinction journeys. Her background includes adult critical care leadership, solid organ transplant coordination, Nursing Peer Review leader, and promoting nursing excellence through shared governance, nursing research, & professional development. She is an active member of ANA, TNA, NTONL, Sigma Theta Tau International & Dallas Chapters, & NAHQ. She currently serves on the DFW G100 Nurses Board. She is also actively involved in many employee resource groups at Parkland & has a passion for promoting Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in healthcare.

Jessica Rong has been a nurse for over 20 years with most of her experience in critical care and education. While working in critical care her passion for the promotion of quality end-of-life care began. After leaving bedside nursing, she continued her love of teaching and worked in clinical education at various facilities. She is currently completing a PhD in Nursing Ethics at Duquesne University with a focus in transplantation and donor ethics. Jessica currently works as a clinical ethicist at Parkland and serves on the American Nurses Association Ethics Advisory Board.

Angelica G. Tobias is a critical care nurse and full‑time ECMO Specialist at Baylor Scott & White The Heart Hospital Plano, bringing more than two decades of experience in high‑acuity cardiac and cardiothoracic care. She is nationally certified in critical care with subspecialty credentials in Cardiac Surgery and Cardiac Medicine, and she also maintains certification as an Adult ECMO Specialist (CES‑A). Angelica has served in multiple leadership roles, including House Supervisor, Nurse Educator, and previously as Chair of the Nursing Peer Review Committee for the BSW East Region. She is an invited speaker at regional conferences, sharing her expertise in ECMO practice, cardiac surgery resuscitation, and heart recovery. Her work reflects a deep commitment to advancing cardiothoracic critical care, strengthening interdisciplinary excellence, and driving meaningful improvements in patient outcomes.

Nikia Jewitt, MSN, RNC-MNN, CPHQ, HACP-CMS is a Quality Improvement Coordinator at Texas Health Presbyterian Dallas with 13 years of nursing experience in mother-baby, medical-surgical, education, and quality improvement. She graduated from Western Governors University with a master’s degree in nursing informatics and was recognized with a Clinical Excellence Award in 2021. Nikia is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN), and the National Association for Healthcare Quality (NAHQ). She focuses on regulatory readiness, environment of care, and patient safety, partnering with interdisciplinary teams to turn standards into practical, sustainable systems that support frontline staff and improve outcomes.

Dr. Shawntay Harris is a nationally recognized nurse executive, entrepreneur, educator, and Fellow of both the Academy of Emergency Nursing (FAEN) and the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN). She is the President and CEO of Eminent Healthcare Resources Consultants, Incorporated, a global healthcare education and consulting firm that delivers advanced clinical education, executive leadership development, legal nurse consulting services, and scalable digital learning solutions to thousands of healthcare professionals worldwide. With more than two decades of trauma and emergency nursing experience, Dr. Harris has built a multi-seven-figure nurse-led enterprise by transforming clinical expertise into educational capital, strategic consulting, and AI-powered readiness tools. Her work sits at the intersection of nursing leadership, trauma care, pediatric emergency readiness, healthcare business strategy, and digital innovation. She is a reviewer for the Trauma Nursing Core Course (TNCC) textbook and a contributing author to the Emergency Nursing Core Curriculum, 8th Edition, helping shape foundational content used by emergency nurses across the world.

Carriann Wetton, MSN, RN, has been a Registered Nurse for 12 years. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Baylor University and began her career at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas on the ICU step-down trauma unit. She later transitioned to Baylor McKinney, where she expanded her expertise in emergency medicine, serving as both a trauma nurse and charge nurse. Carriann went on to complete two Master of Science in Nursing degrees at the University of Texas at Tyler—one in Administration and one in Education. Seeking greater autonomy and advanced clinical experience, she joined Air Evac as a flight nurse, a role she held for more than two years. She currently works in the recovery room at Baylor Plano. In addition to her clinical practice, Carriann teaches nursing students during their clinical rotations at Collin College and provides aesthetic and wellness services in a medical spa, including Botox, dermal fillers, and IV therapy.

Jennifer is a Registered Nurse with more than 15 years of critical care experience and for the last 6 years a specialized focus in organ donation and transplantation. She currently serves as Supervisor of Placement and Allocation at Southwest Transplant Alliance, where she leads allocation operations, oversees a multidisciplinary team, and ensures compliance with national OPTN policies while optimizing organ placement processes. Jennifer previously worked as a Clinical Practice Specialist and Organ Recovery Coordinator, collaborating with hospitals and transplant centers to support donor management, allocation, and procurement. Her clinical background includes extensive pediatric intensive care experience at leading children’s hospitals across the country. She is committed to advancing donation outcomes through collaboration, education, and continuous quality improvement.