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Home » About » Board of Directors

2022 Board of Directors

Khara Breeden

President

United States

Nancy Downing

Past President

United States

Ashley Stewart

President-Elect

Canada

Keeley Bowman

Treasurer

United States

Elizabeth Roach

Secretary

United States

Annie Boatright

Director at Large

United States

Lacy Gee

Director at Large

United States

Kimberley Meisinger

Director at Large

United States

Mary Ann Ordelt

Director at Large

Canada

Julie Valentine

Director at Large

United States

Karin Wickwire

Director at Large

United States

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© 2022 IAFN

Jennifer Pierce-Weeks

Jennifer Pierce-Weeks serves as the Chief Executive Officer, overseeing all programming offered by the Association, including the annual conference and all grant-funded projects and programming. She was responsible for creating the Association's adult/adolescent and pediatric online SANE trainings and implementing the Online Learning Center. She has served IAFN in various roles including Chief Operations Officer, Education Director, Interim CEO, and Board President. She brings nearly 30 years of nursing experience, focusing on forensic nursing since 1995.
Jennifer presents nationally and internationally on a variety of forensic nursing-related topics, including sexual assault and abuse, intimate partner violence, strangulation, child maltreatment and program management and sustainability. In addition, Jennifer has written, edited, and reviewed state-specific protocols and customized protocols for hospitals, journal articles, SARTs, and tribal communities.

Megan Lechner DNP, APRN, CNS, SANE-A, SANE-P

Megan has been practicing as a nurse for 24 years and as a forensic nurse for 14 years. She earned her doctorate in nursing leadership in 2020 from Grand Canyon University, and her MSN and CNS in Forensic Nursing from The University of Colorado, Colorado Springs in 2008. She became a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner in 2007. Dual board certified as a SANE-A and a SANE-P. Megan served as the Clinical Manager of the Forensic Nurse Examiner Team at Memorial Hospital, University of Colorado Health in Colorado Springs, Colorado. This team provides medical forensic care to over 2,300 patients per year who are victims of violence. Megan served as the Director of the Colorado SANE/SAFE Project, which provides medical forensic education to healthcare providers throughout Colorado.

Megan also served as the Principal Investigator for the Women’s Health Study, a national research project seeking to better understand the recovery process after sexual assault, as well the Nonfatal Strangulation Study, aiming to increase recognition of the acute and delayed complications of strangulation, and to identify standards of care. Megan’s work on a national level includes expert testimony consultation and teaching on issues ranging from sexual violence, intimate partner violence, human trafficking and strangulation. Megan also served as a consultant for Indian Health Services, providing both clinical and didactic education to healthcare. Megan has served as an adjunct professor at The University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, developing and teaching forensic nursing courses. In 2012, she served as an international consultant for a USAID project in Swaziland, Africa, mentoring local health care professionals in the care of pediatric rape patients with an emphasis on the prevention of HIV.

Bonnie Barsa

Bonnie was previously the Project Manager for the Tribal Forensic Healthcare Project and is now managing the SAFEta project. This project provides training and technical assistance related to implementing the recommendations contained in the National Protocol for Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Examinations: Adult/Adolescent, the National Protocol for Sexual Abuse Medical Forensic Examinations: Pediatric, and related best practices, guides and resources. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management with a focus on finance. Bonnie has been with IAFN for over 15 years with 30 plus years of experience in the non-profit sector.

Ms. Barsa has 30 years of experience in the non-profit sector which has focused on education and certification of professionals in various industries.

Pam Bruggeman, CMP

Pam brings more than 25 years of experience to her role as Meetings and Events Manager. Pam works with the planning committee to organize the conference and manages the logistics for the conference. She also arranges other meetings and events for the Association.

Joanne Buckley

Joanne has extensive association administrative experience with a background in conference management and production. She has held various roles in many state and national associations and foundations and has been responsible for the launch of innovative educational programs, fundraising initiatives, and has a keen eye for details and profitability.

Karen Carroll, RN, SANE-A, SANE-P, NY-SAFE

Karen serves as a Forensic Nursing Specialist, providing Training and Technical assistance. She has been a Registered Nurse for over 40 years. She is the past Nursing Director of the Forensic Acute Care Team (FACT) in Westchester County, NY, the former Associate Director of the Bronx Sexual Assault Response Team, and the first Coordinator of the Westchester SANE Program. Karen received her training to become a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner in New York City in 1997 and has been nationally certified as a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner of Adult and Adolescent patients since 2002, and Pediatric patients since 2014. She has been a member of the International Association of Forensic Nurses since 1998, and the Past President of the NYS Chapter of the IAFN. She served as a Commissioner on the Forensic Nurse Certification Board and was the recipient of the IAFN Achievement Award in 2004. She has completed over 3000 forensic examinations and frequently provides expert witness testimony in criminal court for prosecutors and defense attorneys.

Ms. Carroll has made numerous presentations throughout the United States, Africa, Jordan, and Columbia on the topics of sexual assault, forensic examiner programs and her personal experience as a survivor of marital rape.

Karen appears as a mentor in the virtual practicum entitled “Sexual Assault: Clinical and Forensic Management.

Karen has two sons and four grandchildren.

Andrea Cavanagh

Andrea has provided administrative support to Association staff and projects since 2011. Since joining the organization full time in 2012, she has supported the Certification program and Educational programs and served as an online learning coordinator. Currently, she coordinates the TeleHealth project. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Management with a concentration in accounting. After 5 years of accounting/finance experience, she expanded her education to include law enforcement and worked 7 years on the road with some undercover assignments and specialized task force work.

Diane Daiber, BSN, RN, SANE-A, SANE-P

As a Forensic Nursing Specialist, Diane works to strengthen the quality of medical forensic care through the development and delivery of quality education. She offers expert training and technical assistance to sexual assault forensic nurses and allied professionals. A forensic nurse examiner with 35 years of nursing experience, including forensic nursing program development and sustainability under her management, Diane has been an integral member of Sexual Assault Response Teams in her community, the Ohio Attorney General Sexual Assault Response Training Team, a preferred trainer for Ohio Peace Officers Training Academy, and the Collaborative Initiative to End Human Trafficking. Additionally, she presents the Association's Adolescent/Adult and Pediatric SANE courses, and lectures globally on a variety of forensic nursing-related topics.

Sandra Erickson

Sandy is a lifelong Alaskan whose varied roots make her most comfortable in this culturally diverse state. She has over 20 years of experience in customer service and executive administrative support and holds an AAS in Human Services. Sandy's experience working with social service programs covering Mental Health, Child Development, Homelessness, and Elder Mentoring has been an education as varied as Alaska.

Sara Jennings, DNP, RN, SANE-A, SANE-P, AFN-BC

Sara serves as Education Director, providing education and technical assistance resources to IAFN members. Sara has 15 years of forensic nursing experience and has previously worked as program manager of a full service clinical forensic nursing program. She also has a background in emergency nursing and emergency medical services.

Sara speaks locally and nationally on clinical forensic issues. Sara has served on numerous multidisciplinary teams and sexual assault response teams in the community and has previously chaired a hospital based workplace violence task force. She has previously co-chaired the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association's Human Trafficking Task Force. Sara has served in the past on the Board of Directors for the IAFN as President, Secretary and Director at Large. She is also a member of the Virginia Chapter of the International Association of Forensic Nurses and has served as President. Sara received her Doctorate and Masters of Nursing from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA. Sara is certified as both a sexual assault nurse examiner adult/adolescent and pediatrics and AFN-BC.

Sarah Jimenez-Valdez

Sarah has provided support to IAFN since April 2018. She enjoys supporting the organization and colleagues with tasks related to various federally-funded projects, membership and financial affairs. Sarah is dedicated to working for the under-served and thus has dedicated her career to working in the non-profit sector over the last 16 years. Sarah previously worked in the domestic violence field but also has a background women’s health issues. Among Sarah's skills, are organizational development, in which she's worked with developing organizational culture and the use of the Enneagram tool.

Dreama Kirby

Dreama began working with the Association in 2013 on a contract basis as an administrative assistant to the Finance Director before joining the organization as a full time employee in 2014. With over 20 years of human resources and customer service experience she easily transitioned into her current role as the Executive & HR Coordinator.

Kerri Knadle

Kerri Knadle supports IAFN's grant-funded projects. She brings 12 years of experience within the association and events industry. She has held association roles in membership, meetings, and corporate alliances. Kerri holds a Bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from Towson University.

Kathleen Maguire, JD, BSN, BS, RN

Kathleen Maguire serves as the Director for the Association's certification program (e.g., SANE-A; SANE-P; and in collaboration with the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), AFN-BC via portfolio).

Immediately prior to joining IAFN, Ms. Maguire had worked at ANCC as a Senior Editor--the only nurse in the department responsible for developing professional certification examinations for 36 different nursing specialties. Ms. Maguire began her career as a neuroscience research nurse at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), While at NIH, Ms. Maguire decided to obtain a law degree from Georgetown University, where she was hired upon graduation as a legal researcher, writer, and editor.

In addition to her full-time work addressing any and all issues related to forensic nursing certification, she has served as the Managing Editor of the Journal of Forensic Nursing and as the co-editor of the Core Curriculum for Forensic Nursing.

Tammy Scarlett

Tammy Scarlett serves as a Forensic Nursing Specialist, providing training and technical assistance. Tammy has been working as a registered nurse since 2010 and received her Master in Public Health with a concentration in Global Health in 2020. Initially receiving a position as a forensic nurse in Newport News, Virginia, providing care to patients in an on-call capacity while working in the Emergency Department. Eventually Tammy started working as a full-time forensic nurse in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 2016. A few years later she became a team lead where she provided education to community partners, worked on process improvement within the forensic nursing team, and became a Principal Investigator on two research projects.

Currently she holds her certification in Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner- Adult/Adolescent (SANE-A) and Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner- Pediatric (SANE-P). She has provided training for the Colorado SANE/SAFE Project and Indian Health Services skills labs. She is a member of IAFN and the Colorado chapter. Tammy continues to practice clinically, providing care to patients and precepting forensic nurses to better care for our patient populations.

Apple Montuya

Apple Montuya recently joined IAFN as the Website and Database Manager. Prior to joining IAFN, she spent most of her career developing IT solutions and administering systems. In IAFN, she leverages experience in web development and project management to manage websites and databases.

Kim Nash, BSN, RN, SANE-A, SANE-P

Kim Nash serves as a Forensic Nursing Specialist, providing training and technical assistance. Ms. Nash has been a practicing registered nurse for 19 years. She has made her impact in the field worldwide. At the local level, she has been a practicing SANE in Colorado Springs, CO. She is also a Colorado state SANE/SAFE Project Trainer. Nationally, her involvement includes teaching on issues ranging from sexual violence, intimate partner violence, human trafficking, and strangulation. In 2012, she was one of two forensic nurse consultants for an IAFN/USAID project in Swaziland, Africa, mentoring local health care professionals in the care of pediatric rape patients with an emphasis on the prevention of HIV.

Ms. Nash has been a highly involved member of IAFN, serving on the IAFN Board of Directors as Secretary (2012-2014), as a Past President of the Colorado Chapter of IAFN (2011), and as a consultant on a number of IAFN projects.

Angelita Olowu, BSN, RN, SANE-A, SANE-P

Angelita Olowu serves as a Forensic Nursing Specialist, providing training and technical assistance.

She has 12 years of nursing experience, and has practiced as a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) since 2010. She received her certification for SANE-A in 2015 and SANE-P in 2016. Within her role as a full-time forensic nurse at Hillcrest Cleveland Clinic Hospital in Cleveland, OH, Angelita provided education and leadership to the forensic nursing staff, guidance around her patient population to the Hospital, and community education and outreach to various entities including schools, colleges and universities, and others on prevention and caring for those who have experienced trauma of personal violence.

She has served as a member of a hospital based Domestic Violence Committee, a hospital-based Child Protection Team, and the Cuyahoga County Child Advocacy Center Advisory Committee. She is a member of various professional organizations including IAFN, the Cuyahoga County Sexual Assault Response Team, and the Civil Rights Task Force. Additionally, she serves on a committee with the Collaborative to End Human Trafficking.

Christina Presenti

Christina Presenti serves new, existing, and future IAFN members to ensure folks are taking advantage of everything IAFN has to offer including its community, programs, training, and access to experts that IAFN provides. Christina is happy to chat with and answer anyone’s questions about becoming a member and joining the IAFN member community. Call, email, reach out anytime and tell a friend too!

Christina has a deep dedication to empowering victims of violence and healthcare providers that care for them. She previously held positions at the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, the New Hampshire Coalition of Domestic and Sexual Violence, and Bridges Domestic and Sexual Violence Support, her local crisis center. Christina is a graduate of Assumption College and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Global Studies with minors in Women's Studies and Economics. She is happy to help with any membership questions or needs!

Melissa Raymond

Melissa manages the Association’s Marketing, developing and executing strategic marketing plans that support IAFN objectives. She brings over 10 years of association marketing experience and 5 years of experience in the nonprofit healthcare industry.

Stacy Robertson

Since joining the Association in 2006, Stacy has worn many hats. As one of only three employees in the Association's early years, Ms. Robertson has done everything from answering the phone to managing the store to staffing the registration desk at the annual conference. In her current role as Finance Director, you're most likely to find her chasing down credit card receipts or triple checking our daily ledger to make sure the Association's finances are in order.

Nicole Stahlmann

Nicole Stahlmann serves as a Forensic Nursing Specialist, providing training and technical assistance. A registered nurse with clinical experience since 2010, Nicole has dedicated her career to forensic nursing. She received her Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE-A) certificate in 2015 and received her Advanced Forensic Nurse Board Certification (AFN-BC) in 2016 from the American Nurses Credentialing Center.

Prior to her work with the International Association of Forensic Nurses (IAFN), Nicole served as the Clinical Program Manager for the District of Columbia Forensic Nurse Examiners. Nicole continues to practice clinically, providing care for patients who have experienced violence. Nicole was an emergency department nurse and an adjunct instructor, teaching both undergraduate and Master students at Georgetown University. Beginning in 2018, Nicole worked with the United States Department of State to consult on sexual assault policies and procedures. She has trained their healthcare providers in patient centered, trauma-informed medical care of the sexual assault patient in the overseas environment. Nicole has been active in the forensic nursing community having served as the Secretary for the Maryland - District of Columbia IAFN Chapter, was an active member of the DC Sexual Assault Response Team, and she also served as Secretary, President-Elect, and President on the Foundation Board of the IAFN.

Sarah Tucker

Sarah has been with the Association since 2012 and has served in a variety of roles over that time. She came to IAFN to manage the SANE Sustainability Project and later managed the Tribal Forensic Healthcare Training Project before transitioning to roles as Communications Director, Online Learning Director, and Technology Director. In 2021, she is excited to have turned her focus to instructional design.

She has 21 years of experience in the domestic violence/sexual assault field, including more than a decade providing training, technical assistance, and advocacy in the US and internationally. She has written several journal articles and delivered Congressional testimony on the use of technology to perpetrate violence against women. Sarah holds a Bachelor's degree in Rhetoric/Writing and Foreign Languages and has completed graduate work in Cybersecurity.

Amy Valentine

Amy coordinates our Online Learning Center and web-based learning activities. She has supported the certification, education, and membership departments in her time at IAFN and enjoys using her skills to ensure successful training and educational opportunities for our members. Amy brings over 20 years of experience in administration, finance, and customer service. Prior to joining IAFN, she spent 15 years providing administrative support to the Emergency Department and then the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Frederick Health Hospital in Frederick, MD.

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Gail Hornor

Gail Hornor is a pediatric nurse practitioner who worked in a hospital-based child advocacy center for 28 years and coordinated a pediatric sexual assault nurse examiner program in the Emergency Department.

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Shay Ramirez

Shay Ramirez currently resides in Colorado Springs, CO, where, prior to joining the IAFN, she managed the Colorado SANE/SAFE Project. Funded through the Violence Against Women Act, the COSSP provided both the didactic and clinical skills SANE education statewide to over 1,000 RNs and advanced providers since 2013. Additionally, during that time, a telehealth initiative was developed and now serves 10 rural sites in Colorado.

Before becoming involved in the world of forensic nursing, Shay was a high school English teacher and did research and technical writing for city applications. She holds a BA in English from Fort Lewis College, and received her MBA through Western Governors University.

Outside of work, Shay is an avid reader, enjoys spending time with friends and family, and is involved in a non-profit project that provides microloans to women in Wozye, Haiti.

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The International Association of Forensic Nurses is a professional membership organization. If you are the victim of a crime, get help here. If you are in immediate danger, call 911

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