 Julie is the KNA Lobbyist and has served four years on the Louisville Metro Council and 20 years in the Kentucky State Senate where she chaired the Senate Health and Welfare Committee for 16 of those years. In 2015, she founded the Denton Group, a government relations firm, which represents national, regional and local entities at the state and federal level. She is a graduate of the University of Louisville and has her Masters in Political Science.

April Hester is the Co-Chair of the GAC, holds the governor appointed position on the Health Benefit Exchange Program in KY, and sits on the Nursing Technical Advisory Committee to Medicaid.

Dr. Kristin Ashford is a Professor at the University of Kentucky College of Nursing, as well as a Board-Certified Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner and the Good Samaritan Endowed Chair for Community Nursing. She is recognized as an expert in perinatal substance use and has developed academic-clinical programs aimed at supporting women and their families facing the challenges associated with substance use disorder. Through her work, she has refined her skills in health policy and advocacy, culminating in nearly two years of experience as a Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy

Dr. Watson is an experienced faculty and academic leader with 15 years of experience in Nursing Education. Prior to her appointment with Spalding University, Dr. Watson served as a Director of Traditional and Accelerated BSN Program at IUPUC where she developed and implemented Clinical Homes Model (CHM) of clinical placement and Nurse Preceptor development. Dr. Watson’s research focus is on Nurse Graduate retention within rural communities and Opiate Use Disorder (OUD) among rural America. Dr. Watson’s education focus is on student success, early identification of at-risk students, and international nursing education development. Dr. Watson is a proud Alumna of Indiana Wesleyan University. She is a member of Indiana Association for Nursing Leadership and is past president of South East Indiana chapter.

Nash is currently a professor and dean at Georgia Southern University’s Waters College of Health Professions. No stranger to UofL, Nash is a two-time alumna and has spent 17 years employed with the university. She earned a Master of Science in Nursing degree in 1997 and PhD in Nursing in 2010. From 1997 until 2022, she served as an instructor, assistant professor and associate professor at the School of Nursing. Nash also has held a number of leadership positions including: director of practice for international affairs, associate dean of practice and service, assistant vice president of inter-professional practice partnerships on the Health Sciences Center campus and as an executive team member of the Republic Bank Foundation Optimal Aging Clinic.

Dr. Dina Byers is the Dean of Murray State University's College of Nursing and Health Professions, a Professor of Nursing, and holds her B.S.N., M.S.N. from Murray State and Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee-Memphis, serving as a leader in innovative healthcare education and securing grants for advanced resources like VR for student training.

• Executive Director of Healthcare Programs, Kentucky Community and Technical College System. Responsibilities include the KNAT program and serving the healthcare industry and its talent pipeline needs and working with academic program leadership at the Colleges, Chancellor’s Office, and Office of Workforce and Economic Development to help ensure our healthcare program curriculum is relevant and our employer partners are engaged

Tommie Ann is an advocate for social change and believes in the empowerment of others through educational opportunity. She was a member of the inaugural extended campus cohort and completed both her BA in Human Services and Counseling and M.Ed. in Mental Health Counseling and Human Development in the distance learning format. She is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Tommie Ann began her career with Lindsey Wilson in 2004 as an Enrollment Coordinator. In 2006, she added the role of adjunct instructor for LWU’s School of Professional Counseling. Still teaching, she transitioned to Regional Enrollment Director in 2007 to develop and supervise the Southern Appalachian Region, which consists of 5 extended campuses in KY and VA. She accepted the role of Assistant Vice President of Educational Outreach for Online and Graduate Programs in 2018 and is excited about the future of Lindsey Wilson University Online. In each role, she has maintained a student-focused commitment to delivering Lindsey Wilson’s mission and dedication to excellence. As co-founder and president of the Harlan County Boys and Girls Club, as well as Chair of the Kentucky Area Council of BGC of the Commonwealth, Tommie Ann volunteers her time to ensure that Kentucky’s children have a safe place to become. Although she is honored to serve LWU and BGCA, her favorite roles include being a mom to her children Ty and Andi and “Mimi” to Elly and Sawyer.