2007 HONORARY CHAIR:  Glenda Robertson, RN, BSN, MA

Glenda Robertson received her Bachelor's of Science in Nursing from the University of New Mexico in 1997.  She provided patient care in the NBICU at University of New Mexico Hospital and worked with new staff to help them develop the knowledge and skills needed to be effective NBICU nurses.  It was through working with the new staff that Glenda's passion for teaching adults began.  In 2002, she left bedside nursing and became the Neonatal Education Consultant for the UNM School of Medicine

Division of Neonatology's Neonatology Outreach Program.  This new role allowed Glenda to focus on providing continuing education opportunities throughout New Mexico in the areas of neonatology and neonatal nursing. One of her responsibilities was to coordinate the planning, design, development, implementation, and evaluation of the Amazing Newborn Conference.  In 2007, Glenda received her Master of Arts Degree in Organizational Learning and Instructional Technologies.

Glenda now lives in Denver, Colorado and continues to work with adult learners in her new role as the Coordinator of  Assessment for Colorado Christian University's College of Adult and Graduate Studies.  She sincerely thanks the 2007 Amazing Newborn Conference Planning Committee for nominating her as this year's Honorary Conference Chair.  Glenda would also like to extend a large amount of gratitude to everyone who helped her pull together the conference year after year.  To quote Helen

Keller,   "Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much."

    Julie Bacon, RN, BA

Neonatal/Pediatric Flight Nurse, All Children’s Hospital, St. Petersburg, FL

Julie Bacon, RN, BA has almost twenty years experience in emergency transport medicine.  Her expertise is in the area of pediatric and neonatal transport, where she spent ten years in the development and hands-on management of the largest dedicated pediatric transport team in the State of Florida.  She has logged over 1000 national and international missions, which include ground, rotor and fixed wing transports, and continues to fly with All Children’s Hospital Transport Team.  Ms. Bacon holds a degree in nursing as well as a BA in Criminal Justice, and spent her first ten professional years in investigative law enforcement. She is an instructor for NRP, STABLE, PALS, DOT Air Medical Crew Core Curriculum, Basic HAZMAT and National Incident Management System. She currently serves as the appointed Chairperson for the Florida EMS for Children State Advisory Committee, and Vice-Chair of the Florida State EMS Strategic Planning Committee.In addition to clinical topics in pediatric/neonatal, critical care and transport medicine, she also lectures nationally and   internationally on all areas of teamwork and staff resource management, prioritizing life in a high stress environment and motivational issues, and is a trained facilitator for Critical Incident Stress Management.  Ms. Bacon is able to present family issues in the critical care environment from both a clinical and parent perspective. As an Emergency Management Director, she is involved in WMD training, triage and emergency preparations for disaster and terrorism. 

    Aylane Berge, RN, BSN

Newborn Intensive Care Unit, Children’s Hospital of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM

Alayne Berge, RN, BSN, attended college at Montana State University and graduated 2005 cum laude. She is currently working on a Master’s Program through the University of Alabama/Birmingham for Family Nurse Practitioner/Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner. She has worked in diverse areas with a passion for palliative care. She has worked in Albuquerque for two years.

    Nader Bishara, MD

Fellow, Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, UNM HSC SOM, Albuquerque, NM

Nader Bishara received his MD from Alexandria University in Egypt in 1992 and came to the United States in 1997. Dr. Bishara trained in pediatrics at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, AL and received Board certification in Pediatrics in 2000. From 2000 till 2006 Dr. Bishara worked as a solo pediatrician in Sylacauga, AL during that time he was involved in training pediatric nurse practitioners from University of Alabama, Birmingham. In 2006, Dr. Nader joined UNM-Neonatology fellowship program.

    Lance Chilton, MD

Professor, Department of Pediatrics, UNM HSC SOM, Albuquerque, NM

Lance Chilton is a Professor of Pediatrics at the University of New Mexico, School of Medicine and is currently practicing at UNM Young Children’s HealthCenter in Albuquerque’s SE Heights.  Formerly, he had a pediatric practice at Lovelace Medical Center  Dr. Chilton has been active as an advocate for children both locally and nationally with the American Academy of Pediatrics, New Mexico Pediatric Society and New Mexico Medical Society.  He is currently a columnist at the Albuquerque Journal.

    Paul Clements, PhD, APRN, BC, DF-IAFN

Assistant Professor, Old Dominion University, School of Nursing, Norfolk, VA

Paul Clements is a psychiatric/forensic specialist from Virginia Beach, VA. He is currently an Assistant Professor at The Old dominion University in Norfolk, VA. His former positions include: Assistant Professor, University of New Mexico College of Nursing; Assistant Director/Bereavement Therapist at Grief Assistance Program (GAP, Inc.) at the Office of the Medical Examiner in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and a former Director of Operations for the City of Philadelphia Department of Public Health. He is an experienced therapist with almost 15 years experience in management and crisis intervention. Dr. Clements has provided counseling and crisis intervention to over 1500 families of murder victims, as well as to high numbers of surviving family members in the aftermath of suicide, industrial and occupational deaths, motor vehicle accidents, sudden infant death syndrome and other types of sudden violent death, as well as to surviving family members after natural death and other loss. Recently, Dr. Clements was involved in the television and printed news media, as well as interviewed on National Public Radio (NPR), related to discussions of the offender, victims and survivors of the Virginia Tech shootings. Dr. Clements has numerous publications and national and international conference presentations regarding loss, grief and bereavement. He is an Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurse (APRN, BC) with national board certification as a Specialist in Child, Adolescent and Family Mental Health Nursing. Dr. Clements holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Psychiatric Forensic Nursing from University of Pennsylvania. His current research involves traumatic presentations and behaviors in children exposed to the homicide of a family member. Dr. Clements is a Distinguished Fellow in the International Association of Forensic Nurses and Associated Editor of the Journal of Forensic Nursing. Faculty Profile and list of publications:  http://myprofile.cos.com/PaulClements

    Tom Cushing, MD, JD

Department of Pediatrics, Dysmorphology, UNM HSC SOM, Albuquerque, NM

    Karla Damus, RN, MSPH, PhD

Associate Professor/Director of Community Programs and Public Health/Department of Obstetrics/Gynecology and Women’s Health

Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY

Dr. Damus is an Associate Professor and the Director of the Division of Community Programs and Public Health in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Women’s health at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx. She is also the Senior Research Associate in the Office of the Medical Director at the National Office of the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation. Dr. Damus is a perinatal epidemiologist and a nurse, having received her PhD in epidemiology from the University of California at Berkeley and two masters’ degrees from UCLA in Nursing and Public Health. She is a consultant to the Obstetrics and Gynecology Devices Panel of the Medical Devices Advisory Committee Food and Drug Administration. Dr. Damus is a member of the Select Expert Panel on Preconception health and of its workgroup on clinical care. She is a fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine; a member of: The National Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Steering Committee, the National Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Task Force and the Nurse Advisory Council for the National March of Dimes. She is also a board member for the New York State Perinatal Association and the National Perinatal Information Center Dr. Damus was the 2006 recipient of the National Perinatal Association’s “Individual Contribution to Maternal Child Health Award.”

    Elaine DiFederico, MD, MFA

Associate Professor, Maternal Fetal Medicine, Department of OB/GYN, UNM HSC SOM, Albuquerque, NM

Dr. DiFederico is an Associate Professor, Maternal Fetal Medicine, in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, NM.  She is also the Director of Maternal Fetal Medicine at Lovelace Women’s Hospital in Albuquerque, NM.  Her research interests include obstetric trauma, critical care, hypertension, and disorders of placental insufficiency. Formerly, she was Director of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency Program at Legacy Emanuel Hospital and HealthCenter in Portland, OR.  There she practiced Perinatology as both a hospital-based sub-specialist and a private practitioner.  In Oregon, she was a member of the Board of Directors of Northwest Physicians Mutual Insurance Company, a physician-owned insurance company.  Dr. DiFederico is a perinatal consultant in the areas of patient safety, obstetric collaboration and team building.  

    Dawn Erhard-Wingard, OTR, DOM

Neonatal Developmental Specialist/Occupational Therapist, Developmental Care Program, UNM HSC SOM, Albuquerque, NM

Dawn Wingard, as part of a developmental team in the NBICU at the Children’s Hospital of New Mexico, provides individualized infant developmental, supportive family-centered care. She has extensive clinical experience in providing families with ways to calm and comfort infants during withdrawal from medications and street drugs.

    Kathie Esquibel-Baca, MS, CCC-SLP

Neonatal Developmental Specialist, Developmental Care Program, UNM HSC SOM, Albuquerque, NM

Ms. Esquibel-Baca has worked in Pediatrics, Postpartum, Newborn Nursery and Intermediate Care Nursery over a 16-year period as a staff or charge nurse. She then worked for three years with the UNM Speech Pathology Department after returning to school for a Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology. She specialized in pediatric videofluoroscopic swallowing evaluations and pediatric feeding and swallowing issues. She has over seven years of experience as a Neonatal Developmental Specialist working with the Developmental Care Program at the University of New Mexico, Department of Pediatrics/Neonatology. Areas of expertise are in feeding/swallowing issues related to the pre-term infant. Ms. Esquibel-Baca also has a special interest in babies with cleft lip and palate and is a member of the UNMH Cleft Lip and Palate Team.

    Beth Goens, MD

Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Cardiology, UNM HSC SOM, Albuquerque, NM

Dr. Goens is the Director of the Pediatric Echocardiography Laboratory and the Interim Chief of Pediatric Cardiology at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center. Her’ primary area of expertise is fetal cardiac diagnosis.  She consults regularly with neonatologists regarding palliative care for newborns with multiple genetic anomalies and attends a weekly Fetal Clinic with UNM’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Maternal Fetal Medicine division. Dr. Goens received her medical degree from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center where she completed her residency in pediatrics and her fellowship in cardiology.  She did an additional post-fellowship year in pediatric echocardiography (including fetal) at the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, DC.  

    Sabrina Hamel-Green, BSN, IBCLC

Lactation Consultant, Special Care Nurseries, Children’s Hospital of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM

    Staci Harris, MS, PA-C

Newborn Intensive Care Unit, Children’s Hospital of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM

Staci Harris is a Physician’s Assistant, Neonatal Specialist and a member of the New Mexico Newborn Transport Team at the Newborn Intensive Care Unit, Children’s Hospital of New Mexico where she has been employed for two years.  Staci is originally from Washington State and has her undergraduate degree from the University of Washington in Seattle.  After completing her degree, she worked in exercise physiology and as a CSA trainer for 10 years before returning to school. Upon return she pursued a career in medicine.  She graduated at the top of her class with a Master’s Degree from University of St. Francis in Physician Assistant studies.  During a clinical rotation she fell in love with Neonatology and life in the NICU.  Upon graduation and before she came to UNM she worked at Presbyterian Hospital in the NICU for 3 years. 

    Vlad Ianus, MD, MPH

Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology, UNM HSC SOM, Albuquerque, NM

Dr. Vlad Ianus, MD, MPH, received his MD degree from Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Bucharest, Romania. He then obtained a Masters degree in Health Policy, Planning and Financing from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and London School of Economics. He completed his residency in Pediatrics at Monmouth Medical Center (Long Branch, New Jersey) in 2003, and did a fellowship in Neonatology at Brown University/Women & Infants' Hospital of Rhode Island. He joined the Neonatology Division at UNM Children's Hospital as an Assistant Professor in Pediatrics in February 2007. His research interests relate to the fetal and neonatal myocardial cells proliferation and hypertrophy, and the ductus arteriosus diagnosis and patency in the very low birth weight infants.

    Sarah Legett, MD

Medical Director, Pediatric Palliative Care Program, Children’s Hospital of Austin, Austin, TX

Dr. Legett has recently returned to her native Texas and is privileged to lead the new Palliative Care Program at Dell Children’s' Medical Center of Central Texas in Austin.   She has practiced and taught general pediatrics in both academic and community settings for 20 years, both in the US and internationally.  Increasingly interested in children with life-limiting illness, she completed a fellowship in Palliative Medicine and was subsequently certified by the Board of Hospice and Palliative medicine.   

    Rebecca Moran, MD

Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Medical Director, Neonatal Palliative Care Service, Division of Neonatology, UNM School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM

Dr. Rebecca Moran is an Assistant Professor at the University of New Mexico. She attended the University of Florida for undergraduate education. She received her MD from University of Louisville. She then completed her pediatric residency and neonatology fellowship at the University of New Mexico. She had the opportunity to work with Dr. Steve Leuthner at the Medical College of Wisconsin in the Fetal Concerns Program as well as the Palliative Care Program at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. She returned to UNM as a Neonatologist and medical director of the Neonatal Palliative Care Program in 2007.

    Jerome Romero

Director, New Mexico State Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Prevention Program, UNM Center on Alcoholism, Substance Abuse, and Addictions (CASAA), Albuquerque, NM

Jerome Romero has been educating New Mexicans on the hazards of drinking alcohol during pregnancy for the past 11 years. He travels around the state presenting to young and old and everyone in between about Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. He presents at conferences, works with youth as peer educators and has developed an FAS media campaign. His wish is that everyone knows that this birth defect is 100 percent preventable and together we can reduce and maybe one day eliminate Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.

    Tricia Romesberg, MSN, CNNP

Neonatal Palliative Care Service Coordinator, UNM Children’s Hospital, UNM HSC SOM, Albuquerque, NM

Tricia Romesberg, MSN CNNP, received her BSN from the University of New Mexico in 1993, and her Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Certificate from Beth-El College of Nursing in Colorado Springs, CO, in 1997. She received her Master’s Degree in Nursing Administration from the University of New Mexico in 2004 and was awarded the 2004 Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing Outstanding Graduate Aware. Throughout her career, improving end-of-life care for dying neonates and their families was a goal. This goal was obtained with the development and implementation of both the Grief Follow-Up Program in 2003 and the Neonatal Palliative Care Service in 2004. Ms. Romesberg currently works as a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit at University of New Mexico Children’s Hospital and coordinates the NICU Grief Follow-Up Program and Neonatal Palliative Care Service.

    Anne Simpson, MD, CMD

Rust Professor/Director of Institute for Ethics, UNM HSC SOM, Albuquerque, NM

Dr. Anne Simpson is the Rust Professor of Ethics and the director of the HSC Institute for Ethics, she is an associate professor with the Department of Internal Medicine/Division of Geriatrics; in addition, she is the director for the Center of Excellence on African American Health.