Professional Affiliation,
Children’s National Hospital in Washington, DC
Dr. Snapp is a neonatal nurse practitioner and member of the Children’s National in Washington, DC, NICU team working in Virginia and is also an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Dr. Snapp serves on several boards in the metropolitan DC area including the steering committee for the state collaborative. She is often involved in multiple activities on the national level as well. Dr. Snapp has had a career-long interest in neonatal resuscitation both as instructor and author. She has served NANN in many capacities for over the last 30 years and has authored several publications. Dr. Snapp enjoys creating new research projects and mentoring new nurses and NPs.

Professional Affiliation,
Nemours Children’s Health Delaware
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Taryn Edwards joined NANN before graduating from the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Nursing in 2004. She started as a nurse at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) right after nursing school and found deep satisfaction in the care of critically ill neonates. In 2010, she graduated from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Nursing with a Master of Science degree and began practicing as a neonatal nurse practitioner for the general, thoracic, and fetal surgery team within the NICU at CHOP. In 2021, Taryn transitioned to full time at Nemours Children’s Health Delaware. She has participated in Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing’s Maternal Child Health Leadership Academy as a leadership fellow in 2008 and as a mentor in 2012. She has served as newsletter editor and President of NANN’s Delaware Valley Chapter, NANN Board of Directors from 2015-2019 as a Director-at-large, and NANN-AP Council from 2019-2023 as a council member. Her professional interests include the surgical neonate, human milk and breastfeeding, and the environmental impacts on maternal-child health.

Professional Affiliation,
Advocate Aurora
Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin

Meghan Luh has been practicing as a neonatal nurse practitioner since 2009.  She is currently the lead neonatal nurse practitioner at Advocate Aurora Medical Center in Summit, WI, and is also a member of the neonatal nurse practitioner team at Children’s Wisconsin in Milwaukee.  She completed her bachelor’s degree in nursing at Marquette University and subsequently obtained her master’s degree in nursing from the University of Florida. Meghan has served NANN in many roles, notably as a board member for the State of Wisconsin Association of Neonatal Nurses in addition to being a member of the NANN Awards Selection Task Force Committee and a NANN Annual Conference Abstract Reviewer. Most recently, she was honored to serve a two year term as a NANN Director-at-Large and is enthusiastically looking forward to a second term. Meghan is passionate about leadership and obtained ANCC certification as a nurse executive. In addition, she is a certified lactation consultant. Meghan’s areas of professional interest include care of the late preterm infant, promotion of breastfeeding, and nurse leadership.

Professional Affiliation,
The University of Tennessee Health Science Center
College of Nursing
Dr. Harris knew she was called to become a neonatal nurse and care for critically ill neonates even before completing nursing school at the University of Louisiana at Monroe in 1999. She began her nursing career at LSU Health Science in Shreveport, Louisiana. After ten years collaborating with the extraordinary neonatal nurse practitioners in her unit, she decided to pursue her Master of Science in Nursing degree from Northwestern State University. While in school, Dr. Harris was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau. Dr. Harris and her family moved to Memphis, Tennessee, in 2012 where she began work as a neonatal nurse practitioner at LeBonheur Children’s Hospital (LBCH). The mentorships experienced during her time there were instrumental in honing her clinician and leader skills. In 2017, she accepted an inaugural position as one of two NNPs at a Level III NICU with an active delivery service in Tupelo, MS, and established the NNP role in that setting. Many NNPs have since followed her example. 2018 was a busy year for Dr. Harris as she graduated from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) with her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree and was selected for the second cohort of the NANN/Synova Associates Emerging Leader Fellowship. Since that time, Dr. Harris has presented at NANN annual conferences as both a podium and poster presenter, served as conference symposium planning committee member, served as volunteer faculty for the UTHSC College of Nursing, and performed as a manuscript reviewer for Advances of Neonatal Care. She has authored several articles for the newsletter in addition to contributing book chapters to neonatal texts. Dr. Harris’ current clinical practice occurs in Level IV NICUs throughout the country. Her practice continues to demonstrate the passion for neonatal care, especially practicing from a trauma-informed framework and empowering future clinicians and leaders of our profession through education and professional development.

Professional Affiliation,
Hershey Medical Center

Heather Stephens is a Neonatal Clinical Nurse Specialist and is the Neonatal Clinical Nurse Practice Leader at Penn State Health Hershey Children’s Hospital. She received her Diploma of Nursing at Lancaster Health Alliance, undergraduate at Penn State University and Doctorate of Nursing Practice at Rush University. Heather has been a nurse for 24 years, 22 of those as a neonatal nurse.

She is currently a member of NANN-AP for a second term, an item question writer for the American Association of Critical Care Nurses for the neonatal CNS exam, an exam reviewer and recently elected to the Cribs for Kids Advisory Board.  Heather holds a strong belief that in order to advance neonatal nursing practice, there must be a bridge from evidence-based care to the advanced practice nurses and bedside nurses for them to pursue, seek and implement best practices.  Heather’s interests include developmental care, reduction in BPD, promotion of the use of human milk and safe sleep practices.

Dr. Kathryn (Katie) Malin-Riepenhoff,
Katie Malin is an Associate Professor in the College of Nursing at Marquette University and a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner at Children’s Wisconsin. Her research focuses on maternal–infant health equity, particularly how social determinants of health, toxic stress, and early adversity shape epigenetic outcomes in preterm infants. She is currently funded by an NIH K23 award, Preterm Infants, Moms, and the Social Determinants of Health: an Epigenetic Investigation (PRIMS-EI), which examines the relationships between maternal and infant stress, DNA methylation, and developmental health trajectories in preterm infants.

In addition to her research, Dr. Malin is an active clinician, educator, and mentor. She has extensive experience teaching evidence-based practice, research methods, and neonatal nursing at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. She has published and presented nationally on neonatal stress, social determinants of health, and nursing workforce issues.

Katie has been a member of the National Association of Neonatal Nurses (NANN) since 2001 and is a founding member of the State of Wisconsin Association of Neonatal Nurses. She is deeply grateful for the opportunity to serve and support NICU health professionals across the country.

Professional Affiliation,
University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing, Associate Professor
Tracey Bell is an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing, currently serving as the coordinator of the Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Program. She graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill with both her BSN and MSN. Her DNP was obtained from Duke University. In addition to her academic role, she has over 20 years of clinical experience as a NNP, most recently at Emory University in Atlanta and UPMC in Pittsburgh.

She served on the NANN Committee for the 2023 Revision of Curriculum Guidelines and Education Competencies for Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Programs. In 2023, she was awarded the NANN APRN Excellence Award.

Dr Bell has published several manuscripts and has presented both at both national and international conferences. She is on the editorial board for the journal Advances in Neonatal Care, serving as the section editor for “Case Study of the Month”.

Professional Affiliations,
Texas Children’s Hospital – The Woodlands,
UTMB School of Nursing
Heidi Thompson began her neonatal nursing career as a new graduate in the ISCU at UTMB and spent more than a decade at the bedside in a tertiary Level IV NICU, caring for critically ill infants and mentoring new nurses. Since 2015, she has served as a nurse leader across NICU, Acute Care Pediatrics, Pediatric Heart Center, and PICU. She is currently serving as an Assistant Clinical Director at Texas Children’s Hospital – The Woodlands, overseeing three critical care departments. Her leadership has advanced outcomes by reducing NICU turnover from 38% to under 10%, decreasing central line infections in the ELBW population by over 60%, and strengthening RN–RN-provider relationships. Heidi was honored to be selected for NANN’s 2018–2019 Emerging Leader Fellowship, which deepened her passion for leadership and professional development. She also serves as adjunct faculty for the UTMB School of Nursing and has contributed to NANN through the Professional Development and ONENANN Committees. Her professional interests include nurse retention, family-centered care, and mentoring the next generation of neonatal nurses.

Elizabeth graduated with her BSN from Texas Woman’s University in 2011 and her MSN from the University of Texas at Arlington in 2017. She is a Clinical Nurse at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford in California. Elizabeth participated in NANN’s inaugural Emerging Leader Program in 2017. She was a member of NANN’s Membership Committee and Annual Conference Committee as well as served as president of the North Texas and Northern California chapters. Elizabeth obtained her certifications from NCC for NIC, ELBW & NNIC and currently volunteers on the NNIC Content Team. Her professional interests are cardiac, therapeutic hypothermia and precepting new graduate nurses.

Professional Affiliation,
The University of Tennessee Health Science Center
College of Nursing
Dr. Harris knew she was called to become a neonatal nurse and care for critically ill neonates even before completing nursing school at the University of Louisiana at Monroe in 1999. She began her nursing career at LSU Health Science in Shreveport, Louisiana. After ten years collaborating with the extraordinary neonatal nurse practitioners in her unit, she decided to pursue her Master of Science in Nursing degree from Northwestern State University. While in school, Dr. Harris was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau. Dr. Harris and her family moved to Memphis, Tennessee, in 2012 where she began work as a neonatal nurse practitioner at LeBonheur Children’s Hospital (LBCH). The mentorships experienced during her time there were instrumental in honing her clinician and leader skills. In 2017, she accepted an inaugural position as one of two NNPs at a Level III NICU with an active delivery service in Tupelo, MS, and established the NNP role in that setting. Many NNPs have since followed her example. 2018 was a busy year for Dr. Harris as she graduated from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) with her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree and was selected for the second cohort of the NANN/Synova Associates Emerging Leader Fellowship. Since that time, Dr. Harris has presented at NANN annual conferences as both a podium and poster presenter, served as conference symposium planning committee member, served as volunteer faculty for the UTHSC College of Nursing, and performed as a manuscript reviewer for Advances of Neonatal Care. She has authored several articles for the newsletter in addition to contributing book chapters to neonatal texts. Dr. Harris’ current clinical practice occurs in Level IV NICUs throughout the country. Her practice continues to demonstrate the passion for neonatal care, especially practicing from a trauma-informed framework and empowering future clinicians and leaders of our profession through education and professional development.

Professional Affiliation,
Wayne State University, College of Nursing
Leanne Nantais-Smith is Associate Clinical Professor and Director of Advanced Practice and Graduate Certificate Programs at Wayne State University (WSU) College of Nursing (CON) in Detroit, Michigan. She is also a certified Neonatal Nurse Practitioner (NNP) and Coordinator of the NNP Specialty. Leanne completed a Master of Science in Nursing with NNP specialty in 1989 and Doctor of Philosophy in 1997, both from WSU. Leanne is a member of multiple organizations, including NANN/NANN-AP, Sigma Theta Tau, American Association of Nurse Practitioners , and the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF). She was inducted as a Fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) in June 2022. She has multiple presentations (peer-reviewed and invited) and publications in advanced practice neonatal topics and has worked on several HRSA Advanced Nursing Education Workforce grants to expand the APRN workforce. She is currently a co-investigator on a HRSA ANEW ($2.6m) grant related to investigating new models of APRN primary care clinical education. Her educational interests focus on NNP clinical education and mentoring doctoral students with implementation of quality improvement initiatives. Her research interest focuses on identifying noninvasive biomarkers of necrotizing enterocolitis.

Professional Affiliation,
Emory University Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing
Dr. Meredith Farmer is a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner and Director of the Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Specialty at Emory University’s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, where she also serves as an Assistant Clinical Professor. She continues to practice clinically with Marietta Neonatology, integrating current neonatal practice into her academic teaching, mentorship, and leadership.

Dr. Farmer began her career as a Licensed Practical Nurse before earning her Associate Degree in Nursing. She went on to receive her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Jacksonville State University, her Master of Science in Nursing with a concentration in Neonatal Nurse Practitioner from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and her Doctor of Nursing Practice in Health Systems Leadership from Emory University. Her educational foundation reflects her lifelong commitment to excellence in neonatal care, scholarship, and leadership.

She has served in numerous national and organizational roles, including a four-year term on the National Association of Neonatal Nurse Research Committee. Her scholarly interests focus on neonatal workforce sustainability, provider fatigue, and educational innovation to strengthen the pipeline of neonatal nurse practitioners.

Dr. Farmer has authored and co-authored multiple peer-reviewed manuscripts and presented nationally on topics including workforce development, inclusive education, and stress management in the NICU. She is passionate about mentoring emerging nurse practitioners and faculty, fostering interprofessional collaboration, and advancing equitable, evidence-based care to improve outcomes for infants and their families.

Michele has been a proud NANN member since 1989 working with women, children and families for over 36 years. She received her BSN from the University of Delaware in 1988 and her MSN from the University of Pennsylvania in 1992. Since then, she has worked as a neonatal nurse practitioner in all levels of neonatal care from I-IV. Michele has been teaching neonatal concepts to interprofessional students since 1996 and obtained her DNP from Thomas Jefferson University in 2017. In her current role as an Associate Professor and Director of the Thomas Jefferson College of Nursing Neonatal Nurse Practitioner program, she is responsible for the growth and development of novice NNPs from around the country. Her current clinical practice is with Nemours Children’s Health in a busy level four NICU. Michele presents both locally and nationally on neonatal topics. Her volunteer work includes reviewing manuscripts, working on the Nursing for Women’s Health editorial board, aiding the growth of neonatal practice through NONPF and NANN, and supporting curricular development in the US and abroad.