KEYNOTE SPEAKERS 

Jennifer S. Mensik Kennedy

Opening Keynote Session
Wednesday, July 15, 10:00 - 11:00 AM 

A sought-after presenter and prolific author, Jennifer S. Mensik Kennedy, PhD, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, serves as the 38th president of the American Nurses Association. In this national leadership role, Dr. Mensik Kennedy boldly advocates for the nation’s 5.5 million RNs. In 2026, TIME named Dr. Mensik Kennedy to the TIME100 Health list in the Titan category for her global influence on the profession. In 2025 and for the third consecutive year, she was named by Modern Healthcare as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare. 

Dr. Mensik Kennedy’s insights on nursing leadership, workforce, and professional practice issues have shaped her public appearances and extensive body of work. She is an accomplished author and co-author of multiple books and publications focused on nursing leadership, workforce innovation, and professional transition. 

Prior to her presidency, Dr. Mensik Kennedy held key leadership positions within the nursing profession, including serving the American Nurses Association as Treasurer, Second Vice President, and Director-at-Large. She also served as President of the Arizona Nurses Association from 2007 to 2010. Additionally, Dr. Mensik Kennedy held the role of governor of nursing practice for the Western Institute of Nursing in 2010-2014.

Dr. Mensik Kennedy earned a PhD from the University of Arizona College of Nursing with a focus on health systems and a minor in public administration from the Eller College of Management. She holds an MBA from the University of Phoenix and a BSN from Washington State University. Dr. Mensik Kennedy also earned an ADN from Wenatchee Valley College-North. She is an assistant clinical professor at the Oregon Health and Science University School of Nursing. Dr. Mensik Kennedy was inducted in 2014 as a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. She has been recognized as Alumna of the Year by both University of Arizona College of Nursing and Washington State University College of Nursing.

Jose Cucalon Calderon, MD

Second Keynote Session
Thursday, July 16, 8:45 - 9:45 AM 

Dr. Jose Cucalon Calderon FAAP is a General Pediatrician for Renown Children's Hospital and Associate Professor of Pediatrics for the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine. Dr. Cucalon Calderon is a native Spanish Speaker from Guayaqui, Ecuador, who did his Pediatric Training at the University of South Alabama. Very active in our community since moving to Reno in 2017 when he became Faculty for UNR Med sited at Renown Children's.  He is involved in teaching our future doctors and forming pediatricians at the new Pediatric Residency program at UNR Med as their Advocacy rotation director and as the Renown Children's Hospital Director of Advocacy and Outreach with a scope of work that goes from the local to the international. Dr. Cucalon Calderon’s main areas of interest being access to preventive health services, nicotine addiction prevention and treatment, Second and third hand smoke exposure prevention, evidence based outreach, cultural humility in training and practice, mental health destigmatization, culturally sensitive care /communication and positive health impact through policy change. Dr. Cucalon Calderon founded and is the immediate past Chair of the Nevada Chapter of the National Hispanic Medical Association and serves as a national association Board Member, serves as one of their Vaccinate for all Spokesperson and serves in the Nevada Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics as their Vaccination representative, smoke free Champion and Secretary treasurer and as a national spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics.  

Rosario Medina, PhD, FNP-BC, ACNP, CNS, FAANP, FAAN

Closing Keynote Session
Friday, July 17, 12:15 - 1:15 PM 

Rosario brings to UNM more than 43 years of active nursing experience and decades of academic leadership. Her leadership history has been focused on building practice capacity that increases access to underserved populations, building academic programs to prepare a highly diverse workforce, and providing evidence-based clinical environments for student experience and research.

Prior to joining the UNM College of Nursing, she was the Associate Dean of Clinical and Community Affairs at the University of Colorado- Anschutz College of Nursing in Aurora, Colorado, where she had the executive oversight of more than 140 faculty and staff in multiple faculty-managed clinical enterprises serving the Denver metro and rural Colorado. They included five midwifery practices, a campus community primary clinic, three integrative Federally Funded Health Centers, and two pediatric primary care clinics all focused on caring for underserved populations.

Medina has served as an educational leader in a variety of roles at the University of Colorado. They include Associate Dean for Academic Affairs for the Graduate Programs, Assistant Dean for Graduate Nursing where she was responsible for 15 master's programs, Assistant Dean for Graduate Student Affairs, and as the Director of the Doctor of Nursing Program. Medina also promoted pathway programs into nursing and served as a mentor to aspiring nurses.

Medina's 25 years as a Family Nurse Practitioner and researcher has helped her become an expert in understanding underserved populations and knowledgeable in community-based research aimed at changing practice to positively influence health care outcomes in underrepresented populations. Her research focuses on the health beliefs, values and needs of the underserved Hispanic population, specifically in screening and prevention of chronic diseases, medication assisted treatment for opioid use disorders in Colorado's underserved frontier and rural counties, and the impact of shifting to tele-health during COVID.

Much of Medina's clinical, research, teaching, and publication activities have focused on improving health and health equity outcomes and addressing social determinants of health for Hispanic women and other underserved populations, including rural communities. She was recently honored as a leader for her efforts to diversify the nursing workforce by developing curriculum aimed at caring for underrepresented populations and developing policies that diversify the academic and practice nursing workforce.