2023 Conference Speakers
Amber Roache, DNP, FNP-BC, Assistant Professor, Nurse Practitioner Program Coordinator; Primary Investigator, CANDL grant
Dr. Roache' joined the School of Nursing faculty as Assistant Professor in 2007 being named the Kay K. Chitty Professor. In this position she taught in the undergraduate and graduate programs, and practiced as a Family Nurse Practitioner two days a week in a community clinic serving vulnerable and underserved populations. After obtaining her DNP, Dr. Roache’ moved to Knoxville to coordinate the nurse practitioner program at King University as Associate professor. She taught in the doctoral, graduate, and undergraduate RN-BSN program. In 2016 she was promoted to Associate Dean of Graduate Programs. In 2018 Dr. Roache’ returned to UTC as the Nurse Practitioner Program Coordinator and Primary Investigator of the CANDL grant. Her primary teaching responsibilities are in the graduate programs, in the FNP concentration. She maintains national certification and continues to engage in faculty practice at University Health Services at UTC where she precepts Family Nurse Practitioner Students.
Misty Wilke, PhD, RN, FAAN, Clinical Associate Professor, School of Nursing, University of Minnesota
Dr. Wilkie is a citizen of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians in Belcourt, ND. She was the 15th AI to earn a PhD in nursing. For 18 years in higher education, she has focused on improving minority health and health outcomes particularly for AI/AN/Indigenous populations. She has contributed to advancing knowledge and awareness of health inequities through the development of digital clinical simulations and establishing programs of support for Indigenous nursing students. Dr. Wilkie has served on several boards, and held a variety of positions, including National Alaska Native American Indian Nurses Association, Association for Multicultural Affairs in Transplantation, American Academy of Nursing, and American Association of Colleges of Nursing. Most recently she was appointed by the US Dept of Veterans Affairs Secretary to serve a 3-year term on the Special Medical Advisory Group to provide guidance on how to best serve AI/AN Veterans.
Cherno Bah, DNP, Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP-BC), Tsehootsooi Medical Center
Born and raised in Gambia, West Africa. Immigrated to the United States about 20 years ago to pursue my education. Went to School in Idaho and Colardo and has lived and worked in Kansas, Up-State New York and has been working and living in the Native American Tribal Reservation of the Dine people (AKA Navajo tribe) for the last five and half years. I am currently the Interim Chief of Behavioral Health overseeing inpatient and outpatient mental/behavioral health services including traditional cultural services and social services.
Nathan Levitt, FNP-BC, MSN, BSN, MA, Director of LGBTQ and Gender Justice Learning, Yale School of Nursing, Yale University
Nathan Levitt is the Director of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) and Gender Justice Learning at Yale University School of Nursing. Nathan’s clinical practice includes working as a clinician at Folx Health providing customized medical plans for the LGBTQ community. He has worked as a Nurse Practitioner in the gender affirming surgery program at NYU Langone Health and was the Director of Transgender Care at Community Healthcare Network (CHN). He has worked as a transgender health consultant to NY State and NY City Departments of Health. He worked for 8 years at Callen-Lorde Community Health Center providing care for LGBTQ patients, building transgender health programs, and creating and facilitating curriculum on transgender health. Nathan trains community health centers, health professional schools, hospitals, and community-based organizations, and has been published widely, on transgender health.
Isabel Lowell, MD, MBA, Founder, QMed (queermed.com); Hospitalist, Piedmont Healthcare
Dr. Izzy Lowell grew up in Massachusetts, where she attended Williams College, followed by the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. She moved to Atlanta in 2013 and joined the faculty at Emory University, where she started the Gender Clinic at Emory. Dr. Lowell is driven by a sense of fairness and equality, and realized that there are very limited options for trans* people to get medical care in the Southeast, so she founded Queermed, a telemedicine practice serving transgender and nonbinary people in 22 states.
Lacretia Carroll, PhD, MSN, RN, Assistant Professor, College of Nursing, University of Tennessee Health Science Center
Lacretia Carroll joined the faculty of the UTHSC College of Nursing in October 2019.Dr. Carroll's Program of research focuses on the multi-level socio-ecological factors that impact the health of sexual and gender minority (SGM) communities in the U.S. South. She is a community engaged researcher interested in the ways in which social and structural determinants create inequities and impact the health of disenfranchised communities. Dr. Carroll has personal and professional experience in social justice and advocacy work and has provided clinical care for some of the most marginalized, underserved adolescent and adult populations in the U.S. South.
Rick Rader, MD, FAAIDD, FAADM, DHL (hon), Director, Habilitation Center, Orange Grove Center
Dr. Rader is cross trained in internal medicine and medical anthropology and is board certified in developmental medicine. He is the author of over 350 articles on health and disability and was an advisor to four former U.S. Surgeon Generals. He is the President of the American Association on Health and Disability. He authored the Health Equity Framework for the National Council on Disability where he was a Presidential appointee.
He was the first appointed Special Liaison for Family Health Concerns at the President's Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities. He is the Director of Habilitation at the Orange Grove Center where he is responsible for the creation of innovative health delivery program for adults with intellectual disabilities. He has adjunct faculty positions at five medical schools and is the Editor in chief of HELEN, The Journal of Human Exceptionality.
Pablo S. Bose, PhD, Professor, Department of Geography and Geosciences; Director, Global and Regional Studies Program, University of Vermont
I am an urban geographer and migration studies scholar with extensive experience in community-based contexts. I work specifically with refugee communities across the US, especially on improving integration outcomes in the areas of education, healthcare, food access and transportation.
Sponsored by the HRSA-funded CANDL grant (Clinical-Academic Network for Developing Leaders).