Dr. Deborah Shields, PhD, RN, CCRN, QTTT, AHN-BC, SGAHN is a Professor Emerita of Nursing at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio. She is a board certified Advanced Holistic Nurse, a perioperative staff nurse (retired), a system educator at OhioHealth (retired), and a qualified Therapeutic Touch practitioner and teacher. She loves nursing and is passionate about exploring ways to integrate caring concepts into our lives, weaving these into heart-centered, intentional care practices for self and others. With over 45 years of experience in clinical practice and nursing education, Dr. Shields has mentored baccalaureate and graduate students interested in the holistic paradigm and practice. She has received a number of professional distinctions including Holistic Nurse of the Year (AHNA), the Lifetime Achievement Award (AHNA), the first AHNA Service Award, three PRISM awards for Compassion and Caring, Expert in Nursing Care (ONA), induction into the Marion Technical College Alumni Hall of Fame, named an Ohio Nursing Legend, the Advocacy Award (AHNA), the Distinguished Service Award from Capital University, and the Legacy Award from TTIA. She presents widely on a number of topics grounded in holistic practice, sharing her ideas with local, national and international interdisciplinary audiences.
She was Co-Editor and contributing author to the Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Editions of Dossey & Keegan''s Holistic Nursing: A Handbook for Practice and served on the AHNA/ANA Holistic Nursing Scope & Standards (Third and Fourth Editions) and the ANA Scope & Standards (Fourth Edition) workgroups. Dr. Shields serves as Past President of the American Holistic Nurses Credentialing Corporation (AHNCC). She served on the Board of Directors of the American Holistic Nurses Association (AHNA) and is currently the AHNA Accredited Approver Program Director (AAPD). Dr. Shields is a founding member and the current Education Committee Chair of the Global Academy of Holistic Nursing. Her current practice and scholarship include developing holistic nursing education curricula, integrating aesthetics into practice, and theory development. Her research program involves quality of life in people living with heart failure, comfort at end-of-life/conscious death, and the exploration of healing.
Dr. Karen Avino is the Chief Executive Officer of the Integrative Nurse Coach Academy (INCA), an organization dedicated to advancing integrative nursing through online and onsite continuing education programs. She also serves as President of the International Nurse Coach Association.With decades of clinical and academic experience spanning Maternal Child Health Nursing, Community Health, Education, and Administration, Dr. Avino brings a breadth of expertise to her work. She served as university faculty for more than 20 years, where she taught Community Health, Holistic Nursing, Health Coaching, and Integrative Health. Her scholarly work has focused on integrative approaches in clinical practice and Nurse Coaching.As a consultant, Dr.
Avino partners with healthcare organizations to cultivate optimal healing environments and integrate holistic nursing and Integrative Nurse Coaching into practice. She is a Distinguished Scholar of the Global Academy of Holistic Nursing and holds dual board certifications as an Advanced Holistic Nurse (AHN-BC) and Health & Wellness Nurse Coach (HWNC-BC).Dr. Avino is an author and editor of Holistic Nursing: A Handbook for Practice and Integrative Nurse Coaching: A Guide for Praxis, with a new edition forthcoming. A passionate advocate for the nursing profession, she is a sought-after speaker on integrative health and holistic nursing, both nationally and internationally. Dr. Tracy Hoag, DHSc, MSN, RN, AHN-BC, is an Assistant Professor of Nursing and Senior University Advisor at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio. A board-certified Advanced Holistic Nurse, she integrates holistic principles into learning environments to promote self-awareness among her students, enhance their well-being, and support growth in students'' capacity to care for themselves and others.
With over 25 years of nursing experience, Dr. Hoag''s background includes 15 years of bedside hospice care and participation in the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship program, where her work focused on the holistic care of fragile and aging incarcerated individuals. She also served as the university''s COVID Response Nurse Manager during the pandemic and has more than 10 years of experience as a nurse educator in a holistically endorsed bachelor''s program.Her scholarship focuses on supportive educational and workplace cultures, with particular attention to transitions into both higher education and professional nursing practice. Passionate about community-based nursing as both an educator and citizen, she partners with local agencies to create meaningful learning experiences for students and serves on the board of a local clinic for uninsured and underinsured individuals. Most recently, she was honored with the Inclusive Excellence Leadership Award at Capital University''s Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Learning for her dedication to responsive teaching and advising practices that honor learners'' unique worth and dignity while promoting a sense of belonging. Dr.
Ortiz is an Associate Professor and Lead Nurse Faculty for Integrative Health in the Holistic Nursing Program at Pacific College of Health and Science and an Adjunct Senior Lecturer in the Integrative Health Studies Program at the California Institute of Integral Studies. A board-certified nurse coach, Dr. Ortiz blends decades of experience in holistic nursing, integrative healing, and culturally responsive care.She designs and delivers engaging presentations and curricula tailored to diverse audiences, contributes to integrative health research, and created a Spanish-language guided meditation library for Belleruth Naperstek''s Health Journeys, helping expand access to mindfulness resources for Latino communities. Dr. Ortiz is also a dedicated volunteer with the National Association of Hispanic Nurses and the Integrative Health Project, supporting global initiatives for culturally grounded care.Her research centers on traditional and holistic healing practices from Mexico as they evolve within U.S.
communities. Actively apprenticing in the Mesoamerican tradition of curanderismo, she deepens her connection to ancestral knowledge and indigenous healing modalities.Dr. Ortiz earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, TX, and holds a dual Master of Science in Advanced Public Health Nursing (MSN) and Urban Public Health (MPH) from the City University of New York''s Hunter College. She received her PhD in Nursing Education from Villanova University in Villanova, PA. She also completed the Integrative Nurse Coach Certificate Program and maintains her board certification as a nurse coach (NC-BC) through the American Holistic Nurses Credentialing Corporation.Dr. Ortiz welcomes collaboration and dialogue across holistic nursing, integrative health, and ancestral healing traditions.