Speakers

Kristy Ard, RN BSN

Kristy Ard, RN, BSN, Nurse Manager at Atrium Health Navicent Peach with over 29 years of nursing experience. Kristy began her career in 1996 after earning her associate RN degree.    She has dedicated her life to delivering compassionate, high-quality care and supporting the growth of nursing professionals.

In 2021, Kristy began her role as the Nurse Manager, where she leads with a focus on patient-centered care, staff development, and clinical excellence. She earned her BSN in 2025 and is currently pursuing her MedSurg-BC certification. Her next goal is to complete her MSN to further expand her leadership and impact in healthcare.

Kristy is passionate about mentoring nurses, sharing practical tools such as charting tips, and fostering a strong, supportive team culture. Kristy believes in lifelong learning and empowering others to reach their full potential.

Jill K. Hancock, RN MSN OCN ONN 

Jill Hancock, RN, MSN, OCN, ONN, is the Associate Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer for Atrium Health Navicent Peach. She additionally has oversight as the Associate Vice President over the Atrium Health Greater Macon Market’s Nursing Education Professional Development department. 

With more than 28 years of nursing experience, her past leadership experience includes Market Director for Patient Experience, Nursing Director over Outpatient Oncology and Non-Oncology Infusion, Breast Care Center, outpatient screening mammography centers, diagnostic centers, and three Atrium Health Navicent urgent care centers.

Hancock has served as Past-President and Treasurer of the local Central Georgia Oncology Nursing Society chapter and received her Oncology Nurse Certification through the Oncology Nursing Credentialing Center in 2004.  She is a member of the Georgia Nurses Association, the American Organization for Nursing Leadership, and the American Nurses Association.

Under Hancock’s leadership, Atrium Health Navicent Peach was the first Advocate Health hospital to successfully be designated as an ANCC Pathway to Excellence Hospital in March of 2024. In July of 2024, she received the Daisy Nurse Leader Award from the Daisy Foundation. In October of 2024, Jill received the distinguished ANCC Pathway Nurse of the Year – Nurse Leader Award.

Connie Steed, MSN RN CIC FAPIC

Connie Steed, MSN, RN, CIC, FAPIC has worked in the field of Infection Prevention and Control for over 40 years. Connie’s experience spans the continuum of care including academic and community acute care hospitals, Long-Term Care and Ambulatory care. She most recently serves as the Corporate Director of Infection Prevention at Prisma Health in South Carolina, from which she retired. Connie is currently a consultant specializing in Infection Prevention and Control (IPC).

Connie is a Fellow of the Association of Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC). She has served APIC in multiple capacities including 2020 APIC President and was the recipient of the 2018 APIC President’s Distinguished Service Award in Honor of Patricia Lynch and the Carol DeMille Achievement Award in 2024. Connie recently served the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) HICPAC Committee, and Personnel Health and Isolation Precautions Work Groups. Currently, she is an appointed member of the APIC/SHEA work group charged with addressing IPC Guidelines development and maintenance due to the dissolution of CDC HICPAC. Connie is published in the field and has presented nationally and internationally.

Connie received both her Bachelors and Master of Science Degrees in Nursing from Clemson University. She has been board certified in Infection Prevention and Control (CIC) since 1985. Connie is also a certified change agent and a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt.

JoAnna M. Wagner, MSN, RN, BHSA, CIC

JoAnna M. Wagner, MSN, RN, BHSA, CIC, has been employed with the Georgia Department of Public Health since 2016 and currently serves as the Director of the Healthcare Associated Infections Antimicrobial Resistance (HAIAR) Program for the Acute Disease and Epidemiology Section. Her leadership supports a HAIAR Analytics Team, Infection Preventionist Team, and an Antimicrobial Stewardship Team. She has been a nurse for 25 years and has worked as an infection preventionist for 21 years.

Kari L Love, RN MS CIC FAPIC

Kari L Love, RN MS CIC FAPIC has worked in healthcare for over 30 years as a Registered Nurse and discovered her passion for infection prevention and epidemiology over 20 years ago. She is currently the Corporate Director of Infection Prevention at Emory Healthcare.

Kari has published and co-authored books and numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals and continues to remain involved in the day-to-day challenges of infection prevention. She is the recipient of the Daisy Leadership Award for her contributions during the COVID pandemic response at Emory and has received recognition for her leadership and clinical achievements.

Kari received her Nursing Degree from New Mexico State University and her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Clinical Management and Leadership from George Washington University. She is certified in infection prevention and control (CIC) has been recognized as a Fellow of APIC (FAPIC) and is currently completing her Ph.D. in Translational Health Sciences at George Washington University.

Taunya Faulkner, MBA

Taunya Faulkner is Vice President of Quality for Georgia for Atrium Health, where she leads quality and performance improvement activities, while driving results for safety and health outcomes and reputation programs.  

Prior to this current role, Taunya served as Vice President of Performance Improvement for the Atrium Health Floyd Area, where she had responsibilities for Quality, Lean & Six Sigma, Coordinated Care, Care Coordination, Hospice and matrixed responsibilities for Laboratory, Security, Rehabilitation Services, Emergency Management and Environmental Health and Safety. Taunya has a deep passion for improving patient outcomes and has consistently demonstrated success in performance and process improvement, capacity management, and length of stay optimization. Prior to that, she has served in several leadership positions including Lean Six Sigma Director, Revenue Management Assistant Director, and Physical Therapy Director. She began her career as a staff physical therapist at Atrium Health Floyd.

Taunya is a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality and a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, bringing extensive expertise in operations, leadership, quality, and change management.

Taunya earned a Bachelor of Science in Physical Therapy from Georgia State University. She also received a Master of Business Administration degree from Kennesaw State University. She is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives, the National Association for Healthcare Quality, and the American Physical Therapy Association. She also serves on the board of Mercy Care Rome.    

Taunya lives with her husband, Chuck, in Calhoun, Georgia. They have two sons. In her free time, she enjoys tennis, pickleball, and walking for exercise. 

Dr. Katie Passaretti, MD 

Dr. Katie Passaretti, MD is the Vice President and Chief Infection Prevention Officer at Advocate Health, where she provides medical leadership for quality improvement in infectious disease and emerging pathogen response across 69 hospitals in 5 different states.  She also serves as a Professor of Internal Medicine in the Section of Infectious Diseases at Atrium Health Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

Shelley Kester, MSN, RN, CIC,

Shelley Kester, MSN, RN, CIC, is the Enterprise Lead of Infection Prevention at Advocate Health.

With two decades of experience in infection prevention, she leads infection prevention efforts across a large multi-state healthcare system.  Shelley is committed to collaboration, developing strong IP leaders, and building practical, sustainable approaches that improve patient outcomes.

Dr. Darien Campbell, PharmD, BCPS 

Darien Campbell, PharmD, BCPS is an Infectious Disease Pharmacist at Atrium Health Navicent, where he serves as the Co-Lead for the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program.

 

Darien is deeply committed to advancing patient care through collaborative, evidence-based approaches.  His work focuses on bridging disciplines to implement stewardship strategies that reduce antimicrobial resistance, improve clinical outcomes, and support infection prevention efforts across the continuum of care.