Women in Leadership 2025 (WIL) is an inclusive, one-day virtual meeting for ALL aspiring, new and experienced leaders in healthcare simulation.
A partnership between the Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSH), the International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning (INACSL), the Association for SP Educators (ASPE), and SimGHOSTS, this exciting virtual meeting promises an interactive day of personal and professional development featuring renowned speakers, vigorous discussion, and relationship-building.
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN (OBJECTIVES):
- We will equip you with tools to embrace change and drive innovation in healthcare simulation.
- You will be equipped to recognize and develop leadership potential in self and others, regardless of career stage.
- You will be able to apply the principles of ethical decision-making to leadership roles and promote integrity amidst evolving societal challenges.
SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE
| 10 a.m. | Opening Remarks | ||||||||
| 10:15 a.m. | Komal Bajaj - Leadership Lessons from Lady Gaga | ||||||||
| 11:15 a.m. | Break | ||||||||
| 11:30 a.m. | Jenny Rudolph - Simulation Mindsets and Skills to Transform Program Culture | ||||||||
| 12:30 p.m. | Lunch | ||||||||
| 1 p.m. | Pam Jefferies - A Leadership Constellation | ||||||||
| 2 p.m. | Break | ||||||||
| 2:15 p.m. | Christina Diaz - Mentorship vs. Sponsorship vs. Coaching | ||||||||
| 3:15 p.m. | Closing Remarks |
KEYNOTES
Komal Bajaj
Dr. Komal Bajaj is an agency-building healthcare leader, catalyzing transformation across all facets of healthcare delivery. Dr. Bajaj’s work sits at the nexus of quality, technology, and environmental sustainability.
She serves as chief quality officer of NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi/North Central Bronx and Medical Director for Sustainability for NYC Health + Hospitals. Dr. Bajaj is an advisor to a variety of public and private entities including the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality – she was appointed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to the National Advisory Council in 2022.
Dr. Bajaj is a Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and was named as one of Becker’s Hospital Review Top Patient Safety Experts in 2024. She was an inaugural National Academy of Medicine Diagnostic Excellence Scholar. Dr. Bajaj’s work is regularly featured in media outlets such as New York Times, NPR, Modern Healthcare, Becker's Hospital Review as well as the New England Journal of Medicine and JAMA Health Forum. She is a Fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine.
Pam Jefferies
Pamela R. Jeffries, PhD, RN, FAAN, ANEF, FSSH, is Dean of Vanderbilt University School of Nursing and holds the Valere Potter Distinguished Chair in Nursing.
Dr. Jeffries is internationally known for her research and work in nursing, simulation, and health care. Throughout the academic community, she is recognized for her scholarly contributions to executive leadership, the development of innovative teaching strategies, experiential learning techniques, new pedagogies, and the delivery of content using technology.
As Principal Investigator on grants funded by federal and state agencies and numerous national organizations, including the National League for Nursing (NLN) and the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Dr. Jeffries has provided leadership and mentorship on ground-breaking projects impacting both nursing practice and education. With the NLN, Dr. Jeffries developed the major contribution to simulation scholarship, the framework and monograph now known as the NLN Jeffries Simulation Theory.
She is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN), the Society for Simulation in Healthcare (FSSH), and the Academy of Nurse Educators (ANEF) and an alumna of the Robert Wood Johns Foundation Nurse Executive Fellows program. She has been inducted into the Sigma Theta Tau International Research Hall of Fame and received the American Association of Colleges of Nursing Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Excellence Award. Dr. Jeffries is active in a variety of professional organizations and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Nursing and the Global Network of Simulations in Healthcare (GNSH).
Christina Diaz
Dr. Christina Diaz is a Professor of Pediatric Anesthesiology at Children’s Wisconsin in Milwaukee and serves as their anesthesia Aerodigestive Director and Children’s Anesthesiology Faculty Development Director.
Dr. Diaz has developed an expertise in vaping and EVALI, having treated many of the initial patients described by the Wisconsin Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Dr. Diaz spent 10 years running the Children’s Anesthesia Residency site as the Assistant Program Director and helped create and run the Pediatric Anesthesia Fellowship Simulation Program. After working through the pandemic and noting the increased burnout symptoms of her colleagues, she obtained a graduate school executive coaching certificate to address career development and wellness. Dr. Diaz also works to advocate for her patients and specialty by serving on the AAP Section of Anesthesia and Pain as President-Elect, previously serving on the Society for Pediatric Anesthesia Board of Directors, and is currently the Wisconsin Society of Anesthesiologists President.
Jenny W. Rudolph, PhD, FSSH
Jenny Rudolph is a life-long athlete who brings the joy of mastery learning to leadership and teamwork skills in healthcare. Dr. Rudolph’s “With Good Judgment” approach to high stakes conversations pairs high standards with high regard to help people “tell it like it is” without harming relationships.
Rudolph’s work focuses on building learning cultures in healthcare. To do this, she draws on 20 years of research in healthcare, nuclear power, and chemical processing.
Dr. Rudolph is the Senior Director of Innovation at the Center for Medical Simulation in Boston and a Lecturer in Anaesthesia at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. She is a Fellow of the Society for Simulation in Healthcare, has doctorate in organizational behavior from Boston College, studied system dynamics at MIT, was a National Science Foundation Fellow, and received her B.A. in sociology from Harvard College.
Extra background: Rudolph was a member of US World Champion women’s lightweight rowing team and played varsity basketball at Harvard College.