GANS
Aiding in the development of future nurses in Georgia to provide the highest quality healthcare
Erica Mills,
PhD, RN, NPD-BC
Keynote Speaker
Erica Mills, PhD, RN, NPD-BC is a native of Moss Point, MS. She is certified by ANCC as a nursing professional development practitioner. Dr Mills has been a nurse for more than 20 years. She is a graduate of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (ADN), the University of South Alabama (BSN), William Carey University (MSN in Nursing Education and PhD in Nursing Education and Administration). Dr Mills was a graduate of the inaugural cohort of PhD students. Her research was focused on school nurses’ lived experience. She went on to present her findings locally and nationally.
Dr Mills is published and she is an avid writer. You can find her recent writings in the Georgia nursing newsletter quarterly. Her main themes center around mental health, self care and well being for nurses. She is an advocate for nursing and her profound commitment has led her to serve on many boards to include the Georgia Nurses Association. She held the director of legislation and public policy role, the President elect role and she is currently the President of the Georgia Nurses Association.
Dr Mills is also a member of the Georgia Nurses Foundation board of trustees, the Georgia Nurses Political Action Committee and the Georgia Nurse Leadership Coalition.
Dr Mills is a member of the Atlanta Black Nurses Association as well as the National Black Nurses Association. She became a member of Chi Eta Phi, Incorporated,(Gamma Chi) professional nursing sorority and fraternity in 2015. Dr Mills has the immense honor of empowering providers throughout Georgia with education and tools to combat obesity. She is an Obesity Educator II for Novo Nordisk, the industry leader in the therapeutic area of obesity. Dr Mills was awarded Rookie of the year for the Southeast Coastal region in 2022. She was named in the 2023 Circle of Excellence, a National performance based award.
Dr Mills loves being a nurse’s nurse and has been recognized as a global humanitarian. She completed a 10 day medical mission in South Africa in September of 2022 with Nurses with Purpose. As a sought after speaker she most recently returned to her Alma mater MGCCC and delivered the keynote address to the college of allied health in the Spring of 2023. Recently. Dr Mills became a visiting professor at Chamberlain University’s Atlanta campus. She has previously taught at Grand Canyon University and Ameritech College.
Joy L. King,
DNP, FNP-BC, MBA
Dr. Joy L. King, DNP, FNP-BC, MBA, is a highly accomplished healthcare professional with a robust educational background and extensive experience in nursing and healthcare management. Dr. King earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing with a minor in Community Health, Master of Science in Nursing – Family Nurse Practitioner, and Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degrees from Georgia College & State University (GCSU). Additionally, she holds a Master’s in Business Administration – Healthcare Management from Western Governors University.
Following her MBA, Dr. King completed a two-year integrative medicine fellowship through the Academy of Integrative Health & Medicine (AIHM) in San Diego, California, graduating in October 2022. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Nursing at Georgia State University, focusing her research on the impact of sleep and sleep quality on the development of obesity in African American women in rural areas of Georgia.
Dr. King has served on the Board of Directors for the Georgia Nurses Association (GNA) as the Director of Nursing Practice and Advocacy from 2019-2023 and is currently the President-Elect for 2023-2025. She was inducted into Georgia College & State University’s College of Health Science Leadership Board in 2020 and is an active member of the United Advanced Practice Registered Nurses of Georgia (UAPRN), the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP), and the American Nurses Association (ANA).
Her doctoral research, focusing on combating childhood obesity through nurse practitioner-led school-based initiatives, has been presented on local, state, and national platforms, including national conferences for the AANP and Doctors of Nursing Practice, Inc. Dr. King facilitated the development of the BeeWell Clinic, a school-based health center in Baldwin County, Georgia, from 2018 to 2019. Recognizing the need for additional funding for African American DNP students, she collaborated with her sister, Dr. Marcy Harris, to establish the Rayceen and George King Endowed Nursing Scholarship Fund in honor of their mother and in memory of their late father.
Dr. King has been a registered nurse since 2010 and has been practicing as a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) since 2015. She currently works at CVS Minute Clinic in Macon, Georgia, serving as the Lead Provider for the middle Georgia area. She is dedicated to providing holistic and comprehensive care to patients of all ages in a convenient and accessible location with family-friendly hours. Additionally, Dr. King is a part-time adjunct professor for the School of Nursing at Georgia College & State University (GCSU), where she is passionate about educating both undergraduate and graduate nursing students with an emphasis on integrative and functional medicine and healthcare business administration.
In her spare time, Dr. King enjoys running ultramarathons and obstacle course races (OCR) across the country. She has proudly served as a Bonefrog OCR ambassador since 2019 and joined the MudGear ambassador team in 2023, promoting high-quality performance gear. Dr. King is passionate about fitness, adventure, and pushing herself to new limits, and she is grateful for the opportunities these partnerships have provided to pursue her passions.
Bedishwar Arine
MSN, CRNA, NPSM-C
We are thrilled to announce that Bedishwar Wayne Arine, MSN, CRNA, NPSM-C, will be a featured speaker at our 72nd Annual GANS Convention! His presentation, "Exploring the Role of a CRNA: A Day in the Life, Benefits, and Mission Trip Insights," promises to deliver a wealth of knowledge and inspiration.
Bedishwar's journey is both captivating and inspiring. Born on April 1, 1990, in Maryland to Ederle and Muneshwar Tiwari, who emigrated from Guyana to pursue careers in medicine—Ederle as an ICU nurse and Muneshwar as a neurologist—Bedishwar's medical journey began early. His family's deep-rooted medical background ignited his passion for the field.
At the age of four, Bedishwar's family moved to Georgia, where he grew up in Clayton County and attended local schools. Fueled by his love for medicine, he pursued a Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Georgia State University, graduating in 2013. He then gained extensive experience as an ICU nurse across several hospitals in Metro Atlanta.
Driven to advance his career, Bedishwar earned his MSN from Florida State University in 2019, specializing in nurse anesthesia. Today, he is a dedicated CRNA in the Metro Atlanta area, renowned for his exceptional patient care. Additionally, he generously dedicates time each year to provide anesthesia care to underserved communities in Guyana. Don't miss this opportunity to hear his insightful and compelling story!
Micheal Curtis Jr.,
SRNA, BSN, RN, CCRN
We are excited to announce that Michael "MJ" Curtis Jr, SRNA, BSN, RN, CCRN , will be speaking at our 72nd Annual GANS Convention. His presentation, "From Bedside to SRNA: My Journey and Insights for Aspiring Nurse Anesthetists," promises to offer invaluable perspectives.
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Originally from Memphis, Tennessee, MJ is a second-year Student Registered Nurse Anesthetist (SRNA) in the Nurse Anesthesia Program at the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing. He completed his Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) with a minor in Leadership Studies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in 2018. Following graduation, MJ returned to Memphis to work as a Registered Nurse in the Emergency Department and Trauma Intensive Care Unit at Regional One Health Center, a Level One Trauma Center, where he served for three years before advancing his education in nursing.
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MJ is dedicated to altruism, diversity, equity, scholarship, and leadership development. On campus, he holds several roles: Leadership Coordinator for the Emory School of Nursing Ambassadors, Vice President of the Emory Black Student Nursing Association, Student Representative for the Georgia Association of Nurse Anesthetists, and a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.
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Outside of his professional commitments, MJ enjoys a fresh cup of coffee, roller skating at Cascade Skating Rink, and teaching Zumba classes. He also contributes to his community through mentoring in the Alumni Mentorship Program at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and serving on the Young Alumni Council at UTK. MJ embodies Ralph Waldo Emerson’s belief: “To know one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”
Marie Marnell Dujour,
BSN, RN, CPN,
NPD-BC
Marnell Dujour has been a Registered Nurse for 16 years. She is a Certified Pediatric Nurse and a BoardCertified Nursing Professional Development Practitioner. She has worked in adult and pediatric healthcare settings. She is a Part-Time Faculty member at Columbus State University and facilitates a pediatric clinical rotation for nursing students. She is also the Regional School Nurse Coordinator at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and in her role, she manages the School Health Program where she hosts webinars, provides skills training and education to school health personnel, hosts quarterly lead-school nurse meetings, oversees and maintains the review and update of the Georgia School Health Resource Manual and coordinates an annual School Health Leadership Conference.
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Marnell’s passion for children’s wellbeing motivates and drives her efforts to ensure that school health personnel have the resources they need, to provide the best care possible for the kids they serve. Marnell has two wonderful children, Michael and Mylah and a sweet and sassy dog named Gemma. In her spare time, Marnell is very active in her church and community and is currently the Cheerleading director for the Seckinger Athletic Association Recreation program in Buford, GA and is the Head Coach for her daughter’s squad.
Sonique Sailsman,
PhD,RN,CNE
Sonique Sailsman PhD, RN, CNE is an Assistant Professor at Georgia Baptist College of Nursing of Mercer University in Atlanta, GA. She has been a nurse for over 23 years specializing in acute care pediatrics. Dr. Sailsman has been a nurse educator for over 15 years and has taught across the curriculum in undergraduate, masters, and doctoral programs. Dr. Sailsman earned her Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D. in Nursing Education) from Nova Southeastern University, Master of Science in Nursing (M.S.N.) from Drexel University and Bachelor of Science in Nursing (B.S.N.) from the University of Miami.
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Dr. Sailsman’s research interest is focused on the social determinants of health (SDOH) and their impact on healthcare outcomes. She is a member of the National League for Nursing Social Determinants of Health Leadership Academy 2023-2024 cohort. She recently published a manuscript exploring nursing educators' knowledge and attitudes regarding SDOH in nursing curricula. Dr. Sailsman is a strong advocate for health equity and the dismantling of systems that foster health disparities.
Meredith Johnson,
UWorld NCLEX-Review
Maia Holtzhower,
MSN, RN,CEN, SANE-A
Jamie Saye
DNP, CNM, APRN, SANE
Nyssa Hattaway,
BA, BSN, RN, CEN, CPEN, CFRN
Flight Nurse
Bridget Hamilton,
BSN, MPH
Natacha Simon-Christie,
DNP, CRNA
Deanna Davis,
LMFT, LPC, ACS, AAMFT-S, SEP
Keith Gardner
Hurst Review
