Carol Beehler is a registered nurse with over 45 years of experience in a variety of nursing and hospital administrative positions such as CNO, COO and Physician Practice CEO working in hospital operations, governance/leadership, and most recently in health care consulting. She holds a BSN and MSN from Indiana University, and a MBA from the University of Notre Dame.

Beehler is certified in nursing administration as an NEA-BC and in health care quality as a CPHQ.  She coordinates and mentors for the South Carolina Association of Healthcare Executives (SCACHE), the Association of Perioperative Nurses (AORN) and the University of Notre Dame Compass program.

Jeanne U. Cavanaugh previously served as the Director of Clinical Partnerships, Director of the Amy V. Cockcroft Leadership Fellowship and Director of the Center for Nursing Leadership with the University of South Carolina College of Nursing. 

Cavanaugh is a ANCC certified Nurse Executive Advanced and earned her BSN and MN from the University of South Carolina. Cavanaugh held the Director of Nursing position at Palmetto Health (currently Prisma Health) for 30 years. Her nursing leadership roles include a variety of service areas, such as Oncology Services and Emergency Services within a large health care system.

Currently, Cavanaugh serves as Prisma Health - Midlands Board Member and will serve as Vice Chairman. She has served as President of several nursing organizations and Boards during her professional career, including Sigma Theta Tau International Alpha Xi Chapter, the South Organization of Nurse Leaders, and the USC College of Nursing Partnership Board.

Cavanaugh was awarded the 2025 USC College of Nursing Legacy Award, 2021 Nurse Alumna Award, 2010 Palmetto Gold Award as one of the top 100 nurses in South Carolina and the Blanch Urey Award for Chapter Service in 2006 from the Alpha Xi Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau International, American Organization for Nursing Leadership and South Carolina Organization of Nurse Leaders.

Kristen Dickens has been a RN for over 20 years and in health care leadership for the last 15 years. She is a Nationally Certified Executive in Nursing Practice. 

Dickens graduated Magna cum Laude with a BSN from George Mason University, July 2003. She received her MBA – Healthcare Administration from Western Governors University in 2018 and holds a BA in Communications from George Mason University. 

In Dickens' current role as Director of Category Management and Value Analysis, she leads the development and advancement of a systemwide value analysis program focused on cost savings, value optimization, and strategic decision‑making. She oversees major process improvement initiatives that drive organizational standardization and brings expertise in project management. With a strong foundation in Lean Six Sigma, Dickens has led numerous transformational efforts, including enhancing bedside shift report and streamlining nursing workflows through the creation of a virtual nursing program. A recognized subject matter expert, she frequently serves as an internal presenter and has shared her work at a regional nursing excellence conference.

Dickens has led three hospitals to successful Magnet designation and created a nursing professional development program recognized at the 2013 SC Nursing Excellence Conference. In 2011, she received the Palmetto Gold award. She was later nominated for the Prisma Health Richland Hospital Employee of the Year in 2013 and the Women of Impact Award in 2018. Dickens received the SC Nursing Workforce Leader Award in 2015. She currently leads the SC/NC Magnet Coalition and has done extensive work to elevate the role of the LPN in her organization. 

Carolyn Harmon serves as Professor and Director of Healthcare Leadership and Nursing Informatics at the University of South Carolina College of Nursing, where she also holds appointments as a Nurse Scientist with the ACORN Center, a Propel AI Scholar, and a Provost’s AI Teaching Fellow.

Harmon’s work focuses on advancing the integration of informatics, data science, and AI into nursing practice, education, leadership and policy. Her scholarship emphasizes AI literacy, responsible innovation, clinical decision support, digital health transformation, and the preparation of the nursing workforce to lead in technology-enabled health care environments. Harmon's research and academic leadership have contributed to national conversations on the ethical, evidence-based, and human-centered use of emerging technologies in health care.

A recognized national leader, Harmon is Past President of the American Nursing Informatics Association (ANIA) and currently leads the Artificial Intelligence Subgroup and co-chairs the Policy and Advocacy Workgroup for the Nursing Knowledge Big Data Science Initiative (NKBDSI). Her contributions reflect a sustained commitment to strengthening the voice of nursing in informatics policy, standards development and innovation strategy.

Harmon brings both scholarly depth and practical expertise to her work. She is ANCC Board Certified in Nursing Informatics and holds certification as a Six Sigma Green Belt, blending systems thinking, quality improvement, and informatics science to improve health care outcomes and organizational performance. She is an Amy V. Cockcroft Leadership Fellow, further reflecting her commitment to academic and professional leadership development.

Harmon earned her PhD from the University of South Carolina and DNP from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Jacqueline Haverkamp has an experiential career as a professional and advanced practice nurse, educator and administrator. Within 42 years of practice, she has served varying target populations, health care systems and educational institutions. Haverkamp is presently an Associate Professor and the Program Director for the Clinical Expert and Executive Healthcare Leadership DNP programs at the College of Nursing at the University of South Carolina.

Tina Ralyea is the current Director of the Center for Nursing Leadership and the Director of the Amy V. Cockcroft Leadership Fellowship with the University of South Carolina College of Nursing. She is also an Associate Professor at USC College of Nursing in the DNP Executive Healthcare Leadership Program.

Ralyea's career encompasses over 35 years of leadership experience. Prior to joining USC Nursing, she improved quality care and patient experience as CNO for Prisma Health-Midlands, leading four acute-care and specialty hospitals throughout the Midlands region of South Carolina. She has practiced in acute care at three health care systems for 45 years.

Ralyea began her classroom teaching experience at Queen's University in Charlotte, NC as an instructor of Healthcare Finance and other graduate level leadership courses. In 2020, she was the instructor for USC's NURS 740 Facilitative Processes in Nursing Administration online course. Ralyea also has experience in teaching Population Health and Evidence Based Practice online courses at Walden University and Patho/Pharm with ABSN students at Northeastern University. She enjoys scholarly writing and is author and editor of four textbooks and continues research on resiliency in nursing.

Kimberly Taylor is an Associate Professor at the University of South Carolina College of Nursing. A Jonas Scholar, she is certified as a Nurse Executive-Advanced by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, a Perioperative Nurse through the Competency & Credentialing Institute, and a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt by the Athon Group and Piedmont Technical College.

Taylor holds a DNP from USC Nursing, a MSN from East Carolina University, a BSN from the Medical University of South Carolina, and an Associate of Science from Trident Technical College. She served 27 years as a Registered Nurse in the United States Navy Nurse Corps, advancing from a bedside nurse to Chief Nursing Officer. Prior to her time at USC, Taylor taught at Texas A&M University, the University of Djibouti, Africa, and the United States Department of Defense.

After Taylor's retirement from active duty as a Navy Captain, she joined USC Nursing's faculty where she has drawn on her extensive leadership and organizational expertise to educate and mentor the next generation of nursing leaders.