Dr. Penni Watts is currently the Assistant Dean for Clinical Simulation at the UAB School of Nursing and the Assistant Director for the Office of Interprofessional Curriculum. She has been instrumental in the integration of clinical simulation experiences as well as interprofessional simulation experiences across multiple programs on campus. Her background includes over 25 years in critical care nursing. Her training in simulation includes the Center for Medical Simulation Comprehensive Instructor Course and the Advanced Instructor Course. Currently she is active on committees in INACSL and Society for Simulation in Healthcare. Currently, she holds a certification as a CHSE- A (Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator-Advanced), is a fellow in the Society for Simulation in Healthcare and the American Academy of Nursing.

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Jennifer A. Heyer is the co-founder and Board of Directors Chair for the Southwest Georgia Nurse Honor Guard Chapter and is the Nurse Honor Guard state leader for the state of Georgia. She began her teaching career as a part-time clinical instructor at Darton State College. With over twenty years of teaching experience in higher education, she is currently an Associate Professor at Albany State University, Darton College of Health Professions. She has an extensive nursing background as a certified emergency nurse and has worked as an educator and assistant nurse manager in the emergency department. A published author, she has presented at national, state, and local conferences and workshops. She has been recognized as one of Southwest Georgia’s 40 Under 40, Albany Herald Woman of the Year in College Education in 2021 and is the 2021 Teacher of the Year at Albany State University. She is also a member of Leadership Albany 2024.

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Dr. Jessica Marcus is a nurse and nurse practitioner in the field of Women’s Health, and a certified nurse educator. In 2013 she started her career as a nurse educator and is currently a Clinical Assistant Professor at Georgia State University. After obtaining her DNP degree she focused her research on the scholarship of teaching and learning and culturally responsive communication. Her dedication of improving her own teaching and helping other faculty lead to the Excellence in Teaching Award in 2019 for the implementation of a Faculty Development Program. This work was disseminated in the NurseTim webinar service. In 2021, Dr. Marcus was the recipient of the Innovation in Teaching Award from the Georgia Association of Nurse Educators (GANE) for implementing virtual/video remote interpretation into obstetrics simulation for nursing students. This work is further dissemination of her doctoral research where she implemented VRI technology in a large hospital system in Georgia. Dr. Marcus is dedicated to faculty development in the application and evaluation of clinical judgement in nursing students. She has had national presentations on Next Generation NCLEX at the National Student Nurses Association (NSNA) and Internationally for Sigma Webinars and most recently at the Sigma Biennial Conference in 2023.

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