Appendix D

Biographical Sketches of the Workshop Planning Committee Members, Speakers, and Staff

PLANNING COMMITTEE BIOSKETCHES

SUNDARESAN JAYARAMAN, PH.D. (Chair), is a professor in the School of Materials Science and Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is also the founding director of the Kolon Center for Lifestyle Innovation at Georgia Tech. A pioneer in bringing about convergence between textiles and computing, Jayaraman’s research has led to the paradigm of “Fabric is the Computer.” He is a leader in studying and defining the roles of engineering design, manufacturing, and materials technologies in public policy for the nation. Jayaraman and his research students have made significant contributions in the following areas: (i) smart textile-based wearable systems; (ii) computer-aided manufacturing, automation and enterprise architecture modeling; (iii) engineering design and analysis of intelligent textile structures and processes; (iv) design and development of knowledge based systems (KBS) for textiles and apparel; and (v) design and development of respiratory protection systems. Jayaraman is a recipient of the 1989 Presidential Young Investigator Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for his research in the area of computer-aided manufacturing and enterprise architecture. In September 1994, he was elected a fellow of the Textile Institute, UK. His publications include a textbook on computer-aided problem solving published by McGraw-Hill in 1991 and 11 U.S. patents. As principal investigator, he has received over $16 million in research funding from a variety of sources including NSF, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Department of Defense, the National Institute of Standards

and Technology, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and industry. Jayaraman served as technical editor, information technology, for ATI Magazine (now Textile World) from 1995 to 2003. From May 2000 to October 2004, he was an editor of the Journal of the Textile Institute and is currently on the Editorial Advisory Board. Jayaraman is a founding member of the National Academies Standing Committee on Personal Protective Equipment for Workplace Safety and Health (2005–2013) and is currently serving on it. From December 2008 to February 2011, he served on the Board on Manufacturing and Engineering Design of the National Academies. In February 2011, he became a founding member of the National Materials and Manufacturing Board of the National Academies. He has also served on nine National Academies study committees. He is also a founding member of the IEEE Technical Committee on Biomedical Wearable Systems (2004–2008). In October 2000, Jayaraman received the Georgia Technology Research Leader Award from the State of Georgia. He received the 2018 Textile Institute Research Publication Award for the most outstanding paper published in 2018 in the Journal of the Textile Institute. In December 2019, he received the Inaugural Distinguished Alumni Award from A.C. College of Technology, Chennai, India. In 2020, he once again received the 2020 Textile Institute Research Publication Award. In 2023, he received the National Academy of Medicine Catalyst Award in the Global Healthy Longevity Challenge (https://bit.ly/47P5d3Y).

ELIZABETH L. BEAM, PH.D., is an associate professor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing. She has worked on an emergency preparedness grant called HEROES at the college of nursing since 2005. In that role, she became a member of the Nebraska biocontainment unit leadership team and was the director for education in 2014 when Ebola virus disease was treated in the United States. She worked with that team to create and publish the personal protective equipment (PPE) ensemble used by the care team at Nebraska Medicine for this Category A illness. In 2018, the team won the American Industrial Hygiene Association’s Edward J. Baier Technical Achievement Award, which is a lifetime achievement award in the field of industrial hygiene. Beam has gone on to do further research on health care worker behaviors in PPE for transmission-based precautions with an emphasis on respiratory protection for situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Her infection control behavior studies specifically used reusable isolation gowns as they were the product used by Nebraska Medicine at the time. She currently serves on the National Emerging Special Pathogen Training and Education Center PPE working group.

GAJANAN S. BHAT, PH.D., earned his doctorate from Georgia Institute of Technology in textile and polymer engineering and worked for indus-

try making carpets from recycled plastic bottles. Bhat joined the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in August 1990, where his research covered nonwovens—melt blown, spunbonded, and biodegradable; plastics recycling; nanotechnology; sustainable materials; and high-performance fibers. As the director of University of Tennessee Nonwovens Research Laboratory, he demonstrated successful production of nanofibers from thermoplastic polymers by melt blowing. In July 2016, he joined the University of Georgia as the head of the Department of Textiles, Merchandising, and Interiors. He has served as president of the Fiber Society and is also an active member of the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry and the Technical Association of the Pulp & Paper Industry (TAPPI). Some of the awards/recognitions he has received include Outstanding Young Engineering Alumni by Georgia Tech; Distinguished Achievement Award from the Fiber Society; Fellow of the Textile Institute; and TAPPI Nonwovens, Engineers and Technologists division Technical Achievement Award. He has published more than 250 research papers and made over 300 presentations.

JACQUELINE A. DALEY, H.B.SC, MLT, CIC, CSPDS, FAPIC, is the senior director, infection prevention at Providence St. Joseph Health in Irvine, California and an infection prevention consultant, a certified infection preventionist and an Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) Fellow with over 35 years of experience working in hospitals and ambulatory care settings. Daley is a member of the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation, sitting on a number of working groups including Protective Barriers. She is a member of the ASTM Personal Protective Clothing and Equipment Committee and was the former sub-vice chair for the Biological Hazards Subcommittee. She was a former member of the California Department of Public Health, Healthcare-Associated Infections Advisory Committee. She presents at local, national, and international conferences and meetings on various infection prevention topics including reprocessing of endoscopes, sterilization, and disinfection, and prevention of surgical site infections. She has a number of collaborative published articles on prevention of surgical site infections and has authored a chapter on “Central Service Leaders and Infection Prevention” in the Central Service Leadership Manual published by the International Association of Healthcare Central Services Materiel Management. Daley is a member of APIC, AORN, the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, the Society of Gastroenterology Nurses and Associates, Inc., and the Healthcare Sterile Processing Association. She was also named one of the 50 experts leading the field of patient safety by Becker’s Hospital Review in 2015.

MELISSA DAWSON, M.S., is an associate professor and program director of industrial design at Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, NY. Before transitioning back to academia, Dawson spent 8 years in the textiles and apparel industry as a textile and soft-product designer. Working for a manufacturer, vendor, and retailer allowed her to learn and experience the textile and soft-product design industry from all sides. She has spent both her professional design and academic careers espousing the technological complexities of successful soft-product design. Her primary research focuses center on the reclamation and reuse of post-consumer textile waste into new nonwoven composite materials, as well as the Clear Mask Project which emphasizes creating accessible and equitable personal protective equipment for underserved populations. Dawson is on the Fulbright Specialist roster and is an active member of the Technical Association of the Pulp & Paper Industry; New York State Association for Reduction, Reuse and Recycling Textile Council; and W4R: Women for Reduction, Reuse, Recycling, and Rethinking Strategies for Managing Materials. She received her B.S. in textiles and apparel from Cornell University and her M.S. in textile design from Philadelphia University. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in textile engineering and sciences at Thomas Jefferson University.

ELIZABETH P. EASTER, PH.D., received her M.S. and Ph.D. in textile science from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She teaches Textiles for Consumers and Research Methods. Her research in textile science is applied research focusing on protective clothing, laundry fundamentals, and quality evaluations of textile and apparel products. In 1988, Easter established the Textile Testing Laboratory. The laboratory has provided contractual fee-based services to more than 50 corporations and organizations for testing textiles during product development, performance, and durability evaluations. A grant contract with the Association for Linen Management, the professional organization of facility and laundry managers of health care and hospitality laundries, has generated $1,019,855.00 over the past 36 years.

NICOLE (NIKKI) V. MCCULLOUGH, PH.D., CIH, is vice president of Application Engineering and Regulatory in the Personal Safety Division of 3M Company based in St. Paul, MN. She has been with 3M’s Personal Safety Division for more than 26 years, working in product development, technical outreach, and regulatory affairs. In her role she has engaged with the occupational health and safety communities regarding the use of personal protective equipment in Latin America, Europe, and Asia as well as the United States and Canada. McCullough is a certified industrial hygienist and has a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in environmental health

with a focus in industrial hygiene where she studied control of airborne infectious diseases using respiratory protection. She has engaged in many forums regarding infectious-outbreak and pandemic-planning response, published numerous articles, and participated in many conferences focused on improving worker health and safety as well as contributed to standards development activities.

BARBARA STRAIN, M.A., is an independent health care value consultant. She is retired from University of Virgina (UVA) Health, where she held various positions including manager of clinical microbiology, director of value management, director of supply chain operations, director of linen operations, director of surgical supply, and member of the sustainability and safety and security committees. Strain’s expertise spans microbiology, virology, disinfection, sterilization, textiles selection and contracting, sustainability assessments, supply chain, and value analysis. She is also a member of the Association of Healthcare Value Analysis Professionals (AHVAP), Healthcare Surfaces Institute (board member), American College of Healthcare Executives, Association of Healthcare Resource & Material Managers, and Bellwether League Foundation (chair). She has been honored with numerous awards including the Brooke Berson Founder’s Award—AHVAP and the Hall of Fame Class of 2021—Bellwether League Foundation.

KELLY N. WRIGHT, M.D., is the director of the Division of Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery and an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. She currently serves Cedars-Sinai in several capacities by promoting cost-effectiveness and sustainability in health care, implementing enhanced recovery after surgery, increasing telehealth utilization, and decreasing hospital waste production. She serves on Cedars-Sinai’s executive sustainability committee and has consulted with medical device companies on reusable equipment and sustainability initiatives. She has given more than 25 keynote talks and grand rounds on health care’s impact on climate change, pollution, and waste. She lives the reality of medical waste and operating room supply chain processes as a high-volume surgeon. She currently is a Fellow of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and of the American College of Surgeons. She serves as a board member of AAGL and is a member of the Society of Gynecologic Surgeons. She received a B.S. in biomedical engineering and an M.D. from Texas A&M University, graduating from both programs with honors. She did her residency at the Brigham and Women’s and Massachusetts General Hospital combined program in obstetrics and gynecology and her fellowship in minimally invasive gynecologic surgery at Newton-Wellesley Hospital in Massachusetts.

SPEAKER AND PANELIST BIOSKETCHES

LAURIE-ANN AGAMA, M.S., PH.D., is the Acting Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Textiles, responsible for advising the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) on textile and apparel trade policy matters, conducting negotiations affecting textile and apparel products, and working to expand the industry’s access to foreign markets. Dr. Agama has served as the Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Economic Affairs in the Office of Trade Policy and Economics since 2012, where she has led USTR’s strategic planning processes and provided economic analysis and advice for U.S. trade policy development and implementation, trade negotiations, dispute settlement cases and to resolve trade policy and investment-related issues. She joined USTR in 2004 as director in the Office of African Affairs, where she supported the development of initiatives to enhance U.S. trade and investment relations with the countries in sub-Saharan Africa, including the implementation of the African Growth and Opportunity Act. Agama holds master’s and doctoral degrees in economics from McGill University and is an International Career Advancement Program Fellow.

SARA ANGELILLI, D.N.P., M.S., RN, CNOR, NPD-BC, is the director of nursing education and professional practice for perioperative, procedural, and para-professional education at Allegheny Health Network. She has 16 years of nursing experience with 7 years in education and professional development. Angelilli graduated with her doctorate in nursing practice with a concentration in nursing administration from Capella University. Sara received dual master’s degrees in industrial and organizational psychology and nursing education and leadership. She is dual-certified in perioperative nursing and in nursing professional development. She participated as a co-investigator on the federally funded grant to explore preferred uses and best practices for elastomeric half mask respirators in the health care setting and is co-author on several related papers.

GIO BARACCO, M.D., is an adult infectious disease specialist and hospital epidemiologist in Miami, Florida. He is a professor of clinical medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. He is the associate chief of staff for Hospital Epidemiology and Occupational Health at the Miami Veterans Affairs (VA) Healthcare System and serves as senior advisor for emerging infections to the VA Under Secretary for Health in Washington, D.C. Baracco has a long-standing interest in health care epidemiology and health care preparedness and response to high-consequence infections. He has authored multiple papers on emergency stockpiles, including tools to understand

cost implications of reusable personal protective equipment and stockpiling priorities.

BARBARA DEBAUN, M.S.N., RN, CIC, has over 40 years of experience in the fields of infection prevention, patient safety and quality improvement. She provides coaching and team facilitation to health care facilities of all sizes from large academic medical centers to critical access hospitals. DeBaun earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Pace University in New York and her Master of Science Nursing degree from San Francisco State University. Her infection prevention career has been bookended by two pandemics. She was a pioneer in the early days of HIV/AIDS who championed health care worker safety and protection from blood-borne pathogen exposures. She has extensive experience navigating the challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic posed on personal protective equipment availability and efficacy.

LUCY E. DUNNE, PH.D., is a professor in the Department of Design, Housing, and Apparel in the College of Design at the University of Minnesota. She is also co-director of the Wearable Technology Lab. Dunne is a co-author (with Susan Watkins) of Functional Apparel Design: From Sportswear to Space Suits (Fairchild Books, 2015). Her research is focused on wearability and garment-based wearable technology, and explores new functionality in apparel, human–device interfaces, production and manufacture, and human factors of wearable products. Dunne has received the National Science Foundation’s CAREER award and the NASA Silver Achievement Medal for her work with functional clothing and wearable technology.

PAMELA FALK, M.P.H., CIC, FSHEA, FAPIC, has worked in the infection control field for more than 40 years, and is currently president of Pamela S Falk Consulting. She is a fellow of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) and the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA). She has experience in university and community acute care and ambulatory health care settings. She holds a master of public health in infectious diseases epidemiology from the University of Michigan and is certified in infection control. She has authored many papers, and presented nationally at APIC, SHEA, and the American Medical Association (AMA). Falk was the APIC representative during the creation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)/Johns Hopkins instructional video for donning and doffing for Ebola, edited the voice-over copy, and is seen in sections of the video. She edits sections of the The Joint Commission/Occupational Safety and Health Administration Course Review and Updates for Elsevier publishing. Falk is an APIC consultant and is the past education chair of the Atlanta APIC chapter.

She is the creator of The Don and Doff Fashion Show at the 2015 and 2016 National APIC Live show and created Battles of the IP (Jeopardy) game at the 2017 and 2018 National APIC Live show. She also created the section of the APIC skills lab “Outpatient Infection Prevention.” Falk is a past member of the APIC National Education Committee. Most recently she has been working with acute care facilities, long-term-care facilities and ambulatory care sites on issues related to COVID-19. Her focus has been on hand hygiene, proper use of personal protection equipment (PPE), including extended use of PPE, and cleaning and disinfection of the environment. Falk currently lends her experience of COVID-19 to the national APIC COVID-19 task force. Falk has lent her epidemiology experience to many Legionella projects in several institutions including investigating Legionella outbreaks, creating a water management plan, and developing a water testing program. She attends the CDC Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) meeting on a regular basis to keep up with the most recent guidelines.

SHAWN G. GIBBS, Ph.D., M.B.A., CIH, is dean of the Texas A&M University School of Public Health. Gibbs has over 100 articles in industrial hygiene focusing on disrupting transmission of high-consequence infectious diseases. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Global Environmental Health and Safety Credentialing and Clinical Laboratory Improvement Advisory Committee Biosafety Working Group. He was a member of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Board of Scientific Counselors for Homeland Security and the Southeastern Conference Medical Task Force. He was a U.S. Faculty Fulbright Scholar to Egypt and lead three Institutional Fulbright Faculty Scholars training programs for Public Health Curriculum Development. At the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit, he led and performed aeromedical evacuation, waste handling, and safety and risk reduction involved in the treatment of confirmed and under-investigation patients with Ebola virus disease in Nebraska and the United States. His research helped determine national policies, procedure, and best practices for response to Ebola virus disease, COVID-19, and other high-consequence infectious diseases.

DAN GLUCKSMAN is the public affairs director at the International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA). He is known as a strategic and goal-oriented association professional, who has taken ISEA’s government relations programs to new levels. He provides ISEA member companies with actionable insights on federal policies, allowing these employers to grow revenue and minimize risk. He has led several congressional and regulatory visits for manufacturing executives to achieve strategic objectives. His event management and planning skills have led to successful annual

meetings and executive summits. In addition, his team-oriented approach has led to successful events. He has expanded stakeholder engagement through coalition participation and direct outreach. These activities have led to strategic alliances that move the association forward.

JACK HOLMBERG, RN, BSN, CIC, is an infection preventionist at Providence Willamette Falls Medical Center (PWFMC), practicing as a registered nurse in the Emergency Department for nearly 10 years before transitioning to Infection Prevention and Control. He holds a bachelor of science in environmental studies and a genuine interest in sustainability, environmental health, and infection prevention. Holmberg believes that there is much opportunity to improve sustainable practices in the health care field. Contrary to widespread belief, he thinks infection prevention can play a pivotal role in identifying new sustainable practices. He is co-chair of the Green Team at PWFMC and enjoys collaborating with a multidisciplinary team to solve complicated problems while looking for ways to keep patients safe and reducing Providence’s carbon footprint. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his family, being outdoors, and playing music.

LOUISE KING, M.D., J.D., is an assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive biology at Harvard Medical School and a surgeon within the Division of Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Dr. King completed her juris doctorate at Tulane Law School before attending medical school at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. She completed her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas, and her fellowship in minimally invasive surgery with Dr. Camran Nezhat at Stanford University. Her areas of interest in medical ethics focus on questions of informed decision making and assisted reproduction as well as equitable access to advanced gynecologic surgery.

MARYANN D’ALESSANDRO, PH.D., has served as director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory (NPPTL) since March 2012. She also served as the associate director for science for NPPTL from 2003 to 2012. D’Alessandro provides leadership to the NIOSH Personal Protective Technology (PPT) Core and Specialty Program and the Public Safety Program where she serves as the manager leading the effort to align PPT initiatives with user needs across all workplace industry sectors. Within the PPT program, D’Alessandro has served as the catalyst for aligning surveillance, research, standards, certification, outreach, and intervention activities to improve workplace safety and health. She has played a key role in the COVID-19 response including leading personal protective

equipment (PPE) research, respirator conformity assessment, combatting counterfeit and substandard PPE, and addressing respiratory protection needs for the general public.

JAMES MARVEL, M.D., is a clinical assistant professor of emergency medicine at Stanford University. His clinical focus is on emergency and wilderness medicine. Marvel is also a member of the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance. Marvel earned his M.D. from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and completed a fellowship at Stanford University Emergency Medicine.

EDWARD MCCAULEY, M.B.A., has been in the laundry business for nearly 40 years. He started in 1983 with AraTex Uniform in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and then moved on to Hospital Central Services Cooperative Laundry in Allentown, Pennsylvania. At the Hospital Services Cooperative Laundry, he held several mid-level management positions and finally moved to United Hospital Services in Indianapolis where he has been for the past 22 years as the chief operating officer and chief executive officer. McCauley has spent time on several industry-related boards including the International Association of Healthcare Textile Managers, the American Reusable Textiles Association, the Healthcare Laundry Accreditation Council, in addition to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. McCauley has a B.S. from Penn State University and an M.B.A. from Wilkes University.

MEREDITH MCQUERRY, Ph.D., is the Carol E. Avery Associate Professor of Textile Science in the Jim Moran College of Entrepreneurship at Florida State University. She directs the ThermaNOLE Comfort Lab^® and Textile Testing Laboratory where her research focuses on engineering better-performing personal protective clothing and equipment for multiple end-user applications. Her work focuses primarily on reusable personal protective equipment for health care workers, first responders, soldiers, and athletes. She has received nearly $4 million in research funding including a $1.5M grant from Federal Emergency Management Agency to continue to explore the development of better-fitting female firefighting gear. Work led by Dr. McQuerry on disposable versus reusable medical gown performance has been recognized internationally as it identifies the advantages of reusable gowns in a primarily disposable market. In total, Dr. McQuerry’s work has been published through more than 30 journal articles and more than 80 presentations.

CHARLIE MERROW is the chief executive officer and managing director at The Merrow Group Companies. Merrow is also on the Southcoast

President’s Council at Southcoast Health, the Academic Center for Entrepreneurship Advisory Committee at Bristol Community College, and the Advisory Board of Charlton College of Business at University of Massachusetts Darthmouth. Merrow attended DePauw University and Cheltenham College.

JILL MORGAN, B.S., is a nurse with over 35 years of bedside experience in emergency and critical care medicine. She is on Emory’s biocontainment team and cared for Emory’s viral hemorrhagic fever patients. She now serves as the site manager for the Emory biocontainment unit and has worked to validate the unit’s protocols, including the inactivation of Category A waste and the safe doffing of complex personal protective equipment (PPE) ensembles. She is a PPE subject-matter expert and co-lead of the PPE Working Group for National Emerging Special Pathogens Training & Education Center (NETEC), the National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Center, an Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response–funded organization charged with improving the readiness of the U.S. health care system for infectious pathogens. For NETEC, she helps create and deliver frontline education; evaluate ensembles, protocols, and plans; and assess the readiness of healthcare facilities. She is a member of ASTM, Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation, and Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology.

MICHAEL OVERCASH, PH.D., is the executive director of the Environmental Genome Initiative which has one of the largest chemical life-cycle databases. He has set the standards for the quality control and peer review of all the environmental genome elements to date (about 1,600 chemical plant analyses). He is on the board of directors and is helping to develop the various utilization communities that will develop analytics for the open-source environmental genome database. Overcash served as a professor in chemical engineering and in biological and agricultural engineering at North Carolina State University. Recently he served as the Sam Bloomfield Chair in Sustainable Engineered Systems at Wichita State University. His life-cycle research has focused on health care, reusable textile technology, recycling of chemicals, and prevention of hospital-acquired infections. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in chemical engineering.

SHELLEY PETROVSKIS is director of marketing and regulatory affairs for Lac-Mac Limited, a manufacturer of high-performance personal protective equipment (PPE) for health care and other industrial markets. With over 42 years’ experience marketing and promoting the environmental

merits of reusable health care textile products, she has a deep understanding of the many benefits that reusables can deliver. She has a wide range of experience with the complexity of manufacturing reusable technical PPE, and the standards and regulatory requirements that govern medical devices. Petrovskis is an active member of the American Reusable Textile Association, Textile Rental Services Association, and American Linen Management and supports the International Association for Healthcare Textile Management. She has an understanding of the challenges presented and the rewards observed when converting from a disposable program. Her expertise on technical barrier products provides a solid foundation for supporting customers through their journey to more sustainable products.

LIZ REMILLONG, B.S.B.A., is currently a vice president for Core Linen Services (formerly Crothall Laundry Services) with over 40 years commercial health care laundry management experience. Remillong has provided hospital linen rental services or linen processing services to health systems across the country, including Alaska and Hawaii. She has provided management services to numerous health care cooperative laundries as well as consulting services to health systems and laundries looking for improvements. Her vast and varied experience in the commercial health care laundry space enables her to be considered a subject-matter expert in this field. Additionally, Remillong is a board member for Textile Rental Services Association (TRSA), on the Advisory Board for TRSA’s Hygienically Clean certification, a member of the Association for Linen Management, the American Reusable Textile Association, and numerous other health care–related organizations and associations.

ELIZABETH SCHENK, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, serves as chief environmental stewardship officer for Providence, one of the nation’s largest nonprofit health systems. Schenk and team lead Providence’s efforts through strategy and innovation, efficiency of practices and processes, and research, education, and engagement, built on her experience decreasing the environmental impacts of health care for more than 30 years. She is an assistant research professor at Washington State University College of Nursing. She led the development of the Climate, Health, and Nursing Tool (CHANT), measuring health professionals’ awareness of and engagement in climate change and health. CHANT has been translated to several languages and used in over 40 nations. She developed the WE ACT Framework (Waste, Energy/water, Agriculture/food, Chemicals, Transportation) to organize the extensive range of environmental stewardship, while motivating action. She is active at national, state, and local levels, serving on the Expert Panel on Environmental and Public Health for the American

Academy of Nursing. She is treasurer for the state organization Montana Health Professionals for a Healthy Climate, and board chair for the local organization Climate Smart Missoula. She hosts the Nurses for Healthy Environments Podcast, now in its sixth season.

LYNNE SEHULSTER, PH.D., was previously part of the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion National Center for Infectious Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

MARK SHIRLEY, M.S., is director of Integrated Resiliency Management in the Office of the General Counsel at Sutter Health. He provides corporate-level leadership and guidance across a broad range of environmental health, safety, and emergency management operations in support of risk mitigation, regulatory compliance, and organizational resiliency. Shirley received his master’s degree in environmental management from the University of San Francisco in 2000 and has been a board-certified safety professional since 2006. He currently serves as a member of the California Department of Public Health’s Joint Advisory Committee on Public Health Preparedness, the California Hospital Association’s Emergency Management Advisory Committee, and the Hospital Incident Command System National Advisory Executive Committee.

ERIKA SIMMONS, M.B.A., is the technical director at the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC) where she is accountable for AATCC standards development, research committees, and testing materials support. Prior to AATCC, she worked for a branded apparel company where she held various roles in product development, International Standards Organization (ISO) 17025 lab accreditation management, and customer compliance. She received her M.B.A. from Wake Forest University and an undergraduate degree in textile engineering from North Carolina State University.

SKIP SKIVINGTON, M.B.A., is vice president, Health Care Continuity and Support Services at Kaiser Permanente. Skivington concurrently served as the interim vice president of supply chain during the period of 2005 to 2009, and from 2015 to 2017 led Kaiser’s security services program. Since 2000, he has been responsible for the implementation of a formal healthcare continuity management program throughout Kaiser Permanente. In addition to directing this formal planning and response process, and immediately following the anthrax attacks in October 2001, he formed and now directs Kaiser Permanente’s threat assessment program consisting of an executive oversight council, and functional working groups in the disciplines of clinical (physicians, nursing, pharmacy, mental health and

lab), facilities, community linkages, people, legal, communications, training, supply chain, and public policy. He serves as Kaiser Permanente’s national incident manager during wide-scale events such as the Ebola crisis from 2014 to 2015 and the California wildfires in 2017. Following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Skivington led two Kaiser Permanente volunteer medical response teams consisting of physicians, nurses, and mental health providers to the Gulf Region at the specific request of the U.S. Surgeon General and was part of the largest medical volunteer response program in the history of the country. Skivington holds both a bachelor of science degree in business administration, and an M.B.A.

ADAM SMITH, M.S., PH.D., is currently a senior scientist at the National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory (NPPTL) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At his current position, he provides senior-level, strategic and operational planning, scientific guidance, and engineering consultation to a national conformity assessment infrastructure (CA Infrastructure). He also manages (1) the strategic development and implementation of NPPTL research, standards development, and postmarket activities with an emphasis on respiratory protection, sensors, and emerging technologies assuring that worker protection needs are met; and (2) the design and implementation of projects or strategic planning initiatives to meet short-term and long-term executive goals. Smith leads the development and execution of research and learning agendas to address high-priority worker safety and health issues associated with personal protective equipment, especially where policy and science intersect. Prior to his current position, Smith was deputy director of the Pittsburgh Mining Research Division at NPPTL where he directed and coordinated the full range of supervisory and management duties over subordinate supervisors across the mining program. Smith earned his master of science in mechanical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and his doctor of philosophy in mechanical engineering from Michigan Technological University.

JEFFREY O. STULL, M.Ch.E., is president of International Personnel Protection, Inc., which provides research, testing, and consulting services across a range of personal protective equipment (PPE) in multiple industries, including health care. He has specifically been involved in the development of multiple standards for PPE in the medical area including protective apparel, medical masks, barrier face coverings within several standards organizations such as ASTM International, the National Fire Protection Association, and the International Standards Organization. His organization has been engaged in multiple efforts to develop various forms of medical PPE, including reusable garments, for U.S. government

programs as part of contractual research programs. Stull has also provided expertise in the area of product compliance and regulatory oversight for different forms of health care PPE that have included clearance of medical devices and third-party certification of emergency responder PPE. His work has support from government, academic, labor union, end-user, and manufacturing interests.

CASSANDRA L. THIEL, PH.D., is an assistant professor at New York University in the Grossman School of Medicine’s Departments of Population Health and Ophthalmology and the Tandon School of Engineering’s Department of Civil and Urban Engineering. She is also president and CEO of Clinically Sustainable Consulting LLC. Her research utilizes life-cycle assessment and principles of industrial ecology to analyze and improve the environmental performance of medical systems, hospital design, health care practice, and medical technologies. As a 2014–2015 Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence fellow, Thiel calculated the environmental footprint of cataract surgery at Aravind Eye Care System in southern India, finding that Aravind’s carbon footprint for phacoemulsification was 5 percent of the same surgery done in the United Kingdom. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh and B.S. from Michigan Technological University, both in Civil Engineering.

LAURA THURSTON, M.S.B.M., C.L.L.M., is the laundry operations manager at Intermountain Healthcare. Her professional experience includes 35 years working in the support service lines in health care. She has a background in environmental services, transport services, valet services, and linen distribution services in Utah hospitals. Her leadership experience includes 26 years in environmental services management, 4 years as laundry production manager, and 3 years as laundry operations manager for Intermountain Health North Salt Lake Laundry, which produces 18.5 million pounds of clean linen annually. Her current position includes 2 years as director of linen services for Intermountain Health. Her professional associations include Association for Linen Management and International Association for Healthcare Textile Management. She has a M.S.B.M. and a CLLM certification and is currently working on an M.B.A. with a focus on global supply chain management.

KATHERINE TOWNSEND, Ph.D., is professor of fashion and textile practice, aligned to the Fashion and Textile Research Centre, Nottingham Trent University, UK. Following a career as a fashion designer, her research and supervision is dedicated to the development of participatory methodologies, toward emotional durability and social and sustainable design. Townsend has collaborated with different groups of “overlooked wearers,” including older women (Emotional Fit, 2017–2020) home-

less and vulnerable people (NTU X Emmanuel House, 2020–2023). Her Arts and Humanities Research Council–funded project, Redesigning PPE: Enhancing the Comfort and Safety of Healthcare Workers Wearing Isolation Gowns to Treat Patients with COVID-19 (2021–2023), resulted in a Circular Gown System informed by user and environment-centered approaches. Related research is focused on developing PPE repurposing solutions, and menopause-aware workwear to mitigate the discomfort—particularly heat stress—experienced by women working in the health care sector. Townsend is lead editor of Crafting Anatomies (Bloomsbury, 2020) and the journal Craft Research.

HENK VANHOUTTE is the Secretary General of the European Safety Federation with over 30 years of experience in the personal protective equipment (PPE) sector. He represents the European PPE sector with the EU authorities and other stakeholders (such as notified bodies and standardization).

TIFFANY WIKSTEN, D.N.P., RN, CIC, is currently an associate director in the Standards Interpretation Group in the Division of Accreditation and Certification Operations (ACO) at The Joint Commission and is an infection control subject-matter expert. In this role, Wiksten is responsible for working closely with accredited and certified organizations to interpret The Joint Commission standards, identify vulnerabilities, and improve their performance. She also responds to inquiries from accredited organizations and the public related to compliance with The Joint Commission standards. Wiksten reviews post-survey reports, clarifications, measures of success, and evidence of standards compliance submitted as part of the survey process. She provides leadership and guidance within the team in all aspects of the accreditation process through clinical expertise in infection prevention and control. She also supports customer relationship management and the field representative cadre as well as other customers through the provision of expert interpretation, guidance, and collaboration. Wiksten has worked as an infection preventionist for over 10 years. Prior to joining The Joint Commission, she was the manager of infection prevention at a major metropolitan medical center. She has led infection prevention programs and efforts in a variety of health care settings, including large academic medical centers, community hospitals, and ambulatory settings. Wiksten received a bachelor of science in nursing from Lewis University, Romeoville, Illinois, and a master of science in nursing from Loyola University, Chicago, Illinois, with a focus in population-based infection control and environmental safety. She received a doctor of nursing practice from Rush University, Chicago, Illinois, with a focus in transformational leadership. She holds a green belt in Lean Six Sigma and is certified in infection control.

JOHN WINTZ, M.B.A., is a group vice president for Standard Textile Co., Inc., working primarily in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic areas of the United States. He is active with various industry and health care organizations including the Association for Linen Management, the American Reusable Textile Association, the Textile Rental Services Association, the International Association for Healthcare Textile Management, the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee, Vizient, and Premier. He began his career with Standard Textile Co., Inc. as a salesperson in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area over 37 years ago and first came to the Cincinnati corporate office as director of sales for the Repak Surgical Division as well as regional sales director for the Midwest region. The Repak division of Standard Textile offered reusable surgical gowns, towels, table covers, and drapes in a sterile format to health care systems in five areas in the United States. In his role at Repak, he had operating room nurses and salespeople reporting to him. He became a vice president and officer with Standard Textile Company in 2003. He has worked nationally in the Senior Living space, the laundry marketplace, the government sales area, the surgical product and services team and has managed Standard Textile’s Consultative Services group. He has an undergraduate degree in marketing from Xavier University in Cincinnati and an M.B.A. in administrative management from University of North Texas in Denton.

PROJECT STAFF BIOSKETCHES

AUTUMN DOWNEY, PH.D., is a senior program officer with the Board on Health Sciences Policy. She joined the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in 2012 and, in addition to the current study, she directs the Standing Committee on Personal Protective Equipment for Workplace Safety and Health. She was formerly the director of the Standing Committee on Medical and Epidemiological Aspects of Air Pollution on U.S. Government Employees and Their Families. Other National Academies studies she has worked on include Meeting the Challenge of Caring for Persons Living with Dementia and Their Care Partners and Caregivers; Evidence-Based Practice for Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response; Return of Individual-Specific Research Results Generated in Research Laboratories; Preventing Cognitive Decline and Dementia; A National Trauma Care System; Healthy, Resilient, and Sustainable Communities After Disasters; BioWatch PCR Assays; and Advancing Workforce Health at the Department of Homeland Security. Downey received her Ph.D. in molecular microbiology and immunology from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where she also completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the school’s National Center

for the Study of Preparedness and Catastrophic Event Response. Prior to joining the National Academies, she was a National Research Council postdoctoral fellow at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, where she worked on environmental sampling for biothreat agents and the indoor microbiome.

KELSEY R. BABIK, M.P.H., CIH, is an associate program officer in the Health and Medicine Division at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. In addition to this workshop, she works on projects initiated by the Committee on Personal Protective Equipment for Workplace Safety and Health. This is a standing committee at the National Academies sponsored by the National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, to provide a forum for discussion of scientific and technical issues relevant to the development, certification, deployment, and use of personal protective equipment, standards, and related systems to ensure workplace safety and health. Previously, at the Risk Sciences and Public Policy Institute of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, she worked on occupational health risk assessments for first responders. She is a certified industrial hygienist. She has a B.S. in molecular biology from the University of Pittsburgh, an M.P.H. from the University of Maryland, and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Public Health (Dr.P.H.) at the University of Illinois Chicago.

EMILY MCDOWELL, M.P.H., is a research associate with the Board on Health Sciences Policy of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Most recently, she assisted with a consensus study, Advancing Clinical Research in Pregnant and Lactating Populations Overcoming Real and Perceived Liability Risks, and has contributed to other projects at the National Academies relating to health equity and policy. She is a M.P.H. graduate from George Washington University concentrating her studies on epidemiology and environmental health. Before joining the National Academies, McDowell worked for a nonprofit emergency management organization, Healthcare Ready, and assisted with the reauthorization of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Advancing Innovation Act (PAHPAIA). her studies at George Washington University concluded with the presentation of her thesis entitled “Microplastics and Human Health: An Inescapable Exposure.” McDowell received her B.S. in community health, concentrating in global health at George Mason University.

ASHLEY BOLOGNA, M.S., is a senior program assistant in the Health and Medicine Division at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. In addition to this workshop, she works on projects initi-

ated by the Committee on Personal Protective Equipment for Workplace Safety and Health. This is a standing committee at the National Academies sponsored by the National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, to provide a forum for discussion of scientific and technical issues relevant to the development, certification, deployment, and use of personal protective equipment, standards, and related systems to ensure workplace safety and health. She earned her master of science in global health at Georgetown University. She also has a B.A. in international relations and political science from Virginia Wesleyan University.

LAURA RUNNELS, M.P.H., is the founder of LARC. Prior to founding LARC, Laura was a senior program analyst at the National Association of County and City Health Officials. Laura was born on a mountaintop in Tennessee, raised in a small town in Mississippi, and educated in Connecticut, California, and Missouri. She has over 15 years of experience working with local, state, and federal clients. As a convening specialist, she is known for designing and facilitating highly collaborative, efficient, and productive meetings. As a strategist, she guides individuals, organizations, and coalitions through technical and adaptive challenges. Laura earned her master’s degree in public health, behavioral science, and health education from Saint Louis University and earned her bachelor of arts in American studies from Yale University.

AMY SCHLOTTHAUER, M.P.H., is the owner of AES Consulting Firm and collaborator with LARC. She has a master’s degree in public health from the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University and a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from University of Wisconsin–Madison. Amy has over 18 years’ experience in project management, grant writing, program evaluation, qualitative and quantitative research methods and data analysis, group facilitation and consensus building, and using these skills to help clients work collaboratively to answer a pressing public health question. Schlotthauer is a member of the American Evaluation Association, Safe States, Milwaukee Evaluation, and Wisconsin Public Health Association. She also serves on the Menomonee Falls Public Library Board and is a member of the Menomonee Falls Collective Impact project in her hometown of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin.

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