Dr. Jade Kay is the Director/Chair of the BSN Prelicensure and an associate professor.   She obtained her MSN from UCLA’s School of Nursing and her doctorate from University of Texas Medical Branch’s School of Biomedical Sciences.  She has been in academia since 2009 and has more than 20 years of clinical experience as a Board-Certified Family Nurse Practitioner in areas such as internal medicine, pediatrics, women’s health, and psychiatric health. 

Her research interest is in sleep, psychoneuroimmunology, and complementary and integrative approaches to patient care. She teaches Medical-Surgical Nursing, Pediatrics, and Research.  

Bralock, A.R., Farr, N.B., Kay J.P., et.al.. (2011).  Issues in community-based care among homeless minorities. Journal of National Black Nurses Association, 22(1):57-67. 

Kay, J. (2019). Effect of meditation-based strategy on sleep quality and perceived stress in older adults living in the community. Journal of Brain Behaviour and Cognitive Sciences, 2 (1:5). 

Podium Speaker:

• 49th International Congress on Nursing Care Plan and Health 

• STTI Odyssey Conference, Oct 2016, Dissertation presented.

Dr. Julia Wilson has taught nursing at Vanguard University since 2008, and also taught at Golden West College in the Associate Degree in Nursing program for over six years. She is a Board-Certified Family Nurse Practitioner and worked for 21 years as an FNP at a clinic in Irvine. She also worked at Hoag Hospital for 34 years, the majority of the time with cardiac patients.

Dr. Wilson earned her Master’s Degree in Nursing at CSU Long Beach, and her Doctorate of Nursing Practice from the CSU Consortium (CSULB, CSUF, CSULA). Dr. Wilson was actively involved in growing and developing Vanguard’s RN to BSN program and became Chair in 2014. She is committed to helping students develop their nursing knowledge and supports them in achieving their career goals.  

Dr. Jovita Ezirim is a board-certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner with a strong background in clinical practice, education, and program leadership. She has provided care to individuals diagnosed with mental illness, guided graduate students in their professional growth, and developed academic programs to prepare future nurse practitioners.

She is passionate about mental health, mentorship, and helping students connect evidence-based practice with compassionate care. Dr. Ezirim teaches at Vanguard University because of its Christ-centered mission and dedication to shaping healthcare professionals who serve with both skill and faith. Her goal is to inspire students to excel as clinicians, leaders, and advocates for mental health in their communities.

In her role as a simulation lab coordinator at Vanguard, Professor Browning guides students in both their theoretical and practical understanding of nursing care. She is passionate about giving students the opportunity to simulate complex patient scenarios where they can hone their skills as excellent patient advocates and nursing professionals. Her goal is to make simulation a fun and safe experience for students, where they can have the freedom to explore, make mistakes, and learn from those experiences to be better nurses when they step into the clinical setting.  

Professor Browning also uses her past experience as a pediatric oncology nurse to teach students about compassionate, holistic patient care. She integrates this knowledge and expertise in the simulation lab as well as in her role as a pediatric clinical instructor.

Professor Browning absolutely loves working with the pediatric population, where she teaches students about the importance of play as a therapeutic tool. As she loves to say, “Play is the work of children.” She integrates this into her life as she is also a mom to her baby boy, Bodhi.  

She is passionate about inspiring students as they discover their passions within the nursing profession and seek to achieve their goals. She loves connecting with each of her students and hopes to empower them on their journey to becoming a nurse.  

Previously a Certified Pediatric Hematology Oncology Nurse (CPHON) 

Browning, H. & Palmer, S. (2016, August). Diaper Dermatitis in Oncology Patients Receiving Chemotherapy. [Poster Presentation].

After a life-threatening injury in 2013, Professor Herbert’s time as a patient at multiple hospitals on different units inspired her to become a nurse. She aims to give back to the profession that has given so much to her.

Having undergone 6 major surgeries and multiple prolonged inpatient experiences, she has a unique understanding of how a client may feel while in the hospital. Her goal is to build rapport with patients by providing compassionate care, while utilizing the most advanced medical practices to improve client outcomes.

Professor Herbert fell in love with labor and delivery nursing during her time as a student at West Coast University. In order to further her knowledge, she has taken classes and gained as many certifications as possible in the field of Women’s Health. She is now working as an Adjunct Clinical Instructor and Simulation Lab Coordinator for Vanguard University, Clinical Instructor for Concordia University Irvine, and continues to work with South Coast Midwifery and Women’s Healthcare as a Birth Assistant for their highly experienced team of Midwives.

In the next 5 years she would like to become a Certified Labor and Delivery Nurse or RNC-OB in addition to working towards a master’s degree focusing on Nursing Education.

Dr. Annette Callis has an extensive background in nursing education.  She is a Clinical Nurse Specialist and a longstanding member of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses.  She developed the Critical Care curriculum and the Simulation Program at Biola University, where she served as a content expert for over 15 years. She is an End of Life Nursing Education Consortium Educator with published research on moral distress in critical care related to end of life care decision-making. Other published works include topics on advance directives, end of life care related to spiritual beliefs, empowering families at end of life, the effect of technology on the dying experience and innovative designs in classroom learning. Prior to 2014, publications are under the name of Annette Browning. 

Currently Dr. Callis is conducting research on the Tea for the Soul Program. This Care Model addresses the bereavement needs and other emotional needs of nurses working in high acuity areas and has been adopted in numerous healthcare organizations in the United States.

Dr. Voss received his Master’s in Public Health from Boston University and his doctorate from Fuller Theological Seminary’s School of Intercultural Studies. He is the author of a number of articles and chapters on cross-cultural health and development issues. He served as a co-editor for the book Health, Healing and Shalom: Frontiers and Challenges for Christian Healthcare Missions (2015).

He is presently conducting research on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on congregational leaders. His areas of emphasis include poverty studies, socio-cultural change and health education. As an applied social scientist, Dr. Voss is especially interested in helping community health organizations better understand the role of culture in their efforts to sustain human flourishing.

Professor Stewart-Burger trained as a nurse in South Africa and has worked most of her career in critical care in South Africa, Saudi Arabia and the United States. Her passion is the human experience as it relates to health and wellness and how nurses can better serve the community. Her expertise is critical care, neurosciences and ethics and more recently acute rehabilitation.  

She has been in charge of a comprehensive stroke and acute rehabilitation unit and has been educator for critical care and neurosciences. She is a devoted advocate to the next generation of nurses who will continue a legacy of compassionate and skilled care. 

Professor Maria Ransil has worked as a postpartum nurse in one of the major hospitals in Orange County. She has served in a leadership position for the mother baby unit for the last 12 years of her career. She earned her BS in biological sciences from the University of California, Irvine in 1993. After five years, she returned to school to obtain her BSN at the University of Portland. In 2004, she moved back to Orange County to pursue her career in postpartum nursing and later received her MSN from Vanguard University in 2016.

She recently started a new role as the Clinical Educator for the Women’s Department at St. Joseph's Hospital. Ransil accepted a position as adjunct faculty for the baccalaureate BSN Pre-Licensure program at Vanguard University in 2019 to integrate faith and her love for teaching. She is a member of AWOHNN and Sigma Theta Tau International. 

Dr. Schroder is a registered nurse who splits time with his wife Mary between homes in Rosarito Beach, Mexico, and Yucaipa, California. He started his nursing career as a psychiatric technician and vocational nurse in the late 1970s, earned his associate degree in nursing and was licensed as a registered nurse in 1986. After receiving his undergraduate and graduate degrees in 2000, taught psychiatric, geriatric, and medical-surgical nursing at San Bernardino Valley College in San Bernardino for many years and previously served for the California Nurses Foundation as Co-Director of the California Nurse Mentor Project. Immediately prior to his appointment at Vanguard he was the Director of Nursing and Health Occupations at Southwestern College in Chula Vista.

He has over 20 years of teaching experience at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral level of education focusing on nursing theory, communication, education, research, and health care administration. When not teaching he loves to travel, and in the past few years has taken extended vacations in Mexico, the Caribbean, and Europe. 

Dr. Otteson has taught nursing over the past six years. She has been a nurse for 34 years, with experience in medical/surgical nursing, ambulatory care, and home hospice care. She has taught in prelicensure and graduate nursing programs. She is currently the Nursing Simulation Center Coordinator at California State University, Fullerton and has held this position for the past four years. Dr. Otteson is a Certified Health Simulation Educator (CHSE), making her qualified to teach the Simulation course at Vanguard University. She has also taught Health Assessment, Ethics, and Leadership courses.  

Dr. Otteson enjoys the relationships she builds with her students and always strives to keep her teaching student-centered. It is her mission to prepare nurses who are educationally, technically, and emotionally prepared to join the nursing workforce. 

Dr. Broyles is a highly skilled and dedicated Registered Nurse and Family Nurse Practitioner, holding a Doctorate in Nursing. Her passion lies in educating others in the fields of pathophysiology, health assessment, and pharmacology. With over two decades of invaluable experience as a nurse practitioner, she had the privilege to delve deep into various disease processes and their corresponding treatments. She carries this wealth of experience into my teaching enriching the learning journey for students.

Driven by a profound calling, she is committed to both patient care and the cultivation of future nursing professionals. Her faith and purpose guides her in tending to patients’ needs and nurturing the next generation of nurses, equipping them to provide compassionate and effective care to a wider community.

Dr. Slaughter brings 30 plus years of experience in a large healthcare setting. She has done a variety of different types of nursing including med-surg, critical care, home care, infusion, cath lab, pain management, education, informatics, executive leadership, process improvement and change management.

With a certification as a Black Belt in Lean process improvement and certified as a change management practitioner, Dr. Slaughter has a passion for improving healthcare outcomes and improving nursing practice.

Slaughter, A. (2021). The Impact of an Evidence-Based Multi-component Intervention on Colorectal Cancer Screening in Primary Care at a Healthcare System. [Doctoral project, University of St Augustine for Health Sciences]. SOAR @ USA: Student Scholarly Projects Collection. https://doi.org/10.46409/sr.ELIK2330 

Slaughter, A. & Yarvis, J (2023) AMSUS Conference. Poster Presentation: Innovations in High Reliability: Integrating Foundational Practices Leads to Positive Outcomes. 

Slaughter, A., Pasero, C. & Monworren, R. (2002). Unacceptable Pain Scores, American Journal of Nursing, Vol. 102, p. 75-76. 

Contributing Author - Essentials of Nursing Informatics (2015), Chapter: Federal Health Nursing Informatics, McGraw-Hill Education 

Professor Martha Dispoto is the Chief Nurse Executive (CNE) at Kaiser Permanente, Anaheim Medical Center, Orange County, California and has been with KP for over eight years.  She has over twenty years of experience as a CNE in various health systems including for profit and not-for-profit organizations. She has demonstrated herself as a transformational leader by leading the KP Anaheim team to receive the prestigious Magnet designation for nursing practice within three years of her arrival. Professor Dispoto received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from The University of North Carolina, Charlotte and her Master’s degree in Nursing Administration from Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY.  She also has served as adjunct faculty in several local nursing programs, including West Coast University, Vanguard University and California State University Fullerton. Professor Dispoto’s passion is with mentoring nurse leaders and assisting them through active listening, coaching, and offering resources to guide them in their leadership journey.  

Professor Dispoto is a past president of the Association of California Nurse Leaders (ACNL), Orange County Chapter, and remains an active member. In addition, she is a member of the American Nurses Association as well as the American Organization of Nurse Leaders.  She is Board Certified as a Nurse Executive and has been recognized by the Nurse.Com organization award for Nursing Excellence with “Advancing and Leading the Profession”.

On a personal note, Professor Dispoto is married with two children, and has a passion for dogs, with two of her own (Belgian Malinois and Dutch Shepard). She and her husband are sailors and take short jaunts over to Catalina Island, off the coast of California, during the summer months.

Dr. Watkins is currently the Chief Nursing Executive (CNE) for UCI Health. She has been an RN for over 30 years and has over 20 years of experience as a CNE in various health systems including for profit, not for profit, faith based, specialty, academic, stand alone and corporate environments.  Prior to becoming a CNE, her leadership focus was within Maternal Child Health with her clinical background being Pediatric Intensive Care and Trauma.  Dr. Watkins completed her Doctorate in Executive Nursing Practice and holds a dual master’s degree in nursing as well as Health Care Administration. Her doctoral project was related to workplace bullying and intent to turnover in new graduate nurses. She has a specialty certification in Executive Nursing Practice.

Dr. Watkins is particularly skilled in leadership development, communication and relationship building, clinical practice leadership, resource management, quality/patient safety/risk management, financial performance, health policy/advocacy, workforce wellbeing and information management and technology.  She has a passion for mentoring nurse leaders and helping them to further develop their skills.  She is an active member with the American Organization of Nurse Leaders, Chief, the American College of Healthcare Executives and Sigma Theta Tau International.

• Harvard Business School Executive Education-Executive Leadership Program 

• Marshall School of Business-Advanced Management Leadership 

• California Association of Healthcare Leaders Mentor 

• Association of California Nurse Leaders-CNO Mentor 

• Hospital Quality Institute Board Member since 2018 

• Choi, K., Omery, A. & Watkins, AM. (2019). An integrative review of psychiatric rapid response teams and their implementation for de-escalating behavioral crises in nonpsychiatric hospital settings. JONA: The Journal of Nursing Administration, 49(6), 297-302.