Maryland Action Coalition Summit
2026 MDAC Leadership Summit: Time to Pivot and Shift: Navigating the Changing Nursing Landscape
Join us to celebrate 15 years of the Maryland Action Coalition!
Thursday, May 21, 2026
9 a.m. - 3:10 p.m.
15th Anniversary Celebration Networking Reception to follow
In Person at the University of Maryland School of Nursing, 655 W. Lombard St., Baltimore, MD 21201
Registration: FREE
Nursing Continuing Professional Development: $40
Overview:
As the health care landscape continues to evolve, nursing leaders are uniquely positioned to drive strategic change and innovation. The 2026 Maryland Action Coalition (MDAC) Leadership Summit will examine critical shifts in health care policy, economics, and workforce dynamics across both clinical and academic environments. Leaders will explore how to pivot proactively in response to these changes, ensuring their teams remain resilient and future ready. This year’s summit is anchored by three core pillars: health policy, nursing workforce development, and the economics of health care and academia.
MDAC’s objective is to identify innovative ways of collaborating that advance nursing excellence to prepare nurses to lead in any health care setting. The three pillars of the coalition’s focus are:
- Nursing Leadership
- Nursing Workforce
- Nursing Retention.
The 2026 summit will explore progressive approaches to teaching and models of leadership that hold promise for the future.
Objectives:
- Explore evolving health care policy, economics, and clinical and academic workforce dynamics and how nurses can proactively pivot to meet these changes.
- Navigate health care systems and technological advancements (including remote monitoring and virtual nursing) with a focus on quality, safety, and patient-centered care.
Call for Abstracts Guidelines
The call for abstracts is now closed.
Notification
The primary presenter will receive email notification of the review committee's decision by Friday, March 20. Chosen abstracts will be presented during an interactive poster session, which will occur during the conference on Thursday, May 21.
Presenter Commitment and Registration
You must commit to present by Tuesday, March 31, and complete and submit the conference registration form for the primary presenter on or before Thursday, April 30. Failure to register by this deadline will constitute declining to present. Presenters must register to attend the conference.
Nursing Continuing Professional Development
Nurses may receive 5.5 contact hours upon successful completion of this educational activity. Successful completion is demonstrated by attending the entire conference and submitting the completed program evaluation. No partial credit will be awarded. Participants will be able to print a Continuing Education certificate after completing the evaluation.
The University of Maryland School of Nursing is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.
Agenda
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 8:30 - 9 a.m. |
Check-In and Continental Breakfast |
| 9 - 9:15 |
Welcome and Summit Overview |
| 9:15 – 10 |
Keynote: Innovation |
| 10 – 10:45 |
Navigating the Health Care System
|
| 10:45 – 10:55 | Break |
| 10:55 – 11 |
Presentation of the Dr. Peg Daw Exemplary Leadership Award |
| 11 – 11:15 |
NSP II Update |
| 11:15 - noon |
Workforce Retention
|
| noon - 1:15 p.m. |
Lunch and Poster Session |
| 1:15 - 2 |
AHEAD Model |
| 2 - 3 |
Academic-Practice Partnership Panel |
| 3 – 3:10 |
Summary and Closing Remarks |
| 3:10 – 4:15 |
15th Anniversary Celebration Networking Reception |
Dr. Peggy Daw Exemplary Leadership Award
The Maryland Action Coalition (MDAC) Exemplary Leadership Award was created in 2022 to recognize and celebrate the leadership and accomplishments exhibited beyond one’s day to day role.
In 2023, the award was renamed in memory of Peggy Daw, DNP, RN-BC, CNE, FAAN.
The nominee embodies the core values of MDAC; honors diverse experiences and perspectives; and sets an example of including others while exploring new ideas and partnerships to achieve large-scale goals.
The nominee’s achievements enhance MDAC’s strategic mission and advance access and opportunities for others.
About Peggy Daw, DNP, RN-BC, CNE, FAAN
Peggy E. Daw, DNP, RN-BC, CNE, FAAN, served for 12 years (from 2010 - 22) as Nurse Support Program II grant administrator at the Maryland Higher Education Commission. In this position, she marshaled resources of the Maryland Health Services Cost Review Commission, the Maryland Higher Education Commission, and the Maryland Deans and Directors of Schools of Nursing to create a statewide lattice of educational Nurse Support Program grants, which changed the structure of educational financial support in Maryland to expand the nurse educator workforce. She was the architect and developer of nine different types of continuous nurse educator grants, academic-practice partnerships, and statewide resource grants totaling over $200,000,000 and funded through 2025.
Her work promoted rapid expansion of the associate-to-bachelor’s programs. Her efforts resulted in new statewide funding for the Maryland Clinical Simulation Resource Consortium, providing clinical simulation equipment statewide and establishment of simulation quality guidelines; the Nurse Leadership Institute, which prepares nurse faculty and clinicians for leadership positions and collaborative partnerships between academia and practice; the Maryland Nursing Workforce Center; and many other forward-thinking programs.
Most importantly, Daw developed a supportive working collaboration of academic and practice nurse leaders across the state to communicate; inform; and mutually create, implement, and continuously improve initiatives to strengthen and advance nursing in Maryland.
Daw passed away in December 2022.
Recipients
2025 Recipient: Mary Etta C. Mills, ScD, RN, FAAN, Professor Emerita, University of Maryland School of Nursing
2024 Recipient: Lisa Rowen, DNSc, RN, CENP, BCC, FAONL, FAAN, Chief Nurse Executive, University of Maryland Medical System
2023 Recipient: Peggy E. Daw, DNP, RN-BC, CNE, FAAN, Former Director, Maryland Higher Education Commission, as presented to her family
2022 Inaugural Recipient: Joan Warren, PhD, RN, NPD-BC, NEA-BC, FAAN, Executive Director, MONL Inc./MNRC
Maryland Action Coalition Membership Form
Fill out my online form.
Planning Committee Members
Yolanda Ogbolu, PhD, NNP, FNAP, FAAN
The Bill and Joanne Conway Dean and Professor, University of Maryland School of Nursing
Co-Chair, Maryland Action Coalition
Patricia Travis, PhD, RN, CCRP
Senior Associate Director, Clinical Trials, Johns Hopkins Medicine
Secretary, American Nurses Association
Co-Chair, Maryland Action Coalition
Lynn Marie Bullock, DNP, RN, NEA-BC
Assistant Professor and Director, Office of Professional Education, University of Maryland School of Nursing
Crystal DeVance-Wilson, PhD, MBA, PHCNS-BC
Assistant Professor and Director, Maryland Nursing Workforce Center, University of Maryland School of Nursing
Mary Etta Mills, RN, ScD, FAAN
Retired Professor, University of Maryland School of Nursing
Giordana Segneri, MA
Assistant Dean for Marketing and Communications, University of Maryland School of Nursing
Sonia Smith, BS
Manager, Professional Education and Development, Office of Professional Education, University of Maryland School of Nursing
Enjoli Sonnier, MBA, MS
Associate Director of Events, University of Maryland School of Nursing
This year’s summit is supported in part by the Maryland Nursing Workforce Center at the University of Maryland School of Nursing through the Nurse Support Program II, which is funded by the Health Services Cost Review Commission and administered by the Maryland Higher Education Commission.
For questions regarding MDAC, email us at pe.nursing@umaryland.edu.