Maryland Nursing Workforce Center

The State of the Maryland Nursing Workforce Symposium: Data Trends and Future Readiness

Friday, Oct. 24, 2025
9 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Registration: FREE
Continuing Nursing Professional Development CE credits: $40

Registration is required.

Register now

University of Maryland School of Nursing
655 W. Lombard St.
Baltimore, MD 21201

• Overview
• Objectives and Learning Outcomes
• Agenda
• Speaker Bios

Overview

The Maryland Nursing Workforce Symposium brings together nursing professionals, educators, policymakers, and health care leaders to explore opportunities and strategies for strengthening the Maryland nursing workforce. This year’s theme, “Data Trends and Future Readiness,” underscores the critical role of data-driven decision-making in shaping a resilient and sustainable nursing workforce.

As the health care landscape evolves, nursing leaders must be equipped to address growing challenges such as faculty shortages, nurse retention, and the integration of emerging health care technologies. Through presentations, discussions, and interactive sessions, this symposium will provide attendees with actionable strategies to strengthen nursing education, enhance workforce stability, and drive meaningful change in health care policy.

Objectives

1. Examine the intersection of faculty development, clinical education, and workforce demands to enhance student preparedness, optimize faculty workload, and align nursing education with evolving health care needs.
2. Equip nursing professionals with the knowledge and skills to engage effectively in public advocacy, collaborate with policymakers, and navigate legal and regulatory frameworks to influence policies that support the nursing workforce and the health care system.
3. Provide nurse leaders, managers, and frontline staff with data strategies to enhance nurse retention, optimize patient care, and develop a sustainable nursing workforce through advocacy, leadership, and workforce pathway initiatives.
4. Equip nursing academic and clinical leaders with strategic, adaptive approaches to mitigate the impact of federal policy changes, ensuring workforce stability, financial resilience, and sustainable nursing education and practice models.

Agenda

Speaker Bios

Keynote

Lead, Don’t Lag: Why Data Must Guide Workforce Strategy, Organizational Health, and Policy Engagement

Deborah Trautman, PhD, RN, FAAN
President and Chief Executive Officer, American Association of Colleges of Nursing

This keynote session will explore the importance and value of data-driven decision-making and the benefits of integrating data into workforce planning, strengthening organizational effectiveness, and informing advocacy to shape public policy

Deborah Trautman, PhD, RN, FAAN, has expertise and scholarship that encompass health policy, leadership, nursing practice, and nursing education. 

Trautman previously served as executive director of the Center for Health Policy and Healthcare Transformation at Johns Hopkins Hospital and in other leadership roles at Johns Hopkins Medicine and at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. She is a member of several professional societies and serves on many high-profile boards and advisory groups, including the Joint Commission Chief Nurse Executive Council, the AMHIC Board of Directors (current chair), the Interprofessional Education Collaborative Executive Board (past chair and treasurer), and the Future of Nursing 2020 - 2030 Evaluation Advisory Committee. She has served on Research!America’s Board of Directors and has contributed as a member of the National Academy of Medicine’s Action Collaborative on Clinician Well-Being and Resilience, of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Special Medical Advisory Group (advisor to the secretary of veterans affairs), and of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation as program director of the New Careers in Nursing project.

Trautman is a 2007 - 08 Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellow who worked for The Hon. Nancy Pelosi, then speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. She is also a Distinguished Nursing Fellow in the National Academies of Practice.

Trautman earned a BSN from West Virginia Wesleyan College, an MSN from the University of Pittsburgh, and a PhD in Health Policy from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

Endnote
From the Front Lines to the Legislature: Using Data to Drive Policy for Nursing’s Future

The Honorable Joseline A. Peña-Melnyk, Esq.
Maryland State Delegate and Chair, Health and Government Operations Committee

This culminating session is intended to serve as a call to action, highlighting the critical responsibility of nurses to inform lawmakers, stakeholders, and the public using data-driven insights. Grounded in evidence and real-world experience, the presentation will underscore how nursing can lead policy change by elevating issues central to the evolving health care environment.

Maryland Del. Joseline Peña-Melnyk, Esq., has dedicated her career to advancing equity, justice, and accessible health care for all Marylanders. She proudly represents legislative District 21, encompassing Prince George’s and Anne Arundel counties, and serves as chair of the Health and Government Operations Committee, making her the highest-ranking Latina in the Maryland General Assembly.

Born in the Dominican Republic, Peña-Melnyk immigrated to the United States as a child with her single mother and sister. She became the first in her family to graduate from college and went on to earn her J.D. degree. Driven by a lifelong commitment to justice, she began her legal career advocating for death row inmates in Alabama and migrant farm workers in Ohio, later serving as a public defender and then as a prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Her public service journey began on the College Park City Council before she successfully ran a grassroots campaign for the Maryland House of Delegates. Since then, she has passed more than 100 bills into law, leading landmark efforts to establish the Prescription Drug Affordability Board, the Maryland Easy Enrollment Health Insurance Program, the State Reinsurance Program, and the Maryland Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Commission, initiatives that set a national precedent.

A tireless champion for health care access, public safety, and economic fairness, Peña-Melnyk continues to shape bold, transformative policies that uplift Maryland’s most vulnerable communities and build a stronger, more just state for all.

Nursing Continuing Professional Development

Nurses may receive 4.75 contact hours for attending the entire educational activity and completing the evaluation. Partial credit is not provided. Participants paying for CE will receive a certificate via email within 2 - 4 weeks. All requests must be received within 30 days of the event.

The University of Maryland School of Nursing is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.

Organized by the 2025 The State of the Maryland Nursing Workforce Symposium Planning Committee

Crystal DeVance-Wilson, PhD, MBA, PHCNS-BC
Director, Maryland Nursing Workforce Center 
Assistant Professor and Vice Chair, University of Maryland School of Nursing at the Universities at Shady Grove
Chair, State of the Maryland Nursing Workforce Symposium 2025

Savannah Babino, BS
Events Coordinator
University of Maryland School of Nursing

Lynn Marie Bullock, DNP, RN, NEA-BC
Assistant Professor and Director, Office of Professional Education
University of Maryland School of Nursing

Adaugo Ejezie, MS
Student
University of Maryland School of Nursing

Renee Franquiz, DNP, RN, CNE
Assistant Professor and Director, Doctor of Nursing Practice Post-Master’s Option
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 Development and Education
University of Maryland School of Nursing

Enjoli Sonnier, MBA, MS
Associate Director of Events
University of Maryland School of Nursing

Take a look at last year's event: State of the Maryland Nursing Workforce Symposium 2024