2025 Winter Symposium

Grady Barnhill  |  President, International Society for the Advancement of Continuing Competence

Grady Barnhill has been involved in testing for over 35 years, beginning in personnel testing but then moving into licensure assessment and finally testing for national certifying bodies in healthcare, until his retirement in December 2021. During his career he has been responsible for developing and implementing specialty and advanced certifications, and for a portfolio recertification process. He has served on various committees, and made numerous presentations on assessment and credentialing at CLEAR, I.C.E. and other national and international conferences. He was elected to serve two terms on the Board of Directors for the Institute for Credentialing Excellence (I.C.E.) and continues to serve on the I.C.E. Public Member Committee. In November 2022 he began serving on the Assessment Advisory Group for the Nursing Community Assessment Service in British Columbia, and in January 2023, he began serving a term as a public member on the Board of Directors for the Hospice and Palliative Credentialing Center (HPCC). He has served as founder and president of the International Society for the Advancement of Continuing Competence (ISACC), which was incorporated in Washington, DC in April 2023. He remains interested in credentialing and public protection, and in advocating for evidence-based improvements in the measurement and enhancement of continuing competence.

Jennifer Garrett  |  Deputy Secretary, Wisconsin Department of Safety & Professional Services

Cynthia Johansen  |  Registrar & CEO, British Columbia College of Nurses & Midwives

As Registrar and Chief Executive Officer, Cynthia leads the largest health profession regulator in western Canada, ensuring the college fulfills its mandate to protect the public through the regulation of more than 60,000 nurses and midwives in B.C. Cynthia has a passion for regulation and recognizes opportunities to incorporate best practices into health care regulation to better protect the public. She has a track record of bringing people and organizations together – including government, other regulators and the public – to improve professional practice standards and transform health profession regulation.

Cynthia's regulatory career began in 2003, as Registrar of the College of Dental Hygienists of BC. In 2006, she joined the College of Registered Nurses of BC (CRNBC) as Director of Registration, Inquiry and Discipline and was subsequently appointed Registrar/CEO in 2012. Cynthia guided CRNBC through its transition to a college focused solely on public protection and was a catalyst for increased collaboration among health regulators within BC and across the country. She was also instrumental in bringing the province's nursing colleges together as a single regulator for all nursing designations in 2018. Cynthia served as Registrar and CEO of the British Columbia College of Nursing Professionals (BCCNP) prior to BCCNP and CMBC amalgamating to become BCCNM.

Cynthia holds a BA in Political Science, an MA in Leadership Studies, and an MSc in Information Management.

Courtney Pendleton  |  Chief Operating Officer, Michigan Dept. of Licensing & Regulatory Affairs

Courtney Pendleton serves as Chief Operating Officer of the department. Courtney oversees the Bureau of Construction Codes, the Bureau of Community and Health Systems, the Bureau of Professional Licensing, the Bureau of Survey and Certification, the Corporations, Securities, and Commercial Licensing Bureau, the Michigan Unarmed Combat Commission, and the Office of Communications.

 Prior to her role as Chief Operating Officer, Courtney served as a LARA deputy director, deputy operations officer, equity and inclusion officer, and transparency liaison.  She has over 25 years of experience working for the State of Michigan and has held positions in the Department of Treasury, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Office of Children’s Ombudsman.

Courtney earned an associate degree in travel and tourism from Lansing Community College, and a bachelor’s degree in management from the University of Phoenix. She also earned a certification in executive women in leadership from Cornell University.

Dr. Carrie Wang   |  Clinical Assistant Professor, Arizona State University

Carrie Wang is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship at Arizona State University. Her interests focus on unpacking how people’s relationships with others across organizational boundaries impact the institutional environment with respect to policy and regulation. Her recent research also examines the relevance of management science for individuals, organizations, and society at large.

Carrie earned her PhD in Organizations and Management at University of California, Irvine (UCI) and BS in Computation and Neural Systems at California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Prior to entering academia, she worked at City of Hope and published in the biomedical fields.