President
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Mary Slusser, DNP, MBA, MSHI, RN
Davenport, IA
Mary, a nurse since 2015, has been with Genesis Health System since 2007. With a background in medical-surgical nursing and clinical informatics, she transitioned to nursing informatics in 2017. In this capacity, Mary provides support to various departments, including nursing, quality, care coordination, and regulatory affairs. Her expertise extends to managing technological devices, overseeing project management initiatives, and contributing to nursing education.
Mary's educational journey commenced at Eastern Iowa Community College, where she earned her associate's degree, followed by a bachelor's degree in nursing from St. Ambrose University. She furthered her education by obtaining a Master's of Healthcare Informatics degree from Southern Illinois University. Recently, she accomplished a dual Doctorate in Nursing and Master's of Business Administration in May 2022. Currently serving as the Outpatient Service Manager at Genesis Health System in the Quad Cities Metropolitan Area, Mary brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to this role and her role within ANIA Midwest.
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CJ Wachs, DNP, RN, NI-BC, NE-BC, CPHIMS
South Bend, IN
In 2002, CJ entered the field of nursing informatics and has since undertaken various roles, including education, laboratory information systems analyst, nursing documentation informatics, and director of informatics. CJ holds a Baccalaureate in Nursing from Indiana University – South Bend, a Masters in Nursing Leadership and Management from The George Washington University in D.C. She is certified in nursing informatics, Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, Epic Order and Documentation, and Cerner Core and PowerChart systems.
In 2023, CJ completed her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) through Northern Kentucky University. Currently serving as the IS&T Director of Clinical and Business Informatics at Hennepin Healthcare in Minneapolis, she is eager to contribute to the ANIA Midwest Chapter. CJ enthusiastically plays a role in advancing informatics practice and strengthening connections among nursing informatics professionals.
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Treasurer
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Brittany Brumback, MS, RN
Des Moines, IA
Brittany Brumback, RN brings 13+ years of experience in the health care industry. Brittany is currently an IT Clinical Informaticist Analyst at UnityPoint Health System. Prior to working in Information Technology, Brittany worked as a Pediatric Oncology Nurse at Blank Children's Hospital in Des Moines, IA. She also brings clinical experience in the Home Care, Intensive Care, Transitional Care, and Nursing Home spaces. While at her last position, she found a passion for the ever-changing electronic medical record and improving our charting system. She began using the A3 model and Lean Principle to improve her unit's needs, and she has carried that through to her current role today. In her tenure on the informatics team, helps support CMIOs, Pediatrics, Home Health, and MyChart. She has helped implement 3 new Epic modules (Phoenix, Home Infusion, and Home Health/Hospice), various User Groups, and regional support.
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Secretary
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Holly Pretzman, MSN, RN, CPHIMS
Cadott, WI
Holly received her BSN at Viterbo University, LaCrosse WI in 2007. She has worked in patient care in a cardiac/medical/surgical unit and as an ambulatory nurse in nephrology. From 2011 to present, Holly ventured to work in quality informatics and learned her true passion was for data, analysis, and analytics. She then worked towards her MSN in nursing informatics at Walden University, Minneapolis MN.
Holly currently works as a Senior Informatics Analyst at Mayo Clinic where she supports Mayo Clinic's international sites in quality measurement and reporting, survey and quality data submissions, another other reporting and analytics projects for the Enterprise Advanced Analysis Department.
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Webmaster
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Mary Brown, MSN, RN, NI-BC
Indianapolis, IN
Mary has been a nurse since 1997 and recently celebrated 24 years with IU Health. Her background includes medical surgical and critical care nursing, virtual ICU, and clinical informatics. Currently, Mary serves as the Clinical Informatics Manager for the IU Health Adult Academic Health Center team, comprised of Methodist and University hospitals.
Highlights from Mary's career include working on a universal bed unit, where she started as a medical surgical nurse and grew to critical care and permanent charge nurse. In 2005, she worked on a team to open our virtual ICU (ePartners) which served from 2005-2013 to provide RN and intensivist monitoring and support for critical care and progressive care patients in 5 IU Health facilities. It was in ePartners that she found love for workflows and data, as her organization transitioned with Cerner to develop their virtual ICU platform and implement the APACHE acuity system. She joined clinical informatics in 2014, serving as a clinical informatics coordinator supporting inpatient nursing units, implementation of new Cerner functionality, and governance for EMR requests and enhancements. During the COVID-19 pandemic she has served many different roles, including virtual COVID-19 screening, COVID-19 infusion clinic set-up, and surge planning.
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Mari Akre, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, CPHIMS
Minneapolis, MN
Mari, the System Director Nursing Quality and Informatics at Cayuga Health Systems, brings extensive senior leadership experience in clinical and operational nursing and informatics. She excels in integrating LEAN process improvement, data analytics, evidence-based practice, and clinical workflows with smart health information technologies to support cross-functional teams in achieving operational efficiency, enhanced clinical quality, and heightened patient safety.
With a proven track record of strategic operational accomplishments, Mari has led redesign efforts for care management and utilization management in two health systems. She has also played a crucial role in implementing nursing clinical informatics teams in various integrated health systems, contributing to practice transformation through the adoption of health information technologies and clinical decision support solutions. Mari's educational background includes a nursing baccalaureate from Viterbo University, Masters in Child and Family Development, Masters in Nursing with a Pediatrics and Research emphasis, Doctorate in Child and Family Development, and a Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Nursing Informatics.
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Member at Large
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Allison Archer, MSN, RN, NI-BC
Indianapolis, IN
Allison is a Clinical Informaticist at IU Health, working at multiple hospitals to support clinician use of the EMR. Allison graduated with her BSN from Indiana University Indianapolis in 2012, but her healthcare experience began even prior to that as a Student Nurse Extern at Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health. She planted her roots at Riley and provided care to the pediatric population for almost 9 1/2 years. After becoming a Registered Nurse, she served in various roles such as charge nurse, preceptor, medsurg advisor, and shift coordinator. During that time, Allison obtained her Certification in Pediatric Nursing. Allison completed her MSN in Informatics at Anderson University (Indiana) in 2016 and began her current role in Clinical Informatics in January 2020. She became board certified in Nursing Informatics in 2021.
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Member at Large
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Jessica Cronin, MS, RN, NI-BC
Park Ridge, IL
Bio forthcoming
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Member at Large
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Anna Lorenzetto, MS-CIPCT, BSN, RN
Indianapolis, IN
Anna currently serves as the Chief Nursing Informatics Officer at Community Health Network in Indianapolis, reporting to the Chief Analytics Officer and working in tandem with the System Chief Nurse Executive. In her present capacity, she provides support to all non-provider clinicians, encompassing nursing, therapies, dieticians, case management, and unlicensed clinical staff across both acute and ambulatory settings within the network. Prior to her role at Community Health Network, Anna spent 8 years at Ace Hardware, where she held the position of Director of Administration and Finance for a chain of retail stores. In that capacity, she managed employee benefits, training, inventory control, purchasing, and budgets. Anna holds a Master of Science in Clinical Informatics and Patient-Centered Technologies from the University of Washington-Seattle, along with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a Bachelor of Arts in Telecommunications and Italian from Indiana University. Additionally, she is ITIL and Epic certified, as well as a trained Change Agent.
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Member at Large
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Bre Loughlin, MS, RN
Verona, WI
With over 25 years of healthcare expertise, Bre is dedicated to simplifying complexity and revolutionizing technology to enhance nursing practice. During her tenure as a nurse executive at Epic, she successfully launched five products over eight years, emphasizing nursing innovation, mobile solutions, and behavioral health.
Bre's impactful work extended to addressing urgent healthcare challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Collaborating with the Executive Director of the Washington State Healthcare Authority, she led a swift and focused response to provide telehealth solutions for underserved populations. This experience, along with her innovative approach to connecting nurse volunteers with Porchlight using minimal resources, led to the creation of Nurse Disrupted, LLC. The company's Virtual Volunteer program continues to expand COVID-19 screening to shelters across Wisconsin, offering practical experience for nurses completing post-graduate degrees while employing a blend of compassion, technology, creativity, nursing expertise, and a visionary approach to deliver light, fast, and solution-based healthcare technologies.
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Member at Large
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Connie O'Rourke, MSN, NIRN
Rockford, IL
With over 35 years of healthcare experience, Connie, a Registered Nurse, brings 11 years of diverse bedside nursing expertise, spanning adult medical to women and infant service lines. In 1997, she transitioned to clinical informatics, holding roles such as clinical application analyst, trainer, and project manager, contributing to various hospital and ambulatory clinical information system implementations. Currently, as a Clinical Informatics Nurse at SwedishAmerican in Rockford, Illinois, she also served on the HIMSS Greater Illinois Chapter Board for 2 years, holding key education-focused positions.
Connie's educational background includes a Bachelor's degree in Biology (BS) from Western Illinois University, a Bachelor's degree in Nursing (BSN) from St. Louis University, and a Master's degree in Nursing Informatics (MSN) from the University of Iowa. Board certified in Nursing Informatics by the American Nursing Credentialing Center (ANCC) since August 2014, Connie excels in application build and design, with expertise in healthcare technology software such as Epic, Cerner, McKesson, and Nextgen. She is Epic Certified in ClinDoc, Orders, Clinical Informatics, and Clarity Data Module, and has a proven track record managing IT projects and translating technology solutions for complex clinical workflows, including the development of meaningful healthcare outcomes reports.
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Member at Large
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Wendy Wittwer, MS, RN
Madison, WI
Wendy, a dedicated Nursing Informatics Specialist at UW Health in Madison, WI, brings a wealth of experience and passion to her role. After 13 years as a medical/surgical nurse, Wendy recognized the evolving role of technology in healthcare. This realization prompted her transition into nursing informatics, where she took on the role of project manager for the nation's inaugural medication barcode scanning system in 2000. Since then, she has undertaken various nursing informatics positions, cultivating her innovative spirit and expertise in change management. Wendy has successfully led numerous system-wide projects, committees, and improvement initiatives.
Currently serving on the ANIA - Midwest Region board, Wendy is enthusiastic about identifying opportunities to advance the field of Nursing Informatics. Her focus is not only on promoting the specialty but also on continuous personal and professional growth. Wendy is committed to expanding her nursing informatics and leadership skill set, knowledge base, and professional network. Through her involvement in the nursing community, she feels a strong connection and a sense of purpose.
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Immediate Past
President
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Bonnie Norris, MS, RN, NI-BC, CPHIMS
Rochester MN
With more than 25 years of nursing experience, Bonnie has found joy in every nursing role she has undertaken. Her diverse background includes work in medical, cardiac, and intensive care settings, as well as chronic condition management. While exploring a position in quality, Bonnie discovered the excellent synergy between nursing informatics and quality, leading her to pursue a post-masters nursing informatics certification. She values her certification as a certified informatics nurse from ANCC and also holds the Certified Professional in Health Information and Management Systems (CPHIMS) credential.
Currently serving as a Quality Senior Informatics Analyst at Mayo Clinic, Bonnie plays a crucial role in supporting advanced data needs for the Quality Systems & Submissions department. Her journey reflects a commitment to both quality and informatics within the dynamic field of nursing.
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Past President
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Janis Watts, DNP, RN, NE-BC
Key West, FL
Currently residing in Florida, Janis serves as faculty at Galen College of Nursing in Tampa. With 27 years of experience at Indiana University Health, she held various operational and informatics roles before her move. During her tenure, Janis was instrumental in project governance, management, clinical implementation, education, and helming a clinical helpdesk. She played a key role in numerous nursing-related clinical implementation projects. Janis holds a DNP in Healthcare Leadership from Chamberlain University and is certified as a nurse executive.
Janis's most cherished roles included serving as a clinical information systems liaison, where she initiated an informatics program at a new facility, successfully bringing up 82 applications on the same day. Another favorite experience was being the Magnet Program Director for the same facility a decade later, both of which were exceptionally rewarding.
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