Sep. 17 - Sep. 19, 2025
1:00 PM - 12:00 PM
Ingleside Hotel
Pewaukee, WI
Heavy Appetizers, Cash Bar
Dennise Lavrenz, MBA, RN, CENP
WONL President
RaDonda Vaught will share her profoundly personal story. Ms. Vaught’s case made headlines in March 2022 when a jury found her guilty of criminally negligent homicide and gross neglect of an impaired adult in the death of a patient to whom she accidentally gave the wrong medication. She will speak firsthand on the impact this sentinel event has had on her life and her profession, along with the implications of the legal actions that followed. A passionate advocate for safety and improvement, her story will be one that is not easily forgotten.
RaDonda Vaught
In this session, Deb Zimmermann, President of the American Organization for Nursing Leadership and CEO of The DAISY Foundation, will explore how nurse leaders make a lasting difference within their organizations, across the profession, and in the lives of those they serve. Drawing on national insights and frontline experiences, she will highlight how purposeful leadership grounded in compassion, connection, and courage fuels innovation, drives outcomes, and shapes the future of healthcare. Attendees will leave with renewed inspiration and practical strategies to lead with meaning and make what matters most truly visible.
Learning Objectives
1. Describe how nurse leaders can leverage purpose-driven leadership to influence outcomes, inspire teams, and shape organizational culture.
2. Identify strategies that strengthen human connection, recognition, and visibility of nursing’s impact across healthcare systems.
Deb Zimmerman, DNP, RN, NEA-BC,FAAN
AONL President, CEO Daisy Award
Busniess Meeting: 12:00 - 1:00PM
Visit Exhibitors and Posters
Hear up-to-date information on workforce trends and policy challenges facing Wisconsin hospitals, health systems and health care organizations. Attendees will come away with a better understanding of workforce, regulatory and legislative issues that impact nurses, nursing practice and nurse leaders; and recommendations to improve our state’s health care workforce.
Ann Zenk, RN, BSN, MHA
Sr. Vice President Workforce and Clinical Practice, WHA
The healthcare industry is rich with innovative solutions and presents exciting opportunities to enhance implementation and adoption approaches. Often the key to success isn’t related to technology, but to compelling narratives that inspire nursing teams to act. This presentation provides a roadmap for leveraging nursing leadership to drive meaningful change through strategic storytelling to implement and scale nurse-driven programs across multiple hospital settings and foster sustainable improvements through proven change management principles.
Christine Gall, DrPH, MS, BSN
Chief Nursing Officer, Collette Health
This session is designed to facilitate a framework that enables organizational leaders to obtain, sustain or accelerate organizational peak performance. We know that when we operate at peak performance, we can create exceptional operational results. Evidence-Based LeadershipSM offers tools and tactics that, when maximized by leadership, can drive results in your organization and set you up to create a sound future.
Learning Objectives
• Be able to describe the foundations of Evidence-Based Leadership℠, a model to help you achieve peak organizational performance.
• Be able to discuss at least three strategies to improve accountability in your organization’s AIDET® tool on the provider level.
Jackie Gaines, M.S., R.N.
Huron Group
Presentation of the WONL Nurse Leader of the Year awards
April Hansen, MSN,RN
Through time, different generations have experienced traumatic national events as well as personal stories that shaped them. Today is no different. This talk enlightens the audience on how these unique stories, both those experienced publicly as well as privately, shape individuals of all generations. This knowledge and understanding helps individuals in the organization gain sympathy and empathy for each other, which helps create a healthier culture, a greater sense of teamwork, and ultimately a more successful and resilient organization.
Amelie Karam
Raffles and Silent Auction
Collette Health, Chief Nursing Officer
Dr. Christine Gall DrPH, MS, BSN is a distinguished healthcare visionary with over three decades of See more
Principal, National Speaker, Best-selling Author, and Executive Leadership Coach; Speaker, Huron Group
Jackie Gaines, M.S., R.N., is a high-performing senior executive, national speaker, and See more
Speaker
As Group President of Aya Healthcare, April led the company to an unprecedented See more
Speaker
After studying at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Richmond University in London, and finishing her See more
Keynote Speaker
RaDonda Vaught was the subject of one of the highest profile healthcare criminal cases in recent years. See more
WONL President
Dennise Lavrenz has been an active member of AONL/WONL for the past 15 years and a board member for the See more
AONL President, Chief Executive Officer for the DAISY Foundation
Deb Zimmermann is the Chief Executive Officer for the DAISY Foundation, the worldwide leader in See more
Sr. Vice President of Workforce and Clinical Practice, Wisconsin Hospital Association
Ann has served the Wisconsin Hospital Association as Vice President of Workforce and Clinical Practice since June 2017. As a member of See more