Advisory Board: Healthcare Workplace Development

Solving Your Workforce Shortages

Our mission is to help hospitals reduce—or even solve—their workforce shortages. We’re guided in that effort by a group of passionate industry experts and leaders who form our Workforce Advisory Board.

We partner with healthcare facilities to bring education back into care settings through our innovative programs like School-in-a-Box, which allows our partners to customize the university experience to best fit the needs of their employees and community, conveniently in their own facility.

Let our expertise guide your next step in workforce development.

Advisory Board Members

Jim D’Alfonso, RN, DNP, PhD(h), NEA-BC, FNAP, FAAN

Dr. Jim D’Alfonso serves as Executive Director for Professional Excellence with Kaiser Permanente in Northern California and is the Founding Executive Director of the KP Scholars Academy based in Oakland. Jim leads award winning academic partnership and degree programs, nursing research, professional development, and community health outreach programs focused on the future of nursing, mental health, and allied health professions. Dr. D’Alfonso received his Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) with a focus in executive leadership from the University of San Francisco (USF). He received an honorary doctorate in Caring Science (2015) and the distinguished Visionary Caring Science Leadership Award (2019). He is a board-certified nurse executive (NEA-BC), Certified Caritas Coach®, Master HeartMath Executive Trainer (HMET), a Distinguished Fellow of the Nursing Academies of Practice (FNAP), and Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN). He has published extensively and lectured across the US and internationally for over 30 years.

Deirdre M. Baggot, RN, MBA, PhD

Dr. Deirdre Baggot serves as partner with the Oliver Wyman Health & Life Sciences Practice. She specializes in developing strategies to help providers reconceive their business and care models via strategic cost transformation, operating model redesign, human capital planning, and consumer-centric delivery models. She spends a considerable amount of time at the intersection of provider and payers. Dr. Baggot, a former hospital executive, spent 10 years in academic healthcare at both Northwestern Memorial Hospital and The University of Michigan Health System. She holds a PhD from the University of Colorado, an MBA from Quinlan School of Business at Loyola University Chicago, and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), summa cum laude, from Southern Illinois University. In addition, she received a certificate in healthcare executive leadership from The Wharton School and LEAN certification from The University of Michigan. Dr. Baggot and her husband Ted have two children, Harry and Emily, and reside in Denver, Colorado.

Dale Beatty, RN, DNP, PhD

With two decades of experience as a Chief Nursing Officer, Dr. Dale Beatty focuses on ensuring continuous quality of care while fostering a supportive practice environment for nurses, clinicians, and providers. In 2021, Dr. Beatty was recognized in U.S. News & World Report’s Top 15 Hospital Chief Nursing Officers. He was also recognized by the University of Illinois Chicago as a 2021 Outstanding Alumni Achievement Award recipient. He carries extensive experience with ANCC Magnet and the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, a Congressionally-established recognition designed to promote improved quality of goods and services in U.S. companies and organizations. Dr. Beatty earned a Bachelor of Nursing degree from Ohio Wesleyan University, a Master of Nursing Administration degree from DePaul University, and a Doctorate of Nursing Practice from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is board certified as a Nurse Executive Advanced by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, and a Watson Caring Science Institute Caritas Coach.

Dawna L. Cato, BSN, PhD

Dr. Dawna Cato currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Arizona Nurses Association. She draws from experience in the United States and abroad, with 22 years of nursing practice in the U.S. and three years in China. Her impressive nursing background is reinforced with a variety of nursing specialties, including both clinical and leadership roles. She obtained her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and Master’s in the Science of Nursing with a specialization in Nursing Education from Grand Canyon University. In 2013, Dr. Cato received her PhD with a specialization in Nursing Education from Capella University. In 2019, she obtained her certification in Nursing Professional Development.

Sara L. Horton-Deutsch, PhD

Dr. Sara Horton-Deutsch serves as the director of the Kaiser Permanente/USF Partnership where she mentors the next generation of nursing leaders through the lens of Caring Science. Her work in reflective practice is published in two books coedited with Dr. Gwen Sherwood: Reflective Practice: Transforming Education and Improving Outcomes (Sigma Theta Tau International, 2012 & 2017) and Reflective Organizations: On the Front Lines of QSEN & Reflective Practice Implementation (Sigma Theta Tau International, 2015). It was through the iterative process of reflection that Dr. Horton-Deutsch deepened her own work in reflective practice, resulting in the integration of Caring Science. In spring 2018, she co-edited the textbook, Caritas Coaching: A Journey Toward Transpersonal Caring for Informed Moral Action in Healthcare with Dr. Jan Anderson.

Fran Roberts, BSN, PhD

Dr. Fran Roberts is the executive leader of the Fran Roberts Group, a consulting practice providing expertise on healthcare leadership and higher education. Dr. Roberts previously served as Vice President for Strategic Alliances for the DeVry Healthcare Group, Vice President of Strategic Business Alliances for the College of Nursing and Health Sciences at Grand Canyon University, and Executive Director of the Arizona State Board of Nursing. She earned Bachelor of Science degrees in nursing and psychology from Elmhurst College. She later received her Master of Science degree from Arizona State University in community mental health/psychiatric nursing. Dr. Roberts’ Ph.D. in nursing is from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. She serves on the boards of directors of the Health Record Banking Alliance National Advisory Board and the Presbyterian Central New Mexico Health Services Board. Dr. Roberts is a vocal proponent of addressing the nursing shortage and frequently presents on a state and national basis.

Dr. Jean Watson, PhD

Dr. Jean Watson is Distinguished Professor and Dean Emerita, University of Colorado Denver, College of Nursing Anschutz Medical Center. She is founder of the original Center for Human Caring in Colorado, a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, and a past president of the National League for Nursing. In 2013, Dr. Watson was inducted as a Living Legend by the American Academy of Nursing, its highest honor. She is a widely published author and recipient of many national and international awards and honors. She holds 15 Honorary Doctoral Degrees, including 12 International Honorary Doctorates. Dr. Watson’s caring philosophy is used to guide transformative models of caring education and professional caring-healing practices. She is the author/co-author of over 30 books on postmodern philosophies of caring and healing, and received the American Journal of Nursing’s “Book of the Year” award.