Carruth currently serves as the Director of Obstetrics and Surgical Services at Lane Regional Medical Center. She focuses on developing staff nurses into strong leaders by cultivating, coaching and mentoring them. She encourages professional development through continuing education and involvement in quality initiatives. She is committed to moving nursing forward through her own personal development, mentorships, and implementation of best practice and evidence-based nursing protocols.
 

Carruth holds an Associate Degree in Nursing from Southwest Mississippi Community College and plans to reenter academia in fall 2019 to pursue her BSN-MSN.

Dees currently serves as the Clinic Nurse Manger for the two rural health clinics in the Hardtner Medical Center System in Olla, Louisiana, where he supervises 40 staff members for 10 primary care providers and 17 specialty providers.  Since taking this position in 2015, Dees has assisted these rural health clinics in successfully completing multiple state and federal surveys with no discrepancies or citations being noted.
 

Prior to earning his associate degree in nursing from LSU-Alexandria, Dees served in the U.S. Marine Corps and worked in the telecommunications industry as a field engineer. Dees began his career as a nursing working for the CHRISTUS Health System and joined the Hardtner Medical Center System in 2012.

Graugnard is the Regional Nurse Manager for the Capitol Region within the Louisiana Department of Health, Office of Public Health (OPH).  She joined OPH in 2007 and has remained in the public health field since then.
 

Graugnard received her BSN in 2003 from the University of Louisiana at Monroe and her Master’s from the University of Phoenix in 2011. She is the 2018 Nurse of the Year for Region 2, a member of the Louisiana State Nurses Association (Baton Rouge District), and serves as the Nursing Committee Chair with the Louisiana Public Health Association. She also serves on other taskforces, such as the Region 2 STD Taskforce and the Ending the HIV Epidemic Commission.

Leonhard currently serves as Department Head of Emergency Services at St. Tammany Parish Hospital in Covington, LA. In this position, he is responsible for the operational, fiscal, and clinical managerial direction of the hospital’s emergency department. His nursing experience includes supervisory and staff positions at Interim LSU hospital Emergency Department and St. Tammany Hospital.
 

Leonahard earned his ADN from Delgado Charity School of Nursing in 2012 and a BSN from University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 2017.

Power began her nursing career as a graduate of Charity Hospital School of Nursing. She earned a BSN from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and an MSN in Executive Leadership from Benedictine University in Lisle, Illinois.
 

Power has worked as a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner since 1982 and in 1983 earned certification as a Nationally Certified Neonatal Nurse Practitioner. She continues to teach, mentor and lead, and is determined to ‘positively influence other nurses as I deliver care to the tiniest of patients and their families.’

Wynn currently works for Ochsner Health System as RN Operations Supervisor Coordinator of Cardiology. Her stated goal is to educate communities while teaching self-management and disease prevention to vulnerable populations. 
 

Wynn previously worked in disease management. She believes it is important to take time to communicate with patients and that looking at patients holistically is key to making a difference in their lives. 
 

Wynn obtained her Masters of Nursing in Administration in 2012. She will use the skills gained through LAC’s Nurse Leader Institute and Nurse Leader Mentorship Program in her new role as vice president of the Baton Rouge District Nurses Association.

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