TraumaCon 2026 - Bios

Zakk Arciaga is the Assistant Director of Trauma Surgery and Trauma Program Manager at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. He oversees trauma operations, performance improvement, registry quality, injury prevention, and the Break the Cycle Health System-Based Violence Intervention Program across the Johns Hopkins Health System.

Zakk serves in multiple statewide leadership roles with Maryland: Chair of Maryland Trauma Quality Improvement Program, Legislative Chair of Maryland's TraumaNET, and collaborates nationally and internationally on initiatives advancing trauma systems, data-driven care, and trauma survivorship. His work focuses on strengthening trauma readiness, improving patient outcomes, and integrating trauma-informed approaches across the continuum of care.

Kristin M. Bradley-Selway is an emergency and trauma nurse, family nurse practitioner, former ED director, nurse leader, and academic educator. She specializes in evidence-based initiatives to support healthcare professionals, including interventions addressing moral injury and clinician well-being. Kristin integrates clinical expertise, leadership, and scholarly inquiry into teaching, mentorship, and academic practice. Her work bridges clinical care, administration, academia, and research, translating evidence into sustainable improvements in trauma care.

Dr. Cutugno has more than 40 years of critical care & emergency nursing experience in staff, education & administrative positions in large medical centers in NYC and NJ. She is currently an adjunct faculty member in Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing’s Advanced Practice Nursing program where she teaches Graduate Pathophysiology and an annual graduate Trauma Nursing elective. She has published several critical care and trauma journal articles and has given presentations at local and national nursing conferences.

Nurse for over 20 years, with experience in Trauma Care, Health Management, and Nursing and Medical Education, working mainly in Emergency Departments and Emergency Medical Services, providing care and developing management activities including training and trauma centers organization. Consultant in Development and Management of Trauma Services/Systems and Coordinator at All Trauma Company.

Evan Edminster is a nationally recognized trauma and emergency care expert with 30 years of experience spanning military aeromedical evacuation, prehospital critical care, firefighting, flight nursing, emergency nursing, and trauma system leadership. He began his career in the U.S. Air Force as a Flight Medic and Flight Nurse, later serving with CALSTAR and as an engineer/paramedic in California fire service before transitioning into national trauma and nursing leadership roles. He holds a BSN from Pacific Lutheran University and an MSN from the University of San Francisco, along with numerous advanced certifications. He currently serves as senior clinical practice nurse manager for Trauma Education, Injury Prevention, and Outreach at Kaiser Vacaville Medical Center, Solano County’s only ACS-verified Level II Trauma Center, and has received multiple national awards for excellence and innovation in trauma care

Mr. Guarino, BSN, EMT-P, has worked in various facets of Trauma, including E.M.S., Emergency Medicine, and Critical Care nursing for the last 40 years. He currently serves as the Trauma Educator and Quality Improvement Coordinator for a Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center, where he provides education on pediatric trauma care and coordinates quality improvement initiatives.

Grace Harvey is the Trauma Program Social Worker, Trauma Survivors Network Coordinator, and primary mental health provider for the INTEGRIS Health Level II Trauma Center in Oklahoma City. She earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Oklahoma Baptist University and her Master of Social Work from the University of Oklahoma. Her career spans diverse healthcare and nonprofit settings where she has focused on providing high-quality therapeutic care to vulnerable populations. Grace played an integral role in the opening of the INTEGRIS Health Trauma Center and is committed to advancing and standardizing mental health interventions within trauma care.

Darrell L. Hunt was named the Trauma Medical Director of TriStar Skyline Medical Center in Nashville, TN in February of 2021 and the Division Trauma Medical Director for the TriStar Division of Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) in 2022. He is also the program director for the TriStar/Nashville surgical critical care fellowship, which started in 2023. Dr. Hunt completed medical school at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He then completed his residency in General Surgery, PhD in molecular cell biology, and fellowship in surgical critical care at the University of Florida in Gainesville. In his free time, Dr. Hunt enjoys traveling with his wife and two children.

Wendy Hyatt is a Trauma Program Manager with 15 years of emergency nursing experience and over a decade in trauma performance improvement. Her professional interests include geriatric trauma, fall prevention and system level quality improvement.

Emily Kesner is a nurse leader with extensive experience in pediatric emergency and hospital administration. She earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice in Health Systems Leadership (2025) and Master of Science in Nursing Administration (2023) from Mount St. Joseph University. Throughout her career at Dayton Children’s Hospital, she has held various roles, including emergency department staff nurse, clinical logistics coordinator, administrative supervisor, assistant nurse manager, and research and quality improvement specialist. Emily’s academic and research interests focus on advancing pediatric emergency care and leadership development. She has published on the implementation of low-titer whole blood in pediatric hospitals and has presented her work at national and regional conferences, including the Trauma Quality Improvement Program Conference. In recognition of her leadership and contributions, she has received multiple awards, including the OONL Aspiring Nurse Leader Award (2023) and the MSJ Leader in Nursing Award (2024). Beyond her professional roles, Emily serves her community through board positions with local organizations and advocacy initiatives, reflecting her passion for children and her commitment to both patient care and the advancement of nursing practice.

Mary Maginas is the Trauma Program Manager at Rady Children's Health of Orange County. Mary holds over a decade of experience working as a Pediatric Neurosurgery Nurse Practitioner and Trauma Nurse Practitioner at a Level 1 Trauma Center. She is the Co-Chair of the American Pediatric Surgical Nurses Association Trauma SIG, a member of the Pediatric Trauma Society Advanced Practice Committee, and a TNCC instructor.

Ray served as the 13th State Fire Marshal in Iowa and has led a state-wide smoke alarm installation program in Iowa that not only saw the installation of 60,000 smoke alarms but documented 731 lives saved. His passion for preventing tragedy from fire makes him a community risk reduction leader in the U.S. Ray currently serves as the HOT working group leader for the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) as a board member for the Fire and Life Safety Section (FLSS). His goal is to eradicate home oxygen fires using engineered solutions to save lives and protect firefighters from the tragedies associated with these fires.

Nurse with 20 years of experience in different areas of healthcare, including emergency and trauma care, continuity of care in a referral inpatient unit for trauma patients, healthcare management, and trauma education for nurses. Currently, she is a nursing supervisor in surgical inpatient units that receive post-traumatic patients and has managed fall incidents at the institution for over 5 years. She earned her bachelor's degree in Nursing from the Faculty of Medical Sciences of Santa Casa de São Paulo and her Master of Science from the University of São Paulo. She is dedicated to research in the field of nursing, including evidence-based practices, which also includes improving trauma care and patient outcomes.

Kim Smith is the Trauma Education Coordinator at Northside Hospital Gwinnett, a Level II Trauma Center, and practices part-time as a Nurse Practitioner in the Emergency Department. With 40 years of nursing experience, including service as an ED Clinical Specialist, she provides leadership in trauma education, competency development, and workforce readiness. Her work includes trauma policy development, clinical product implementation, and leadership of advanced trauma initiatives to support standardized, high-reliability trauma care.

Haley Strebler is the Administrative Supervisor for the Trauma Training Institute, Injury Prevention, and Trauma Outreach programs at SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital. Her clinical background began as a Certified Athletic Trainer providing sports medicine services for the five years of her career. Following nursing school, she has spent her entire 11-year nursing career in trauma, starting as a Trauma ICU nurse before transitioning into her current leadership role.

Ryan Toriello is a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) working as a Nursing Professional Development Specialist (NPDS) at Stanford Emergency Department; he leads high-fidelity initiatives in trauma training, interdisciplinary in-situ trauma simulations, TNCC training, and ultrasound-guided vascular access courses.

Dr. Melissa Wholeben is an Associate Professor of Nursing specializing in trauma-informed care and emergency nursing. Her research advances strategies for improving trauma care, including interventions for interpersonal violence survivors, forensic evidence collection, and culturally informed approaches to reduce health disparities. She has led and collaborated on NIH-funded and foundation-supported projects that evaluate trauma-informed practices and develop training for emergency department nurses. Through her publications and funded research, Dr. Wholeben contributes to evidence-based improvements in trauma care delivery and patient outcomes.