Curt Merriman BA RRT CPFT
Burnsville, MN
Curt Merriman is an owner and Vice President of Marketing and Sales at C.O.R.E. Respiratory Services. He continues to provide care as a registered respiratory therapist in acute care and diagnostic testing in Pulmonary Diagnostic Labs. Mr. Merriman is serving as the Project Manager for the spirometry portion of an AARC Ascent COPD Study. His 35 year career includes management of respiratory care, sleep labs, cardiology and the HME industry. He has served in many volunteer capacities with the MN Society for Respiratory Care and AARC throughout his career.
Karen Gregory DNP RRT AE-C
Oklahoma City, OK
Karen Gregory is a pulmonary disease management specialist and Board Certified acute care clinical nurse specialist at the Oklahoma Allergy and Asthma Clinic in Oklahoma City, OK. She is also an Assistant Professor at Georgetown University. An advanced practice nurse, she diagnoses, manages, and treats patients with lung disease. Karen is experienced in intensive care, emergency care, inpatient and outpatient pulmonary rehabilitation, pulmonary disease management, and asthma services.
Krystal Craddock BS RRT-NPS CCM
Elk Grove, CA
Krystal Craddock is an RRT COPD Case Manager and Pulmonary Clinic Case Manager at UC Davis Medical Center. She has been working as an RRT COPD Case Manager for four years and became a Certified Case Manager through The Commission for Case Manager Certification (CCMC) in 2014. The COPD Case Management Team at UC Davis has shown that RRT's perform a vital role in a managed care model by improving patient education and facilitating healthcare navigation and utilization to achieve better outcomes and cost savings.
Mark Yoder MD MS
Chicago, IL
Mark Yoder is an associate professor of pulmonary and critical care medicine at Rush University in Chicago, IL. Dr. Yoder is board certified in pulmonary medicine, critical care medicine, and internal medicine. His research interests include idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis clinical trials, interstitial lung disease biomarkers, and postoperative pulmonary complications.
Sarah Varekojis PhD RRT
Columbus, OH
Dr. Sarah Varekojis is an assistant professor and the director of clinical education in the respiratory therapy program at The Ohio State University. Her primary research interests are related to teaching and learning in respiratory therapy. She has recently conducted and published research related to peer teaching, new employee orientation, service-learning, and preceptor training. She is currently working with several other faculty in the School to collect data related to the development of professional attributes in students, and she plans to continue to pursue research related to inter-rater reliability of preceptor training and peer evaluation.
Shawna Strickland PhD RRT-NPS FAARC
Irving, TX
Dr. Shawna Strickland is the Associate Education Director-Education at the American Association for Respiratory Care. Prior to joining the AARC, Dr. Strickland spent 12 years as a respiratory care educator in colleges and universities in Illinois and Missouri. Her clinical background includes critical care across the age spectrum and high-risk transport. Dr. Strickland has clinical ethics consultation experience and continues to serve as a Center for Health Ethics Scholar for the University of Missouri School of Medicine.
Tim Myers MBA RRT FAARC
Irving, TX
Timothy Myers is the Associate Executive Director-Brands Management at the American Association for Respiratory Care. He is a graduate of Lake Erie College Parker MBA Program and The Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Respiratory Care. Previously, Mr. Myers served as AARC President for 2009-2010 and was appointed as a Trustee of the American Respiratory Care Foundation (ARCF) in 2010.
Tonya Winders MBA
McLean, VA
Tonya Winders is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Allergy & Asthma Network, the leading patient advocacy organization dedicated to ending the needless death and suffering due to asthma, allergies, and related conditions. Tonya has worked closely with the leadership of the ACAAI & AAAAI to address challenges currently facing the integrity of allergy and asthma care throughout the US while spreading awareness and preparedness messages to patients and caregivers.
Trina Limberg BS RRT FAARC MAACVPR
San Diego, CA
Trina is the Director for the Preventative Pulmonary and Rehabilitation Department for UC San Diego Health System. As a respiratory therapist, she has been working and practicing in the field of pulmonary rehabilitation for more than 30 years. She has been awarded distinguished service awards and a Master credential from the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation and fellowship from the American Association of Respiratory Care. She has served as a committee member and officer to state and national professional organizations for over 25 years. She has contributed to research in pulmonary rehabilitation and provided numerous training sessions for healthcare professionals.