Our nurse educator team regularly talks about the people whose work is shaping how they think about nursing education. We kept hearing the same names come up: the innovators they're learning from, the researchers they're following, the nursing voices they wish more people knew about.

So we asked: Who should everyone in nursing education be paying attention to right now?

The answer: these ten people.

They're building AI systems that actually work in clinical settings. Running simulation programs that set the standard. Creating national infrastructure for nurse innovators. Researching VR's impact with real data. Fighting to get nursing the recognition it deserves. Redefining what's possible in faculty development, equity work, and interprofessional education.

We're excited to spotlight them, and we think you'll want to follow their work, too.

Dr. Dan Weberg, PhD, MHI, RN, FAAN

National Executive Director, Kaiser Permanente | Owner, DrNurseDan. com

Dr. Weberg tells nursing education what it needs to hear: this is your "Blockbuster moment" - adapt or risk becoming obsolete. He's led innovation across 60,000 nurses at Kaiser, was founding faculty for Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine, and literally wrote the textbooks on innovation leadership. When he says technology isn't optional anymore, programs listen.

Marion Leary, PhD, MPH, RN

Director of Innovation, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing

Dr. Leary is building the infrastructure that nursing innovation needs. As Co-President of Nursing is STEM, they're leading the fight to get nursing recognized as the science field it's always been. She also leads the J&J-supported Nurse Innovation Fellowship and co-founded SONSIEL. Dr. Leary is laying the groundwork that turns nurse innovators into leaders.

Kellie Bryant, DNP, WHNP, CHSE, FSSH, FADLN, FAAN

Director, NLN Center for Innovation in Education Excellence

Dr. Bryant is shaping nursing education from the inside out. At the National League for Nursing, she's building the faculty development resources and simulation products that programs across the country rely on. She's also a leading voice on AI integration and using simulation to create equitable pathways into nursing for historically marginalized students.

Maxim (Max) Topaz PhD, RN, MA, FAAN, FIAHSI, FACMI

Associate Professor, Columbia School of Nursing & Data Science Institute

Dr. Topaz is a nursing scientist turned AI builder, deploying real systems to change practice. His NurseAssist-AI cut documentation time by 50%, and his JAMA-published algorithm flags stigmatizing language in patient records. A contributor to the NLN's Vision Statement on AI in Nursing Education, he's helping chart the roadmap for the present and future.

Dayna Downing, MBA, MHA, FSSH

Senior Director of Immersive Design Systems, Boston Children's Hospital

Dayna leads a 30+ person team using every simulation modality you can imagine to solve complex patient safety and system issues. She's also the Editor in Chief of the Healthcare Simulation Dictionary and helped develop the Healthcare Simulationist Code of Ethics, literally defining the language and standards of the field.

Elizabeth Robison, EdD, RN, MSN, CNE, CHSE-A

Founder, Robison Consulting | Host, Multiple Podcasts

Dr. Robison is having the conversations nursing education needs right now, especially about AI. Through her podcasts, she's unpacking how emerging technology is transforming teaching and learning in real time. With over 40 years spanning Air Force nursing, simulation leadership, and tenured faculty work, she retired twice - and came back because the work isn't done yet.

Danielle McCamey, DNP, ACNP-BC, FAAN, FAANP, FCCP, FADLN

Associate Dean for Clinical Partnerships & Innovation, University of Maryland School of Nursing

Dr. McCamey saw a gap and built a bridge. As founder of DNPs of Color, she created a national network for mentorship and advocacy that's actively increasing diversity in doctoral nursing. As Associate Dean, she's connecting academic nursing with clinical innovation. She's proof that transformational change requires building new systems.

Matthew Needler (BA, CHSE, CHSOS)

Director of Operations, Center for Interprofessional Engagement & Simulation, Belmont University

Matthew orchestrates simulation across many healthcare disciplines from medicine and nursing to social work and public health. A former combat medic who came up through the sim center ranks (tech to educator to director), he brings both operational expertise and real-world perspective to building interprofessional learning experiences that actually work.

Tiffani Chidume, DNP, RN, CHSE-A, CHSOS

Associate Clinical Professor & EAGLES Center Coordinator, Auburn University College of Nursing

Dr. Chidume is dual-certified in both simulation education and operations, and she's pushing VR simulation forward. Her study on using VR for mental health nursing education showed 90% of students valued the debriefing experience and significant gains in confidence and clinical judgment. With presentations at IMSH 2026, she's shaping the practice of simulation.

Sarah Beebe, PhD, APRN, CHSE, CLSSGB

President & CEO, Two Bees Consulting

Dr. Beebe took a fully accredited simulation center she built in under three years and walked away to expand her impact beyond a single institution. Now she's helping programs across the globe achieve SSH accreditation and use translational simulation to fix clinical systems, not just teach skills. She's proof that innovation and sustainability can coexist.