2026 - Speakers and Planning Committee

Will Berry, FP-C

Flight Paramedic UNC Carolina Air Care

Brooke Brewer, RN, BSN, MS, CIC

Program Manager, Infection Prevention
UNC Health

Brooke Brewer is the Program Manager for UNC Hospitals’ Special Pathogen Response Center (SPARC) at UNC Health. Over her 18-year career as a registered nurse, Brooke has built a diverse background spanning critical care, nursing leadership, and infection prevention. She is passionate about advancing infection prevention practices and strengthening preparedness for high-consequence infectious diseases.

R. Andrew Campbell, MD

Dr. Campbell graduated from Auburn University with a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry. He earned his medical doctorate from the University of Alabama School of Medicine and completed his Internal Medicine and Pediatric residency at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Campbell is board-certified in Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, and Pediatric Hospital Medicine. He serves as the medical director for the UNC Hospital’s Beacon program, children’s services. Dr. Campbell is committed to serving children and families who have experienced abuse and neglect.

Nadia D. Charguia, MD

Executive Director of Well-Being for UNC Health
UNC SOM/Associate Professor

Brad Lawson, A.A.S., NRP

Founder

Brad Lawson is a Nationally Registered Paramedic, educator, and the founder of PIERCE Provisions and The PIERCE Foundation: Two missions born from one powerful purpose: to equip the heroes who serve others, and to support those who are struggling in silence.

After years on the ambulance and in the classroom, Brad hit a breaking point. Like so many first responders, he had spent his career saving others while losing himself in the process. But through that pain came purpose. His fight to rebuild his life led to the creation of The PIERCE Foundation, a nonprofit devoted to helping first responders find hope, resources, and community when they need it most.

He’s also the author of Dancing with Darkness: A First Responder’s Fight for Light — a raw and deeply personal look at what it means to hit rock bottom and rise again with purpose.

Today, through his presentation “Saving Ourselves: Rising from the Darkness,” Brad delivers an honest, heartfelt, and sometimes uncomfortable conversation about the reality of mental wellness in our world. His message challenges the old idea of “just suck it up” and replaces it with truth, accountability, and hope, reminding every responder that the hardest rescue you’ll ever make is your own.

Ashley Nicole Levine, MD, MBA

Burn & Trauma Surgeon
UNC Department of Surgery

Ashley Manlove, DMD, MD, FACS

Oral and Craniomaxillofacial Surgeon, Residency Program Director
University of North Carolina

Dr. Manlove is a Clinical Associate Professor and Residency Program Director of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the University of North Carolina Adams School of Dentistry where she is also an active member of the Cleft and Craniofacial Team. Prior to her role at UNC, Dr. Manlove spent eight years at Carle Foundation Hospital as the Residency Program Director and Medical Director of the Cleft Team. With a specialized focus in pediatric cleft and craniofacial surgery, Dr. Manlove has dedicated her career to resident education and the multidisciplinary care of children with congenital and acquired complex craniofacial conditions. Dr. Manlove obtained her dental degree from Harvard School of Dental Medicine and her medical degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, followed by residency training at University Hospitals – Case Medical Center. Her commitment to pediatric care led her to pursue fellowship training in Pediatric Craniomaxillofacial Surgery at Wolfson Children’s Hospital, Jacksonville, Florida. As Residency Director and active member of the Cleft and Craniofacial Team, Dr. Manlove is passionate about cultivating a positive atmosphere for resident education while maintaining the highest standards and improving the lives of patients and families with craniofacial anomalies.

Joe Fernandez-Moure, MD MS

Associate Professor of Surgery, Medical Director Duke Thoracic Injury Program,
Duke University

Johanna Quist Nelson, MD

Associate Professor, Maternal Fetal Medicine, Medical Director, Maternal Fetal Medicine Raleigh, Medical Director, Women’s Heart and Heath Clinic
UNC School of Medicine

Dr. Quist-Nelson graduated from Occidental College with a bachelor’s degree in Biology. She earned her medical doctorate from University of Southern California and completed her Obstetrics and Gynecology residency at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. She remained at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital to continue her training in Maternal-Fetal Medicine. Dr Quist-Nelson is board-certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology and in Maternal-Fetal Medicine and leads cardio-obstetrics at UNC. She has multiple research interests including cardiac disease in pregnancy, preeclampsia, and how quality-improvement measures can affect the labor experience. Dr Quist-Nelson is committed to reducing disparities while providing patient-centered care during routine and complex pregnancies to those throughout North Carolina.

Maglin Halsey Nichols, MD

Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine
UNC School of Medicine

Major Ihor Palii, MD, PhD

Orthopaedic surgeon/Combustiologist
Ukrainian Military Medical Academy

Major Ihor Palii, MD, PhD is an orthopedic trauma and burn surgeon with the Ukrainian Military Medical Academy in Kyiv and a lecturer in the Department of Military Surgery. He previously served as Head of the Surgical Department at Zaporizhzhia Military Hospital as well as service with the Ukrainian contingent in the UN Peacekeeping Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Dr. Palii earned his PhD in 2025 with a dissertation focused on the surgical management of gunshot fractures of long bones in combined thermomechanical combat trauma, and holds advanced specialization in orthopedics, traumatology, burn surgery, and plastic surgery. An active national and international speaker on combat trauma care, he is dedicated to advancing multidisciplinary treatment approaches for complex battlefield injuries and is actively involved in research on combined cold and combat-related limb trauma.

James Phipps, FP-C, CCEMTP, NRP

Flight Paramedic
UNC Carolina Air Care

James Phipps, FP-C, CCEMTP, NRP Jim Phipps is a veteran Flight Paramedic with UNC Carolina Air Care with over 30 years of experience in the air medical community. He has flown with the University of Maryland, Johns Hopkins Hospital and the US Army as a transport clinician and trainer over the course of his long career. As an industry educator, Jim is a sought-after speaker at regional, national and international conferences for a wide range of topics including mechanical ventilation, air medical resource management, and flight crew development. Through his work with the ECHO organization, Jim helped to establish the Future Flight Crew Program, a training pipeline for clinicians who want to join the air medical community. During his 2005 deployment to Iraq as an Army flight medic, Jim co-authored and implemented the Flight Nurse Initial Training Standards Course, which would later be used to establish the current Army Flight Nurse Program. It was during this deployment where Jim developed the extensive experience with hemorrhage control he would need to draw on for the patient he is speaking about today.

Stephen Scott, DNP, RN, AGACNP-BC, FAWM

Nurse Practitioner
UNC Department of Orthopaedics

Alyssa Spence

Interim Director/Associate Director – Agromedicine Extension Specialist
NC Agromedicine Institute East Carolina University

Jaclyn Portelli Tremont, MD MPH

Trauma/Surgical Critical Care, Assistant Professor, Associate Trauma Medical Director
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Todd Williams, MMS, PA-C, FAWM

UNC Orthopaedic Physician Assistant
UNC Department of Orthopaedics

Kelli Wolf, CCRN, CFRN

Flight Nurse, UNC Carolina Air Care
Carolina Air Care