Dr. Mary Kovarna, RN, EdD, is a Professor and the Head of the BSN Program for the Nylen School of Nursing at Morningside University. She is currently teaching in her 28th year at the university and has been in the nursing profession for 44 years. Her areas of expertise are nursing leadership, management, research, health assessment, and gerontology. Kovarna also serves on the Board of Directors for Sunrise Retirement Community. Mary recently served on the Public Policy Committee for the Iowa Nurses Association for ten years and was the NW Region President of the Iowa Nurses Association for six years. She currently serves as the President of the Theta Gamma Chapter At-large for Sigma, the International Honor Society of Nurses.