Andrea Benin, MD is the Branch Chief of the Surveillance Branch in the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, National Center for Emerging Zoonotic and Infectious Diseases. In this position, Dr. Benin has a leadership role in the National Healthcare Safety Network, the nation’s largest, most widely used online surveillance system for tracking healthcare-associated infections.
Dr. Benin is a pediatrician with background and training in informatics, public health, epidemiology, and infectious diseases. Dr. Benin is also an expert in quality and safety in healthcare and has expertise in developing, validating, and measuring metrics of quality of care. In her prior position (2012-2018), as Senior Vice-President, Quality and Patient-Safety for the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, Dr. Benin drove the agenda and activities to provide the safest, highest quality, zero-harm care for patients of the free-standing children’s hospital. Previously (2006-2012), she was System Executive Director, Performance Management for the Yale New Haven Health System and Quality and Safety Officer, Yale- New Haven Children’s Hospital in New Haven, Connecticut. In that role, she oversaw the quality and safety activities for the multiple-hospital Yale New Haven Health System as well as for the Children’sHospital.
Dr. Benin received her A.B. from Dartmouth College and her medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine. In addition to training in Pediatrics (Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center) and in the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program (Yale University School of Medicine), Dr. Benin completed fellowships and board certification in Pediatric Infectious Diseases (Yale University School of Medicine) and Medical Informatics (Yale University School of Medicine). Dr. Benin is Visiting Faculty at the Yale Center for Medical Informatics, Yale University.

Henrietta Smith is a Nurse Infection Preventionist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (DHQP) Surveillance Branch (SB) where she is the Team Lead for the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) Protocol and Training Team. She provides oversight for the NHSN Patient Safety Component, Outpatient Procedure Component, and Neonatal Component protocols and training for these components. Additionally, she serves as the subject matter expert for the operative procedure codes, which are included in the NHSN Surgical Site Infection surveillance protocols. She is Certified in Infection Control (CIC) and has over 30 years of experience in the healthcare industry with 37 years in infection prevention and control. Her experience in the healthcare industry includes work in a large teaching hospital, a community hospital, a long-term acute care facility, and corporate/federal public health. She has a Bachelor of Science in Medical Technology from Louisiana State University, a bachelor of science in Nursing from Emory University and a master of science in Nursing, Advanced Care Management and Leadership from Kennesaw State University. She has a Certificate for Design Thinking for Strategic Innovation Program from Stanford University Center for Professional Development.

Toni L Brown Ector is a Health Educator for the National Healthcare Safety Network in the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion. In this role, she assists with the development and coordination of education and training activities, including webinar events and self-paced computer-based training materials, for NHSN users. She also assists NHSN users with their training needs and inquiries through monitoring the NHSN training mailbox. Toni has a Master of Education in Instructional Technology from University of West Georgia and a Master of Science in Human Resource Development. She has 25 years of experience training and development communications.

Kristina Betz MD, PhD is a physician and the Measure Development and Validation Unit Lead for Surveillance Branch/National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) in the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion at CDC. She completed her PhD at the University of Cincinnati in Immunology and completed her Pediatrics residency at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. As part of Surveillance Branch, she has a key role in NHSN's transition to new data interoperability standards and has specifically worked on the development of several new digital quality measures including Healthcare-facility onset, antibiotic-treated Clostridioides difficile Infection, Healthcare-onset Bacteremia and fungemia, and Respiratory Pathogen Surveillance, and oversees validation studies for NHSN.

Dr. Dantes provides subject matter expertise to the CDC on hospital-based digital quality measures and sepsis. Dr. Dantes is also a practicing hospitalist at Emory University Hospital.

Chief Health Scientist with Lantana Consulting Group, Inc. Dr Shehab has over 15 years’ experience in adverse drug event (ADE) surveillance as well as other medication and patient safety issues. At Lantana, Dr. Shehab leads and supports multiple projects related to improving healthcare delivery, quality reporting, and public health through electronic data exchange. Prior to Lantana, she was a senior scientist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (DHQP), providing leadership in national public health surveillance for healthcare-related harm, identifying and implementing national policy directions for high-priority CDC medication safety issues, and representing CDC’s public health priorities for medication safety in nationally recognized healthcare quality measures, standards, and guidelines and to policymakers and regulators. Currently, Dr Shehab serves as a subject matter expert and is supporting DHQP in developing the first National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) module for inpatient ADE surveillance and supporting the NHNSCoLab public-private partnership to pilot new automated healthcare surveillance measures and data exchange approaches for NHSN.

with the Lantana Consulting Group, a contractor for NHSN, within the Surveillance Branch of the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (DHQP) at CDC. Lizz has been with the NHSN team for 2 years and provides her product management expertise to NHSNLink's development. Lizz earned a Master of Public Health in Hospital and Molecular Epidemiology from the University of Michigan, a Bachelor of Science in Zoology from Michigan State University, and is certified in Infection Control and Epidemiology.

Melinda Neuhauser, PharmD, MPH, FCCP, FASHP, FIDP is Pharmacist and Acute Care Lead for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Office of Antibiotic Stewardship in the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion. Melinda earned a Doctor of Pharmacy from University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy and a Master in Public Health from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She also completed an infectious diseases residency at Detroit Receiving Hospital and infectious diseases fellowship at University of Illinois at Chicago.

Amy Webb is a Senior Public Health Analyst with the Lantana Consulting Group, a contractor for NHSN, within the Surveillance Branch of the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (DHQP) at CDC. Amy has been with the NHSN Team for over 10 years and is currently a subject matter expert for the NHSN Antimicrobial Use and Resistance Module working with facilities and software vendors to support the submission of antimicrobial use and resistance data into NHSN. Amy earned a Master of Public Health in Behavioral Science and Health Education from Emory University, a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Luther College and is a Certified Health Education Specialist.

Amy Webb is a Senior Public Health Analyst with the Lantana Consulting Group, a contractor for NHSN, within the Surveillance Branch of the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (DHQP) at CDC. Amy has been with the NHSN Team for over 10 years and is currently a subject matter expert for the NHSN Antimicrobial Use and Resistance Module working with facilities and software vendors to support the submission of antimicrobial use and resistance data into NHSN. Amy earned a Master of Public Health in Behavioral Science and Health Education from Emory University, a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Luther College and is a Certified Health Education Specialist.

Virgie Fields is a Public Health Analyst with Lantana Consulting Group, a contractor for the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN), within the Surveillance Branch of the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In this role, she is a subject-matter expert for the NHSN Antimicrobial Use and Resistance (AUR) Module working with facilities, healthcare systems, and software vendors to support the reporting of antimicrobial use and resistance data into NHSN. Virgie earned her Master of Science in Epidemiology from Harvard University and Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering from Virginia Commonwealth University. She is also certified in Public Health (CPH) and Infection Control (CIC).

Terence Robinson, MPH is a Public Health Analyst with the CACI International, a contractor for NHSN, within the Surveillance Branch of the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (DHQP) at CDC. Terence has been with the NHSN Team for 1 year and is a subject matter expert for the NHSN Antimicrobial Use and Resistance Module working with facilities and software vendors to support the submission of antimicrobial use and resistance data into NHSN. Terence earned a Master of Public Health from Morehouse School of Medicine, and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University.

Laura Blum Laura Blum is a Public Health Analyst with Lantana Consulting Group, a contractor for the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN), within the Surveillance Branch of the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). She is one of the subject matter experts for the NHSN Antimicrobial Use and Resistance (AUR) Module working with facilities, healthcare systems, and software vendors to support antimicrobial use and resistance reporting. Laura earned her MPH in epidemiology and biostatistics from University of California Berkeley and BS in mathematics and economics from University of California San Diego.

Virgie Fields is a Public Health Analyst with Lantana Consulting Group, a contractor for the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN), within the Surveillance Branch of the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In this role, she is a subject-matter expert for the NHSN Antimicrobial Use and Resistance (AUR) Module working with facilities, healthcare systems, and software vendors to support the reporting of antimicrobial use and resistance data into NHSN. Virgie earned her Master of Science in Epidemiology from Harvard University and Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering from Virginia Commonwealth University. She is also certified in Public Health (CPH) and Infection Control (CIC).

Hsiu Wu is a Medical Epidemiologist for the NHSN within the Surveillance Branch of the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (DHQP) at CDC. Hsiu is currently the Lead for the NHSN’s Antimicrobial Use and Resistance (AUR) Team. Hsiu works with AUR team members to ensure up-to-date surveillance scope and methodology for antimicrobial use and resistance, interpret surveillance results, develop national benchmarks, and provide technical assistance. Hsiu is an Internal Medicine doctor specialized in Infectious Diseases. Hsiu served as an Epidemiology Intelligence Service Officer at CDC during 2013–2015. Prior to joining CDC, Hsiu was a Medical Officer for Taiwan CDC and Attending Physician at the National Taiwan University Hospital.

Laura Blum Laura Blum is a Public Health Analyst with Lantana Consulting Group, a contractor for the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN), within the Surveillance Branch of the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). She is one of the subject matter experts for the NHSN Antimicrobial Use and Resistance (AUR) Module working with facilities, healthcare systems, and software vendors to support antimicrobial use and resistance reporting. She has worked with the NHSN AUR Module for four years – one as a healthcare-associated infections epidemiologist at a state health department and three with the NHSN Team at CDC. Laura earned her MPH in epidemiology and biostatistics from University of California Berkeley and BS in mathematics and economics from University of California San Diego.

Virgie Fields is a Public Health Analyst with Lantana Consulting Group, a contractor for the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN), within the Surveillance Branch of the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In this role, she is a subject-matter expert for the NHSN Antimicrobial Use and Resistance (AUR) Module working with facilities, healthcare systems, and software vendors to support the reporting of antimicrobial use and resistance data into NHSN. Virgie earned her Master of Science in Epidemiology from Harvard University and Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering from Virginia Commonwealth University. She is also certified in Public Health (CPH) and Infection Control (CIC).

Melinda Neuhauser, PharmD, MPH, FCCP, FASHP, FIDP is Pharmacist and Acute Care Lead for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Office of Antibiotic Stewardship in the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion. Melinda earned a Doctor of Pharmacy from University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy and a Master in Public Health from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She also completed an infectious diseases residency at Detroit Receiving Hospital and infectious diseases fellowship at University of Illinois at Chicago.

Terence Robinson, MPH is a Public Health Analyst with the CACI International, a contractor for NHSN, within the Surveillance Branch of the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (DHQP) at CDC. Terence has been with the NHSN Team for 1 year and is a subject matter expert for the NHSN Antimicrobial Use and Resistance Module working with facilities and software vendors to support the submission of antimicrobial use and resistance data into NHSN. Terence earned a Master of Public Health from Morehouse School of Medicine, and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University.

Amy Webb is a Senior Public Health Analyst with the Lantana Consulting Group, a contractor for NHSN, within the Surveillance Branch of the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (DHQP) at CDC. Amy has been with the NHSN Team for over 10 years and is currently a subject matter expert for the NHSN Antimicrobial Use and Resistance Module working with facilities and software vendors to support the submission of antimicrobial use and resistance data into NHSN. Amy earned a Master of Public Health in Behavioral Science and Health Education from Emory University, a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Luther College and is a Certified Health Education Specialist.

Hsiu Wu is a Medical Epidemiologist for the NHSN within the Surveillance Branch of the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (DHQP) at CDC. Hsiu is currently the Lead for the NHSN’s Antimicrobial Use and Resistance (AUR) Team. Hsiu works with AUR team members to ensure up-to-date surveillance scope and methodology for antimicrobial use and resistance, interpret surveillance results, develop national benchmarks, and provide technical assistance. Hsiu is an Internal Medicine doctor specialized in Infectious Diseases. Hsiu served as an Epidemiology Intelligence Service Officer at CDC during 2013–2015. Prior to joining CDC, Hsiu was a Medical Officer for Taiwan CDC and Attending Physician at the National Taiwan University Hospital.

Maggie Dudeck, MPH, is an Epidemiologist and Lead for the NHSN Acute Care Analytics Team in the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion at CDC. She has more than eighteen years of experience and expertise in the surveillance, science, analysis, and interpretation of healthcare-associated infections and healthcare-related surveillance system data. Maggie is a nationally recognized consultant in the field of healthcare associated infections (HAIs) epidemiology and the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) surveillance system, making significant contributions to the complex development and implementation of surveillance protocols and analytic products. She leads activities related to the analysis of extensive surveillance data and assesses impact of surveillance protocol changes. Maggie earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Northern Illinois University and her Masters of Public Health in Epidemiology from Emory University.

Ben is a Public Health Analyst with Leidos, a contractor for the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN), working on NHSN’s Acute Care Analytics Team within the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (DHQP). In this role, he is a subject matter expert on the analysis and surveillance of antimicrobial resistance in hospital acquired infections, creating the annual National and State Healthcare-Associated Infection Progress Report, the Targeted Assessment for Prevention (TAP) Strategy, and the Outpatient Procedure Component. Ben earned his Bachelor of Science in biomedical microbiology from Clemson University and his Master of Public Health in epidemiology from Emory University.

Katie is an ORISE Fellow within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (DHQP) Surveillance Branch (SB). She is a member of the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) Acute Care Analytics Team. In this role, she specializes in the analysis of data from the MDRO/CDI module and antimicrobial resistance data from the Device- and Procedure-associated modules. Katie holds a Master of Public Health with a concentration in epidemiology from the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University and Bachelor of Arts in human health from Emory University College of Arts and Sciences.

Jennifer Donnelly is a Public Health Analyst with CACI for the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) in the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In this role, she is a subject-matter expert for the NHSN Surgical Site Infection (SSI) module for the Acute Care Analytics Team (ACAT).  Jennifer earned her Master of Public Health from the Colorado School of Public Health; University of Colorado and she has a Bachelor of Science in Community Health from the University of Northern Colorado. 

Lindsey Weiner Lastinger is an Epidemiologist and the Deputy Team Lead for the National Healthcare Safety Network’s Acute Care Analytics Team. She specializes in the analysis and interpretation of healthcare-associated infections and antimicrobial resistance surveillance data, and has a key role in the review and publication of national NHSN data. Lindsey holds a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology from Emory, and a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences from the University of California, Irvine.

Denise Leaptrot is an Infection Preventionist/Epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (DHQP) Surveillance Branch (SB) where she is a member of the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) Protocol and Validation Team. In this role, she provides consultation and technical assistance regarding surveillance for healthcare-associated infections using NHSN criteria and definitions.

Denise serves as a subject matter expert for Multidrug Resistant Organism /Clostridium difficile (MDRO/CDI) surveillance and reporting and Surgical Site Infection (SSI) surveillance and reporting. She has 25+ years of combined experience encompassing healthcare epidemiology, infection control and prevention, information technology, and educational efforts within public & private healthcare arenas as well as public health sectors. Denise holds a master’s degree in Healthcare Administration with focus on management and statistics, a Specialty in Microbiology and a bachelor’s degree in Medical Technology with minors in Biology and Chemistry. She has authored and published multiple journal articles focusing on HAIs, MDROs and CDI and is certified in Infection Control (CIC).

Emily Witt MPH, is a Public Health Analyst with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (DHQP) Surveillance Branch (SB) where she is a member of the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) Protocol and Training Team. In this role, she provides consultation and technical assistance as a secondary subject matter expert for the Ventilator-associated Events (VAE), Pediatric Ventilator-associated Events (PedVAE), and Multidrug Resistant Organism and Clostridium difficile (MDRO/CDI) Events. She also assists with the development and coordination of education and training activities for NHSN Patient Safety Component users, including webinar events and self-paced computer-based training materials. Emily earned a Master of Public Health from Emory University with an MPH concentration in Health Education.

Denise Leaptrot is an Infection Preventionist/Epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (DHQP) Surveillance Branch (SB) where she is a member of the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) Protocol and Validation Team. In this role, she provides consultation and technical assistance regarding surveillance for healthcare-associated infections using NHSN criteria and definitions.

Denise serves as a subject matter expert for Multidrug Resistant Organism /Clostridium difficile (MDRO/CDI) surveillance and reporting and Surgical Site Infection (SSI) surveillance and reporting. She has 25+ years of combined experience encompassing healthcare epidemiology, infection control and prevention, information technology, and educational efforts within public & private healthcare arenas as well as public health sectors. Denise holds a master’s degree in Healthcare Administration with focus on management and statistics, a Specialty in Microbiology and a bachelor’s degree in Medical Technology with minors in Biology and Chemistry. She has authored and published multiple journal articles focusing on HAIs, MDROs and CDI and is certified in Infection Control (CIC).

Emily Witt MPH, is a Public Health Analyst with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (DHQP) Surveillance Branch (SB) where she is a member of the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) Protocol and Training Team. In this role, she provides consultation and technical assistance as a secondary subject matter expert for the Ventilator-associated Events (VAE), Pediatric Ventilator-associated Events (PedVAE), and Multidrug Resistant Organism and Clostridium difficile (MDRO/CDI) Events. She also assists with the development and coordination of education and training activities for NHSN Patient Safety Component users, including webinar events and self-paced computer-based training materials. Emily earned a Master of Public Health from Emory University with an MPH concentration in Health Education.

Marissa McMeen is a Public Health Analyst/Infection Preventionist with Lantana Consulting Group, a contractor for the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN), within the Surveillance Branch of the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). She is a member of the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) Protocol and Training Team. In this role, she provides consultation and technical assistance regarding surveillance for healthcare-associated infections using NHSN. Marissa serves as a subject matter expert for Central Line-associated Bloodstream Infection (CLABSI) and Catheter-associated Urinary Tract Infection (CAUTI), Facility Annual Survey and Data Validation. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from King's College and Master of Public Health degree from West Chester University. Prior to joining the Protocol and Training Team, Marissa practiced as an Infection Preventionist at a large teaching hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is certified in Infection Control (CIC).

Dominique Godfrey-Johnson is an Infection Prevention Consultant with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (DHQP) Surveillance Branch (SB) where she is a member of the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) Protocol and Training Team. In this role, she provides consultation and technical assistance regarding surveillance for healthcare-associated infections using NHSN. She also serves as a subject matter expert for inquiries related to the application of CDC's NHSN Bloodstream Infection criteria. She earned a Bachelor of Science in environmental health from the University of Georgia and Master of Public health with a concentration in Infectious Diseases from the University of South Florida. Dominique has more than 10 years of experience as an epidemiologist which encompasses surveillance, data management, and outcome measures. Prior to joining the NHSN Protocol and Training Team, she served as the director of Infection Prevention at community hospital in West Georgia. She is certified in Infection Control (CIC) and public health (CPH).

LaTasha Boswell is a Nurse Infection Preventionist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (DHQP) Surveillance Branch where she is a member of the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) Protocol and Training Team. In this role, she provides consultation and technical assistance regarding surveillance for healthcare-associated infections using NHSN. She also serves as a subject matter expert for clinical inquires related to the application for CDC’s NHSN Bloodstream Infection criteria and Late Onset Sepsis and Meningitis (LOS/MEN). She is a registered nurse with over 20 years of nursing experience including Medical-Surgical, Public Health, and Infection Prevention. She earned her BSN from Old Dominion University and Master of Public Health from the University of New England. She is certified in Infection Control (CIC).

LaTasha Boswell is a Nurse Infection Preventionist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (DHQP) Surveillance Branch where she is a member of the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) Protocol and Training Team. In this role, she provides consultation and technical assistance regarding surveillance for healthcare-associated infections using NHSN. She also serves as a subject matter expert for clinical inquires related to the application for CDC’s NHSN Bloodstream Infection criteria and Late Onset Sepsis and Meningitis (LOS/MEN). She is a registered nurse with over 20 years of nursing experience including Medical-Surgical, Public Health, and Infection Prevention. She earned her BSN from Old Dominion University and Master of Public Health from the University of New England. She is certified in Infection Control (CIC).

Dominique Godfrey-Johnson is an Infection Prevention Consultant with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (DHQP) Surveillance Branch (SB) where she is a member of the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) Protocol and Training Team. In this role, she provides consultation and technical assistance regarding surveillance for healthcare-associated infections using NHSN. She also serves as a subject matter expert for inquiries related to the application of CDC's NHSN Bloodstream Infection criteria. She earned a Bachelor of Science in environmental health from the University of Georgia and Master of Public health with a concentration in Infectious Diseases from the University of South Florida. Dominique has more than 10 years of experience as an epidemiologist which encompasses surveillance, data management, and outcome measures. Prior to joining the NHSN Protocol and Training Team, she served as the director of Infection Prevention at community hospital in West Georgia. She is certified in Infection Control (CIC) and public health (CPH).

LaTasha Boswell is a Nurse Infection Preventionist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (DHQP) Surveillance Branch where she is a member of the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) Protocol and Training Team. In this role, she provides consultation and technical assistance regarding surveillance for healthcare-associated infections using NHSN. She also serves as a subject matter expert for clinical inquires related to the application for CDC’s NHSN Bloodstream Infection criteria and Late Onset Sepsis and Meningitis (LOS/MEN). She is a registered nurse with over 20 years of nursing experience including Medical-Surgical, Public Health, and Infection Prevention. She earned her BSN from Old Dominion University and Master of Public Health from the University of New England. She is certified in Infection Control (CIC).

Amber is an Infection Prevention Consultant with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (DHQP) Surveillance Branch (SB) where she is a member of the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) Protocol and Training Team. In this role, she provides consultation and technical assistance regarding surveillance for healthcare-associated infections using NHSN. She also serves as a subject matter expert for inquiries related to the application of CDC's NHSN Bloodstream Infection and Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection criteria. Amber has a Bachelor of Science in biology from University of Maryland Eastern Shore. She also has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of North Carolina Wilmington, as well as having a Master of Public Health with a concentration in hospital and molecular epidemiology from University of Michigan.

Marissa McMeen is a Public Health Analyst/Infection Preventionist with Lantana Consulting Group, a contractor for the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN), within the Surveillance Branch of the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). She is a member of the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) Protocol and Training Team. In this role, she provides consultation and technical assistance regarding surveillance for healthcare-associated infections using NHSN. Marissa serves as a subject matter expert for Central Line-associated Bloodstream Infection (CLABSI) and Catheter-associated Urinary Tract Infection (CAUTI), Facility Annual Survey and Data Validation. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from King's College and Master of Public Health degree from West Chester University. Prior to joining the Protocol and Training Team, Marissa practiced as an Infection Preventionist at a large teaching hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is certified in Infection Control (CIC).

is a Nurse Infection Preventionist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (DHQP) Surveillance Branch (SB) where she is a member of the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) Protocol and Training Team. In this role, she provides consultation and technical assistance regarding surveillance for healthcare-associated infections using NHSN. She also serves as a subject matter expert for Ventilator-associated Events (VAE), Pediatric Ventilator-associated Events (PedVAE), and Pneumonia (PNEU) surveillance and reporting, and central line insertion practices (CLIP) adherence monitoring and reporting. She is a registered nurse with over 20 years of professional nursing experience, primarily focusing on critical care and infection prevention. She earned a Bachelor of Science in psychology from the University of Arizona, a Bachelor of Science in nursing from Russell Sage College, and a Master of Public Health with a concentration in epidemiology from the University of Arizona.

Melissa Otis is a Nurse Infection Prevention Consultant with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (DHQP), Surveillance Branch where she is a member of the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) Protocol and Training Team. In this role, Melissa provides consultation and technical assistance regarding surveillance for healthcare associated infections using NHSN. She serves as a subject matter expert for the NHSN Outpatient Procedure Component for Ambulatory Surgery Centers. In addition, she serves as a secondary subject matter expert for the NHSN Pneumonia (PNEU) and Surgical Site Infection (SSI) surveillance and reporting. Melissa has over 20 years of combined healthcare experience in a variety of leadership roles, many of which focused on Infection Prevention. She has been a Registered Nurse for over 15 years and earned her Bachelor of Science in nursing from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Amber is an Infection Prevention Consultant with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (DHQP) Surveillance Branch (SB) where she is a member of the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) Protocol and Training Team. In this role, she provides consultation and technical assistance regarding surveillance for healthcare-associated infections using NHSN. She also serves as a subject matter expert for inquiries related to the application of CDC's NHSN Bloodstream Infection and Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection criteria. Amber has a Bachelor of Science in biology from University of Maryland Eastern Shore. She also has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of North Carolina Wilmington, as well as having a Master of Public Health with a concentration in hospital and molecular epidemiology from University of Michigan.

Emily Witt MPH, is a Public Health Analyst with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (DHQP) Surveillance Branch (SB) where she is a member of the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) Protocol and Training Team. In this role, she provides consultation and technical assistance as a secondary subject matter expert for the Ventilator-associated Events (VAE), Pediatric Ventilator-associated Events (PedVAE), and Multidrug Resistant Organism and Clostridium difficile (MDRO/CDI) Events. She also assists with the development and coordination of education and training activities for NHSN Patient Safety Component users, including webinar events and self-paced computer-based training materials. Emily earned a Master of Public Health from Emory University with an MPH concentration in Health Education.

is a Nurse Infection Preventionist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (DHQP) Surveillance Branch (SB) where she is a member of the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) Protocol and Training Team. In this role, she provides consultation and technical assistance regarding surveillance for healthcare-associated infections using NHSN. She also serves as a subject matter expert for Ventilator-associated Events (VAE), Pediatric Ventilator-associated Events (PedVAE), and Pneumonia (PNEU) surveillance and reporting, and central line insertion practices (CLIP) adherence monitoring and reporting. She is a registered nurse with over 20 years of professional nursing experience, primarily focusing on critical care and infection prevention. She earned a Bachelor of Science in psychology from the University of Arizona, a Bachelor of Science in nursing from Russell Sage College, and a Master of Public Health with a concentration in epidemiology from the University of Arizona.

is a Nurse Infection Preventionist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (DHQP) Surveillance Branch (SB) where she is a member of the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) Protocol and Training Team. In this role, she provides consultation and technical assistance regarding surveillance for healthcare-associated infections using NHSN. She also serves as a subject matter expert for Ventilator-associated Events (VAE), Pediatric Ventilator-associated Events (PedVAE), and Pneumonia (PNEU) surveillance and reporting, and central line insertion practices (CLIP) adherence monitoring and reporting. She is a registered nurse with over 20 years of professional nursing experience, primarily focusing on critical care and infection prevention. She earned a Bachelor of Science in psychology from the University of Arizona, a Bachelor of Science in nursing from Russell Sage College, and a Master of Public Health with a concentration in epidemiology from the University of Arizona.

Melissa Otis is a Nurse Infection Prevention Consultant with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (DHQP), Surveillance Branch where she is a member of the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) Protocol and Training Team. In this role, Melissa provides consultation and technical assistance regarding surveillance for healthcare associated infections using NHSN. She serves as a subject matter expert for the NHSN Outpatient Procedure Component for Ambulatory Surgery Centers. In addition, she serves as a secondary subject matter expert for the NHSN Pneumonia (PNEU) and Surgical Site Infection (SSI) surveillance and reporting. Melissa has over 20 years of combined healthcare experience in a variety of leadership roles, many of which focused on Infection Prevention. She has been a Registered Nurse for over 15 years and earned her Bachelor of Science in nursing from the University of Illinois at Chicago.