President
Julia Blackburn, MSN, RN, CPPS, CPHQ
Julie Blackburn has been working in the field of Patient Safety for over three years serving as Patient Safety Officer at UM BWMC. In this role, she has been able to partner with staff and other stakeholders to identify and promote patient safety strategies and Just Culture methodology to influence clinical outcome improvements. Prior to this she has had a diverse background in nursing leadership, education and program growth and development for almost forty years. Her career has spanned five states and many fields of nursing, including critical care and interventional cardiology, which has supported her passion for Patient Safety. She is adjunct faculty for Southern New Hampshire University in the online Undergraduate Nursing program.
President Elect
Shirley Bomhoff, MSN, lean Six Sigma Black Belt
Shirley is an expert performance improvement leader, author and speaker, dedicated to advancing safety, quality, efficiency and organizational learning in complex clinical and non-clinical environments. She is passionate about building a culture of Coopetition, where both competition and cooperation exist at the same time, are strategically deployed, and transform the entire organization into one of accountability and continuous improvement.
She has a particular expertise in patient safety initiatives, infection prevention, patient and associate experience, and the use of statistical process control to guide decision-making. By integrating the positive deviant approach, change management principles, and human factors considerations into her performance improvement practice, exemplary outcomes and sustainment have been achieved. Through mentorship, teaching, facilitation and storytelling, Shirley supports individuals, groups and organizations to incorporate continuous improvement thinking into all aspects of life and work.
Secretary
Anna Distad
Anna Distad has been working in the Quality arena for over ten years. Anna is currently a Quality Improvement Specialist for the Luminis Health Enterprise with extensive clinical experience in Orthopedics, Neurology, and Perioperative Services, having worked in the DMV, Boston, and New York City. As she transitioned into the Quality realm, her experience includes performance improvement, professional practice evaluation, event analysis, and regulatory standards.
Treasurer
Julie Irvine, MSHCM, BSN, RN, CCRN, CSSBB
Julie Irvine is a Healthcare Operations and Performance Improvement leader and critical care nurse with 30 years of experience driving hospital operations and advancing strategic initiatives to improve quality outcomes. She is passionate about fostering a culture of continuous improvement and is recognized for providing expert training, mentorship, and leadership in performance excellence. Julie specializes in transforming organizational culture to strengthen patient safety, enhance compliance, and ensure accreditation readiness. Her work aligns clinical operations with evidence-based practices to reduce risk, eliminate inefficiencies, and lower costs, delivering sustainable results in complex healthcare environments while promoting accountability and operational excellence.
Member at Large
Talijah Daring, MBA, RN-BC, CPHQ
Talijah Daring is a Quality and Patient Safety professional currently serving as the Assistant Director of Quality and Safety at MedStar Southern Maryland Hospital Center. With more than 18 years of experience in healthcare, she has held roles across acute care, home care, and care management, consistently emphasizing standardization, efficiency, and process improvement. In her current position, she uses a collaborative, stakeholder-focused approach to advance sustainable improvements in patient care, operational performance, and overall quality outcomes. Outside of work, Talijah enjoys running, hiking, cycling, traveling, and spending time with her lively dog.
Member at Large
Kristen Geissler, MS, MBA, PT, CPHQ, Managing Director
Kristen Geissler is a Managing Director in BRG's Healthcare practice where she provides quality and performance improvement advisory services to health systems. She has thirty years of experience in healthcare in direct patient care, administrative, and consulting roles, with a focus in quality measurement, improvement and accountability, and clinical documentation, case mix analytics, and outcomes. She also has expertise in value-based payment methodologies, risk adjustment methodologies, and risk stratification of patients. Her work has included evaluation and design of quality programs, measure prioritization, and improvement methodology. Before her consulting career, Ms. Geissler was the Director of Quality Improvement for a hospital in Maryland, and she is also a licensed physical therapist.
Member at Large
Barbara Peace
Bio information is coming soon.
Member at Large
Veronica Natale
Bio information is coming soon.