Annual Conference Agenda
(Agenda Subject to Change)
Tuesday, August 26, 2025
7:30 – 4:30 Registration/Sponsor Check-In (Pre-Function A)
7:30 – 8:45 Networking Breakfast (Ballroom) - Welcome! Meet & greet new network coordinators and mingle with colleagues, staff, board members, sponsors and guest speakers!
7:30 - 8:45 Visit Sponsor Exhibit Tables (Pre-Function A)
8:50 - 9:00 Opening Comments: Celebrating 30 Years (Whitney Peak 1) - Mike Shimmens, 3RNET Executive Director
9:00 – 9:45 Keynote: Welcome To Reno (Whitney Peak 1) - Dr. Paul Hauptman, Dean of the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine and Dr. John Packham, Associate Dean of the Office of Statewide Initiatives with UNR Med and Co-Director, Nevada Health Workforce Research Center
9:45 – 10:45 Nevada Spotlight: University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine Office of Statewide Initiatives (Whitney Peak 1) - Gerald Ackerman, Assistant Dean, Rural Programs, Office of Statewide Initiatives-UNR Med; Troy Jorgensen, Senior Project Manager, Project ECHO Nevada; Alexis Kirby, Acting Director, Rural Programs & Frontier Programs, Office of Statewide Initiatives-UNR Med; Laima Etchegoyhen, Senior Outreach and Technical Assistance Manager, Office of Statewide Initiatives-UNR Med; Amanda Brown, Outreach and Technical Assistance Coordinator, Office of Statewide Initiatives-UNR Med
10:45 - 11:15 Break and Visit Sponsor Exhibit Tables (Pre-Function A)
11:15 - 12:15 Immigration Updates (Whitney Peak 1) - Matthew Webster, Senior Immigration Attorney, Fredrikson & Byron
12:15 - 1:15 Networking Lunch (Ballroom)
1:15 – 2:15 PRISM Research Update: The Role of the Physician-Community Relationship in Retaining HPSA Physicians (Whitney Peak 1) - Don Pathman, MD, MPH, UNC Sheps Center
2:30 - 3:15 Breakout Session 1: Rural Workforce Development at the VA (Whitney Peak 1) - Dr. Karla Miller and Charles Long, Department of Veterans Affairs
Breakout Session 2: The New Generation of Rural Recruitment Leveraging AI (Whitney Peak 2) - Mandi Gingras, 3RNET Director of Education
3:15 - 3:45 Break and Visit Sponsor Exhibit Tables (Pre-Function A)
3:45 - 4:30 Updates from FORHP (Whitney Peak 1) - Tom Morris, Associate Administrator for Rural Health Policy, Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
4:30 - 5:00 3RNET Awards (Whitney Peak 1)
5:30 – 7:00 Welcome Reception: 1995-2025 Celebrating 30 Years (Ballroom/Pre-Function A)
Wednesday, August 27, 2025
7:30 – 4:00 Registration Desk Open (Pre-Function A)
7:30 – 8:00 Networking Breakfast and Visit Sponsor Exhibit Tables (Ballroom)
8:00 - 9:00 3RNET Technology & Innovation Updates (Whitney Peak 1)
9:00 - 9:30 3RNET Member Panel Session: Fully Utilizing 3RNET and Getting Results (Whitney Peak 1) -Carrie Torgersen, Assistant Director, Utah Center for Rural Health; Joyce Grayson, Director Rural Health Education & Services, KUMC; and Faith Johnson, Workforce Advisor, Washington State Dept of Health
9:30 - 10:00 Workforce Partners: Raising our Rural Voices, Updates from National Association for Rural Mental Health (NARMH) (Whitney Peak 1) - Shauna Reitmeier, MSW, LCSW, President National Association for Rural Mental Health
10:00 – 10:30 Break and Visit Sponsor Exhibit Tables (Pre-Function A)
10:30 – 11:00 Workforce Partners: Updates from RuralGME (Rural Graduate Medical Education) and THCGME (Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education) (Whitney Peak 1) - Shelby Rimmler-Cohen, MPH, Associate Director Rural Residency and Teaching Health Center Planning and Development
11:00 – 12:00 Community Apgar Recruitment and Retention: Partnering for Rural Workforce (Whitney Peak 1) - Dave Schmitz, MD, Chair of the UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences Department of Family & Community Medicine, 3RNET Senior Research Advisor; Stacy Kusler, Workforce Specialist Center for Rural Health UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences; and Mark Barclay, 3RNET Director Member Services
12:00 - 1:00 Networking Lunch (Ballroom)
1:00 – 2:00 Panel Discussion with Residents and Medical Students from the University of Nevada School of Medicine in Reno (Whitney Peak 1)
2:10 - 3:10 Breakout Session 3: 3RNET Member Panel Discussion - Facilitating Career Fairs and Leveraging Technology (Whitney Peak 1) - Melissa Candelaria, Director of Operations, New Mexico Health Resources; Lourdes Montez, Manager Workforce Development, Arizona Alliance for Community Health Centers; and Joyce Grayson, Director Rural Health Education & Services, KUMC
Breakout Session 4: Immigration Discussion & Networking (Whitney Peak 2) - Matthew Webster, Senior Immigration Attorney, Fredrikson & Byron
3:10 – 3:30 Break and Visit Sponsor Exhibit Tables (Pre-Function A)
3:30 – 4:00 Brainstorming Session: Adjusting the Sails and Showing Your Value (Whitney Peak 1)
4:00 – 4:45 Door Prize Drawings (Whitney Peak 1)
5:30 - 7:30 Off-Site Evening Event - Join us for more networking, food, and fun in the River Room at the Wild River Grille - 17 S Virginia St, Reno, NV 89501