Annual Conference Agenda

(Agenda Subject to Change)

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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 Community Ties 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, Linda (Ida) Tovar, 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, 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