Board Members

Leslie J “Sam” Helgerson, Ph.D.
Chair

Program Director of the Masters in Strategic Leadership and the Masters in Organizational Leadership at Bethel University Center for Adult and Professional Studies and Graduate School (CAPS-GS) and the former Dean of the Business/Leadership programs. He is the President/Owner of Great Ridge Group, which focuses on writing, consulting, mentoring, media, photography, and speaking practices. He received his Ph.D. in Adult and Post-Secondary Education and an MA in Organizational Leadership.

Eric J. Nystrom, J.D.

Retired Partner at Fox Rothschild LLP and former trial attorney with extensive experience in complex commercial litigation. He represented clients in diverse industries including banking, construction, and manufacturing, and litigated cases in federal, state, and international forums. Mr. Nystrom holds a J.D. with high distinction from the University of Iowa College of Law and a B.A. magna cum laude from Iowa State University.

Brad Lynch, M. Ed.
Treasurer

Consultant at Waypoint, Inc., a firm specializing in tax litigation support, corporate risk mitigation and investigations, due diligence, litigation support, financial investigations and forensic accounting for business . He is a retired FBI agent with 23 years of experience who is skilled in fraud detection. Mr. Lynch speaks French and Arabic fluently and holds a bachelor's degree in economics and French and a master's degree in education from Radford University.
Regina Beard Headshot

Regina Beard, Ed.D, MSN, RN
Secretary

Regina Beard, Ed.D., RN, exemplifies distinguished leadership in healthcare education and administration, with a substantial background in nursing and medicine. Her academic journey, marked by an Ed.D. in Adult Education from Auburn University and an MSN from Troy University, complements her vast experience in academic administration and board participation. Dr. Beard's strategic contributions to interprofessional education and healthcare research align with NextGenU.org's vision of accessible, quality education for health professionals globally. Her role enriches the board's expertise in advancing healthcare education, making her an invaluable member of the NextGenU.org team.

George Lundberg, MD

Editor-at-Large for Medscape, with more than 30 years of combined experience as the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the American Medical Association, the 10 AMA specialty journals, AM News, Medscape, The Medscape Journal of Medicine, eMedicine from WebMD, and MedPage Today from Everyday Health. In addition to his work with Medscape, he serves as Editor-in-Chief at Cancer Commons, as President and Chair of the Board of Directors of The Lundberg Institute, and as a clinical professor of pathology at Northwestern University. The Industry Standard dubbed Dr. Lundberg "Online Healthcare's Medicine Man" in 2000.

Marilyn Winkleby, Ph.D., MPH

Professor of Medicine Emerita at the Stanford Prevention Research Center. Dr. Winkleby has published over 200 articles in scientific journals and is known for her community partnerships. Her research and work have contributed to preparing over 700 underserved high school students for careers in health and science. Dr. Winkleby received the highest honor the U. S. government bestows for her work, the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring.

Laura Miller, BA

Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Mary Rutan Health Center in Ohio. She is a creative administrator with a successful performance record and more than 30 years of experience in numerous aspects of marketing and public relations management.

Robert Quinn, MBA, MSc

Creative problem solver and business development enthusiast, with extensive experience in working with nonprofits and providing risk advice. He is a Risk Advisory Partner at Ernst & Young, with more that 37 years of professional services experience assisting large, global clients. Now retired, he spends time engaging in volunteering and other philanthropic activities.
“I feel confident that this course will enable me to better serve Kentuckians in my career as a future physician.”
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NextGenU.org offers free courses and certificates, covering curricula across the health sciences, making these materials openly available to learners, teachers, and institutions. NextGenU.org partners with learning institutions to build capacity in public health, medicine, nursing, humanitarian response, primary STEM, community health, and addiction medicine.

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