Leadership

Meet the dedicated leaders and experts guiding NextGenU.org’s global mission to make free, accredited education in health sciences accessible to everyone.

Board of Directors

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.

Regina Beard, Ed.D, MSN, RN

Secretary

Regina Beard, Ed.D., RN, brings distinguished leadership in healthcare education and administration, grounded in extensive experience in nursing and medicine. She holds an Ed.D. in Adult Education from Auburn University and an MSN from Troy University, with a strong background in academic leadership and board service. Dr. Beard’s work in interprofessional education and healthcare research closely aligns with NextGenU.org’s mission to expand access to high-quality health education worldwide, strengthening the board’s capacity to advance global healthcare learning.

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.

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.

George Lundberg, MD

Editor-at-Large for Medscape, with more than 30 years of leadership in medical journalism, including serving as Editor-in-Chief of JAMA, its 10 specialty journals, AM News, Medscape, The Medscape Journal of Medicine, eMedicine (WebMD), and MedPage Today. He is also Editor-in-Chief of Cancer Commons, President and Chair of the Board of The Lundberg Institute, and a clinical professor of pathology at Northwestern University. In 2000, The Industry Standard named Dr. Lundberg “Online Healthcare’s Medicine Man.”

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.

Executive Leadership Team

Miriam Chickering, MBA, RN, BSN, NE-BC

Chief Executive Officer

Miriam Chickering builds globally scaled education solutions in healthcare and science education. An executive with over ten years of experience, she and her teams create synergy and opportunity for learners everywhere. Ms. Chickering, a transformative leader, specializes in team building, strategic partnerships, nourishing volunteer networks, and managing costs. Ms. Chickering indulges her curiosity and love of learning by bringing experts together for innovation and collaboration. She enjoys participating in think tanks, recently, on K-12 education, which resulted in STEPS, a project in primary STEM curriculum funded by IDRC and occurring now across four school systems and three countries providing materials to 10,000 primary school students.

Dr. Eduardo Bianco, MD, MSc, BIR

Director: Addiction Training for Health Professionals (ATHP)

Dr. Bianco is a cardiologist and expert in tobacco control and cessation, with a master’s degree in addiction, and serves as Director of the ATHP. With over 25 years of experience, he has played a central role in advancing tobacco treatment in Uruguay and Latin America. He previously served as Regional Coordinator for the Americas for the Framework Convention Alliance and as a PAHO and WHO consultant. His regional and global leadership supports ATHP’s mission to build capacity in developing countries, expand addiction training, and reduce global education gaps through innovative initiatives.

Dr. Kirsten Johnson, MD, MPH

Director: Humanitarian U

Dr. Johnson has worked in emergency and disaster medicine, disaster risk reduction, humanitarian response, coordination and health sector capacity building throughout the world. Her research has focused on genocide, child combatants, sexual gender-based violence and conflict-related health, mental health and psychosocial support. She has published works across the emergency management cycle in fragile, conflict-affected and vulnerable settings including Humanitarian U’s Assessment of the Impact of eLearning on Humanitarian Aid work (2019), UNFPA’s State of the World Population Report (2015), Global Humanitarian Medicine and Disaster Relief in Auerbach’s Wilderness Medicine (2015) and Médecins Sans Frontiers book on Professionalizing Humanitarian Action (2012).

Dr. Valeria Reynolds, MD, MPH

Director: Public Health U

Dr. Valeria Reynolds is a Preventive Medicine and Public Health Physician who serves as Hospital Epidemiologist at Hospital Virgen de la Luz in Cuenca, Spain. She leads innovative initiatives across the Castilla-La Mancha Health Service to strengthen quality assurance, patient safety, and comprehensive vaccination programs for vulnerable groups. A Bolivian physician with a Master’s in Public Health, she is pursuing a Ph.D. in Health, Social, and Physical Activity Research. As Academic Director at NextGenU.org’s Public Health U, she applies her expertise in instructional design to expand equitable, evidence-based medical education worldwide, advancing sustainable and inclusive public health solutions.