Marleine Burmeister, MBA, PMP

Marleine has more than 15 years of experiences working in the Project Management profession in the Healthcare, Aerospace and Defense, Education Assessment, and Global Financial Services and Investment industries. Her extensive background in project management has entailed successfully leading and executing complex, large-scale projects and programs to meet organizational needs. Marleine received her Bachelor of Business Administration with an emphasis in Marketing from the University of Iowa, and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Mount Mercy University. She is a certified PMI Project Management Professional (PMP). 

Marleine is currently a Senior Project Manager within the PMO Office at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clincs. She currently manages the overall development, implementation, and ongoing support for the Iowa Maternal Health Innovation (MHI) Program portfolio to improve access to high-quality obstetrical care within the state of Iowa, targeting underserved rural populations.

Jeana Forman, MSN, RNC-OB, C-EFM, C-FMC

Jeana is a Nursing Practice Leader at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. She has been a nurse at UIHC for over 20 years. Her career began as a staff nurse on the Inpatient OB units. She quickly found a love for staff education and has been in the area of staff education and development for the last 17 years. She is an instructor for AWHONN Fetal Monitoring Programs, Neonatal Resuscitation, Advanced Cardiac Life Support, Advanced Life Support OB, and S.T.A.B.L.E. She has found out first-hand how adding simulation to staff training and development improves the participant's experience and engagement. Jeana is currently a member of the Iowa Statewide Mobile Simulation Team that is supported by a Health Resources and Services Administration grant. 

Jill Henkle, RNC-OB

Jill has over 25 years of experiences as a Critical Access Level 1 obstetrical nurse. She has also worked in the emergency department, medical surgical floor, telemetry, ICU, and as a travel nurse. As an OB Manager for over 10 years, Jill was successful with the implementation of maternal safety bundles, unity interdisciplinary simulation drills, process improvements, and evidence-based staff education; she still works at the bedside on a PRN basis. 

Jill is an NRP Instructor, holds certification in Inpatient OB, is an AWHONN Intermediate EFM Instructor, and serves as the Iowa AWHONN Southwest Iowa Chapter Coordinator. Jill has worked with the Maternal Health Innovation Grant funded by a Health Resources and Services Administration grant as an Improvement Coach through the Iowa Maternal Quality Care Collaborative/AIM and is currently a member of the Iowa Mobile Statewide Simulation Team. Jill is a voice and advocate for rural maternity hospitals. 

Stephen Hunter, MD, PhD

Steve is a high-risk obstetrician in the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. Hunter completed his undergraduate and medical training at the University of Utah and undertook his post-doctoral training as a resident in obstetrics and gynecology at UIHC. He furthered his training as a fellow in maternal-fetal medicine at this institution, where he has remained on faculty for over 20 years. He has been the division and fellowship director for the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine and is the author of over 60 academic publications.

Hunter is a nationally recognized exptert in the care of patients with high-risk pregnancies. One of his greatest contributions to the state has been to serve on the Iowa Statewide Perinatal program leadership team, where he reviews quality and safety issues at all of the hospitals in Iowa that provide obstetrical services. Hunter is the Principal Investigator for the 2019 Health Resources and Services Administration grant to improve maternal health outcomes across the state of Iowa.  

Amanda Staab, MSN, RNC-OB

Amanda completed her master’s degree through the Clinical Nurse Leader program at the University of Iowa in 2010.  She has been at UnityPoint Health- St. Luke’s Hospital for the past 13 years.  She has done a variety of roles in the Birth Care Center, including labor & delivery, postpartum, scrub/assist, anesthesia RN, charge, and OB educator.  During Covid, she took on the challenge of the House Supervisor role.  She has served on numerous unit-based, hospital-wide, and system-wide committees, simulation teams, and statewide initiatives.  She serves as the AWHONN Chapter Leader for East Central Iowa and coordinates the vendors for the Iowa AWHONN Conference.  She was chosen for AWHONN’s Emerging Leaders Program for 2023-2024.  She currently works for the University of Iowa, under a HRSA grant, as a Clinical Nurse Improvement Coach for the Alliance of Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM) program.

Kokila Thenuwara, MD, MBBS, MME, MHCDS

Kokila is a Clinical Professor in Obstetric Anesthesia at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

Thenuwara obtained her medical education in Sri Lanka. She completed her internship in internal medicine, and residency in Anesthesiology at the University of Iowa. She obtained her Master's in Medical Education at the University of Iowa and Master's in Health Care Delivery Science from Dartmouth College.

She is the Director for the New Factuly Development Program, and Chair of the Best Practices Committee at the department of Anesthesia, University of Iowa.

She is the chair of the Simulation-Based Education subcommittee, supported by a Health Resources and Services Administration grant. 

She is a written and applied examiner for the American Board of Anesthesiology, specializing in ethics and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.