Program leadership
Dwayna M. Covey, MEd
Vice President, Center for Learning and Professional Development
Associate - Designated Institutional Official
Title IX Coordinator Dartmouth Health GME Programs
Dwayna has been a team member of Dartmouth Health since 2007, and received a Master in Education degree from Norwich University, and has completed multiple certifications in executive leadership, organizational development, employee well-being and professional, empowerment and physician coaching. Dwayna has completed the Dartmouth Health Conaty Leadership Development program and The Dartmouth Institute Fundamentals of Value-Based Health Care Certificate, and serves as faculty for the Leading at Dartmouth Health leadership development program, and board membership for Leadership Upper Valley Advisory Committee.
Program staff
Matthew Charnetski, MSMS, NRP, CHSOS, CHSE
Director of Simulation-Based Education and Research
Matthew is a graduate of the Master of Medical and Health care Simulation Program at Drexel University and is actively pursuing his PhD in Health Professions Education at Maastricht University in Maastricht, Netherlands. Matthew is also adjunct faculty in the Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions Master’s in Health Professions Education Program in the Simulation Operations Track. Matthew’s simulation career has been largely academic-focused primarily in medical education prior to arriving at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in 2019. Matthew is involved extensively with The Society for Simulation in Health care and The International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning. His recent research interests largely focus on cultural considerations in and around health care simulation. Matthew has contributed book chapters on simulation methodologies, moving simulation centers, and cultural considerations in simulation. His peer-reviewed work has largely been in standards of best practice in simulation and cultural considerations/diversity issues in simulation.
Cara DeLura, BA
Director, Learning Design and Systems
Cara has been with Dartmouth Health since 2006 and manages a team of technologists focused on learning systems, learning design and development, accreditation analytics and learning outcomes. She collaborates with leaders across the organization to support strategic goals to help transform health care. Cara has over 2 decades of experience in digital teaching and learning, and prior experience in web development and corporate marketing. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst with a minor in Video Production and a Certificate in Web Development from Boston University. Cara lives in Lebanon, NH where she enjoys being outdoors with her family taking advantage of all the Upper Valley has to offer.
Cheryl Elinsky, MS, PA-C
Director of Continuing Professional Development and Education for Advanced Practice Providers
Cheryl received her MS in Physician Assistant (PA) Studies from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in 2005. She has practiced as a PA at Dartmouth Health since 2006 in the Department of Medicine. Cheryl has lectured extensively at the Franklin Pierce University PA program since 2009 and has been an instructor of Anatomy at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College since 2020. Cheryl initiated Topics in Medicine, a program to support new Advanced Practice Providers (APPs) at Dartmouth Health. In her role as the Director of Continuing Professional Development and Education for APPs, her focus is the development of a system-wide onboarding program for new APPs, explore professional development opportunities for APPs and to act as a consultant for the program directors of the APP postgraduate programs at Dartmouth Health.
Terri Farnham, BS
Continuing Medical Education Manager
Terri Farnham serves as the Manager of Continuing Medical Education (CME) in the Center for Learning and Professional Development. She has served Dartmouth Health for over 30 years in a variety of different roles. In her role as CME manager, Terri offers support, oversight and facilitation for CME learning opportunities and ensures ongoing compliance with criteria set forth by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME). Terri’s work ensures excellence in the provision of CME for physicians and other health care professionals. Terri provides administrative direction and management of CME accreditation and associated documentation. In addition, she oversees finances related to individual accredited conference budgets as well as overall departmental budgets within the CLPD. She is a graduate of Lyndon State College in Lyndonville, VT, where she earned a BS in Business Administration. Terri holds membership in the Society of Academic Continuing Medical Education (SACME).
Kevin E. Finn, EdD, ATC, CSCS, FACSM
Dean and Professor of Health Sciences, School of Nursing and Health Sciences, Colby-Sawyer College
Director of Clinical Partnerships
Dr. Finn earned his BS in sports medicine from Merrimack College, MA in curriculum and instruction from Fairfield University and EdD in curriculum and teaching from Boston University. He brings over 15 years of administrative, teaching and research experience in higher education and health care. In the current role, he oversees the enhanced partnership with Colby-Sawyer College and Dartmouth Health to develop and implement new academic programs that support essential needs in the health care workforce.
Melissa Fussell, MD, MBA
Medical Director, Patient Safety Training Center
Dr. Fussell Received her MD from the Medical University of South Carolina and MBA from the Citadel. She completed a pediatrics residency at Boston Children's Hospital, a pediatric critical care fellowship and fellowship in simulation at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Dr. Fussell has been a Pediatric Critical Care attending physician at Children's Hospital at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center since 2016. Dr. Fussell is also an assistant professor of Pediatrics and Medical Education at the Geisel School of Medicine.
Dr. FusselI's work in simulation includes the development of simulation research and education programs centered on the improvement of pediatric emergency and critical care internationally. While at D-H, she has piloted multiple new programs and partnerships in simulation to include PICU PRaCTICE, an interdisciplinary pediatric critical care crisis training program, ImPACTS, a partnership with the ED to deliver resuscitation training to hospitals throughout VT and NH, Action for Mothers and Children, a partnership with the ICN to design and deliver a simulation program for neonatal transport in Kosovo, as well as the design and delivery of the simulation education program for the pediatric response to COVID-19.
Deb Hastings, PhD, RN, NPD-BC, CNOR(E)
Director, Nursing Professional Development and Joint Accreditation
Accredited Provider Program Director
Dr. Hastings received her BSN from the University of New Hampshire, a BS in Psychology/Sociology from New England College, an MSN from the University of Connecticut and her PhD in Nursing from Duquesne University. She holds board certification in Nursing Professional Development through the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). Dr. Hastings has expertise in both clinical and academic nursing education. Her clinical background is centered in perioperative nursing. She has a special interest in enhancing the health care for victims of domestic and sexual violence.
In her role as Director, Dr. Hastings serves as a member of the senior nurse leadership group at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. She serves as the liaison between Dartmouth Health and the affiliating schools of nursing and strives to create synergies to enhance the student nurse experience. In addition, Dr. Hastings provides academic advisement to employees who are interested in a nursing career or to nurses who hope to advance their academic education. She is a member of the American Nurses Association (ANA), the New Hampshire Nurses Association (NHNA), and serves as Vice President of the Psi Sigma Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing (STTI).
Chelsea P. Nolan, MS, C-TAGME
Director, Graduate Medical Education Operations
Chelsea graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Colby College before gaining certification in Massage Therapy at the New Mexico Academy of Healing Arts, later earning a Master of Science in Management and Leadership from Western Governor’s University. Chelsea is a member of the Association for Hospital Medical Education and the National Society of Academic Medical Administrators. She has worked at Dartmouth Health since 2009 and in Graduate Medical Education (GME) since 2016. Chelsea’s GME experience includes her roles as Accreditation Specialist, Sr. Accreditation Consultant, GME Programs Manager, and Director of Operations. Chelsea’s work is centered around the management and leadership of DHMC’s centralized GME Team (GME Office staff and Program Coordinators), and the day to day operationalization of graduate medical education in service to our 51 training programs, residency and fellowship program directors, faculty, and MD/DO residents/fellows.
Andrew D. Perron, MD, FACEP
Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education and DIO
Professor of Emergency Medicine, with a CAQ in Sports Medicine
Dr. Perron trained in Emergency Medicine and did a fellowship in Sports Medicine. He has served as a program director in Emergency Medicine for 18 years and was the Associate DIO at Maine Medical Center prior to working at Dartmouth Health. He has published more than 200 articles, reviews and book chapters. He speaks regionally, nationally, and internationally on the topics of neuro-trauma and orthopedic emergencies. He was the ACEP “speaker of the year” in 2007 and has been recognized for his teaching nationally with the C.O.R.D. Distinguished Educator Award.
Maxwell T. Vergo, MD
Medical Director for Interprofessional Continuing Education and Associate Dean for Continuing Medical Education
Dr. Vergo completed his internal medicine residency at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), his hospice and palliative medicine (HPM) fellowship at MGH/Brigham and Woman's Hospital/Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and his 2 year medical oncology fellowship at Northwestern University before joining Dartmouth in the Section of Palliative Medicine in 2012.
At Dartmouth, Dr. Vergo started as the program director for the HPM fellowship and Sectional Director for Interprofessional Education in 2013. The HPM fellowship became a fully integrated interprofessional program with the addition of associate practice provider fellows and co-leadership with Lisa Stephens APRN MSN in 2019. Dr. Vergo and his colleagues, Dr. Cullinan and Dr. Wilson, created and have grown the Serious Illness Care Program at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center to provide interprofessional communication education. To date, over 1000 patient conversations have been documented as a result of this program. Lastly, Dr. Vergo enjoys working nationally to train interprofessional communication coaches through the use of actors so they can improve serious illness communication through education in their health systems.
Dr. Vergo is now the Medical Director for Interprofessional Continuing Education at Dartmouth and Associate Dean of Continuing Medical Education at Geisel. He hopes to remove barriers, create excitement and opportunities, and improve measurement systems around interprofessional education at the medical center and Geisel.