Katie Crawford Buys, DNP, MPH, CRNP, CNE, is a dual-certified Family and Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner with over two decades of interprofessional clinical practice and nursing practitioner education experience. An Assistant Professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing, she develops and delivers curricula focused on social determinants of health and leads simulation-based interprofessional education activities, in addition to traditional nurse practitioner education. Dr. Buys provides integrated behavioral health care for medically underserved and rural populations in Mississippi and Alabama. She is committed to health equity, community engagement, and workforce development, evidenced by her leadership in HRSA-funded initiatives and with professional associations, including the Mississippi Public Health Association.

David R. Buys is Associate Vice Provost for Health Science Partnerships and Professor at Mississippi State University. He previously served as Extension State Health Specialist, advancing public health education across all Mississippi counties. With over $22 million in federal funding as PI, Co-PI, or Co-I, he also has 65+ peer-reviewed publications. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship in health services research, a PhD in medical sociology, and an MSPH in epidemiology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He also holds degrees from Auburn University, Mississippi College, Hinds Community College, and recently the Public Leadership Credential from the Harvard Kennedy School. A Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, he is also Certified in Public Health, chairs the National Board of Public Health Examiners, is a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America and the Royal Society for Public Health, and a member of Phi Kappa Phi and Sigma Xi.

Michael R. Nadorff, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at Mississippi State University. He completed his doctorate in clinical psychology at West Virginia University and his predoctoral internship in the Geriatric Mental Health Care and Research track at Baylor College of Medicine. His research focuses on sleep disorders, including insomnia and nightmares, suicide prevention, and the mental health of older adults and rural and underserved populations. He has published widely on the links between sleep, aging, and suicide risk, and he recently coauthored a workbook on treating nightmares using imagery rehearsal therapy. Much of his clinical and applied work centers on how providers can build trust and engage patients who are ambivalent about treatment, which is what draws him to Motivational Interviewing as a tool for older adult care.