IPEC Seminar Series – Part 1 of 4: Introduction to Interprofessional Education: Enhancing Collaboration Across Professions 

Shelley McKearney, BS Shelley works closely with the 22 member associations of the Interprofessional Education Collaborative(IPEC) to develop initiatives, resources, and events that support evidence-based teaching and learning for collaborative practice. At IPEC, she has led several special projects, including the 2021-2023 revision of the IPEC Core Competencies for Interprofessional Collaborative Practice, an interprofessional education and patient care scoping literature review, and the development of the IPEC institutes and interprofessional leadership programs. She also serves on the IPEC Planning and Advisory Committee and as Secretary on the IPEC Executive Board of Directors. Additionally, she is a member of the United Against Inequities in Disease(UAID) Board of Advisors. 

Previously, Shelley was a Program Manager at the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), where she coordinated faculty development grants for the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN)initiative, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. She also contributed to AACN's 2016 report, Advancing Healthcare Transformation: A New Era for Academic Nursing. Before her time at AACN, Shelley organized international events and teleconferences as the Member Forums Coordinator at Frontier Strategy Group, a market intelligence and advisory firm serving global business professionals.  

Ms. McKearney earned a Bachelor of Arts in Diplomacy and International Relations from Seton Hall University.  

Kim Dunleavy, PhD, PT, FNAP Dr. Dunleavy is a Clinical Professor and the Director of Community Engagement and Professional Education in the Department of Physical Therapy at the University of Florida. She will be able to contribute to the panel discussions from extensive experience in interprofessional education in Physical Therapy education, global educational projects, interprofessional research, and two national interprofessional organizations; 1) the National Academies of Practice and 2) the Global Forum on Innovation in Health Professions Education. 

Dr Dunleavy’s  academic experience at the University of Central Arkansas, Wayne State University and the University of Florida has involved a variety of interprofessional education initiatives building from early pivotal experiences in a rural hospital settings. She contributes to the Healthcare Sciences Interprofessional Education committee at the University of Florida and collaborated with others to develop interprofessional educational initiatives to address the opioid crisis. She has initiated peer learning activities with Occupational Therapy, Nursing, Medicine, and Dentistry at Wayne State University and the University of Florida, and facilitated Physical Therapy students and faculty joining a global service trip to Mexico with medical, physician assistant and pharmacy students. During COVID, she served as the faculty mentor for the UF chapter of the COVID Student Service Corp, an interprofessional student service group, and the UF Primary Care Practice student group.  

Shelley Cohen Konrad, PhD, LCSW, FNAP  Shelley Cohen Konrad is Director Emeritus of the Center to Advance Interprofessional Education and Practice at the University of New England. She received her BA from Boston University and MSW and PhD from Simmons University. She is author of two books Practice with Children & Families: A Relational Perspective and Social Work and the Arts: Expanding Horizons. She has over 30 publications focused on interprofessional education and social work practice. In 2024 Shelley was honored to receive the inaugural Barbara Brandt Leadership Award from the National Center for Interprofessional Education and Practice. Shelley lives on the coast of Maine where she enjoys writing, editing, gardening, baking, and spending time with family and friends