School Nurse & Allied Workforce Solutions

President and CEO David Theobald brings forth his knowledge and experience from working at the bedside to now pursuing his Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree in Nursing Leadership from Baylor University.   A prime focus of Dave’s initiatives is developing long-term solutions for the nursing shortage with attention to educational advancement and research-based strategies to help hospitals improve their retention rates and provide top-quality patient care. 

Matthew Hickling, MSN, is a board-certified advanced practice nurse in child health, having earned his degrees from SUNY Stony Brook and Russell Sage College. He is actively involved in professional organizations such as the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners and the Society of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. As the chair of the New York State School Nurses Association’s annual conference, he focuses on amplifying the voice of school nurses and promoting best practices.

With experience in pediatric intensive care, hematology/oncology, and emergency medicine, Matthew is passionate about advocating for patients and improving family-provider relationships. He also teaches nursing health policy and leadership as an adjunct faculty member. In his spare time, he enjoys outdoor activities with his family and supports non-profits like Maddie’s Mark and Things of My Very Own.

Jacob Poyer, MSN, RN-BC has been an RN for five years and completed his undergraduate education at Elmira College. He later earned his Master of Science in Nursing with a concentration in Nursing Administration and Management at Aspen University in 2021. He is nationally board certified in Medical-Surgical nursing and continues to work per-diem at the bedside in the Float Pool. Jacob has a passion for education and is Adjunct Faculty at the Belanger School of Nursing within the Ellis Medicine system. Jacob is an active member of the nursing community and holds membership within ANA-NY (New York’s chapter of the American Nurse’s Association), NNYPNO (the Northeast New York Professional Nurses Organization), and is the current President for Tau Kappa at Large, which is a chapter of Sigma Theta Tau. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his wife, Madison, and their three dogs and four cats.

Marilyn currently serves as the Ellis Medicine IRB Chair and is the Interim Program Director for the emerging Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences nursing program. All three of Marilyn’s academic degrees (BS, MS, and PhD) are in nursing. Since her career began, she has been employed in roles such as medical-surgical nursing, health care auditing, teaching nursing at the associate and baccalaureate levels of nursing education, nursing program leadership, nursing education accreditation and consulting. She serves on the Capital District Nursing Research Alliance research committee and in the role of accreditation team chairperson for the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing. Currently Dr. Stapleton supports the efforts of Davin Healthcare, Inc. in the development of nursing scholarship as well as support the efforts of the clinical team. One scholarly project is the implementation of the longitudinal study to learn about the impact on caregiver health when using wearable technology.

Marilyn would be pleased to mentor/coach anyone who is interested in career development. Areas she can help with include choosing an educational program to build nursing credentials, preceptorship, nursing research, evidence-based practice, leadership, publication, teaching in nursing higher education programs, or transition to other roles in nursing.