2026 Newborn Screening Conference

Bismarck State College
National Energy Center of Excellence - Bavendick Stateroom
1200 Schafer St.
Bismarck, ND 58501

Registration closed April 14. 

• 6.25 Continuing medical education credits are approved for physicians. 

• 6.5 Contact hours for NDBSWE are approved for social workers, which is also recognized by the NDBON for nursing credits. 

• 6 Contact P.A.C.E. credits are approved for lab personnel. 

• 6.3 Contact hours for ND State Board of Examiners on Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology have been approved.  

• Certificates of attendance will be available upon request for continuing education for other health care professionals. 

A block of rooms have been reserved at: 

Home2 Suites by Hilton Bismarck
1122 W Turnpike Ave.
Bismarck, North Dakota 58501 USA

Reservation link or call 701-751-3400 and ask for the Newborn Screening Conference block.  DEADLINE to reserve a room is March 20, 2026.

Home2 Suites is located off I-94 at Exit 157 and is 5 miles from downtown Bismarck. It is a 10 minute drive from the Bismarck airport. There is complimentary parking at the hotel; however, there is no airport shuttle at this location.   

The Newborn Screening Conference is hosted by the North Dakota Department of Health & Human Services. 

Joyal Meyer
Joyal Meyer is a registered nurse and serves as the Manager of the ND Newborn Screening & Follow-up Program at the ND Department of Health and Human Services.  Joyal has worked at the state in public health since 2011. Joyal has experience in both the hospital and clinic setting with providing care for the prenatal population. Joyal’s educational experience includes a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Medcenter One College of Nursing (currently known as NDSU College of Nursing) in Bismarck, ND and a Master of Science in Nursing Administration from the University of Mary in Bismarck, ND.

Amy Gaviglio
Amy Gaviglio is a genetic counselor and the founder and CEO of Connetics Consulting, LLC which provides newborn screening and rare disease implementation, policy, and advocacy services globally. Amy currently works with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL), Expecting Health, Primary Health, amongst many others. She is co-chair of APHL’s New Disorders in Newborn Screening Subcommittee, is the Vice Chair of the NBS Expert Panel for the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute, sits on the Scientific Advisory Board for the MPS Society and serves on the Executive Board for the International Society of Neonatal Screening. Finally, Amy is the current Chair of the Board of Directors for the EveryLife Foundation.

Mallory & Aurie Wilson
Mallory is an enrolled member of the Three Affiliated Tribes, and grew up on the Fort Berthold reservation. She reside in Van Hook with my partner, Napé, and my two children, Dominic and Aurie. She is the Facilities Director’s Assistant at the 4 Bears Casino & Lodge, and have been employed there for over eight years. In her free time, Mallory enjoy running, beading, sewing, hiking, exploring national parks and traveling with her family. 

Aurie was diagnosed with moderate to severe hearing loss when she was a year old. She had soon started the process of getting fitted for hearing aids to see if that would help before exploring other options. Unfortunately, her hearing aids were unsuccessful, and she did not receive all the pitches that were needed to develop speech. We then decided to have Aurie go forward with surgery for bilateral cochlear implants. Due to COVID-19, Aurie’s surgery had to keep getting pushed back due to the high count of COVID-19 cases in Cass County. She was delayed for six months from her original surgery date but was finally cleared for the procedure in June of 2020. She was activated with sound in July of 2020.  

Aurie is now eight years old, and she attends school in Devils Lake at the School for the Deaf. She enjoys playing soccer, basketball, swimming, spending time outdoors, singing and dancing. Aurie is very independent, loves to help others, offer encouraging words and will always make you laugh with her silly jokes! 
 

Marly Schnabel
Marly Schnabel is mom to Rhett, a 2-year-old boy with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss and cochlear implants. She also works with the North Dakota Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) program.

Her connection to this work started with her own experience—when her son failed his newborn hearing screening, she and her husband had to quickly learn how to navigate appointments, information, and next steps, all while figuring out what it meant for their child and their family.

Now working in EHDI, Marly brings that perspective with her. She understands both the system and what it feels like to move through it as a parent.

As a mom, she is focused on setting her son up for success with hearing and spoken language, as well as sign language, and continuing to follow his lead as she and her husband figure out what works best for Rhett and their family.

In her professional role, she works with families to explore the supports available to them and find the best fit for their child and family as they navigate screening, diagnosis, and beyond.

She is grateful to be part of the Newborn Screening Conference and is looking forward to connecting with both professionals and parents—sharing experiences, learning from one another, and continuing to improve how families are supported from the very beginning.

Jerrica Maxson
Jerrica L. Maxson, AuD, is a Doctor of Audiology with clinical interests in pediatric audiology, cochlear implant programming, and fitting/management of hearing aids for children and adults. A Minot native, she received her early audiology training at the University of North Dakota, completing her doctorate at the University of Iowa. She then completed a 4th year externship at the Central Institute for the Deaf Oral School in St. Louis, a school dedicated to teaching deaf and hard of hearing children to listen and speak for communication. She served as a pediatric cochlear implant audiologist at St. Louis Children’s Hospital before returning to her hometown to join Trinity Health in 2010.

Jerrica holds her Certificate of Clinical Competence with the American Speech Language Hearing Association. She is the North Dakota Chapter Champion with the American Cochlear Implant Alliance. She is professionally licensed with the North Dakota Board of Examiners for Hearing Instrument Specialists, and the North Dakota State Board of Examiners for Audiology. She has been a board member of the North Dakota Hands & Voices since institution in 2011.

Nicole Swartwout
Nicole Swartwout, M.Ed., Teacher of the Deaf and Early Childhood Special Education is the Parent-Infant Program and School Age Outreach Coordinator for the North Dakota School for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing.  She has been working in early intervention and Deaf education for 25 years. Nicole and her team serve children and families in their homes and communities ages birth to age five years within the state of ND, as well as students in schools that need support.  In addition, Nicole is an adjunct professor for Deaf Education courses at Minot State University.

Stephanie Foughty
Dr. Stephanie Foughty is a family medicine physician in Devils Lake providing full spectrum care including obstetrics and has been practicing medicine for almost 10 years.  Dr. Foughty grew up in Mercer, ND and attended UND for undergraduate studies and medical school.  She completed residency and an obstetrics fellowship at Altru’s Family Medicine Residency.  Dr. Foughty lives with her two sons in Devils Lake and spends most of her free time getting them to their various activities.

Chelsea Sharp 
Chelsea Sharp is a certified nurse-midwife aimed at improving access and quality to maternity and newborn care for tender populations in the rural setting, in and out of hospital.  She has been a registered nurse for 14 years, working in high-and low-risk obstetrics as well as ICU settings.  She has been a rural women’s health provider for 7 years, working in-hospital before starting the first licensed home-birth practice in the state of North Dakota.  She is now working on establishing a rural women’s health and obstetric service for the local Indian Health Services clinic serving northwest North Dakota and eastern Montana.  
 

Carlotta Holter
Carlotta Holter is a certified genetic counselor at Sanford Health in Bismarck, ND. She specializes in providing genetic counseling in prenatal and oncology care. She is passionate about educating patients and supporting their autonomy. A native of Jamestown, ND, she earned her Masters of Genetic Counseling at Indiana State University, in Terre Haute, IN. Outside of work, Carlotta enjoys spending time with her husband and 1-year old son, playing board games, and listening to podcasts and audiobooks.

Smith Family
Ada was born 3 months after our wedding in August 2024, at 6lbs 6oz, almost 20 inches long and 24 days early. She was perfect! We were discharged Saturday afternoon and we were to come back in 2 days, in that amount of time she had almost lost a pound, two days later when we came back she hadn't gained anything, and that was being weighted right after I had just fed her with clothes on. What was wrong?

At first we thought it was lack of milk production or troubles latching, we then switched to formula to ensure she was getting fed and the nutrients she needed. They had asked us if she had been sleeping a lot, how her stools looked, etc. We weren't sure what was the right or wrong answer because we were first time parents and a late premi.

Two weeks later we found our answer while we were waiting to take our newborn photos, we received a call from our OB doctor, "your daughter has Cystic Fibrosis, it showed up on her newborn screening." After that it felt like we were in a episode of Charlie Brown, not understanding a word said afterwards.

We then had an appointment the next day to start our new adventure of what this means for our daughter, they told us we'd become pros at this and that the advancements for CF had made this disease much more easier to manage. We forced a smile with tears in our eyes, how are we going to get through this? There's so much to learn.

Between the appointments, treatments, enzymes, advocating, and everything in between CF has become our normal - it's just something we do everyday, together.

Melissa Kunkel
Dr. Melissa Kunkel is a board-certified pediatrician at Sanford Health in Fargo. She earned her undergraduate degree at the University of St. Thomas and her medical degree from the University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences. She completed her residency training in pediatrics at the University of Minnesota Medical School. She specializes in general pediatrics, caring for children with complex medical needs and cystic fibrosis. She has been the director of the Sanford Fargo Cystic Fibrosis Clinic since 2015. She is also an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine.

Marissa Taylor
Marissa Taylor is a program manager at the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, where she manages work focused on improving health outcomes and addressing barriers to care for individuals living with cystic fibrosis. She manages the Foundation’s newborn screening initiative, working closely with state partners, healthcare providers, and families to ensure timely diagnosis and access to life-saving, specialized care for infants identified through newborn screening.

In addition to her work in CF newborn screening, Marissa manages the Foundation's portfolio of health-related social needs (HRSN) work. She collaborates with teams across the Foundation and with CF care teams to develop strategies that address HRSNs—such as housing, transportation, and food security—recognizing their critical impact on health outcomes for people with cystic fibrosis.

In her free time, Marissa enjoys hiking, cycling, reading, baking sourdough, and spending time with her husband and two cats.

Pam Thompson
Pam Thompson is the Development Director of the Cystic Fibrosis Association of North Dakota, where she has spent thirteen years as the organization’s one-woman creative department — the face, heart, and voice of a small statewide nonprofit doing big work.

Pam’s work centers on one thing: relationships. She is a fundraiser who believes connection comes before transaction, and that the best way to move people to action is to tell a good story. Over thirteen years, she has built CFAND’s fundraising program from the ground up — growing signature events like the annual Turkey Trot 5K and Golf Scramble, publishing quarterly newsletters that put real people at the center of every page, and cultivating a loyal donor base one coffee meeting at a time.

As a relationship-first fundraiser embedded in the CF community, Pam has a front-row seat to the journey families walk after a newborn screening diagnosis. She works directly with families navigating the financial, emotional, and practical realities of a CF diagnosis — connecting them with assistance, advocacy, and a community that understands.

Today, Pam joins our panel to share how a small state nonprofit supports families during and after a newborn screening CF diagnosis — and why the work that happens between the diagnosis and the data matters just as much as the science itself.

Marianna Raia
Marianna Raia is the Associate Director of Programs at Expecting Health. Marianna brings over 15 years of experience in the genetics, healthcare, and biotechnology industries. As a genetic counselor, she has dedicated her career to bringing forth awareness of genetic knowledge, family advocacy, and community education. Driven by the mission to increase access to genetic services, she has helped innovate and deliver new models of patient care through patient-centered education and telehealth services. Marianna is committed to helping patients, providers, and the public understand how genetic information can empower you to make decisions about your health and the health of your family. Marianna earned her Master of Genetic Counseling from the University of Texas at Houston Health Science Center.

Kristin Smedley
Kristin Smedley is a TEDx speaker, award winning author, trailblazer for the disability community, and Mother of three children, two of whom were born blind and have achieved far beyond all grim expectations.

Kristin is Co-Founder and CEO of the only patient organization in the world for people living with the blindness her two sons are affected by, CRB1 LCA/RP. The Curing Retinal Blindness Foundation has raised over 4 million dollars and achieved a National Rare Eye Disease Awareness Day.  That legislation, H.R. #625, was the first in US history to be submitted in Braille and it advocates for better resources for blind and visually impaired Americans. 

Kristin partnered with Spark Therapeutics to help achieve the first ever FDA approved gene therapy to treat an inherited retinal disease in the United States. She has done a TEDx Talk in New York City to change perceptions of blindness and she partnered with Comcast media to spread awareness of the inclusive X1 product. 

Kristin is the author of the bestselling book Thriving Blind: Stories of Real People Succeeding Without Sight and an award winning children’s book, What I Can Be Is Up To Me. 

Kristin co-founded ThrivingBlindAcademy.org to solve the employment, literacy, and financial crisis in the blind community.  She is Creator/Producer of the upcoming feature film “Curveball” to change perceptions of disability.

• Meadowlark Logistics
• Designer Genes of ND
• Family Voices of ND
• ND Health Information Network (NDHIN)
• ND Early Hearing, Detection & Intervention, ND Center for Persons with Disabilities at Minot State University
• ND School for the Deaf - Parent Infant Program
• Healthy Families of ND
• ND Department of Health & Human Services, Behavioral Health Division, Parents Lead
• Brave Hearts Children's Network Inc
• ND Department of Health & Human Services, Injury Prevention for Children
• ND Navigator/Find Safe
• Midwest Special Instruments Corp
• ND Department of Health & Human Services, Newborn Screening Program
• Right Track & Early Intervention