AO NA Staff

Your AV guy at AO courses since November 1991.

Candy is the Director of Marketing, Engagement, and Communications at AO North America.

Allison Babb is a program coordinator across all clinical divisions working with AO North America's research grants and awards as well as CMF Fellowships.

Dr. Ron J Costello has previously served, as the Director of Academic Technology at Immaculata University, as the AVC of Distance Education at UNC Wilmington, and as the Director of Penn State Abington’s Center for Teaching and Learning. He has authored faculty development programs for online teaching, online course development, and several instructional technology training seminars. Dr. Costello has published articles on instructional technology and faculty development in e-learning including, "Voicethread as a Cognitive Tool" and "Perspectives of E-Learning: Faculty Development in Online Learning and E-Learning Engagement". He has spoken at regional, national, and international conferences including Educause, The Online Learning Consortium International Conference in Online Learning, and the Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference. Dr. Costello earned his Ed.D from Pepperdine University in Learning Technologies in 2015. His research interests center upon the effects of online and hybrid course offerings on learner persistence and satisfaction, as well as the role of learner identity in online and hybrid learning environments. He also has a Master of Education degree from Widener University in Instructional Technology, and a BA in communication from Hofstra University. Dr. Costello is married to his wife of 17 years, Nora Costello, and is father of 2 children, Iris and Vincent.

Member Relations Specialist

Employed with AO North America since 2001. I am currently a Sr. Program Coordinator supporting the CMF and Vet Clinical Divisions.

Karen Geesey, CMP, CMM Meeting Planner, AO North America Certified Meeting Planner and Meeting Manager, responsible for logistical planning and execution of AONA educational courses.

Meeting Planner for AO North America

Certified Meeting Planner

Accounting & Finance Department -Accounting Associate Karen Richards- Manager

Brenda Lowry brings to AO NA over 30 years past-working experience as an Operating Room Registered Nurse in both Level 1 and Level 2 Trauma facilities in both Philadelphia and Paoli, PA. Responsibilities include planning, organizing and supporting educational activities and events for AO North America involving the CMF and Veterinary clinical divisions. These courses are based on clearly established needs which, in turn, help learners improve patient care and outcomes for their patients.

AO NA staff

Andrea has over 30 years of professional experience in Human Resources in industries including medical media, government, and association/non-profit management. Prior to her role as Chief Human Resources and Administrative Officer for AO NA, Andrea was the first female Vice President in her former company’s 48-year history and oversaw human resources, administrative services, and marketing. At AO NA Andrea oversees employee recruitment & retention, benefits, compensation, employee relations, training, professional development, policies & procedures, external and internal communications, marketing, governance/elections, meeting planning and member relations. Andrea holds two professional certifications in Human Resources: the PHR, and the SHRM-CP certification. She has a bachelor’s degree from The University of the Arts in Theatre and a master’s degree in Organization Leadership from Cabrini University. Andrea published her first book, Boss & Hunky: The Adventures of An Out-of-Work Gargoyle in the Fall of 2021 and is a professional speaker to HR and other business organizations.

Currently, a staff accountant who has been with AO North America, since 2021.

Currently the IT Analyst for AO North America. Providing Desktop Support to internal AONA Staff. Responsible for the Faculty Resources Center (FRC) as well as supporting faculty during AO North America Educational Events.

Charisse brings over 30 years of diversified experience in academia, not-for-profit, and the for-profit industry of continuing medical education to AO North America (AONA). Her professional experience includes 20 years of overseeing, managing, developing, and delivering quality continuing professional development programs for healthcare professionals and patient education and advocacy programs. Charisse’s understanding of regulatory compliance guidelines, adult learning principles, and educational design formats has led her to obtain two reaccreditations for AONA and two for one Communication Company. Her leadership experience includes appointment to Accreditation Council for Continuing Education (ACCME) Site Surveyor committee, a national continuing medical education organization, as well as service on a regional community health center board and a community board for student enrichment programs. She is also an accomplished, grant solicitor of major pharmaceutical funding for education activities. Prior to joining AONA, she spent the past 10 years in managerial positions such as; Accreditation Manager, Account Director, Education Compliance Officer, and Director of Education at several for-profit companies. Her primary role involved overseeing and managing multiple projects, re-selling and up-selling continuing education programs. Charisse brings strong project management, innovation and leadership skills to AO North as evidenced by her participation on the Greater Philadelphia Health Action Board of Directors and The House of Bread, Inc. Board of Directors. Charisse received a B.S. in Marketing with a minor in Management from Philadelphia College of Textiles and Sciences, and a Certificate of Completion in Healthcare Management from Philadelphia College of Textiles and Sciences.

A passionate learning strategist, educator who brings more than 20 years of experience and expertise in all areas of education including traditional and online learning, curriculum design and development, measurement and evaluation methods, instructional design, course design and delivery, needs assessments development, process improvement planning, the use of technology in design and delivery of education. She is an Educational Technology expert who has been involved in implementing online learning systems, learning object repositories, integrating technology solutions in learning, leading the design and implementation of tools related to social learning and mobile learning. A nationally and internationally recognized leader and consultant in continuing medical education, she has a deep interest in knowledge management and its effective translation to healthcare practice, with several committee and advisory board appointments, and awards. Dr. Subramaniam has worked in several capacities in education and training in academic, corporate, government, publishing, and not-for-profit organizations.
Before joining AO North America, she served as Principal, Learning and Change within the Premier Research Services group at Premier Inc., where she led the development and implementation of an education, quality improvement, training and Implementation research strategy aligned with the needs of over 3000 hospitals within the Premier network, including business development and marketing. She also served as the Assistant Dean for Continuing Medical Education at the Duke School of Medicine and was the Assistant Director for the Center for Educational Excellence at the DCRI managing over 450 CPD programs including several systems level quality improvement initiatives. In her leadership role within the Duke Center for Educational Excellence, Chitra lead several educational implementation projects and all of the PI/QI efforts working in collaboration with the Health system, the different Duke Departments, research networks and community organizations. She has worked also with the American Society for Clinical Pathology as the Director of Educational Design and Technology, a master designer for IBM, AT & T, CMS and several academic, corporate, government and non-for profit organizations. Her interests include creation and management of knowledge systems for the delivery of outcomes-based education, E-learning, educational research and quality improvement CE.

Dorene Winters has vast experience in Operating Room Nursing in both a Level 1 Trauma Center and Ambulatory Surgery Centers. Dorene transitioned into a leadership role as the Director for a multi-specialty surgery center where she was responsible for all aspects of the day to day operations. Dorene brings these skills to AONA, planning and organizing educational activities and events. These activities are planned to meet the needs of the learner, and thereby, improve patient care and outcomes for their patients.