Board of Directors

Jim Stobinski has 35 years of perioperative nursing experience; his education includes a Diploma of Nursing from the Toledo Hospital School of Nursing and a BSN and MSN from East Carolina University. He earned his PhD in International Health Research from Touro University International in June of 2011 for a study of competency and skill acquisition in perioperative nurses. He combines nearly two decades of perioperative management experience with academic preparation and has published and presented extensively at the national level. Since 2011 he has been employed at the Competency and Credentialing Institute in Denver, Colorado where in February 2017 he began serving as the CEO. In 2018 he assumed the role of CEO of the CCI Research Foundation. He also serves as adjunct faculty at Nova Southeastern University in Ft Lauderdale Florida and Wilkes University in Pennsylvania. Dr. Stobinski maintains an active research agenda centered on nursing workforce issues, certification, and patient outcomes.

Tonya Levine has 20 years of perioperative experience, including managing the Department of Surgical Services for over 15 years.  She earned a dual Master’s of Science in Nursing and Business Administration from the University of Phoenix and her undergraduate Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of North Florida.  Throughout her professional journey, Tonya has been a perioperative leader and AORN Chapter member in various regions of the United States.  She currently sits on the eChapter Research Committee Chapter and is the current Vice President of Surgical Services at Swedish Medical Center.  She is a proud mother of three human boys and two furry boys.  In her free time, she enjoys spending time in the outdoors and riding her motorcycle.

Sandra Lindahl has over 35 years experience in the perioperative setting. She holds a BA in Sociology, an AD in Nursing, a BS in Nursing, and an MS in Health Care Leadership. Over the course of her career, she has functioned in many leadership roles, most recently as Perioperative Educator at Swedish Medical Center and presently as Clinical Program Manager at Pfiedler Education, a subsidiary of AORN. She is experienced in facilitating and presenting webinars and seminars and was published in the May AORN Journal. Sandi has served on the planning committee for the annual Nursing Collaborative Workshop for the past two years.

Sandi has one daughter and a grandson. She lives in Littleton, and participates in a book club, a Women’s Civic Organization, and she enjoys knitting and hiking.

Tammy Woolley RN, MS, MBA, CNOR, CSM, NEA-BC has over 40 years of perioperative experience and has been an active member of DAORN for the past 37 years. She has served in all positions on the Board of Directors and Chapter Committees. Tammy has 3 decades of perioperative leadership experience in the Denver area and is currently the educator at Platte Valley Medical Center in Brighton. Tammy enjoys playing golf and spending time with her family and dog.

Denise Maxwell-Downing is a perioperative Registered Nurse with 25+ years of experience at an Ambulatory Surgery Center and several Level I Trauma Centers as a perioperative leader, educator, and quality/infection preventionist. She was a Perioperative Informatics Nurse Specialist at AORN and a Perioperative Clinical Consultant at Cerner Corporation before joining HCA Swedish Medical Center as the Perioperative Business Manager. She earned her Bachelors of Science in Nursing degree with a minor in Business Administration from the University of New Mexico. Her Master’s in Health Systems Leadership from the University of Colorado and a Post-Graduate degree in Healthcare Informatics from the University of Colorado.

Kim Caesar, BSN, RN-IV, CNOR, Clinical Scholar has over 40 years of operating room experience. Starting out as a medical records tech in Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, CA in 1980, Kim was introduced to the world of surgery and the role of the surgical technologist by the cardiac surgeons on staff who invited her to observe an open-heart procedure. Talk about love at first sight! Kim completed her surgical tech training at Los Angeles Trade Technical College and began working as a surgical tech in 1981, in the same hospital where she was born, in Hawthorne, California. Kim moved to Denver in 1991 and briefly took a spot in the Labor and Delivery unit at Aurora Humana. Later, she joined the evening crew at St. Anthony’s Central Main OR. From 1993 to 1999, Kim and her family were in Long Beach, CA where she worked at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center. Ultimately, she returned to Denver in 1999 for good. St. Joseph Hospital has been her home since then. Kim was able to complete her ADN at Front Range Community College in 2006, graduating  with honors as the Class President. Eventually she returned to Regis University to complete her BSN,  graduating Magna Cum Laude, while working full time. She has been at St. Joseph Hospital for 22 years and is currently Clinical Coordinator for the Cardiac and Vascular Surgery Services and Anesthesia Techs.

Kim enjoys the Colorado seasons with fun related to water. In the winter, Kim is a NASTAR National Giant Slalom Gold Medalist on frozen fluffy water. During the summer, she and her dog love to go out on her fishing boat. Kim and her husband Lancelot have raised two sons and will celebrate 35 years of marriage in the summer of 2022.

Adam Mckew, BSN, RN, CNOR has over 20 years of experience in healthcare. He holds a BS in Nursing from Chamberlain College of Nursing, and his ADN from Philips Beth Israel School of Nursing in New York City, and currently is enrolled in his Master of Organizational Leadership at CSU-Global. Adam has served in many roles: as surgical tech in the US Navy, clinical nurse in the OR, PICU, and ICU, house supervisor, clinical nurse service coordinator of the Breast and Plastics service line to currently working as the Nurse Manager at UCHealth Highlands Ranch. Adam is passionate about patient experience and is working on a virtual reality project to improve patient experience and reduce anxiety in the perioperative setting.

Are you interested in joining the Board, but not quite ready yet to jump in with both feet? Please contact us about the opportunities as a Board Mentee.

Ryan Kirkpatrick currently serves on the Denver AORN board of directors as the Vendor Liaison for fundraising events. For his day job, he is the Regional Manager for Baxter Advanced Surgery supporting products such as Floseal and Tisseel covering several states including CO, WY, MT, NE and eastern WA with his team of 8 field sales representatives. As a supporter of DAORN, Baxter has partnered with the chapter on multiple occasions over the last 8 years to deliver CE events to the members. Ryan previously worked for Synthes and Abbott in the medical device field and also served in the US Army. He is a supporter of all things AORN and lives here in CO with his wife, Wendi, and two children.