Linda Shepherd is a Principal Consultant at Joint Commission Resources and Short Term International Medical Missions Coordinator - International Pentecostal Holiness Churches. Dr. Shepherd is a subject matter expert in healthcare leadership and change management. Her advocacy for nursing and patients spans organizational, state, national, and international levels. During Dr. Shepherd’s consecutive terms as Virginia Nurses Association (VNA) President, she created a statewide unified nursing platform, the Virginia Legislative Nursing Alliance (VLNA). This platform served to apprise diverse groups on healthcare issues, while accentuating the value of nursing through informing, influencing, and collaborating with lawmakers, lobbyists, and professional organizations. Through Dr. Shepherd's leadership, bills impacting the scope of nurse practitioner practice and healthcare worker compensation were broadened; laws addressing healthcare protection and mental well-being were enacted; and multiple rounds of financial awards for nursing were recognized. As an international medical mission coordinator, she created pathways for sustained healthcare access for globally impoverished populations. Overcoming religious and cultural differences she earned trust. Leveraging partnerships, her visual playbook, and mentoring others, resulted in twelve sustained global clinics and recognition by the International Nurses Foundation. Dr. Shepherd holds a DNP from James Madison University, an MBA from Liberty University, and a BSN from Lynchburg University.