2026 Speaker Spotlights

Kristina Heering, MS, CRNA, APRN, has been practicing nurse anesthesia for 10 years across a variety of clinical settings throughout middle Tennessee. Since 2022, she has served on the TANA Wellness Committee, supporting initiatives that promote the well-being and resilience of anesthesia professionals.  

Katherine (Katie) Cooper, CRNA, MS. Katie has been a CRNA in Middle Tennessee for over 20 years and currently works with Sweet Dreams Anesthesia and Speciality Anesthesia in Franklin, TN. She specializes in Office-Based Anesthesia, with a focus in Fertility Anesthesia. Katie also teaches AHA course BLS, ACLS, and PALS with her company CRNAACLS.com  

Brittney has been a CRNA for over 5 years. She is a Union University alumni and currently works at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, TN. Some of her professional passions are surgical mission trips, CRNA mental health, and trauma anesthesia.

Jeffrey Tieder, DNAP, CRNA, NSPM-C, is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Nurse Anesthesia Program at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where he teaches peripheral nerve blocks, central nervous system physiology, obstetric anesthesia, central venous access, anesthesia business, and professionalism. He is fellowship trained and board certified in non-surgical pain management and maintains an

Jennifer is the current AANA Vice-President, following a two-year term as AANA Region Director for Region 3 and a one-year term as Treasurer. She has been a dedicated committee member serving on several committees for AANA, including chairing the PAC Committee, Finance Committee, and currently the Governance Committee.  Residing in northeast Illinois, she practices anesthesia

Crystal O’Guin, DNP, CRNA is an Assistant Professor in the Virginia Commonwealth University Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice Program. Dr. O’Guin team teaches in courses throughout the program in both the classroom and simulation lab. She is course director of several of the Principles & Practice courses in the curriculum and a primary research advisor

Cynthia Dabney, PhD, DNP, CRNA, is an Associate Professor in the University of South Florida Nurse Anesthesiology Program and maintains an active clinical practice at Tampa General Hospital. She began her nursing career after earning an Associate Degree in Nursing from Gulf Coast State College and later completed a Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Florida

We are excited to welcome Tonia Bales, BSN, CRNA to TANA’s 89th Annual Meeting. Millions have heard the podcast. Millions more watched the Netflix series. Almost none of them heard it from the CRNA who was married to him. For years, Tonia Bales, BSN, CRNA was the wife of John Meehan — the nurse anesthetist