Upcoming: In the Room: Building Bridges, Breaking Down Walls: Transforming Conflict in the Care of Medically Complex Children

Stacy Smith, MA, MLS, BSN, RN, HEC-C, is a registered nurse, healthcare ethicist, social scientist, mediator/facilitator, and PhD candidate in Conflict Analysis and Resolution. She is the founder and CEO of Convergence Healthcare Consulting and has over 20 years of experience in pediatric palliative care, supporting hundreds of families and clinicians navigating the complexities of caring for children with serious and medically complex conditions. Her dissertation research explores the lived experiences of bereaved parents and pediatric clinicians in end-of-life decision-making, examining how conflict emerges and how communication shapes these high-stakes moments. Stacy currently teaches in the University of Pennsylvania's Program in Clinical Conflict Management, training healthcare professionals in conflict transformation, crisis de-escalation, and therapeutic communication. She previously served as Senior Director at Children's Health in Dallas, where she created the Children’s Health Ethics Consultation Service (CHECS) and the RISE (Resilience, Integrated Ethics, Staff Support, and Engagement) programs to support clinicians through moral distress and complex clinical situations. She has also served as Lead Healthcare Ethicist for the Veterans Health Administration and on the American Nurses Association's Center for Ethics and Human Rights Advisory Board. A national speaker on healthcare ethics, conflict resolution, and pediatric palliative care, Stacy is passionate about transforming conflict into opportunities for connection, understanding, and collaborative care that honors what matters most to children and families.