WVNA 2026 Legislative Leader Training

Lya M. Cartwright-Stroupe, DNP, APRN, CPNP-BC, NEA-BC, NPD-BC, JJNIF, is currently the System Director of Nursing Practice and Education for WVU Medicine. Lya has led organizational initiatives that include a clinical program for professional excellence for direct care nurses, implementation of care plans, patient education, as well as initiatives for the nursing workforce. Dr. Stroupe recently completed a Johnson & Johnson Nursing Innovation Fellowship. She currently serves as Chair on the Commission for Accreditation for the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). Lya has experience as a Pediatric Intensive Care Nurse and Pediatric Nurse Practitioner before stepping into leadership roles. Lya is the Immediate past president of WVONL and serves on faculty in the West Virginia University Schools of Nursing and Pediatric Nurse Practitioner program. Dr. Stroupe holds a BSN degree from West Virginia University and MSN and DNP degrees from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, SC. In addition to nursing degrees, Lya holds a doctoral degree in Piano Performance Literature and continues to collaborate with musicians throughout the state and region.

Jodi Biller, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, is a Marshall alumna with a Doctor of Nursing Practice from West Virginia University. She has been a nurse practitioner since 2013 in the field of pulmonary medicine and has experience in pulmonary/critical care and long-term acute care. In addition to her clinical practice, she is the director of clinical improvement for MHC ACO and works closely with healthcare leaders at Mountain Health Network and Marshall Health to analyze, develop, and implement clinical programs that promote population health. In 2007, she completed an Associate of Science in Nursing from Marshall University/St. Mary’s School of Nursing. While working full-time in intensive care at St. Mary’s Medical Center and per diem at Cabell Huntington Hospital, she completed the RN to BSN (2010) and Master of Science in Nursing (2013). She has a passion for population health and healthcare policy and is driven to make changes for APRNs to provide care at the full extent of their scope of practice. Individualized patient-centered care is the foundation of her practice. In West Virginia, she has had three bills sponsored that have become state law. These included no managed care organization can deny payment to APRNs based on having a collaborative agreement, psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners are now able to provide counseling to patients with substance use disorder, and APRNs and Physician Assistants can prescribe all medications except Schedule I and three days of narcotics while following the Opioid Reduction Act. Through team building and continued relationships, she works closely with legislative leaders in West Virginia and Washington, D.C. Dr. Biller finds gaps in care and creates workable solutions resulting in superior care for our community. Currently, she is the Immediate Past West Virginia State Liaison for the American Association of Nurse Practitioners and Immediate Past Chair of the Health Policy and Legislation Committee for the West Virginia Nurses Association.

Donte Newsom, DNP, FNP-BC, is a family nurse practitioner working in interventional radiology at Allegany Imaging, PC, and UPMC Western Maryland. He is also an adjunct instructor for the family nurse practitioner program at Simmons University. Dr. Newsom earned a BSN, MSN, and a Doctor of Nursing Practice all from West Virginia University. A leader in human and civil rights in West Virginia, Dr. Newsom pursued his Doctor of Nursing Practice with the goal of opening pathways to improve nursing and health care practice. Newsom aspires to influence practice change and shape how care is delivered in the future. Donte currently serves as a board member with Fairness West Virginia, the statewide human/civil rights organization devoted to equal rights for all LGBTQ+ West Virginians. He also serves as a medical officer for Mountaineer Boys State, a board member for The Connecting Link, and on the WVNA Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee (DEI). Donte is a Fairmont, West Virginia, native and spent most of his life in north central WV. He currently lives in Mineral County.

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