Adolescent and Adult Sexual Assault Assessment – Entry-Level

Diana Faugno, a Minnesota native, graduated from the University of North Dakota in 1973 with a degree in nursing and obtained an MSN in 2006. Her professional experience includes nursing in the Medical/Surgical, Labor and Delivery, Pediatrics, and Neonatal Intensive Care departments. Ms. Faugno obtained her certification in pediatric nursing in 1990, began a career as a sexual assault nurse examiner in 1991, and became a certified sexual assault nurse examiner in 2002. She is the former director of Forensic Health Services, which includes a child abuse program, sexual assault team, and a family violence program in North San Diego County. Currently, Ms. Faugno is a board director for End Violence Against Women International. She has made several presentations to the scientific community and has led workshops on sexual assault presented at the American Academy of Science.

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Rachell Ekroos (formerly Copeland), a board certified family nurse practitioner, specializes in forensic nursing and serves populations affected by violence. As a recognized expert in sexual violence across the lifespan, she has provided more than 1,500 medical forensic evaluations for patients and completed more than 5,000 peer reviews. In addition to her clinical practice, she provides case consultation and educational services for forensic and general health care providers, members of interdisciplinary response teams, task forces, and advisory committees. Through her service as a medical volunteer with an international organization, Rachell Ekroos provides medical evaluations for victims of torture seeking asylum in the United States.

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Jill Crum received her nursing degree in 1997 from College of the Desert in Palm Desert, California. She began her nursing career as a medical-surgical nurse at Eisenhower Medical Center and has since become an emergency department nurse, forensic controller for the Center’s Tennity Emergency Department, and co-founder of its sexual assault response team. In 2009, she earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Phoenix and was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing.

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Patricia Speck is an internationally recognized family nurse practitioner who specializes in public health and forensic nursing. She graduated from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, College of Nursing and later completed her doctoral dissertation on sexual assault program evaluation. As a board certified family nurse practitioner, Patricia’s clinical practice focuses on the health aftermath of violence and her research centers on forensic nursing practice topics. She is a consultant, author, and lecturer on forensic nursing and has earned more than 20 local, national, and international awards and professional honors for her work. Patricia chairs the American Public Health Association’s Family Violence Forum and is a former president of the International Association of Forensic Nurses.

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