Our Team
Kimberly Spray, Founder and COO
Kim has spent the last 30 years working in emergency medicine, first as a paramedic and since 2010 as an emergency nurse. After completing her bachelor’s in nursing (BSN) in 2014, she took a position with Partners in Health (PIH) to care for Ebola patients in Sierra Leone. Upon returning to the US, she became the ED Educator at a Level-3 Trauma Center. But was drawn back to Africa and went to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) with Global Outreach Doctors (GoDocs). She volunteered with International Medical Corps. (IMC) at Maimonides Hospital in Brooklyn, NY, during the COVID-19 pandemic and then took a position as a critical care Charge nurse in a COVID-19 ICU. She last worked overseas for Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontiers, MSF) in Sierra Leone as the Nursing Team Supervisor for a Lassa Isolation unit. Kim is enrolled in a Nursing Ph.D. program at the University of New Mexico, College of Nursing, studying emergency nursing needs.
Shelia Chapman, Board Member
Nursing Educator | Curriculum Developer | Disaster & Global Health Nurse
Shelia brings over 40 years of nursing experience, specializing in adult acute and critical care, and 25 years in nursing education. Passionate about adult learning, she has led curriculum development for nursing programs across the U.S., ensuring education is both rigorous and adaptable to evolving healthcare needs.
Her dedication extends beyond traditional settings—she has provided nursing care in austere environments across Ecuador, Haiti, and rural Jamaica. In 2016, she joined Partners in Health for the Ebola response in Sierra Leone, working to strengthen care at Kono Government Hospital. This experience sparked her deep connection to Africa, leading her back in 2019 with U.S. Peace Corps Response to Eswatini (Swaziland), where she helped establish the nation’s first Nurse Educator and Leadership programs.
Since the pandemic, Shelia has focused her expertise on disaster response, serving as a dedicated American Red Cross volunteer, deploying to over 15 national disasters and countless local crises. With strengths in teaching, curriculum development, and delivering care in resource-limited settings, she remains committed to preparing nurses for the challenges of today’s healthcare landscape—wherever they are needed most.
Starr Edge, Board Member
Starr is a dedicated nurse with over 19 years of experience in emergency medicine, flight nursing, and humanitarian aid. Starting as an Army Nurse, Starr has since provided frontline medical care in austere and conflict-affected regions, including Iraq, Syria, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, Ukraine, and Gaza. Passionate about delivering care in the most challenging environments, she combines clinical expertise with a commitment to serving those in need during crisis.
Merril Tydings, Board Member
Merril is an experienced and compassionate nurse with over 15 years of dedication to serving vulnerable communities worldwide. Throughout her career, she has specialized in critical care, working primarily as a flight nurse and across several emergency departments throughout the Southwest. Merril’s global humanitarian efforts have taken her to some of the world’s most crisis-stricken regions, including Gaza, Ukraine, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, and Honduras, where she has provided life-saving care in the most challenging environments.
In addition to her frontline work, Merril has made significant contributions to the development of emergency nursing education. She has played a key role in writing and facilitating core emergency room nursing curriculum for multiple international NGOs, helping to enhance the quality of care in underserved areas.
Driven by a passion for service and global health, Merril continues to leverage her expertise to improve healthcare systems and empower nurses around the world.