Jahan Azizi, BS, CBET has spent 30 years in healthcare settings investigating and reporting problems with medical devices, his focus has always been on fixing and correcting, then moving on to the next. Jahan has several years with device manufacturing and at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as well. Jahan has written numerous safety reports, internal reports, presentations, and hospital policies. He has published the findings from his work, better to reach those in industries and in regulatory agencies that can effect positive changes in medical device design, maintenance, and control. Jahan has spent several years on the issue of validating and optimizing surgical instrument reprocessing methods, which has provided him with a unique skill set and knowledge. Jahan was invited to make presentations at the FDA and industry professionals at symposia of the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI), the American Society for Testing of Materials (ASTM), the FDA's MedSun, HSPA (IAHCSMM), local societies, and Jahan is Primary Voter at several AAMI and ASTM Standard Committee(s).

Cheron Rojo is a CRCST, CIS, CER, CFER, CHL, and FCS (Fellow Central Service). He served on the PDRC (Professional Development Resource Committee) for HSPA in his career, and currently on the board of Directors for the CCSA (California Central Service Association) Chapter as president-elect.

Mr. Rojo has 30 years in the Sterile Processing arena as a has a Sterile Processing Technician, SPD Educator, an Instrument Coordinator, and a Surgical Technologist in the Surgical realm. Mr. Rojo is currently one of the Clinical Education Specialists for Healthmark Industries and has been with the company for over four years. Mr. Rojo currently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada.

He graduated with his BS in Communication and with a certificate in Marketing in April of 2021. Mr. Rojo will start working on his master’s in health administration in October as well. He is also currently on the AAMI working groups for ST79, ST91, TIR108, TIR99, and current co-chair for PB70.

Mr. Rojo has also presented to seminars/webinars across the country and internationally for numerous organizations like; APIC, SGNA, AORN, CBSPD, and HSPA, with topics relating to communication and human relations, insulation quality testing programs, and the use of effective magnification to name a few.

Mr. Rojo is a published author in the AORN Journal in the December issue in 2018 on “The Importance of Leak Testing Flexible Endoscopes “and the PROCESS magazine Jan/Feb issue in 2022 on “Inspection and Integrity Testing of Insulated Instruments: Concerns for Failure and New Guidelines for Testing.”

Cheron Rojo was named the 2018 “Educator of the Year” by the Golden West Central Service Chapter. And he also received his (FCS) Fellowship through HSPA in October of 2021 on a study regarding the issues surrounding insulation testing. Mr. Rojo is a great advocate for providing education throughout the county and globally and believes “Attitude is Everything!”

Abby Smart, MPH is a Clinical Research Associate at Healthmark. She has 7 years of experience designing and conducting real-world studies that evaluate medical device processing effectiveness and patient safety across a variety of clinical settings. Her work has focused on topics including endoscope processing, surgical instrument cleaning and inspection, and contamination risks within sterile processing environments and has been published in leading journals including the American Journal of Infection Control and Biomedical Instrumentation & Technology. Abby is passionate about translating complex data into meaningful insights to support evidence-based improvements in patient safety.

Rebecca Peplau began her career as a veterinary assistant, where she discovered her passion for surgical procedures and found her niche in reprocessing surgical instruments. After 11 years in veterinary medicine, she transitioned to sterile processing in human healthcare at a small community hospital, where she further honed her skills. She then explored opportunities at different facilities including Level-1 trauma hospitals, outpatient surgery centers, endoscopy units and smaller community hospitals. During this time, she took on roles such as Lead Technician, Manager, and Educator.  A graduate of Unity College with a B.S., she holds multiple certifications, including CRCST, CER, CHL, CSPDT, and LSSWB. Rebecca is a dedicated professional, recognized for her contributions as a published author in PROCESS Magazine and Healthcare Purchasing News. Her insights and expertise have garnered attention, leading to her being awarded Healthcare Purchasing News’s 40 Under 40. Rebecca is currently the President of the Northern New England Chapter of HSPA, covering Maine and New Hampshire.  She is an active member of several AAMI working groups and a former podcast host, having also appeared on additional industry podcasts to discuss hot topics and issues faced by the sterile processing community. She strives to advance sterile processing practices and sharing her knowledge and 20 years of experience with the next generation of professionals.

Kaumudi Kulkarni is the Senior Manager of Research and Development at Healthmark Ind. Kaumudi has been part of the medical device reprocessing industry for more than 10 years and has spent her career working with medical device manufacturers, sterile processing professionals and independent testing laboratories along with the other professional groups and organizations. With her expertise, Healthmark is better able to help meet the ever changing regulatory environment for instrument reprocessing. A voting member at AAMI and ASTM, Kaumudi is also actively involved in developing products that help improve patient care outcomes.

Michael Matthews, MBA, CLSSGB, CRCST, CIS, CHL currently serves as a Clinical Education Manager for Healthmark – a Getinge company. He previously held the position of Director of Customer Training and Education for Agiliti. Prior to Agiliti’s acquisition of Northfield Medical, Michael served as Director of Clinical Education and Training for Northfield Medical in addition to former roles of Territory Manager for the Little Rock, Arkansas area, and a Clinical Education Manager for the southeast region.  Before working at Northfield, Michael served as the manager for sterile processing at Baptist-Health Medical Center-Conway, Arkansas. During this time Michael also served as an Infection Preventionist on a PRN basis to consult on reprocessing services throughout the Baptist-Health system. Michael has previously served as a Sterile Processing Technician at Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s Healthcare (2012-2013) and Baptist East Hospital (2011-2012), both in Louisville, KY, and system manager for sterilization and high-level disinfection at Conway Regional Medical Center (2013-2016). He holds three Healthcare Sterile Processing Association (HSPA) certifications for sterile processing. Michael has also served as a subject matter expert and participated in exam development for HSPA. Michael holds an MBA and has also been certified as a Lean Six Sigma Greenbelt.  He has published articles in Infection Control Today, Becker’s Hospital Review, Healthcare Purchasing News, as well as a frequent conference speaker on sterile processing related topics. Michael is also a former cohost of the Beyond Clean podcast.

Abby Smart, MPH is a Clinical Research Associate at Healthmark. She has 7 years of experience designing and conducting real-world studies that evaluate medical device processing effectiveness and patient safety across a variety of clinical settings. Her work has focused on topics including endoscope processing, surgical instrument cleaning and inspection, and contamination risks within sterile processing environments and has been published in leading journals including the American Journal of Infection Control and Biomedical Instrumentation & Technology. Abby is passionate about translating complex data into meaningful insights to support evidence-based improvements in patient safety.

Jahan Azizi, BS, CBET has spent 30 years in healthcare settings investigating and reporting problems with medical devices, his focus has always been on fixing and correcting, then moving on to the next. Jahan has several years with device manufacturing and at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as well. Jahan has written numerous safety reports, internal reports, presentations, and hospital policies. He has published the findings from his work, better to reach those in industries and in regulatory agencies that can effect positive changes in medical device design, maintenance, and control. Jahan has spent several years on the issue of validating and optimizing surgical instrument reprocessing methods, which has provided him with a unique skill set and knowledge. Jahan was invited to make presentations at the FDA and industry professionals at symposia of the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI), the American Society for Testing of Materials (ASTM), the FDA's MedSun, HSPA (IAHCSMM), local societies, and Jahan is Primary Voter at several AAMI and ASTM Standard Committee(s).

Ron Hunsucker began his career as a Central Service Supply Technician in 1979 at Santa Rosa Medical Center. In 1984 he began the CRCST course through Purdue University and was certified by IAHCSMM in 1986. Studying for the certification led to instituting changes, to meet standards, within his department. Shift Manager by 1985 and Manager by 1988, helping design a new Sterile Processing Department in a new facility and implementing a Cart Exchange System for Nursing Units. Transferring to the new facility he introduced count sheets and inventory control solutions. Ron was hired at Metropolitan Hospital in 1989 by an RN that had just been assigned as SPD Manager and wanted to get his entire staff certified. Metro’s SPD was the first fully certified SPD in San Antonio, TX. Working PRN for the first month, becoming Supervisor and working with his Manager to form and act as Secretary for the South Texas Sterile Processing Society he eventually becoming Manager. In 1996 he was recipient of the Caregiver Of The Year Award from Methodist Healthcare Systems. In 1999 Ron was hired as the Implant Procurement Manager. In 2008 Ron was recruited into a career in sales, eventually becoming and Independent Sales Representative and a Sterile Processing Consultant, he sold everything he had purchased in the past for all the Perioperative Departments. In 2019 Ron was hired as a Clinical Director and Business Development Manager for Streamline Hospital Services. As a partner he helped grow the company from a $300,00.00 to a $3,000,000.00 a year company. Ron recruited and worked with Hank Balch to create the South Texas Association of Sterile Processing Services and is now the acting President. Accepting a position as a Clinical Education Specialist with Healthmark Ind., Ron hopes to help everybody understand the importance of all that Sterile Processing does to help keep patients safe. Doing it right, the first time, all the time!!

Dyan Darga RN, MSN, CGRN, NE-BC is a Clinical Education Specialist with extensive expertise in Gastroenterology, Endoscopy, and high-level disinfection of endoscopes. She holds a BA in Psychology from Michigan State University, a BSN from Wayne State University and an MSN in nursing leadership and administration from Capella University.

With 30 years of nursing experience, including 20 years in gastroenterology, Dyan has worked in various endoscopy roles, from circulating and assisting physicians to technical operations and scope reprocessing.  She has spent the last decade in endoscopy leadership managing Gastroenterology Departments at Emory Healthcare, Northside Hospital (Atlanta, Georgia) and Henry Ford Health (Michigan).

Dyan is certified in Gastroenterology (CGRN) and is a Board-Certified Nurse Executive (NE-BC). She serves as the Membership Director for the Michigan Society of Gastroenterology Nurses and Associates (MSGNA) Board of Directors and has been an active SGNA national member for over 10 years, attending annual conferences.

Dyan is passionate about continuous process improvement, operational efficiency, and patient safety. Dyan is dedicated to advancing best practices in gastroenterology and endoscopy.

Rebecca Peplau began her career as a veterinary assistant, where she discovered her passion for surgical procedures and found her niche in reprocessing surgical instruments. After 11 years in veterinary medicine, she transitioned to sterile processing in human healthcare at a small community hospital, where she further honed her skills. She then explored opportunities at different facilities including Level-1 trauma hospitals, outpatient surgery centers, endoscopy units and smaller community hospitals. During this time, she took on roles such as Lead Technician, Manager, and Educator.  A graduate of Unity College with a B.S., she holds multiple certifications, including CRCST, CER, CHL, CSPDT, and LSSWB. Rebecca is a dedicated professional, recognized for her contributions as a published author in PROCESS Magazine and Healthcare Purchasing News. Her insights and expertise have garnered attention, leading to her being awarded Healthcare Purchasing News’s 40 Under 40. Rebecca is currently the President of the Northern New England Chapter of HSPA, covering Maine and New Hampshire.  She is an active member of several AAMI working groups and a former podcast host, having also appeared on additional industry podcasts to discuss hot topics and issues faced by the sterile processing community. She strives to advance sterile processing practices and sharing her knowledge and 20 years of experience with the next generation of professionals.

Jennifer Benolken, CPPL, is the North America Customer Enablement and Market Development Manager for DuPont Tyvek^® Healthcare Packaging. She leads a team of Medical Device Manufacturer representatives and supports medical device and pharmaceutical customers with education and technical guidance on Tyvek^® healthcare packaging and sterilization. She brings more than 30 years of experience across packaging, labeling, and sterilization. 

Jennifer is active in key industry standards organizations. She is DuPont’s Primary Member for AAMI ST/WG7, serves as a U.S. delegate and secretary for ISO TC198/WG7, sits on the AAMI Board of Directors, and chairs ASTM F02.50, Package Design and Development. She is also a lifetime Certified Packaging Professional and former IoPP National Board member and former Medical Device Packaging Technical Committee Chair. 

Jennifer chairs KiiP, an industry initiative focused on sterile barrier packaging working to advance collaboration across the sterility maintenance value chain, and co-leads the Kilmer Community, which connects teams focused on sterility assurance and microbiological quality. She has served on the Kilmer Conference Program Committee in 2019, 2022, and 2025, and is a frequent speaker at a variety of industry seminars, events, and conferences.