Karen Mathias, RN, MSN, APRN, BC, Director
Karen Mathias has been the director of Children’s Simulation Center since its inception in 2006. She has been a pediatric/neonatal nurse for over 20 years, and began working with the concepts of high performing teams in the pediatric emergency department setting six years ago as a Clinical Nurse Specialist for the Emergency Departments at Children’s.

Karen pursued specialized training in simulation and debriefing through Stanford’s Center for Advanced Pediatric Education, and at the International Conference in Simulation and Healthcare in 2006 and 2007. She believes that pediatric simulation, and the opportunities for multidisciplinary teams to practice and debrief together, truly is the next generation of learning for health care professionals.

Karen teaches PALS and holds memberships in the Society for Simulation in Health Care and the Emergency Nurses’ Association.

Barb Peterson, RN, Simulation Specialist
Barb Peterson has been a pediatric nurse for nearly 20 years. The last 4 years have focused on the use of medical simulation techniques using a variety of simulation tools including high-fidelity mannequins. She has worked in both academic and clinical settings.

She is an enthusiastic supporter of simulation training and enjoys working collaboratively with organizations to develop curriculum that meets their training goals. Barb has pursued specialized training from the Institute for Medical Simulation affiliated with Harvard. She is a member of two professional organizations, the Society for Simulation in Healthcare and the International Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning, and was instrumental in creating the M-SHEP (Minnesota Simulation Health Education Professionals) group. She has been a consultant on a number of occasions and has delivered professional presentations locally and nationally.

Currently, Barb is pursuing her BSN-MSN degree with continuing focus on medical simulation at Metropolitan State University.

Cindy Anderson, RN, Simulation Specialist
Cindy Anderson has been a pediatric critical care nurse for over 16 years and is currently the Clinical Educator in the Emergency Department at Children's in Minneapolis. She became involved in simulation three years ago to train Emergency Department staff to effectively use high functioning teams while treating critically ill children, and has been an instructor in over 100 simulations over this period of time. Cindy is also a PALS instructor. She is currently pursuing an advanced nursing degree.

Susan Forvé, MBA, M.Ed., Operations Manager
Susan Forvé has been in charge of the Simulation Center’s operations since it’s inception in the fall of 2006. She coordinates logistics from many sources, handles the finances and creates systems that drive the design and development of this pre-eminent pediatric simulation resource.

Susan has a long history in the medical fields, however, leaves the clinical decision making to other professionals in the department. Susan has completed both an MBA and an M.Ed, furthering her expertise in the fields of training and business management.