Barbara Girardin earned her PhD in nursing from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. Currently employed as a forensic nurse, trainer, and grant writer by the Healing Hearts Rape Crisis Center in Tamuning, Guam, she has 31 years of clinical practice experience in the acute and critical care of adolescents and adults, with eight years of clinical practice in forensic nursing, conducting acute sexual assault exams, developing policies and standards of practice, and receiving funding for federal grants.

Dr. Girardin served as a consultant for the Sexual Assault Response Team (SART), Guam and at Naval Hospital, Guam, where she teaches the sexual assault advocate program at the Family Service Center. She authors a newsletter column titled "Research Briefs in Forensic Nursing" for the International Association of Forensic Nurses. She has also conducted community education programs for more than 500 middle and high school students, parents, and military commands on the topic of sexual assault. Dr. Girardin has served and is available as an expert forensic witness in sexual assault cases.

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.

The Journal of the American Medical Association quoted Ms. Faugno in a 1996 article titled "Experts Hope Team Approach Will Improve the Quality of Rape Examiners," stating, "She considers forensic nursing the 'challenge' to promote the exchange of ideas and knowledge among all of us and with other multidisciplinary professionals" (R. Voelker). She is a fellow in the American Academy of Forensic Science, as well as a founding member of the International Association of Forensic Nurses (IAFN). In 1996, she received the Outstanding Achievement award at the IAFN National Conference in Kansas City, Missouri, and in 1998, San Diego County presented her with the SART for her work.

Ms. Faugno is coauthor of Color Atlas of Sexual Assault (Mosby Publications 1997), the first book of its kind in the nation. She is also coauthor of Sexual Assault Across the Life Span, a 2003 G.W. Medical publication. Anyone wishing to contact Ms. Faugno may e-mail her at dialee(at)aol(dot)com.

Mary Spencer is medical director of the Child Abuse Program and the Sexual Abuse Response Team at Palomar-Pomerado Health in North San Diego County. She received her BA from the University of Colorado and MD from the University of California-Los Angeles. After medical school, Dr. Spencer completed a residency in pediatrics and a fellowship in pediatric infectious diseases at UCLA and worked as an assistant professor at the school until 1982. Currently, she is a clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of California-San Diego and has a private practice in pediatric and infectious disease medicine in Escondido.

Angelo Giardino is the medical director of Texas Children's Health Plan, a clinical associate professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine, and an attending physician for the Texas Children's Hospital's forensic pediatrics service at the Children's Assessment Center in Houston, Texas. He graduated summa cum laude from Temple University and earned his MD and PhD at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Giardino completed his residency and fellowship training in pediatrics at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Immediately after his fellowship training, Dr. Giardino became the assistant, and then the associate, medical director at Health Partners of Philadelphia, where he had primary responsibility for utilization management, intensive case management, and health care data analysis. He also shared responsibility for the plan's quality improvement program. In that role, Dr. Giardino led "Little Partners," a lay home visiting program focused on fostering enhanced prenatal care and improved healthier birth outcomes. Additionally, Dr. Giardino began the Child Abuse and Neglect Team for Children with Special Health Care Needs, which was funded by a three-year grant from a local philanthropy. In 1998, he was appointed associate chair of clinical operations in the Department of Pediatrics at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), and in June of 1999 he was asked to chair the CHOP Quality Committee. As chair, Dr. Giardino supervised quality improvement, accreditation, and outcomes management for a wide variety of clinical programs within the hospital. He also served as an attending physician on CHOP's Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect (SCAN) team. These accomplishments are only a few of his career.

Dr. Giardino is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Texas Pediatric Society, and the Harris County Medical Society, where he serves on the Managed Medicaid Forum and the Medical Directors Committee. He is 10-year member of the American College of Physician Executives and a member of the American College of Medical Quality. Prior to relocating to Houston, Dr. Giardino served as chair of the Philadelphia Branch Board of the Southeastern Chapter of the American Red Cross, president of the Board for Bethany Christian Services in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, and a member of the Board for the Support Center for Child Advocates, where he was named a 2005 Champion for Children. His academic accomplishments include publishing eight textbooks on child abuse and neglect, presenting on a variety of pediatric topics at national and regional conferences, and, most recently, being appointed to a three-year term on the National Review Board for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.