The Dahlberg Scholar Story
The Dahlberg Scholar Award
The Dahlberg Scholar Award is supported by the Philip J. Dahlberg, M.D. Nursing Lectureship Fund at the Gundersen Medical Foundation.
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The annual Dahlberg Scholar Nursing Lecturship was established in 2001 by the Executive Leadership Group, medical staff members, administrators and managers of Gundersen Lutheran and the Gundersen Lutheran Medical Foundation in gratitude for Dr. Philip J. Dahlberg's outstanding leadership at Gundersen Lutheran. Philip J. Dahlberg, MD, joined Gundersen Clinic in 1977. During his medical practice and administrative tenure, Dr. Dahlberg served on Gundersen Lutheran’s boards of trustees and governors, as well as Gundersen Lutheran Health Plan and Health Science Consortium boards. In 1995, he was named president of the newly formed Gundersen Lutheran and later became its chief executive officer. During his career, Dr. Dahlberg authored more than 34 scientific publications and book chapters. He retired from Gundersen in 2001.
Each year, a nationally recognized nurse leader whose presentation showcases research and evidence-based practice expertise is chosen to receive the Dahlberg Scholar Award. This distinguished recipient - Dahlberg Scholar - is the featured keynote at Nursing Research on the Green. In addition to their keynote at the annual event, the Dahlberg Scholar spends time engaging with healthcare professionals and leadership from Emplify Health by Gundersen (Gundersen Health System) in a separate invitation only opportunity.
Philip J. Dahlberg, MD
Dan Weberg PhD, MHI, RN, FAAN
2026 Dahlberg Scholar
Dr. Dan Weberg is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and an expert in nursing, healthcare innovation and complex systems leadership. He has extensive clinical experience in emergency departments, acute in-patient hospital settings and academia. Dan supports Kaiser Permanente as the Executive Director of Nursing Workforce Development and Innovation building nursing workforce planning, a system level new grad residency program, and other system level nursing workforce initiatives. Â He has also held leadership roles at KP in nursing innovation, research, and technology strategy across eight regions, 38 hospitals, 70,000 nurses. Dan was part of the founding faculty for the new Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine. He previously served as the Vice President for Transformation Services at Ascension, supporting 60,000 nurses and 140+ facilities in modernizing nursing technology, developing new care models, and measuring innovation outcomes. Â Dan was Head of Clinical Innovation for Trusted Health, the staffing platform for the healthcare industry, where he helped drive product strategy and worked to change the conversation around innovation in the healthcare workforce. Dan is on the faculty at The Ohio State University College of Nursing and multiple innovation fellowship programs. He previously taught on nursing innovation and leadership at Arizona State University. He is on the editorial board for Nursing Administration Quarterly and has authored two dozen peer-reviewed articles and two textbooks, including Leadership for Evidence Based Innovation for Health Professions and Leadership in Nursing Practice. Dan earned his Bachelors in Nursing, and was in the first cohort to graduate from the Masters in Healthcare Innovation program, as well as the first-ever graduate of the PhD in Healthcare Innovation Leadership program at Arizona State University. Dan serves on several boards, including the American Nurses Association California as Vice President.
The Dahlberg Scholar is supported by Gundersen Medical Foundation's Philip J. Dahlberg, M.D. Nursing Lectureship Fund.
2021 Christine Grady PhD, RN, FAAN (Virtual Event)
​2022 Sherry Chesak PhD, RN, FAAN
2025 Judith Pechacek DNP, RN, CENP​