Kristy Novak, MA
President & Co-Founder,
Society of Clinical Placement Professionals (SCPP)
Kristy Novak is an accomplished leader in healthcare education and clinical placement strategy, currently serving as the President and Co-Founder of the Society for Clinical Placement Professionals (SCPP). With over 14 years of experience in higher education, Kristy has established herself as a national thought leader in the field of clinical education and academic-practice partnership development.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in Communications from the University of Maryland, College Park and a master’s degree in Adult Learning from Walden University. Kristy spent nine years at the University of Maryland, Baltimore School of Nursing (UMSON), where she served as Associate Director of Student Placements. In this role, she was instrumental in building the infrastructure for Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) clinical rotations, overseeing seven specialty areas across two campuses. Her work emphasized clinical partnership development, preceptor retention, and optimizing placement processes to support a growing pipeline of advanced practice nursing students.
During her tenure at UMSON, Kristy led the implementation of a new clinical tracking system and served as the Clinical Partner Liaison for the Supporting Nursing Advanced Practice Transitions (SNAPT) Fellowship, a collaborative initiative with Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. She also contributed to several academic-practice grants and co-authored publications aimed at improving clinical education systems.
A strong advocate for staff engagement and shared governance, Kristy served two terms as President of the University of Maryland, Baltimore Staff Senate and two terms as Chair of the UMSON Staff Council, where she championed policies that improved workplace culture and operational efficiency.
Currently, Kristy is the Director of Community Education at Howard Community College, where she leads the development of innovative, inclusive programs serving youth, special populations, older adults, and musicians through The Music Institute. Her work continues to reflect her commitment to lifelong learning, community engagement, and advancing equitable access to education and clinical training.
