Dr. McIlvennan is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology at the University of Colorado. Colleen earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree at Marquette University and her Masters of Science, Doctor of Nursing Practice, and PhD degrees at the University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus. She currently works as the Lead Nurse Practitioner in the Advanced Heart Failure and Transplantation Section at the University of Colorado. Her clinical experiences with patients who have advanced heart failure have led her to pursue a research career grounded in this patient population. She has experience with qualitative methodology and mixed methods. Her research focuses on family caregivers, decision making, end-of-life preferences.