The 2026 event’s live educational presentations and procedural demonstrations are led by Empire physicians and educators — who teach the same techniques at Empire’s certification workshops every month of the year.
Chris Croley, MD
Chief Medical Officer & Director of Aesthetics · Empire Medical Training
Founder, Skin and Tonic® Medspa · Pace, FL
Board-certified in Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Dr. Croley is Empire Medical Training’s Chief Medical Officer and Director of Aesthetics. He trained at Rush and Northwestern Universities in Chicago, where he served as Director of the Surgical ICU and Associate Director of Resident Education. With more than 20 years as a multi-specialty aesthetic and wellness physician, he founded the premier medspa Skin and Tonic® and has trained thousands of physicians, nurses, NPs, PAs, and dentists. A Galderma GAIN trainer and national key opinion leader, he develops and teaches Empire’s flagship injectable and combination-therapy curricula.
Maritza Mejia, FNP
Faculty Proctor · Empire Medical Training
Owner & Founder, LIBB by Maritza · Smithtown, NY
Two decades in healthcare — including critical-care and ICU nursing — before stepping fully into aesthetic medicine. Maritza earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing Cum Laude from Stony Brook University and completed her Family Nurse Practitioner training in 2023. She is the owner and founder of LIBB by Maritza in Smithtown, NY — a medical aesthetics practice built on natural, rejuvenating results using FDA-approved dermal fillers, neurotoxins, biostimulators, and advanced skin treatments. As an Empire Medical Training faculty instructor and a recognized Empire Practitioner of the Month, Maritza teaches the patient-safety-first philosophy that defines her work, and is featured on Empire On-Demand with her signature course, “The Complication Conversation: What Every Beginner Injector Needs to Know Before They Start.”
Ernai Hernandez, MD
Aesthetic & Anti-Aging Physician
Founder & Medical Director, Mederna Aesthetic & Wellness · Houston, TX
Dr. Ernai Hernandez earned his medical degree with honors from Habana Medical University in Cuba, then completed a residency in Family Medicine and worked as a primary care physician. After arriving in the United States, he completed a residency in Internal Medicine on Long Island, NY, and a fellowship with the Supportive Care Team at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX. With more than 10 years in medicine, his focus spans anti-aging medicine, aesthetic medicine, skincare, and mental health. He is the founder and Medical Director of Mederna Aesthetic and Wellness Medical Center and a member of the American Academy of Facial Aesthetics, the American Academy of Anti-Aging, and the American Spa Association.
