After years of navigating their hospitals and health systems through the COVID-19 pandemic, chief nursing officers are now addressing staffing shortages, managing nursing budgets and creating professional pathways for the next generation of nurses.
CNOs are responsible for overseeing nursing departments, launching novel initiatives and maintaining outstanding patient care outcomes. These leaders bring a unique blend of clinical and leadership experience to their roles.
Note: This list is not an endorsement of included CNOs, organizations or associated healthcare providers. CNOs cannot pay for inclusion on this list. CNOs are presented in alphabetical order. We extend a special thank you to Rhoda Weiss for her contributions to this list.
Contact Anna Falvey at afalvey@beckershealthcare.com with questions or comments.
Paula Agosto, RN. Senior Vice President and System CNO at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Ms. Agosto provides oversight for a department of more than 7,000 nurses and clinical care services staff. She has led numerous successful cross-organizational improvement and operating plan initiatives. These include development of a novel nursing and clinical care services dashboard that promotes real-time, data-driven decisions regarding patient care, staffing and budget planning. CHOP is the country’s first institution to publish on this topic with two papers on this dashboard in The Journal of Nursing Administration. As a result of strong use of data, the nursing department has established four distinct programs from high school through advanced practice to support current and future development of diverse nursing staff. Exceptional academic partnerships also led to innovations in preceptorship, clinical education and simulation.
Debra Albert, DNP. CNO of NYU Langone Health (New York City). Dr. Albert has been with NYU Langone Health since April 2020. She oversees the nursing staff for the health system, which includes six inpatient locations and a large network of outpatient clinics and services. The health system earned top rankings in patient safety and quality of care from Vizient for the past eight years, and in 2021 was recognized as a top performer in the Bernard A. Birnbaum, MD, Quality Leadership annual ranking. Before her current role, she served as the senior vice president and CNO of UChicago Medicine.
Jim Allard, DNP, RN. CNO of Medical City Arlington (Texas). Dr. Allard serves as CNO for the 433-bed Medical City Arlington, leading over 630 nurses and partnering with other executives to provide outstanding clinical quality, patient outcomes and care experiences. As an LGBTQ executive leader, he champions DEI initiatives for the nursing team and the hospital’s 1,600 employees and 900 physicians. In 2022, the Dallas Business Journal honored Dr. Allard with its Leaders in Diversity Award. He has been working within the broader HCA Healthcare system since 2013 and was promoted to CNO of Medical City Arlington in August 2022.
Kris Allen. CNO at MSU Health Care (East Lansing, Mich.). Ms. Allen is in charge of strategic direction and operational management for primary care and specialty outpatient clinics at MSU. She has led the standardization of MSU’s patient care team and identified and articulated a strategic vision for clinical operations. She is also an advisor for MSU’s executive leadership team. She spent 18 years as a nursing professional, implementing evidence-based practices and improving overall patient satisfaction. Before joining MSU, she served as COO at a critical access hospital for eight years. In 2022, she partnered with MSU’s CMIO to optimize the system’s EHR. She also led MSU to a lower-than-average staff turnover rate.
Dianne Aroh, RN. Senior Vice President and CNO of Virginia Mason Franciscan Health. Ms. Aroh brought 25 years of leadership experience to Virginia Mason Franciscan Health when she joined the system as senior vice president and CNO in November 2021. She previously served as executive vice president and chief clinical and patient care officer at Hackensack (N.J.) University Medical Center, which was among the first hospitals in the U.S. to receive the Magnet Award for Nursing Excellence. Ms. Aroh is also an American College of Healthcare Executives fellow.
Jacqueline Attlesey-Pries. Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and CNO at Boulder (Colo.) Community Health. Ms. Attlesey-Pries is a leader in providing high-quality healthcare services to the Boulder community. She sets standards of care, supports the nursing staff and care teams, creates policies with departmental leaders and supports the overall patient and team-centered care at the health system. During the pandemic, she led the Boulder Community Health team by remaining optimistic, picking up extra shifts and providing care to hospitalized COVID-19 patients.
Natalie Baggio, DNP, RN. Chief Nursing Executive and Senior Vice President, Clinical Operations at Corewell Health in Southwest Michigan (St. Joseph). A passionate and energetic leader, Dr. Baggio joined Corewell Health in 2017 to lead a team of more than 900 nurses and oversees surgical and cardiovascular services, women and children’s health, emergency medicine, behavioral health services and oncology. Throughout her tenure at Corewell, she has been instrumental in leading nursing practice integration for the system, developing new service lines and creating professional development pipelines for nurses.
Deborah Baker, DNP. Senior Vice President for Nursing at Johns Hopkins Health System, Vice President of Nursing and Patient Care Services and CNO at The Johns Hopkins Hospital (Baltimore). Dr. Baker works with leaders across the hospital and health system to ensure clinical practice is patient-centered and evidence-based with unsurpassed clinical quality and patient safety, while contributing to education and research. She has created strategies to promote and support growth of a flexible nursing workforce, including a supplemental staffing office, and implemented initiatives to increase the voice of front-line nurses at all levels of decision-making. She first joined The Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1992 as a clinical nurse and held nursing leadership roles prior to her current position. She is also the associate dean for health systems partnership and innovation at Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing and a member of its advisory board. Dr. Baker received the Johns Hopkins Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumna Award and is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing.
Kathy Baker, PhD, RN. CNO of UVA Health and Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs of UVA School of Nursing (Charlottesville, Va.). Dr. Baker’s priorities include advancing nursing care models to ensure UVA Health’s support of recruitment, retention and mentorship of nurses. She provides strategic and operational leadership for the nursing staff at UVA Health, aligning their efforts with the medical center’s mission and vision while enhancing nursing practice and efficiency. She also plays a pivotal role in workforce development, quality, and patient safety. During her time with UVA Health, Dr. Baker has established numerous academic programs and partnerships, as well as launched the Center for Advanced Practice Nursing and a center for nursing excellence. Additionally, Dr. Baker is an author and nurse scientist, specializing in work environments, patient safety, and workplace satisfaction. She has previous experience in various leadership roles at VCU Health System, most recently associate chief nurse and associate vice president of nursing.
Jeremiah Bame, RN. CNO at Piedmont Athens (Ga.). With 15 years of progressive leadership roles at Piedmont, Mr. Bame excels in leading clinical integration of the Piedmont Athens acquired system facility, specifically in quality of care and patient safety, where he also supports the safety coach program. His management of cultural changes across multiple service lines has resulted in improved staff engagement and top quality and ratings. Under his leadership, nursing turnover rates at Piedmont Newton in Covington, Ga., were below the industry average and exceeded system goals. He previously served as the system’s manager of productivity where he provided consultative, technical and decision-making support on financial and operations improvements as well as Piedmont Newton Hospital’s CNO. He started his career in 2006 as a staff RN in Piedmont Atlanta’s medical-surgical ICU before becoming its charge nurse.
Dale Beatty, DNP, RN. Vice President of Patient Care Services and CNO of Stanford (Calif.) Health Care. Dr. Beatty has been with Stanford Health Care for five years, overseeing a team of nurses. He has more than 20 years of experience in nurse leadership roles, including programs that earned the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. He was recognized as one of U.S. News & World Report‘s “Top 15 Hospital CNOs” in 2021 and is a board member for the Association of California Nurse Leaders.
Carol Biggs. Senior Vice President and CNO of Jackson Health System (Miami). Dr. Biggs served as the CNO of Jackson Memorial Hospital for nearly four years before taking on her current role as senior vice president and chief nursing executive of Jackson Health System in February 2021. She oversees nursing operations for the health system, which includes six hospitals, a network of urgent care centers, two long-term nursing facilities, and multiple primary and specialty care centers. She received her doctor of health science degree from Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Nova Southeastern University.
Monica Bologna. CNO of West Jefferson Medical Center (Marrero, La.). Ms. Bologna began her career as a bedside nurse and has risen through the ranks to her current role as CNO of the 419-bed West Jefferson Medical Center. With a profound humility and unwavering commitment to advancing patient care, Ms. Bologna has implemented initiatives supporting staff education, mentorship, and work-life balance, which resulted in a nursing retention rate of 85 percent in 2022. She has also played a pivotal role in the creation of the medical center’s new neuro critical care unit.
Lisa Bowman. Vice President and CNO at AdventHealth for Children and AdventHealth for Women (Orlando). Ms. Bowman has operational oversight of a 200-bed Walt Disney Pavilion hospital that includes pediatric emergency and outpatient care. She has been with Advent for 20 years, helping families, women and children thrive personally and professionally. She helped Advent to open the first and only pediatric bone marrow transplant center in Central Florida.
Kit Bredimus, DNP, RN. CNO and Vice President at Midland (Texas) Memorial Hospital. Dr. Bredimus oversees the nursing practice at Midland Hospital. He is accountable for the effective provision of nursing services designed to meet patient, provider and community needs. He oversees the 293-bed acute care community hospital. He also shares accountability for the system’s finance, knowledge management, workforce and cultural engagement, managing a $130 million budget. He maintains high visibility and is responsible for building relationships with constituents, medical providers and more. He is also responsible for short-term operational planning.
Jennifer R. Brehmer, MSN, RN. Director of Patient Care and CNO of New Ulm Medical Center (Minneapolis). At New Ulm Medical Center, Ms. Brehmer oversees all aspects of patient care and nursing management in her role as director of patient care and CNO. She provides direct level leadership over hospital pharmacy, surgery, emergency, mental health, addiction, respiratory therapy, oncology, and safety and quality departments. Ms. Brehmer has previous experience as patient care manager of obstetrics and respiratory care at Allina Health.
Maria Lariccia Brennan, DNP, RN. CNO at University Hospital (Newark, N.J.). Dr. Brennan provides leadership and direction for University Hospital’s nursing team, planning and directing the functions and activities of patient care across several different service lines. She also works to promote excellence in patient care services. She establishes strategic goals and objectives that align with hospital values and directs the development and implementation of new policies, ensuring compliance with all legal and regulatory environments. She also fosters personal growth among the nursing team, encouraging creativity and innovation while building an environment for nurses to thrive. Within her first months at the hospital, she implemented a program that empowers nurses to claim their voices and feel confident enacting changes at all levels of their organizations. She has also taken strides towards reinforcing the backbone of the hospital and ensuring a brighter and more compassionate future for the staff.
Noreen Brennan, PhD, BSN. CNO of the Department of Veterans Affairs (Bronx, N.Y.). Dr. Brennan oversees and leads the healthcare team at the James J. Peters Bronx VA Medical Center, implementing innovative measures to address quality, safety, and patient and employee satisfaction via evidence-based approaches. A tenured nurse, she has enhanced clinical care at the facility by decreasing hospital acquired infections, developing programs for process improvement, focusing on making the medical center a high reliability organization and more. She empowers staff by observing skill sets and using a strengths-based approach to elicit team engagement.
Ruby Brewer. CNO at East Jefferson General Hospital (Metairie, La.). Ms. Brewer has a strong clinical background in nursing, labs, radiology, rehabilitation, trauma services and quality and care management. She has spent 22 years in various leadership positions throughout Texas and Louisiana. She is focused on expanding access to comprehensive and specialty care, advancing academic medicine, boosting innovation and providing community investment opportunities.
Steven Brockman-Weber, DNP. CNO of Ascension Texas. Mr. Brockman-Webster leads nursing teams across Ascension Texas’ care sites. In addition to his role at Ascension, he is serving a four-year term as a special government employee of the National Advisory Council on Nurse Education and Practice within the Health Resources and Services Administration, providing advice and recommendations to the HHS secretary and Congress on a range of issues. He is also a faculty member at Chicago-based Rush University College of Nursing, where he teaches in the DNP program.
Theresa Brodrick, PhD, RN. Executive Vice President and CNO of Hackensack Meridian Health (Edison, N.J.). Dr. Brodrick oversees nursing practices across Hackensack Meridian Health’s network. She has more than 30 years of healthcare management experience in academic and community settings, previously serving as regional CNO and vice president of clinical integration and transformation at Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente.
Alquietta Brown, PhD, BSN, RN. Vice President of Nursing for Inova Health System’s Behavioral Health Service Line and CNO at Inova Mount Vernon Hospital (Falls Church, Va.). Dr. Brown is responsible for overseeing the nursing practice with direct oversight of the hospital’s nursing and daily operations. Dr. Brown also works as a spokesperson for Inova’s nurses, representing the system’s mission, vision, values and strategic direction. She is experienced in operational execution and strategic planning and team development. She also excels at integrating and coordinating patient-centric nursing strategies to produce high quality, cost-effective healthcare. In 2023, she helped the system expand with a new 20-bed adult behavioral health unit and post-acute care hospital.
Susan J. Brown, PhD, RN. Senior Vice President of Patient Care Services and CNO of City of Hope (Duarte, Calif.). Dr. Brown offers strategic vision, leadership, and guidance to the nursing practice and patient care in her role as senior vice president of patient care services and CNO at City of Hope. She oversees patient care encompassing nursing, clinical nutrition, rehabilitation services, and respiratory and cardiac diagnostic laboratory services, and is responsible for practice and care standards in both inpatient and outpatient settings. Dr. Brown’s leadership led to the creation of the role of “Senior Clinical Trials Project and Training Specialist,” bridging the gap between clinical trials and patient care, emphasizing education and collaboration among nursing staff and researchers. She is also responsible for the initiation of the Nursing Coalition for Equity, Diversity, and Social Justice in June 2020. Previously, Dr. Brown served as CNO for The James Cancer Hospital at The Ohio State University. Dr. Brown was also honorably discharged from the Air Force having attained the rank of captain.
Marie Burdett, MSN, RN. CNO at East Georgia Regional Medical Center (Statesboro). A nurse for 33 years, Ms. Burdett has been CNO at the East Georgia Regional Medical Center for the last seven years. During that time, she has been credited for her work around decreasing nurse turnover from 31 percent to 18 percent while also improving patient safety, quality and patient satisfaction. Under her leadership, the medical center has earned a Leapfrog Safety Grade “A” and improved its CMS star rating. Among the many other awards and accolades achieved during her tenure are an accredited chest pain center with primary PCI and primary stroke center certification.
Debbie Burke, RN, DNP. Senior Vice President for Patient Care and Chief Nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital and Associate Dean, Clinical Affairs, MGH Institute of Health Professions, School of Nursing (Boston). Dr. Burke is responsible for advancing clinical practice, research, education and community service for nursing and health professions. She oversees a staff of more than 7,000 nurses, health professionals and support personnel. She has led several key initiatives, including the Autism Care Collaborative, a hospitalwide plan to ensure excellence in the care of adults with autism, and the creation of the director of advanced practice provider to support APPs and improve access to care for patients. She is the primary investigator for a joint relationship with University Hospitals Leuven in Belgium through the Magnet4Europe initiative to provide guidance toward achieving Magnet Recognition.
Jennifer Carpenter, MSN, RN. Vice President and CNO of University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital and MacDonald Women’s Hospital (Cleveland). In addition to Ms. Carpenter’s role as the vice president and CNO of two UH hospitals, she currently serves as interim chief nurse executive for the health system. Before serving in these roles, she was the vice president for IT clinical systems at UH from 2015-20. Ms. Carpenter has been a registered nurse for more than 25 years. She was appointed a healthcare IT fellow with the Office of the National Coordinator for Healthcare IT for 2016-17 and honored as a 2019 Woman of Professional Excellence by the YWCA of Greater Cleveland.
Jaime Carroll. Vice President and CNO for Sentara Norfolk General (Va.) Hospital. Ms. Carroll is vice president and CNO for Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, where she assumes operational responsibility for all 24 inpatient departments, maintenance of Magnet designation, daily accountability for clinical quality, safety and customer experience results. During her tenure, the hospital has decreased hospital acquired infections by 20 percent, decreased nursing turnover from 19.9 percent to 15.6 percent, decreased vacancy rate of RNs from 25 percent to 10 percent, and improved employee satisfaction annually. Ms. Carroll is currently leading systemwide initiatives like the creation of a virtual nursing program and platform.
Trish Celano, MSN, RN. Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Executive at AdventHealth (Altamonte Springs, Fla.). Before being named to her current roles, Ms. Celano served as AdventHealth’s senior vice president and regional chief clinical officer for the Central Florida Division-North Region as well as senior vice president and CNO for AdventHealth Orlando. She has more than 25 years of nursing and patient care experience. Her experience also includes serving at AdventHealth for Children as the facility’s first CNO, where she led the hospital to earn a prestigious Magnet designation, which recognized the hospital for excellence in nursing.
Jesus Cepero, PhD, RN. Senior Vice President of Patient Care Services and CNO of Stanford Medicine Children’s Health (Palo Alto, Calif.). In his role as CNO, Dr. Capero partners with nursing leaders in the outpatient, treatment center, and inpatient areas with a multidisciplinary approach to patient care to promote quality, safety and cost efficiency at Stanford Medicine Children’s Hospital. His notable accomplishments during his tenure include development of collaborative administrative structures, mentoring and coaching nurses furthering their education and careers, and promoting employee diversity. Dr. Cepero has previous experience as CNO for the University of Michigan Health System.
Anna Cerra, DNP, RN. CNO and Senior Vice President of Patient Care Services at Greenwich (Conn.) Hospital. Dr. Cerra is responsible for administrative leadership and the coordination of patient services for Greenwich Hospital. She has created a culture of excellence that shows the value nurses have for patients day-to-day. She is also focused on broadening professional development opportunities for nurses and recruiting new nurses in a competitive hiring environment. During her time with the system, Dr. Cerra has developed programs to support new graduate nurses, encourage retention and promote professional development. She has also established several recognition programs to honor nurses.
Emily Chase, DNP, PhD. CNO and Senior Vice President of Patient Care Services at University of Chicago Medicine. Dr. Chase began her career as a staff nurse, working her way up to CNO. She specializes in building exceptional and agile nursing teams, driving staff engagement and advancing patient safety and excellence. She oversees more than 3,500 nurses within the system, directing total patient experience, clinical care, pharmaceutical care, women’s and children’s services and lab service operations. She has championed a number of projects since joining the UChicago system, including helping the system receive a baby-friendly facility designation. She has also served as interim CEO of UChicago Medicine.
Karen Chastang, RN. CNO at South Baldwin Regional Medical Center (Foley, Ala.). As a nurse director with more than 23 years of experience, Ms. Chastang has served in various roles at the South Baldwin Regional Medical Center before becoming the CNO. He assisted in the development of its total joint replacement and fracture program, which led to the hospital becoming the first in its area to offer robotic-arm assisted joint replacement procedures. Ms. Chastang’s innate leadership skills, along with her ability to develop and cultivate strong teams, has pushed the hospital team to earn a 4-star CMS rating and Leapfrog Safety Grade “A.” As her facility undergoes a $20 million expansion, she continues to insist on consistent, reliable approaches that drive high-quality patient care and experience. South Baldwin Regional Medical Center is Baldwin County’s only chest pain accredited facility and one of only two sepsis certified facilities in the state of Alabama.
Natalia Cineas, DNP, RN. Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Executive of NYC Health+Hospitals. Dr. Cineas serves as clinical lead for the largest municipal public health system in the U.S., NYC Health + Hospitals. She is directly responsible for more than 9,600 nurses. She manages care and respiratory therapy throughout the health system’s more than 70 locations in the city’s five boroughs. She also is co-chair of the system’s equity and access council. Recent accomplishments include launching a $75 million initiative to replace outdated pharmacy management software to improve workflow efficiency and a $4.5 million investment in systemwide nursing education that includes a council of nurse educators and 23 education workgroups.
Sarah Currie, MSN. Chief Nursing Executive and Senior Vice President at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (Memphis, Tenn.). Ms. Currie leads the institution’s Magnet-recognized nursing program. St. Jude also offers a nurse residency program, an accredited practice transition program that allows new nursing graduates to learn about the different patient care areas prior to accreditation. Ms. Currie and her team offer externships with experienced nursing staff in a highly specialized pediatric oncology environment. Last year, Ms. Currie was honored with the national March of Dimes Excellence in Leadership Award, which recognizes nursing executives for successful leadership balanced with meaningful and engaging care of staff, patients, families, and their community.
Kerin Da Cruz, RN, MSN. CNO and Senior Vice President of Yale New Haven Health Lawrence + Memorial Hospital and Westerly Hospital (New London, Conn.). Ms. Da Cruz leads a total of over 1,500 nurses across teams at both L + M Hospital and Westerly Hospital. Her oversight also includes laboratory, digestive health and behavioral health services as well as hospital operations. Ms. Da Cruz has previous experience as vice president of operations at Westerly Hospital.
Tammy Daniel, DNP. Senior Vice President and CNO of Baptist Health (Jacksonville, Fla.). As senior vice president and CNO of Baptist Health, Dr. Daniel ensures that nursing contributes to the overall financial health of the organization. Her responsibilities include clinical practice and safety across the system’s six hospitals, focusing on quality outcomes, strategic planning, recruitment, retention, professional development, education, standardization of patient experience and more. In 2022, Dr. Daniel was a key contributor in the opening of the 102-bed Baptist Medical Center Clay and a pediatric critical care tower on the flagship campus. She also ushered in an era of transformation with the system’s transition to Epic EHR. Under her leadership, all four Baptist Health adult hospitals received safety grades of “A” from The Leapfrog Group in 2023.
Doug Dascenzo, DNP, RN. Regional CNO at Trinity Health Michigan (Canton). Dr. Dascenzo has more than 30 years of experience as a practicing nurse and as a leader in the healthcare industry. In his current role, he oversees leadership and direction for more than 300 facilities within the state. He also plans and implements Trinity’s strategic nursing plan, with a focus on workforce development, job satisfaction and patient safety and quality outcomes. He developed the system’s nursing strategic plan, which focuses on improving patient outcomes, workforce satisfaction and professional development. He also helped the system to implement a nurse residency program. Additionally, he has championed self-care for nurses at the facility in an attempt to improve burnout rates.
Erica DeBoer, RN. CNO of Sanford Health (Sioux Falls, S.D.). Ms. DeBoer is CNO for Sanford Health, which serves over a million patients and is the largest rural health system in the country. She has been instrumental in leading systemwide initiatives aimed at leveraging technology, AI and automation to solve for unprecedented nursing workforce shortages. She has also helped to lead an expansion of workforce development programs to build a stronger pipeline of the next generation of caregivers. With her help, the system has welcomed nearly 300 internationally educated nurses to date and intends to onboard an additional 400 foreign nurses over the next three years.
Melody Dickerson, RN. Senior Vice President of Hospital Operations and CNO at VHC Health (Arlington, Va.). Ms. Dickerson serves as a transformational leader for the health system’s 1,000 specialty nurses. She directly influences VHC Health’s strategic direction and ensures that patient care service goals are aligned for organizational success. Ms. Dickerson helped VHC to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, helping recruitment and retention rates soar in 2022. She developed and implemented a retention and recruitment strategy, which resulted in a more than 6 percent drop in nurse turnover. In 2022, 74 percent of VHC’s nurses said they plan to stay at the system for at least three more years. Ms. Dickerson also launched a mentorship program that provides opportunities for professional development for young nurses. She has also been the president of the Northern VA Chapter President of the Virginia Nurses Association for over five years. She also has more than 20 years of experience as a registered nurse.
Janeé Dock, RN, MSN. CNO at Piedmont Augusta (Ga.). An experienced nursing administrator who has risen rapidly through the leadership ranks to the top, Ms. Dock is Piedmont Augusta’s first African-American CNO, and the first African-American female on the executive leadership team in the hospital’s 205-year history. She oversees patient care services across the three hospitals that make up Piedmont’s Augusta clinical hub. A renowned clinical leader statewide and nationally, she was instrumental in the development of Augusta Technical College’s School of Nursing and Allied Health partnership and expansion to the Piedmont Augusta Summerville Campus. In 2022, Ms. Dock was asked by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp to serve on his statewide workforce development taskforce. She first joined the hospital in 2003 as a patient care assistant and was formerly a Piedmont hospital vice president and CNO and a director of orthopedics, spine and medical and surgical services.
Diane Drexler, DNP, RN. Vice President of Patient Care Services and System CNO of Community Memorial Health System (Ventura, Calif.). Dr. Drexler manages 12 direct report directors and managers, more than 1,000 full-time employees and a multimillion dollar operating budget. She was published in Nurse Leader in June of 2020. Dr. Drexler is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and a Robert Wood Johnson executive nurse fellow alumna.
Kristy Duffey. CNO at Optum Health and COO of Home and Community Care at UnitedHealth Group (Eden Prairie, Minn.). Ms. Duffey advocates for accessible care for all patients at Optum and strives to improve work settings for clinicians. She supports clinician retention and career advancement, benefit assessments, student preceptor programs and student tuition reimbursement. She also leads Optum’s community care business, which has led to a 12 percent reduction in patient hospitalizations. Ms. Duffey is also passionate about creating a diverse workplace, actively promoting female leaders and leaders of color. Ninety-two percent of the workforce she oversees is female. She has also actively worked to reduce administrative burdens for advanced practice clinicians and registered nurses.
Kelly Edmondson, MSN, RN. Vice President of Nursing and Patient Care at Orlando (Fla.) Health. Ms. Edmondson oversees clinical performance and patient care delivery across the 3,888-bed, 24-hospital Orlando Health system as vice president of nursing and patient care. In her role, she leads nursing and patient care strategies, including workforce redesign, quality improvement, outcomes-driven care, and professional development. Ms. Edmondson has over 20 years of healthcare experience, and in her tenure she has led the implementation of numerous wellness programs, a comprehensive RN residency program, and Rover, a mobile application available at patient bedside for secure charting and documentation. Her most recent experience was serving as assistant vice president of Orlando Health and CNO of Orlando Health Dr. P. Phillips Hospital.
Veronica Elders, MBA, MSN, RN. CNO of Nashville (Tenn.) General Hospital. Ms. Elders is Nashville General Hospital’s CNO, providing clinical, strategic, and fiduciary leadership for the direction of overall nursing operations. Since joining NGH as CNO three years ago, Ms. Elders has rebuilt the clinical nursing leadership team, adapting them to a “team nursing” model involving LPNs back into the hospital setting and allowing for necessary patient care during the height of COVID-19. She also leads her team with a chronic care model and care transitions approach, ensuring patients with chronic conditions receive continuous care and education for the best outcomes. Ms. Elders has been with NGH since 2015, and previously served in a variety of leadership roles including the director of emergency services, administrative director of patient throughput, and assistant CNO.
Brandee Fetheran. CNO at Morristown (N.J.) Medical Center. Ms. Fetheran has served as CNO at Morristown since 2022. She oversees the delivery of nursing care, nursing education, professional development, nursing quality and research and patient flow. She has over 20 years of experience in nurse leadership and clinical and administrative oversight. She also oversees nursing innovation and research, service line growth and promoting quality initiatives. She also played a role in planning Morristown’s 800-bed hospital. She also partners with human resources to hire the best nurses to fill vacancies. She is also focused on retaining the current nursing workforce. Under her leadership, Morristown expanded its critical care APN fellowship and hired a dedicated director for the program.
Kate FitzPatrick, DNP, RN. Chief Nurse Executive Officer at Jefferson Health (Philadelphia). Dr. FitzPatrick has redesigned the care delivery model at Jefferson to enhance the nursing workforce and wellbeing of all 12,000-plus members of the department. She has strategic oversight over nursing operations and works closely with the president as a member of his leadership team. She advances Jefferson’s quality, safety, patient and family-centered care commitments. Dr. FitzPatrick is also the first nurse to be an endowed position at Jefferson. She has a diverse clinical background as well, working in surgical, trauma, prehospital and emergency nursing. She has created several staffing solutions for Jefferson, including an in-house nursing travel agency and a program that brings back retired nurses to mentor and support nurses at all levels.
Regina Foley, PhD, RN. Executive Vice President, Chief Nursing Executive and Chief Transformation Officer at Hackensack Meridian Health (Edison, N.J.). Dr. Foley supports chief nurses at 18 hospitals across Hackensack Meridian Health. She also advances clinical transformation, addresses workforce issues and helps enhance bedside care via technology. Recent initiatives she is championing include piloting virtual nursing and integrating three Hackensack Meridian Health schools of nursing as a workforce pipeline. Dr. Foley has been a member of the Hackensack Meridian Health team for over 30 years.
Deborah Ford, MSN, RN. Vice President of Quality and CNO of Ochsner Medical Center – New Orleans. As vice president of quality and CNO, Ms. Ford is responsible for promoting nursing standards of care and overseeing professional nursing practice, including quality and patient safety. In addition, she works with other leaders in strategic planning at Ochsner Medical Center. Her accomplishments within the organization include rolling out major construction projects and team member engagement strategies, attaining recognition and accreditation for acute care hospital and ambulatory areas, and developing new care models which partner with pharmacy. Additionally, Ms. Ford was instrumental in rolling out virtual nursing programs and other integrated models to address the COVID-19 crisis. In 2022, OMC was named a finalist for the AHA Quest and Quality Prize under Ms. Ford’s leadership. Ms. Ford was the first Black member to be appointed to the Louisiana State Board of Nursing; the first Black president of LSBN; and the first Black CNO at OMC – New Orleans. Previously, Ms. Ford was CNO and vice president of patient care services for Our Lady of the Lake in Baton Rouge, La.
Karen Forsyth. CNO at Brook Lane (Hagerstown, Md.). Ms. Forsyth’s role encompasses strategic leadership, operational oversight and a commitment to elevating patient care standards at Brook Lane. She is responsible for shaping the institution’s healthcare delivery system. She sets and implements nurse standards, ensures top performance in patient care practices, fosters a culture of continuous improvement, encourages ongoing training sessions and aligns the nursing team’s efforts with broader organizational goals and strategies. She serves as liaison between nursing staff and executive leadership. Under her guidance, the nursing department also achieved a commendable reduction in the use of restraints and seclusion.
Meredith Foxx, MSN, APRN. Executive CNO at Cleveland Clinic. Ms. Foxx oversees nearly 30,000 nursing caregivers across Cleveland Clinic’s U.S. and international locations. She spearheads shared governance councils and leads significant efforts to improve nursing quality metrics, policies and procedures. Her leadership efforts contribute to Cleveland Clinic’s ongoing American Nurses Credentialing Center nursing excellence program recognition, including 10 Ohio hospitals with Magnet status. She developed a comprehensive advanced practice registered nurse reporting structure and drove APRN growth from 750 APRNs to more than 1,900. Ms. Foxx expanded the MAGNUS leadership empowerment program to include nurse managers and nursing assistants, started a virtual companion program allowing patients’ companions to virtually observe and communicate with patients and nurses directly, and launched a digital partnership using technology to assist with bed management and staffing.
Nancy Gaden, DNP, RN. Senior Vice President and CNO at Boston Medical Center. Dr. Gaden leads more than 2,000 employees in the Boston Medical Center nursing department, the largest and busiest provider of trauma and emergency services in New England. She also manages a nursing department budget of more than $300 million. She helped the hospital to achieve Magnet designation from the American Nursing Credentialing Center. Dr. Gaden connects with her staff via weekly video updates, in which she highlights the nursing department’s recruitment efforts, quality and safety updates and upcoming events. Under Dr. Gaden’s guidance, BMC’s nursing department has made advancements in patient-centered care and evidence-based practices. She has also worked to bridge the gap between nursing and other healthcare disciplines.
Jennifer Garnica, RN, BSN, MHA. Vice President of Patient Care Services and CNO of SSM Health – St Mary’s Hospital (St. Louis). As CNO, Ms. Garnica is responsible for managing the operations, clinical results, and financial aspects of acute in-patient care, emergency medicine, and family birthplace/women’s services at the 495-bed SSM St. Mary’s Hospital. She leads a team of over 850 full-time employees and supervises seven direct reports. She has spent over 20 years at the hospital since beginning her career as a student nurse in 2001. Most previously, Ms. Garnica served as administrative director of nursing operations.
Shari Giese, RN. CNO at Mat-Su Regional Medical Center (Palmer, Alaska). Ms. Giese is a 30-year veteran of Mat-Su Regional Medical Center where she has served in various roles including director of surgical services. For the last five years, she has served as CNO. She has fostered a reputation for supporting her team and improving culture, improving the hospital’s nursing retention rate to 94.96 percent. Her leadership has been instrumental in improving employee and physician satisfaction, along with continued growth of services throughout the hospital. Mat-Su is accredited as a chest pain center and a primary stroke center.
Jason Gilbert, PhD, MBA, RN. Executive Vice President and Chief Nurse Executive at Indiana University Health. Dr. Gilbert became director of nursing operations in 2011 at Indiana University Health. He has since held various leadership roles and was named chief nurse executive in February 2020.
Pat Givens, RN. Senior Vice President of Patient Care Services, Chief Nursing Executive and Dr. Dori Biester Chair in Pediatric Nursing at Children’s Hospital Colorado (Aurora). Under Dr. Givens’ leadership, Children’s Hospital Colorado continues to create innovative programs, plan for the future workforce and increase staff retention, recruiting and satisfaction. A revised clinical advancement program is supporting front-line nurses. Nearly 98 percent of the RN workforce have bachelor’s or higher degrees in nursing, and a collaboration with University of Colorado College of Nursing and University Hospital is supporting and advancing nursing and clinical research. With youth mental health reaching a national crisis, Dr. Givens helped increase the hospital youth mental health service capacity by more than 50 percent in one year. Additionally, the hospital’s Pediatric Mental Health Institute received several youth-child-family services grants to meet the needs of high acuity patients. She also serves as a Commissioner of ANCC on Magnet Recognition.
Michele Goeb-Burkett. CNO of AdventHealth Central Florida Division – North Region (Altamonte Springs, Fla.). Ms. Goeb-Burkett serves as CNO of AdventHealth Central Florida Division – North Region, which is the largest local hospital system, featuring over 10,000 team members, 2,000 medical staff and facilities spanning several counties. As CNO, Ms. Goeb-Burkett has led initiatives such as the opening of a new Palm Coast hospital, establishment of a dedicated education unit to train nursing professionals, the launch of a nursing pilot program and the creation of a $900,000 endowed fund at Daytona State College. Prior to her current role, Ms. Goeb-Burkett served as CNO for AdventHealth Daytona Beach (Fla.) for 18 years, during which time the hospital earned a 5-star CMS rating and many “A” safety grades from The Leapfrog Group.
Wendi Goodson-Celerin, DNP, APRN. Senior Vice President and CNO of Tampa (Fla.) General Hospital. Dr. Goodson-Celerin leads nursing services for the 1,040-bed Tampa General Hospital, the leading academic health system in West Central Florida. She aims to develop cross-functional collaboration among nursing teams both hospitalwide and systemwide. She has developed best practices for the system, including purposeful hourly rounding, bedside shift report, nurse leader rounding, performance improvement initiatives and more. She has worked with Tampa General for 35 years, beginning in 1988 as a clinical nurse and working her way up.
Andres Gonzalez. CNO at Jackson South Medical Center (Miami, Fla.). Mr. Gonzalez is responsible for providing leadership to plan, direct, execute and evaluate strategic and operational priorities to ensure quality nursing practice, continuous improvement, consistent standards and policies in accordance with Jackson South’s mission. By working with the medical staff, he ensures best practices in patient care delivery. He began his career at Jackson South as director of the surgical center before being promoted to CNO. He has led the system to achieve multiple accreditations, reduced hospital-acquired infections and pressure injuries. He has improved the door-to-needle time from 45 to 28 minutes. He also reduced prevalence of all hospital-acquired pressure injuries from 8 percent to 3 percent.
Rebecca Graham, RN. CNO of North Vista Hospital (North Las Vegas, Nev.). As CNO, Ms. Graham oversees all of North Vista Hospital’s clinical operations, including patient care, safety standards for policy implementation, and processes and protocols for positive patient outcomes. Additional responsibilities include organizational, administrative and nursing leadership, and is involved in all aspects of hospital management, including quality, compliance, risk, financial, marketing and more. Ms. Graham has spent nearly three decades with North Vista Hospital, beginning as a floor nurse and working her way up to her current role as CNO.
Karen Grimley, PhD, RN. Chief Nursing Executive at UCLA Health (Los Angeles). Dr. Grimley is responsible for the professional nursing practice and care delivery across UCLA Health. She is dedicated to using resources and relationships to reinvigorate excellence, teamwork and camaraderie. Under her leadership, a Safer U program was established to improve the safety and well-being of staff, patients and families. She also led the development of a comprehensive workforce strategy that has resulted in nursing engagement and excellence scores exceeding the national benchmarks in at least six of seven categories across the system. Dr. Grimley is also credited with repurposing a program called Reigniting the Spirit of Caring, a relationship-based care initiative designed to strengthen nursing and healthcare worker support into an intentional self-care retreat for nurses.
Deb Harding, DNP, RN. Vice President and Regional Chief Nurse Executive at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist (Winston-Salem, N.C.). With 20 years of experience in healthcare leadership, Dr. Harding was appointed regional chief nurse executive in February 2021. Prior to her appointment, she served as CNO for the system for five years.
Jodi Hein, DNP, RN. CNO of Providence Holy Cross Medical Center (Mission Hills, Calif.). Dr. Hein serves as CNO of Providence Holy Cross Medical Center. She is responsible for improving operational efficiency, identifying strategies for improving the quality of patient care and outcomes, and acting as a voice for clinical care nurses. Under her leadership, the medical center has earned several designations and has consistently performed well for patient outcomes. Prior to assuming her current role in 2018, she was vice president and chief nursing executive for Dignity Health- St. Mary Medical Center- Long Beach (Calif.).
Michelle D. Hereford, RN. System Chief Nurse Executive at University Hospitals (Cleveland). Bringing more than 20 years of experience in healthcare operations, Ms. Hereford assumed the role of system chief nurse executive for University Hospitals in April 2021. Upon joining UH, she and the caregiver team designed a new care model that fully utilizes the team’s training, licensing and experience. Ms. Hereford expanded the system’s Helping Hands program, which served as a short-term solution to the staffing shortage during the pandemic. In 2022, Ms. Hereford introduced the UH Distinguished Nurse Award and in 2023, the UH Future Nurse Academy. She also heads the nursing leadership roundtable, an advisory group that provides strategic guidance and fosters both philanthropic support and community engagement.
Nancy Holecek. Executive Vice President and CNO at RWJBarnabas Health (West Orange, N.J.). Ms. Holecek oversees a nursing staff of more than 1,100 at RWJBarnabas, leading nursing initiatives, strategic planning, fiscal decisions, patient satisfaction, care coordination and quality. She has been instrumental in strengthening the system’s patient experience efforts and standardizing nursing clinical practice. She also encourages professional development among other nursing professionals on the team. She helped to institute the first systemwide Professional Nurse Practice Council, which acts as a coordinating and information-sharing forum for all individual unit-based committees to ensure strategic alignment. She also oversaw the development of transition of care nurse roles, which are designed to better support safe patient discharges. She also implemented the first academic partnership for a senior practicum program, which was recognized and presented internationally, and created the system’s first formal nursing leadership development program for new nurse leaders. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she oversaw the implementation of a comprehensive nursing peer review process.
Debbi Honey, MHA, BSN. Senior Vice President and CNO at Covenant Health (Knoxville, Tenn.). Ms. Honey joined Covenant Health in October 2017, bringing expertise in every aspect of nursing from the patient’s bedside to administrative leadership. Her most recent responsibilities with the health system have focused on clinical leadership of Covenant Health’s COVID-19 response, which has expanded to include supply and distribution logistics at multiple locations. She also is president of Honey Consulting.
Melissa Howard, MSN, RN. Chief Nursing and Clinical Executive at Inter-Community Hospital and Foothill Presbyterian Hospital (Glendora, Calif.). Ms. Howard’s career began in 2000 as a graduate nurse. She has also served as the system’s director of performance improvement and the director of medical-surgical services before she was appointed chief nursing executive in 2012. She is currently a member of the Association of California Nurse Leader’s philanthropy committee.
Kathy Howell, BSN, RN. Chief Nursing Executive at UCHealth (Aurora, Colo.). Ms. Howell joined UCHealth in January 2018 and is responsible for overseeing the continued clinical integration and advancement of nursing across the system’s 12 hospitals and 150 clinics. She also serves as CNO for the 700-bed University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora. Ms. Howell is a member of several organizations, including the American College of Healthcare Executives and the American Organization of Nurse Executives.
Jeffery Hudson-Covolo, DNP, RN. Vice President for Patient Care Services and Chief Nurse Executive, Chief Academic Officer and GME Designated Institutional Officer at Sierra View Local Healthcare District and Medical Center (Porterville, Calif.). Dr. Hudson-Covolo has held his position since 2014. His work focuses on the transition of the inpatient census to an outpatient setting. He has also provided nursing leadership to the medical center’s service line development and the upgrade and implementation of the organization’s EHR system. He is the founding designated institutional officer of the Sierra View Graduate Medical Education program, which works to develop a rural health clinic network.
Catherine Hughes, MSN, RN. Senior Vice President and CNO of Virtua Health (Marlton, N.J.). As senior vice president and CNO of Virtua Health, Ms. Hughes was an essential driver of the 2019 acquisition of Lourdes Health System, overseeing the complex integration of nursing operations across five hospitals, seven emergency departments and over 350 additional locations. She also assisted with the 2021 academic affiliation with Rowan University and the establishment of the Nurturing Nurses program, both of which created pipelines for nurses to advance their education and transition from classroom to career. She is a member of the American Organization of Nurse Leaders and was elected to the board of directors for the N.J. Organization of Nurse Leaders.
Marissa Jamarik DNP, RN. Senior Vice President and System CNO at Roper St. Francis Healthcare (Charleston, S.C.). Dr. Jamarik oversees acute nursing services across the health system’s four hospitals, Roper Hospital, Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital, Roper St. Francis Berkeley Hospital and Roper St. Francis Mount Pleasant Hospital. A demonstrated workforce stabilization expert, she led efforts with HR over the past two years that resulted in hiring 27 percent more nurses year over year, re-designed the bedside nurse clinical ladder, and revamped the nursing mobile resource pool. Last year, she worked with the nursing excellence team to launch a three-year nursing strategic plan with focus on workplace violence, nurse wellbeing, systemwide Magnet designation, and a professional governance structure redesign to operationalize practice changes at the system level. She held previous nursing leadership positions at Inova Heart and Vascular Institute in Falls Church, Va., and Inova Loudoun Hospital in Leesburg, Va.
Kathleen Kaminsky, RN. CNO and Senior Vice President of Patient Care Services at Englewood (N.J.) Health. Ms. Kaminsky leads current and future nurses in navigating their professions and delivering high quality patient care at Englewood Health. She provides strategic oversight of nursing and patient care services, fostering a culture of continuous improvement. She collaborates with other teams to establish evidence-based practices that enhance nursing, improve patient outcomes and enrich the nurse and patient experiences. Ms. Kaminsky has been in nursing for over 30 years, slowly rising to the role of CNO. Under her leadership, Englewood relaunched a nursing mentor program and established relationships with higher education institutions to provide nursing scholarships.
Ann Kiger, DNP, DSc, MBA, RN. CNO of Sutter Health (Sacramento, Calif.). Dr. Kiger became Sutter Health’s first CNO in 2015, and plays an integral role developing and guiding the system’s nursing strategic plan. She is accountable for Sutter Health’s executive nursing leadership, clinical nursing practice, education, nursing research and workforce labor optimization. She also shares oversight over acute care management and utilization management and review alongside her dyad partner, Sutter’s chief medical and quality officer. During her tenure, Dr. Kiger has led the effort to establish Sutter’s Nursing Philosophy of Care as well as established the annual Nursing Symposium. Prior to joining Sutter Health, she was the system CNO and vice president of patient care services for Tenet Healthcare.
Julie Kim, MSN, RN. CNO at Providence St. Jude Medical Center (Fullerton, Calif.). Ms. Kim oversees and manages nursing practice and patient care services, including strategic planning, patient satisfaction, quality and care coordination. Her skills at leading large, diverse teams are evidenced by the medical center being named as Healthgrades “100 Best Hospitals in America.” Under her leadership, nursing units earned the Beacon Award, PRISM Award and two accreditations with the Magnet Recognition Program. Additionally, she has created a highly successful clinical ladder program. Her focus on education has led to 98 percent of the hospital’s nursing staff holding, at minimum, a bachelor of science in nursing. She sustains a strong culture of shared decision-making, collaboration and caregiver engagement.
Mary Beth Kingston, PhD, RN. CNO at Advocate Aurora Health (Downers Grove, Ill., and Milwaukee). Dr. Kingston joined Aurora Health Care in 2012 and was appointed to her current role at Advocate Aurora Health in 2018. She serves on the American Hospital Association board of trustees and is a past president of the American Organization of Nurse Executives. She is a recipient of the American Assembly for Men in Nursing’s Inclusion and Diversity Award and was recently inducted as a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing.
Kate Kitchell, RN. CNO at Providence Medford (Ore.) Medical Center. Ms. Kitchell is responsible for the provision and quality of all nursing services, including the implementation of strategic care delivery models, management of productivity targets and promotion of evidence-based practice. She led her team through the COVID-19 crisis and propelled them to achieve organizational priorities by decreasing total nursing turnover by 47 percent over 12 months, pioneering innovative care models to elevate nursing practice and decrease patient length of stay, and partnering with the community to retain and build the nursing workforce while achieving productivity targets. Additionally, she developed a new entry-level nursing support position and associated clinical ladder to help close the hospital’s certified nursing assistant vacancy rate by 50 percent in 2023.
Gay Landstrom, PhD. Senior Vice President and CNO at Trinity Health (Livonia, Mich.). Dr. Landstrom leads the hospital’s efforts to ensure top quality, zero harm and exceptional patient experience. She is active with several professional organizations, including the EBSCO CINAHL Dynamic Health executive board, the board of the Midwest Chapter of the American College of Healthcare Executives and the AvaSure Nursing Advisory Board.
Sandy C. Leake, DNP, RN. Senior Vice President and CNO of University Health System and The University of Tennessee Medical Center (Knoxville). Dr. Leake joined UTMC as senior vice president and CNO in 2020. In her role, she serves as a member of the organization’s senior executive team and influences all aspects of performance. Dr. Leake has been instrumental in addressing regional nursing shortages with initiatives and partnerships with colleges and universities to increase education and opportunities for future nurses. Additionally, she is an active leader in professional development for the organization. Dr. Leake is also among 253 nurse leaders inducted into the American Academy of Nursing’s 2023 class of fellows. Her most recent experience includes serving as a visiting assistant professor at Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University. Prior to that, Dr. Leake was vice president and CNO of Wellstar Atlanta Medical Center.
Melissa Leamon, RN. CNO of Broward Health Coral Springs (Fla.). Ms. Leamon leads nursing operations for 250-bed Broward Health Coral Springs. She brings 20 years of clinical and leadership experience, boasting proven results in transforming culture and elevating practices. Among many other recent accomplishments, Ms. Leamon has expanded the surgical service line by developing the hospital’s Heartburn Center, established a level I STEMI program to advance cardiac services, and opened and expanded a cardiac catheterization lab. Her efforts have also led to cost savings, increased ratings from The Leapfrog Group and CMS, reduced staff turnover rates and more. Prior to joining Broward Health in September 2019, Ms. Leamon was administrative director of clinical operations and critical care service line at Good Samaritan Medical Center in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Cindy Leathers, BSN. CNO at Saint Francis Health System (Tulsa, Okla.). Ms. Leathers drives leadership at the Saint Francis system by influencing core patient and nursing unit improvements, overseeing three areas of the health system including case management, the department of education and the patient logistics center. She strives to be a present, visible, transparent and good listener for her staffers. She also brings feedback from the frontline staff to the C-Suite. She recently launched a virtual nursing program in three med surg units. She also announced that Saint Francis Hospital will become a Rogers State University satellite campus this fall, where students can earn their BSN at Saint Francis.
Jen Loesch, RN. Director of Patient Care and CNO of Allina Health (Minneapolis). Ms. Loesch oversees the professional nursing practice of both River Falls Area Hospital and Allina Health United Hospital – Hastings Regina Campus in her role as director of patient care and CNO. She is also responsible for all nursing operations and leadership of patient care teams. During the three years of Allina Health’s high reliability skills implementation, under Ms. Loesch’s leadership, River Falls Area Hospital went more than 450 days without a serious safety event, and the team has over 96 percent HRO skills recall. Additionally, Ms. Loesch has been instrumental in River Falls Hospital’s RN turnover, with turnover being at an all time low for the organization. Ms. Loesch has held various leadership positions with Allina Health, most previously director of quality, risk and patient safety.
Christine Mahoney, DNP, RN. CNO and Senior Vice President at Mount Sinai Beth Israel and Mount Sinai Downtown and Vice President for Critical Care at the Mount Sinai Health System (New York City). In addition to overseeing two health system hospitals, Dr. Mahoney has had a distinctive career in critical care nursing. As a national leader in the field, she published several papers focused on improving nurse-physician communication in the ICU and participated in research efforts to implement enhanced data surveillance methods to reduce catheter-associated urinary tract infections. She leads key initiatives to decrease ICU incidences of C. difficile using a LEAN approach and facilitated a program to reduce healthcare associated infections. In 2017, she led humanitarian efforts and a medical mission to Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.
Wilhelmina Manzano, RN. Senior Vice President, Chief Nursing Executive and COO for Perioperative Services at NewYorkPresbyterian (New York City). Ms. Manzano leads the hospital’s nursing department and provides oversight to its clinical and business operations. She is a fellow of the American Nursing Academy and the New York Academy of Medicine and is president of the American Nurses Foundation.
Courtney Jerome Marbley, RN. COO and CNO at New Orleans East Hospital and LCMC Health System. Mr. Marbley has served as New Orleans’ CNO since 2017, adding the role of COO in the spring of 2020, expanding his scope to 80 percent of the clinical staff. Since joining the team, he has directed and built teams to establish a Diabetes Center, Mobile Health Units, Community Engagement Program, GI, Pain and Urology Services, and substantial acute care and surgeries growth. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he coordinated testing and vaccination appointments and developed new staffing models to keep up with patient demand. He also arranged for the hospital to have mental health counseling on-site for all employees during the pandemic.
Sarah Matney, RN. Senior Vice President of Clinical Services and CNO at Connecticut Children’s (Hartford). Ms. Matney leads the nursing organization and all ancillary support services. This year she will lead the first Magnet redesignation, leveraging her extensive healthcare operations, continual improvement, and patient and family, safety and quality experience. Ms. Matney is passionate about investing in the next generation of nurses, working with students from high school through college and into their first years on staff. Ms. Matney’s innovations include the Ears for Peers Program, featuring a resource akin to “emotional first aid” and the All For One Program, where both clinical and non-clinical team members can volunteer to help during times of patient surge.
Christina McGuirk, BSN, RN. CNO at Orlando (Fla.) Health-Health Central Hospital and Horizon West Hospital. Ms. McGuirk serves as chair of Orlando Health’s Nursing Leadership Council and Executive Nursing Cabinet. She has led several initiatives with the health system, including the expansion of the emergency department and the addition of an inpatient bed tower at Orlando Health-Health Central Hospital. She also helped the hospital gain accreditation for various specialty programs, such as chest pain, stroke and heart failure. She is a member of the Florida Organization of Nurse Executives and the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Joy Melgar, MSN, RN. CNO at AVALA (Covington, La.). Ms. Melgar oversees and guides all nursing-related functions at AVALA, taking care of a wide range of strategic, administrative and clinical duties. She is also passionate about cultivating a culture of excellence, compassion and innovation. She maintains and improves AVALA’s clinical standards through collaboration with medical staff and executives. She has grown AVALA’s preceptor program to facilitate professional development and ensure patients receive safe, efficient and effective care. She also ensures that the nursing team is compliant with all state and country regulations and standards. She works to manage the nursing department’s budget, allocating resources to improve patient care needs. Ms. Melgar and her team have also worked to develop AVALA’s orthopedic and spine program, which received four certifications for meeting advanced care standards. She also helped AVALA launch a tuition and certification reimbursement program to help with future nursing staff retention.
Joanne Miller, DNP, RN. Chief Nursing Executive at Baystate Health and CNO at Baystate Medical Center (Springfield, Mass.). Dr. Miller’s commitment to eliminating preventable harm, improving patient experience, and creating a healthy work environment is evidenced by the new daily management system which escalates issues to Baystate leaders. It has led one department to a 66 percent decrease in falls, another to achieving zero catheter-associated urinary tract infections, and another to seeing a 2.92 percent decrease in hospital-acquired pressure injuries over just three months. She was key to merging phlebotomy and IV teams to become one vascular access service team, improving safety and preventing delays in care to vascular access and blood draws. She became Baystate Health’s chief nursing executive in 2022, a new health system position, as well as Baystate Medical Center’s permanent CNO. Her dedication to nursing education is demonstrated by the Baystate Health Nurse Residency Program, improvements to the Professional Nursing Recognition Program, and the First Annual Holistic and Nursing Scholarship Symposium.
Stacie Miller. CNO of Providence Santa Rosa (Calif.) Memorial Hospital. Ms. Miller serves as CNO of Providence Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, where she hones in on financial responsibility, workforce stabilization, patient care and the elimination of preventable patient harm. She acts as a liaison between the administrative and nursing teams to ensure the delivery of the highest possible quality of care. Since beginning her position in July 2022, nurse turnover has been reduced from 26.9 percent to 16 percent. She is also an advocate for the hospital’s Shared Governance Council, which enables decisions to be made in partnership with frontline caregivers.
Kerry Milton. CNO at St. Tammany Health System (Covington, La.). Ms. Milton supports and mentors the nursing staff at St. Tammany, where she has worked for 40 years. She helped the system to launch a virtual nursing program, which enhances the confidence of the newest nursing workforce members. She also launched a nurse residency program, which instills confidence in new workforce members. She is passionate about expanding access to nursing education to build a future workforce.
Jennifer Montgomery, MSA, RN. CNO of McLaren Health Care (Grand Blanc, Mich.). As CNO of McLaren Health Care, Ms. Montgomery provides clinical and operational oversight for nursing care across all McLaren hospital and ambulatory settings. Her work includes collaboration with nursing leaders, recommending and implementing programs to advance care and patient outcomes, and building partnerships for professional development. During her tenure, Ms. Montgomery has overseen multiple expansion projects, improved operational efficiencies to increase emergency department and outpatient visits, and enhanced patient safety within the organization. Most recently, Ms. Montgomery served as president and CEO of McLaren St. Luke’s.
Mary Murphy, RN, MSN. Chief Nurse Executive and Patient Experience Officer at Amita Health (Chicago). Ms. Murphy, who has been with the organization for over 18 years, was appointed to her role as Amita’s system chief nurse executive in June 2021. She previously served as regional CNO for the system. Before joining Amita, she was the vice president and CNO at Adventist Midwest Health.
Tracey Nixon. CNO at the University of Utah Health Hospitals and Clinics (Salt Lake City). Ms. Nixon provides oversight and direction for all nursing aspects within the University of Utah, including nursing operations, strategic planning, leadership, project management and financial objectives. She is also responsible for performance metrics related to patient satisfaction, clinical quality and financial performance. She also evaluates current and proposed operational systems and procedures thorough data collection and analysis informing operational practices, emerging industry trends, expansion opportunities and financial objectives to improve business performance and process improvement. She is also passionate about and committed to elevating the nursing profession as a whole. She assumed the role of CNO in the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and was instrumental in organizing response efforts across the system. In 2021, she created a health taskforce that helped dive into burnout and mental health struggles within the nursing department.
Suzanne Nuss, PhD, RN. CNO for Nebraska Medicine (Omaha, Neb.) and Associate Dean for Nebraska Medicine Nursing at the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing, Omaha Division. Following a career in pediatric oncology and nursing leadership, as CNO Dr. Nuss oversees nursing activities and professional development for approximately 3,500 nurses and 300 APRNs. She also leads social work, care transitions, quality, experience and effectiveness teams at Nebraska Medicine, an academic health system with two hospitals and over 70 specialty and primary care clinics across the state. Nebraska Medicine is nationally recognized for quality and safety and as a Magnet organization since 2007. Each quarter, Dr. Nuss spends the day with a Nebraska Medicine nurse as part of her CNO of the day program, to provide nurses a window into leadership. She serves on the board of directors for Nebraska Medicine and the Visiting Nurse Association of Omaha. She chairs the Vizient Academic Medical Center CNO Steering Committee and received the Margaret C. Haley Distinguished Alumnus Award from Seton Hall University College of Nursing for significant achievements in healthcare and continuing contributions to her community.
Patricia O’Keefe, PhD, RN. President of Morristown Medical Center and Senior Vice President and Chief Nurse Executive at Atlantic Health System (Morristown, N.J.). Dr. O’Keefe has been a servant leader and medical professional for over 40 years. As president of the 820-bed Morristown Medical Center, an academic hospital,, she leads over 6,000 team members and physicians. Her guidance has contributed to the hospital’s strong period of financial growth in 2022. Her role is crucial to the hospital’s fundraising efforts, and the Foundation for MMC’s Growing Forward Campaign raised over $40 million this year alone. Dr. O’Keefe was also instrumental in the medical center’s designation as a Magnet hospital for nursing excellence five consecutive times.
Beth Oliver, DNP, MSN. Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Executive at Mount Sinai Health System (New York City). Dr. Oliver, a nationally recognized leader in nursing and cardiovascular medicine, fosters and supports evidence-based, patient-centered care and nursing excellence throughout Mount Sinai Health System. She and her team advance nursing practices and professional development through innovations like the Upward Mobility Program, which helps nurses earn bachelor of science degrees in partnership with Mount Sinai Phillips School of Nursing. She leads cardiovascular health-related community outreach programs in partnership with American Heart Association, which appointed her as president of its New York City board, making her the first nurse to hold this position. She is also past chair of its My Heart, My Life campaign, which aims to improve the cardiovascular health of Americans by 20 percent. Among the research papers she co-authored is a study on preventing heart failure readmission with evident-based management. She was recently inducted into the New York Academy of Medicine board of trustees.
Melodie Osborn, RN. Chief Nurse Executive for Renown Health (Reno, Nev.). Ms. Osborne oversees nursing and seamless care across Nevada’s largest not-for-profit integrated delivery system. In 2023, she worked with donors and University of Nevada, Reno, to create an academic pipeline to address the nursing shortage via full-ride scholarship funding for up to 24 nursing students each year. Scholarship recipients may also complete a paid apprenticeship at Renown with guaranteed hospital job following graduation and licensure. Ms. Osborn volunteered to lead Renown’s COVID-19 vaccine effort and helped personally vaccinate over 50,000 community members. She is past president of Nevada Organization for Nurse Leaders. Under her leadership, Renown’s ICUs are three-time AACN Beacon Award winners for demonstrating excellence in patient care, healthy work environment and ongoing and evidence-based care.
Kathryn Pagliaroli, MS, BSN, RN. Senior Vice President of Clinical Operations and CNO of Oswego (N.Y.) Health. Ms. Pagliaroli, in her role as senior vice president of clinical operations and CNO, offers executive leadership and guidance for clinical operations and nursing programs aligned with Oswego Health’s vision and mission. Her accomplishments include being recognized in 2013 as one of Oswego County Magazine’s 40 under 40 recipients, receiving the CNY Organization for Nurse Executives and Leaders Regional Leadership Award in 2019, and earning a Rising Leader Award from the New York Organization of Nurse Leaders in 2022. Currently, Ms. Pagliaroli is coordinating with Oswego Health’s senior leadership team to address staff retention and recruitment. Ms. Pagliaroli began her career at Oswego Health in 2001 as a RN in the ICU, and has held several leadership positions within the organization since. Most previously, she served as vice president of clinical services and integrated healthcare.
Kasey Paulus, MBA, RN. Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Executive of Wellspan Health (York, Pa.). In her role as chief nursing executive, Ms. Paulus is responsible for system-wide, strategic leadership of all nursing operations at Wellspan Health. Her leadership efforts at the organization include supporting the incorporation of virtual nursing technology, automated documentation for homecare nurses, and flexible staffing and scheduling options for nurses. Under Ms. Paulus’ leadership, Wellspan was selected as one of five health systems for the Institute for Healthcare Improvement Transforming Healthcare through Innovative Nurse-Led Care Delivery Solutions Learning and Action Prototyping Network. Previously, she served as vice president of inpatient services and CNO of Park Nicollet Health Services.
Madelyn Pearson, DNP, RN. Senior Vice President, Patient Care Services and CNO at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (Boston). Dr. Pearson leads hospital-wide strategic planning for quality, safety, patient care, and operations. Under her leadership, the hospital has received Magnet designation and redesignation in 2023, baby-friendly hospital designation, and the Beacon Award for Excellence in five units, among other honors. Seeking to support nurses recovering from substance use disorders, Dr. Pearson led state-wide advocacy efforts on behalf of Mass General Brigham in collaboration with other organizations to successfully revise the state’s Substance Abuse Rehabilitation Program. She was elected to the board for the Organization of Nurse Leaders in New England and appointed to the American Nurses Association’s Committee on Revising the Nurse Leader Scope and Standards.
Shannon Pengel, MSN, RN. CNO at Cleveland Clinic. Ms. Pengel is the CNO for the system’s main campus. She oversees nursing activities and operations throughout all the main campus’s facilities, which have about 1,400 beds. She was previously the associate CNO for the main campus. Ms. Pengel also served as the clinical nursing director of Cleveland Clinic’s Anesthesiology Institute and the Miller Family Heart and Vascular Institute.
Beena Peters, DNP, RN. System Chief Nursing Executive of Cook County Health (Chicago). Dr. Peters is system chief nursing executive for Cook County Health, which includes two hospitals, 14 community centers, a public health department and correctional health services. Her role necessitates close collaboration with the system’s CEO and oversight of various facilities’ CNOs. She provides leadership and strategic direction for nursing operations, clinical practice, quality, education, research, and workforce development throughout the system. In addition, she is accountable for the $200 million annual budget process for the entire nursing service. Throughout her five-year tenure, Dr. Peters has redesigned the nursing quality programs to refocus on patient safety, implemented a leadership development academy, streamlined hiring processes, secured grants for workforce development and much more.
Carol Porter, DNP, RN. Senior Vice President and CNO at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (Houston, Texas). Dr. Porter provides pivotal leadership in clinical nursing operations at the nation’s No. 1 cancer center, as designated by U.S. News & World Report. She oversees a large network of nurses who provide excellent care to patients from around the world. Throughout the pandemic, she led more than 4,400 nurses in providing expertise and compassion, and the team collectively sustained one of the safest healthcare environments in the world for cancer patients. Under her leadership, MD Anderson earned its fifth consecutive Magnet Recognition Program designation. She co-leads the nursing transformation program that empowers nurses, champions the pursuit of work-life equilibrium, and fosters growth opportunities. Her team of nurses are part of interdisciplinary teams that are leading the way in innovative cancer care, including advances in immunotherapy and personalized medicine. Her expert contributions in nursing practice, clinical operations, emergency management, and quality and safety management has helped MD Anderson pivot during critical and unforeseen national and global challenges.
Julie Powell. CNO at McAlester (Okla.) Regional Health Center. Ms. Powell oversees all nursing aspects at McAlester Regional, including every nursing department, nursing education, risk and regulatory and the medical staff office. Since becoming CNO, she has made changes to sustain the system’s nursing workforce, improve quality outcomes and improve customer service scores. She leads by educating and modeling professionalism to her frontline staffers. She also educates her staff on the importance of putting patient and employee safety before everything else.
Linda Puu, MSN. Senior Vice President and System Chief Nursing Executive of The Queen’s Health System and CNO of Queen’s Medical Center for Quality and Patient Safety (Honolulu). Ms. Puu brings more than 35 years of experience as a nurse and nurse leader to her roles as senior vice president and chief nursing executive for The Queen’s Health System and CNO for The Queen’s Medical Center for Quality and Patient Safety. Her clinical background in critical care and telemetry provides the executive team with a unique perspective. Ms. Puu is responsible for meeting the system’s goals in relation to nursing, overseeing nursing across clinical settings, transforming the future of nursing, improving patient safety and outcomes, and developing and implementing strategic plans for clinical quality and patient safety. She has led the creation of strategic plans for fiscal years 2023-25, established academic-practice partnerships with schools of nursing, launched a yearlong nurse residency program, created educational training pathways for nurses and led negotiations with Hawaii Nurses Association to benefit nurses.
Kasey Paulus, MBA, RN. Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Executive of Wellspan Health (York, Pa.). In her role as chief nursing executive, Ms. Paulus is responsible for system-wide, strategic leadership of all nursing operations at Wellspan Health. Her leadership efforts at the organization include supporting the incorporation of virtual nursing technology, automated documentation for homecare nurses, and flexible staffing and scheduling options for nurses. Under Ms. Paulus’ leadership, Wellspan was selected as one of five health systems for the Institute for Healthcare Improvement Transforming Healthcare through Innovative Nurse-Led Care Delivery Solutions Learning and Action Prototyping Network. Previously, she served as vice president of inpatient services and CNO of Park Nicollet Health Services.
Renee Rassilyer-Bomers, DNP. CNO at Central Puget Sound Service Area at Providence Swedish (Seattle). Dr. Rassilyer-Bomers oversees four campuses and an ambulatory care center. She is responsible for nursing operations, quality, workforce and upholding quadruple-aim goals of patient and caregiver satisfaction, quality metrics and stewardship. She was recognized by the American Academy of Nursing for leading the largest civilian-coordinated vaccination center at Seattle’s Lumen Field, totaling 102,416 vaccinations. She supported over 44,000 boosters and pediatric doses, and 8,500 more vaccinations for individuals experiencing homelessness and homebound populations. She established an RN Partner Program to redeploy nurses efficiently and appropriately to areas of need. The program’s playbook was distributed nationwide to hospitals facing emergency staffing and has since grown to address the current nurse staffing crisis. She also serves as a Seattle University associate teaching professor and advisory board member.
Netonua “Toni” Reyes, MSN, RN. COO and CNO at Broward Health Imperial Point (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.). Ms. Reyes oversees more than a dozen departments, including operations, nursing and emergency services. She manages a $69 million budget and 500 full-time employees. She previously served as the director of emergency services at Jackson North Medical Center in Miami.
Angelique Richard, PhD, RN. Vice President for Clinical Nursing and CNO at Rush University System for Health (Chicago). Dr. Richard has served as CNO of Rush University Medical Center since 2016 and CNO of the Rush system since 2018. She oversees the nursing practice, operations and performance improvement. She previously worked as the chief nurse executive and vice president of clinical operations for the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance.
Mary Robinson, PhD, RN. Senior Vice President and CNO of Reliable Health at Texas Health Resources (Arlington). Named CNO in May 2019, Dr. Robinson brings her clinical knowledge and decades of experience to the role. Known for her passion for patients and caregivers, she has worked throughout the pandemic with an unwavering commitment to safe, quality care; the mental health and well-being of nurses; and patient experience. Her 40-year nursing career has been devoted to Texas Health.
Betty Jo Rocchio, DNP, RN, CRNA. Senior Vice President and CNO at Mercy (St. Louis). Dr. Rocchio became senior vice president and CNO of Mercy in October 2020 after joining the organization in August 2013 as vice president of perioperative services and later serving as chief nursing optimization officer.. She also has experience as chief nurse anesthetist, system director of surgical services, vice president of nursing and CNO at Mount Carmel Health System in Columbus, Ohio.
Anna Rodriguez, MSN, RN. CNO and Vice President of Nursing and Patient Services for Fox Chase Cancer Center (Philadelphia). Ms. Rodriguez leads the entire nursing practice for Fox Chase Cancer Center, ensuring the maintenance of its Magnet status and its continued delivery of quality patient care. Ms. Rodriguez was instrumental in the cancer center’s transition to Epic EHR and the creation of a leader performance review program. She is also a researcher, presenting lectures and abstracts at national conferences on nursing management, clinical process improvement, stem cell transplantation, and more.
Robert Rose, RN. Market Chief Nurse Executive at Atrium Health- Carolinas Medical Center (Charlotte, N.C.). Mr. Rose is tasked with organizing, planning, directing and evaluating all nursing functions within his market, as well as overseeing over 2,500 employees and a $250 million budget. He drives a service-oriented culture focused on superior patient experience, employee engagement, quality, patient safety and operational efficiency. He introduced and promoted the vision of a president of nursing staff role, which has helped to amplify the voice of the clinical nurse and strengthen the shared governance culture. He has also been key in increasing educational assistance benefits for teammates.
Pam Rudisill, DNP, RN. Senior Vice President and CNO at Community Health Systems (Franklin, Tenn.). Dr. Rudisill has been CNO at Community Health Systems since 2014. Responsible for developing clinical best practices across the organization’s 77 hospitals, Dr. Rudisill is credited with helping lead the company’s 89 percent reduction in the serious safety event rate. She introduced a care team model of nursing to the organization in 2022 that utilizes LPNs, LVNs and patient care technicians to support RNs, enabling them to practice at the top of their licenses and reduce burnout. She was instrumental in helping establish a strategic partnership with Jersey College to create hospital-based schools of nursing in seven markets and has been a strong advocate of virtual nursing and other technology-based investments in nursing services. She served as past president of the American Organization of Nurse Executives and was inducted into the American Academy of Nursing.
Kelli Sadler, RN. Chief Nursing Executive and Senior Vice President of Corewell Health in Southeast Michigan (Southfield). A seasoned nursing leader, Ms. Sadler joined Corewell Health in January 2023 and has served in numerous roles throughout her 28-year career. Over the past year, she has made great strides toward creating additional partnerships with local colleges and universities to diversify and grow the nursing workforce. She has also continued to expand more flexible work options for nurses, such as the virtual nurse program and weekend alternative nurse positions. In her previous leadership role with Novant Health in Winston-Salem, N.C., all of the greater Charlotte, N.C. market hospitals attained an “A” for their Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, hand hygiene significantly improved to top decile and the hospitals achieved a significant reduction in hospital-acquired infections.
Ruth Sagastume, MSN, RN. CNO of Ochsner Medical Center – Kenner (New Orleans). Ms. Sagastume joined Ochsner Medical Center – Kenner in 2015 and became CNO in 2021 after serving several months as interim CNO. In her current role, she is responsible for quality patient care and experience, workforce recruitment and retention, nursing education and research, program and regulatory readiness to meet accreditation and quality standards, and more. Ms. Sagastume has helped pioneer Ochsner Medical Center – Kenner’s inpatient virtual nursing tool, which allows for interdisciplinary collaboration with virtual nurses working alongside bedside nurses to provide 24-hour support and monitoring. The program also allows for real time documentation through AI alerts, sepsis alerts, and rapid responses. In addition to her CNO role, Ms. Sagastume is also a mentor for the Ochsner Momentum Program.
Lisa Salameh. Vice President and CNO at Sturdy Health (Attleboro, Mass.). Ms. Salameh provides executive leadership on all matters related to nursing practice and nursing administration at Sturdy. She is responsible for nursing practice throughout all service lines, providing leadership to 275 full-time employees across several departments and disciplines. She establishes guidelines for the delivery of nursing care, treatment and services and provides oversight for nursing policy and procedure approval. She has years of experience in medical, clinical and therapeutic disciplines as a hands-on leader. She is also an advocate for mental healthcare within the health space. She is passionate about banishing the stigma surrounding mental health in medicine.
Kathleen Sanford, BSN, RN. Executive Vice President and CNO at CommonSpirit (Chicago). Ms. Sanford is tasked with managing and operating the nursing practice, patient care services and care coordination for the 140-hospital health system. Prior to joining CommonSpirit in 2006, she served as chief nurse and acting state surgeon/medical commander of the Washington Army National Guard. She has also served on several boards, including the American Hospital Association, the Tri-Council for Nursing, and as president of the American Organization for Nursing Leadership.
Roland L. Santos, MSN, BSN, RN. CNO of Encino (Calif.) Hospital Medical Center and Sherman Oaks (Calif.) Hospital. As CNO of Encino Medical Center and Sherman Oaks Hospital, Mr. Santos oversees the clinical and administrative operations of both Prime Healthcare hospitals. In addition, he fosters collaboration between clinical departments and provides management and oversight for various nursing departments as well as the development of high-quality, cost-effective and integrated clinical programs. One of Mr. Santos’ notable accomplishments was the implementation of a cardiac catheter laboratory and subacute services in both Encino Medical Center and Sherman Oaks. In addition to his role as CNO, Mr. Santos also serves as director of risk management.
Maureen Schneider, PhD, RN. Chief Nursing and Operations Officer, Chilton Medical Center, Atlantic Health System (Holmdel, N.J.). Since taking up the position in 2014, Dr. Schneider has served as Chilton Medical Center’s CNO and COO, overseeing more than 8,500 caregivers. She supports and facilitates an interdisciplinary team approach, focusing on consistency in the standard of practice across clinical settings. She has held a variety of leadership positions during her 30-year career.
Veronica Scott-Fulton. Chief Nurse Executive at Bon Secours Mercy Health (Cincinnati, Ohio). Ms. Scott-Fulton joined Bon Secours in 2023 and is responsible for leading nursing strategy for the organization’s 22,000 nurses. Previously, she served as chief nursing executive for Ascension Health’s Illinois market, overseeing the nursing strategy for 14 hospitals and 5,000 nurses. She is committed to cultivating a positive work environment and ensuring positive patient experiences.
Maureen Sintich, DNP, RN. Chief Nurse Executive and Executive Vice President, Inova (Falls Church, Va.). Since September 2017, Dr. Sintich has led Inova’s nursing professional practice team and six CNOs representing Inova’s five hospitals and nursing informatics. She has deep experience in nursing strategy, including models of care, staffing standards, patient experience and the integration of population health initiatives. Prior to Inova, she held an executive role at Edison, N.J.-based Hackensack Meridian Health.
Bryan Sisk, DNP, MPH, RN. Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Executive of Memorial Hermann Health System (Houston). Dr. Sisk works to improve nursing experiences and advance patient care, clinical practices, and organizational outcomes for Memorial Hermann Health System as chief nursing executive. In addition, he oversees the organization’s Nurse Health Line, a free telephone service available 24/7 to Texas residents. Dr. Sick also leaders Memorial Hermann’s nationally-recognized Forensic Nursing Services, which provide compassionate, trauma-informed, comprehensive care for adults and children impacted by sexual violence. During his time with the system, he has led the establishment of the Institute for Nursing Excellence, an education sponsor program, and projects to enhance nurse workflow and delivery. In addition, Dr. Sisk is also a Veteran of the U.S. Army, and served in various leadership roles including chief nurse executive at the Central Texas Veterans Health Care System in Temple, Texas. Most previously, he was Chief Nurse Executive at HCA Healthcare’s TriStar Division network in Tennessee.
Elizabeth “Ellie” Laura Smith, DNP, RN. CNO of University of Miami Hospital & Clinics. As CNO, Dr. Smith develops and directs the overall nursing activities for University of Miami Hospital & Clinics, which includes overseeing, coordinating and evaluating nursing services to ensure quality and continuous improvement. She set industry-leading low staffing ratios to promote nursing satisfaction and optimal patient outcomes. She also crafted and implemented an admission/discharge/transfer nurse role, making the system one of the first in the U.S. to create a specific role to address patient throughput. Dr. Smith brings over 40 years of career experience in nursing to her role.
Joyce Soule, DNP, RN. CNO of Medical City Dallas. With 20 years of nursing experience, Dr. Soule has led the nursing team of Medical City Dallas since 2017. Prior to Medical City Dallas, she served as CNO at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita, Kan., where she also oversaw Wesley Woodlawn, a community hospital, two off-campus emergency departments and hospital-based clinics.
Michelle Spurlock, DNP, MSN, RN. System CNO for Acadia Healthcare (Franklin, Tenn.). All nursing functions at Acadia Healthcare, the largest standalone provider of behavioral healthcare in the U.S., fall under Dr. Spurlock’s jurisdiction. She is involved with quality, compliance, operations, staffing, admissions and more. She has improved the process via the development of a multimedia onboarding platform for both clinical and non-clinical staff. In addition, she’s been a leader in the implementation of a new EHR system.
Cathy Stankiewicz, DNP, RN. Regional CNO at AdventHealth (Maitland, Fla.). Dr. Stankiewicz leads nursing and clinical operations for AdventHealth in the central Florida region, which comprises nine hospitals and eight off-site emergency departments. She first joined the system in 1991 as a nurse and has served in various roles within the organization. She has over 31 years of experience as a practicing nurse leading in both inpatient and outpatient settings. During her tenure as CNO, AdventHealth achieved Leapfrog’s A hospital safety rating.
Andrew Storer, PhD, DNP, RN. Senior Vice President for Patient Care Services and CNO at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center (Buffalo, N.Y.). Leading a team of more than 800 nurses across inpatient, ambulatory and community practices, Dr. Storer was named CNO three years after joining the prestigious 125-year-old cancer center. Nurse engagement has risen dramatically through his leadership, resulting in record-low turnover and vacancy. His contributions led to accreditation with distinction for Roswell Park’s nurse residency program, approval for a continuing education program and creation of the first nurse training facility at any cancer center to incorporate high-fidelity simulation. A champion of DEI, he has driven transformation in care delivery, creating healthy work environments, promoting sustainability and supporting a culture of innovation in scholarship.
Regenia Stull. CNO of Liberty (Mo.) Hospital. Ms. Stull is CNO of Liberty Hospital, where she oversees all nursing services ranging from inpatient nursing, peri-operative services and more. She manages approximately 800 employees with a collaborative leadership approach. Since Ms. Stull joined the hospital in January 2022, the organization has reinstated an effective professional governance model, implemented nursing pipeline strategies, revived many of its recognition programs and reduced nursing turnover by 50 percent. Under her guidance, the executive team has established premier workplace habits and encouraged partnerships with stakeholders across the organization.
Jay Sundheimer, RN. Chief Nurse Executive of Rust Medical Center (Albuquerque, N.M.). Mr. Sundheimer’s responsibilities as chief nurse executive of Rust Medical Center encompass strategic, administrative and clinical aspects of patient care delivery. He closely collaborates with interdisciplinary teams and leads the development and implementation of nursing policies, protocols and standards for the medical center. Under Mr. Sundheimer’s leadership, the New Mexico Hospital Association recognized RMC as a Top Acute Care Hospital. One of his standout achievements is multiple years of zero central line-associated bloodstream infections in a hospital that provides inpatient oncology services and open-heart surgery, particularly in a border community. Previously, Mr. Sundheimer served as assistant CNO at Memorial Medical Center Las Cruces.
Maureen Swick, PhD, MSN, RN. Senior Vice President and Enterprise Nurse Executive at Atrium Health (Charlotte, N.C.). Dr. Swick’s responsibilities at Atrium Health include managing the patient experience team, the security and safety force, the emergency departments and pharmacy services. She leads more than 16,000 nurses across the patient experience team. Dr. Swick is best known for implementing quality care and emergency practices at Atrium.
Annette Sy, DNP, RN. Chief Nursing Executive of Keck Medical Center of USC (Los Angeles). Dr. Sy has served as CNO of Keck Medical Center of USC since 2012, where she leads approximately 1,300 nurses in her oversight of all inpatient and outpatient nursing services. She is responsible for ensuring survey readiness, clinical quality standards, positive patient experience and nursing competency in both inpatient areas of Keck Hospital of USC and USC Norris Cancer Hospital, as well as outpatient care clinics. Under Dr. Sy’s leadership, Keck Hospital reached its first Magnet designation in 2018, which was renewed in 2023. Dr. Sy also created the hospital’s nursing professionalism program in partnership with the Vanderbilt University Center for Patient and Professional Advocacy, as well as the Keck Medicine Nursing Institute. Dr. Sy has over 30 years of nursing experience, and most previously served as associate administrator of ambulatory care services for two USC-owned hospitals.
Kim Tharp-Barrie, DNP, RN. Senior Vice President and CNO for Norton Healthcare (Louisville, Ky.). With over 40 years of healthcare experience, Dr. Tharp-Barrie exemplifies care in action through advocacy and innovation. Focusing on building systems that create the next generation of compassionate professionals, in 2010 she created what is now called Norton Healthcare Institute for Education & Development, growing it from four nurses to 81 to serve clinical education needs and advance nursing practice. Committed to understanding the importance of giving voice to employees, she was also recently named a 2023 Louisville Business First Enterprising Woman. She elevates several nursing programs and continues creating equitable pathways to bring more people into nursing. She has been key in the public schools Academy Program that brings nursing opportunities to the classroom. In the community, she focuses on leading sexual assault and intimate partner violence programming for victims and their families.
Rhonda Thompson, DNP, MBA, RN. Senior Vice President of Patient Care Services and CNO of Phoenix Children’s. Dr. Thompson leads nursing practice and collaborates with physician leadership to enhance clinical services and patient outcomes in her role as senior vice president and CNO of Phoenix Children’s. She was responsible for the establishment of the Clinical Nurse Attending Program, which places experienced nurse leaders in consultative roles across various hospital departments to proactively identify and address potential issues, significantly reducing preventable patient safety emergencies. In addition, Dr. Thompson has also initiated a partnership with Arizona State University to develop a pediatric-focused nursing program. Prior to joining Phoenix Children’s, Dr. Thompson served as CNO of The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio where she was also the William H. Parry, MD, endowed chair of pediatric nursing.
Janet Tomcavage, MSN, RN. Executive Vice President and Chief Nurse Executive at Geisinger (Danville, Pa.). Ms. Tomcavage drives strategies to improve Geisinger’s practice of nursing, focusing on retention and recruitment that promote professional development and recognition. Recruitment efforts, like Geisinger’s Internal Traveler Program, hired more than 400 RNs in less than a year, with 85 percent from outside the system. This past year, Geisinger’s Nursing Scholars Program helped contribute to its highest ever promotions of internal employees to RN. Ms. Tomcavage also guided the Geisinger Lewistown Hospital School of Nursing expansion, which converted from a diploma to associate degree program, more than doubling enrollment and serving as a direct pipeline to the nursing workforce. Retention and recruitment efforts led to a 7.8 percent voluntary turnover rate, much lower than the national average. She also sponsors innovative redesign of inpatient care and champions virtual nursing to support admissions, discharges, fall prevention and patient and family education.
John F. Tressa, DNP, RN. Chief Nursing Executive at NorthShore – Edward-Elmhurst Health (Evanston, Ill.). Dr. Tressa is the inaugural system chief nursing executive for NorthShore – Edward-Elmhurst Health. In his role, he works with CNOs and other leaders to align nursing practices across the system to ensure consistency, safety and quality. He is a researcher with a focus on intentional nurse leader rounding and its impact on enhancing the effectiveness of nursing staff, purposeful hourly rounding, and the patient perception of care. Prior to joining NorthShore, Dr. Tressa was system senior vice president for heart/vascular and trauma at Memorial Hermann Health System in Houston.
Shawn Ulreich, DSc, MSN, RN. Chief Nursing Executive and Senior Vice President, Clinical Operations at Corewell Health in West Michigan (Grand Rapids). Lauded for her transformational leadership and ability to create strong environments for nursing practice and innovation, Ms. Ulreich is responsible for nursing and clinical operations across Corewell Health hospitals in West Michigan. Under her leadership, three hospitals earned Magnet designation for the fourth consecutive time. Over the past 19 years at Corewell Health, she has implemented many transformational programs including the Corewell Health Nurse Wellness Grants, the Grand Valley State University and Corewell Health Nurse Scholar Grants and Units of the Future, where innovations can be tested by staff and nursing leadership in patient care units.
Hollie Vaughan, RN. CNO of Lehigh Regional Medical Center and Region VI CNO of Prime Healthcare (Lehigh Acres, Calif.). Ms. Vaughan leads nursing operations at Lehigh Regional Medical Center, where she has served as CNO since 2021, as well as Prime Healthcare’s Region VI hospitals in Florida, Indiana and Ohio. Over her 20 years of nursing experience, and over ten of CNO experience, Ms. Vaughan has led a hospital to achieve American College of Cardiology chest pain accreditation, developed a centralized cardiac monitoring department, decreased nursing turnover, implemented a new electronic medical record system and improved patient satisfaction scores.
Barbara Vazquez, DNP, RN. CNO of Christus Children’s Hospital (San Antonio, Texas). As CNO for Christus Children’s Hospital, Dr. Vazquez oversees nursing, patient care services and more than 800 nurses. She leads the charge in convening problem-solving and policy-forming conferences, which ultimately shape the trajectory of the hospital’s nursing services. Under her leadership, all quality metrics for nursing have improved, including reduced hospital acquired infections, surgical site infections and unplanned extubations.
Gail Vozella, MSN, RN. Chief Nursing Executive of Houston Methodist. Ms. Vozella has worked as chief nursing executive at Houston Methodist for 10 months. Before this role, she served as vice president of nursing at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston for more than 29 years.
Janice Walker, DHA, BSN, RN. CNO at Baylor Scott & White Health (Dallas). Dr. Walker is responsible for advancing clinical practice among nursing staff and improving safety and quality outcomes across the 51-hospital Baylor Scott & White Health system. In 2021, Dr. Walker launched the Baylor Scott & White Nursing Institute to promote clinical and professional excellence. Under her leadership, all wholly owned and managed Baylor Scott & White facilities are either Magnet or pathway to excellence designated by American Nurses Credentialing Center as of 2023. Prior to her current role, Dr. Walker was CNO of the system’s Central Texas region and CNO and COO of Baylor Scott & White All Saints Medical Center – Fort Worth (Texas).
Ginell Walker-Way, RN. CNO of Chilton Medical Center (Pompton Plains, N.J.). Ms. Walker-Way became Chilton Medical Center’s CNO in April 2022. Chilton Medical Center is part of Morristown, N.J.-based Atlantic Health System, which Ms. Walker-Way first joined as a staff nurse in 1995. Her current role entails leading daily operations for the medical center, including nursing, case management, emergency services, patient experience and more. She leverages her diverse clinical leadership background, which includes experience in cardiology, critical care, outpatient and surgical services. She leads patient safety and quality initiatives to improve patient experience and outcomes and is a staunch advocate for nurses, employee engagement and professional development. Ms. Walker-Way serves on the board of directors for the Northern N.J. chapter of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses.
Heather Wall, RN. CNO for PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend and Oregon Network (Springfield, Ore.). Ms. Wall originally began her journey with PeaceHealth as a caregiver in 2004. After over 15 years of progressive leadership roles, she became PeaceHealth Sacred Heart at Riverbend’s CNO in 2018. She has been a key contributor to initiatives that improve patient safety, empower providers and increase quality of care. Prior to taking on her current role, she was senior director of nursing at RiverBend
Eric Wallis, DNP, RN. Senior Vice President of Patient Care and System CNO at Henry Ford Health (Detroit). Dr. Wallis is responsible for advancing innovative care models, professional development, education, and engagement for Henry Ford Health’s system-wide nursing community of 6,500 nurses and more than 10,000 patient care team members. Currently, he is partnering with Michigan State University to develop a new model of clinical faculty roles for Henry Ford nurses to increase clinical placements and nursing program enrollment. He developed the first staffing office for the system and is now launching the first system virtual ICU in Michigan. His efforts thus far have decreased first year RN turnover as well as overall turnover. In addition to his duties at HFH, Dr. Wallis is the adjunct dean for Nursing Practice at Michigan State University.
Jackie Ward, DNP, RN. System Chief Nurse Executive and Senior Vice President at Texas Children’s Hospital (Houston). Dr. Ward is responsible for more than 4,000 nurses throughout the TCH system. She focuses on the delivery of high-quality clinical care, customer service through collaboration and competency-based education. She also works closely with other executives to ensure a safe, quality environment for staffers, patients and families. She develops, directs and allocates financial assets to ensure patient needs are met. She also plays a role in ensuring the organization’s future success with effective development and collaboration. Immediately after being promoted to the role of CNO, she prioritized connecting with her frontline staffers. She established monthly meetings with nurses to hear how things are going in the field. She has also been an advocate for the implementation of culture rounds.
Donna Watridge, BSN, RN. Chief Nursing and Operations Officer at Atlantic Health System, Hackettstown and Newton Medical Centers (N.J.). Ms. Watridge is in charge of nurses, case management, emergency services and patient experience at both hospitals. She helped open a hybrid operating room suite at Atlantic Health System and launched the STEMI intervention program at Newton Medical Centers, which has performed over 100 PCIs for STEMI patients since its inception. Ms. Watridge led the academic and clinical partnership with Centenary University, Fairleigh Dickinson University and Seton Hall University, in which nursing students complete clinical training through an accelerated nursing program at either Hackettstown or Newton Medical Centers.
Cynthia Whitaker, MSN, RN. CNO and Vice President of Operations at Guthrie Corning (N.Y.) Hospital. Ms. Whitaker successfully built a strong leadership team, staffed the nurse supervisor team and has ensured that the hospital achieves high employee engagement scores. She also implemented a daily device huddle and a daily leadership rounding program, initiatives that led to reduced hospital acquired infection rates and higher patient satisfaction. She also led a systemwide, $3 million project to implement new IV pumps. Under her leadership, the hospital achieved a safety grade “A” from The Leapfrog Group.
Maureen White, RN. Associate Executive Director, Patient Care Services and CNO at Northwell Health (New Hyde Park, N.Y.). Ms. White is in charge of developing and implementing health strategies, nursing policies, protocols, strategic planning and operational standards. In 2011, she received the American Organization for Nurse Executives Mentorship Award. Before taking on her current roles at Northwell Health, she served as vice president for patient care services of Manhasset, N.Y.-based North Shore University Hospital and LIJ Medical Center in New Hyde Park.
Lori Wiegand, DNP, RN. CNO at OSF HealthCare (Peoria, Ill.). Dr. Wiegand is leading efforts to address nursing burnout across all 15 OSF HealthCare hospitals. In the past year, she brought forth new work-life solutions and implemented rapid clinical employee hiring, resulting in reduced turnover that is down from 2.5 percent to .08 percent. She directly impacted the organization’s ability to fill positions, reducing the number of open RN positions by 27 percent in the past 18 months. Her work contributed to OSF HealthCare being named a 2023 Best-in-State Employer by Forbes and one of America’s Most Innovative Companies by Fortune. She has implemented innovative training solutions that deliver updated best practices information to front-line caregivers. OSF HealthCare now outperforms the mean National Database for Nursing Quality Indicators for falls. Dr. Wiegand also works to prevent workplace violence events by empowering nurses through prevention and management programs designed by nurses for nurses.
Ena Williams. Senior Vice President and CNO at Yale New Haven (Conn.) Hospital. Ms. Williams has direct and indirect oversight of nursing practice, resources, research, patient experience and nursing quality at Yale New Haven. She also leads the system’s nursing leadership development program. She is responsible for more than 5,000 nurses and clinical staff members. She is also the system’s first Black CNO. She is also passionate about nursing other nurses in the field, focusing on mentoring students facing persistent biases in the healthcare system. She originally joined the system in 1992 as a nurse in the operating room, and was promoted to the role of CNO in 2018.
Christopher Wilson, MSN, RN. CNO of NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan (New York City). Mr. Wilson is responsible for all nursing and patient care services including nursing, ancillary support staff, social services, group therapists, respiratory therapy, outpatient services and NPs. He began his career in nursing at age 20, and became the CNO of a small hospital in the Boston area by age 27. In his current role, he hones in on transformation and patient care. Under his leadership, the organization has experienced clinical growth, enhanced patient outcomes and significant improvements in recruitment and retention. He also volunteers as the vice president of the board of directors for Mazzoni Center in Philadelphia, which is the only dedicated LGBTQ clinic in the city.
Heidi Wolf, MSN, RN. CNO at DeTar Healthcare System (Victoria, Texas). Ms. Wolf has been in executive nurse leadership for 20 years, and with DeTar Healthcare System for four of those years. She oversees nursing practice, operations and clinical integration and a team of nurses at DeTar Hospital Navarro and DeTar Hospital North, and leads patient experience and capacity optimization initiatives. In the last 18 months, Ms. Wolf has been part of opening the healthcare system’s $15.5 million cancer center and neonatal intensive care unit’s level III designation, both of which are the first and only of their kind in the Texas Crossroads area. DeTar Healthcare System includes an accredited chest pain center, designated stroke center, and both level III and level IV trauma centers. Ms. Wolf also serves on the Hope of South Texas Child Advocacy Center board of directors.
Laura J. Wood, DNP, RN. Executive Vice President of Patient Care Operations and System CNO at Boston Children’s Hospital. Dr. Wood leads nursing and patient care operations at Boston Children’s Hospital. Over the past decade, her initiatives have led to a 46.5 percent reduction in serious preventable harm, a 200 percent outperformance of the RN engagement national excellence mean for fundamentals of quality nursing care, and a doubling of the racial and ethnic diversity in the nursing workforce. She is an RWJ Foundation Executive Nurse Fellow alumna and American Academy of Nursing fellow. She provides national advocacy for nursing research funding, scholarship and professional practice environments through board service to Friends of the National Institute of Nursing Research, SIGMA Foundation and American Nurses’ Credentialing Center, including ANCC President for 2024-2025.
Angela Wright. CNO and Senior Director at Banner Health- University Medicine Tucson (Ariz.). Ms. Wright is the chief nurse executive for Banner’s Tucson market, which oversees two academic medical centers and more than 20 outpatient clinics. She is a key nursing influencer across the entire Banner system. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she worked to ensure that Banner maintained the highest standard of patient care by providing social, emotional, educational and developmental support to the nursing team. During her time in the role, she has engaged with nursing teams, built leadership teams and established opportunities to enhance and expand the nursing profession. Under her leadership, Banner’s nursing turnover was reduced from 41 percent to 11 percent. She has also reinforced nursing shared leadership, with over 80 percent of nursing units or departments implementing unit-based councils. Councils ensure that bedside nurses are represented in the development of new protocols and best practices. She has also helped to establish staffing pipelines through partnerships with local universities to ensure a sustainable supply of nurses.