American Association of Critical-Care Nurses Announces Board of Directors for Fiscal Year 2025

The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN), the world’s largest specialty nursing organization, announces its board of directors for fiscal year 2025, with terms effective July 1, 2024.

Jennifer Adamski, DNP, APRN, ACNP-BC, CCRN, FCCM, is the new president of the AACN board of directors. She is a clinical associate professor and director of the Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (ACNP) Program at Emory University’s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Atlanta, and a critical care ACNP for Cleveland Clinic’s Critical Care Flight Team. 

“Nurses are instrumental in creating a healthcare system that works better for everyone, and it will require courage as individuals and as a profession to champion patient-centered care and healthy work environments,” Adamski said. “Together, we can have the Courage to Soar, with a shared commitment for excellence in patient care.”

Rebekah Marsh, BSN, RN, CCRN, begins a one-year term as president-elect. Marsh is a clinical nurse educator for acute care/telemetry at Harborview Medical Center, University of Washington Medicine, Seattle.

Tiffany Mullen, MSN, RN, ACCNS-P, CCRN, begins a one-year term as secretary and her third year as a director. She is a clinical nurse specialist at Children’s Mercy, Kansas City, Missouri.

Jarrod Atkinson, MS, RN, NEA-BC, CCRN, begins a one-year term as treasurer and his second year as a director. He is associate chief nursing officer at Unity Hospital – Rochester Regional Health, Rochester, New York.

Joining the board as directors are Kristina Brooks, DNP, MBOE, RN, CCRN, AACC, LSSBB; Dawn Carpenter, DNP, ACNP-BC, CCRN, FAANP; Kelly Carter, MS, RN, NE-BC; and Dannette Mitchell, MSN, APRN, ACNS-BC, CCRN, FCNS. They each serve a three-year term.

Brooks is director of cardiac services at WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center. As a nurse leader in cardiology and cardiac, thoracic and vascular surgery, she focuses on staff engagement and process and quality improvement.

Carpenter is a nurse practitioner at Guthrie Clinic in Sayre, Pennsylvania, and an associate professor at UMass Chan Medical School, Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing.

Carter is nursing director of the Surgery Nursing Division at VCU Medical Center in Richmond, Virginia, where she has worked for over 30 years, including service in a leadership role for nearly 20 years.

Mitchell is a clinical nurse specialist in medical critical care, with a focus on harm reduction, at ChristianaCare in Wilmington, Delaware.

Theresa Davis, PhD, RN, NE-BC, CHTP, FAAN, becomes immediate past president and co-chair of the AACN – AACN Certification Corporation Nominating Committee. She is assistant vice president of nursing at the High Reliability Center, Inova Health System, Falls Church, Virginia.

Returning to the AACN board with Dana Woods, MBA, AACN chief executive officer, are the following directors:

• Nicole Fontenot, DNP, APRN, ACNP-BC, CCNS, CCRN, is manager of nursing science and academic outreach at Houston Methodist Academic Institute.
• Desiree Hodges, MBA, BSN, RN, CCRN, NE-BC, is nurse manager of a critical care unit at Novant Health in Charlotte, North Carolina.
• Sara Knippa, MS, RN, ACCNS-AG, CCRN, PCCN, is a critical care clinical nurse specialist at UCHealth in Aurora, Colorado. She also serves a concurrent one-year term on the AACN Certification Corporation board.
• Lynn Orser, MSN, RN, CCRN, PCCN, NPD-BC, is a nursing professional development specialist, critical care, at Hartford Healthcare, St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Bridgeport, Connecticut. She also serves a concurrent one-year term on the AACN Certification Corporation board.
• Kirsten Skillings, MA, APRN, CCRN, CCNS, is director of inpatient cardiology at CentraCare St. Cloud Hospital, Heart and Vascular Center, in St. Cloud, Minnesota.

About the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses: For more than 50 years, the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) has been dedicated to acute and critical care nursing excellence. The organization’s vision is to create a healthcare system driven by the needs of patients and their families in which acute and critical care nurses make their optimal contribution. AACN is the world’s largest specialty nursing organization with about 130,000 members and nearly 200 chapters in the United States.

American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, 27071 Aliso Creek Road, Aliso Viejo, CA 92656; 949-362-2000; www.aacn.org; facebook.com/aacnface; twitter.com/aacnme