PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FNAP, FAAN President(October 2023 – October 2025) Dean & Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Nursing president@aannet.org
Dr. Linda Scott is the dean of the University of Wisconsin—Madison School of Nursing. She was appointed the eighth dean of the School in July 2016 where she provides direction and leadership in educating nurses for the future
of care, strengthening the school’s research enterprise, and forging partnerships to improve health outcomes. As a leading scholar in sleep and health services research, her research on workforce issues has influenced the direction
of health policy formation as the nation struggles to provide patient-centered, quality health care amidst a significant nursing workforce shortage. Dr. Scott has also led diversity efforts across academic degrees and curricula
such as the implementation of holistic admissions review; a strategy to enhance the diversity of the nursing workforce and improve patient outcomes by having a nursing profession that mirrors the populations in which it serves.
Dr. Scott assumed the role of President of the American Academy of Nursing in October 2023. In addition, she is a Fellow of the National Academies of Practice and a member of Sigma Theta Tau honor society for nursing. Through
December 2022, Dr. Scott serves as an associate editor for Nursing Outlook, the official journal of the American Academy of Nursing. In June 2022, she accepted a nomination to become a member of the National Academies of Sciences,
Engineering, and Medicine’s Board of Health Care Services.
Dr. Scott earned her PhD in nursing from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, her master’s degree from Grand Valley State in Allendale, Michigan, and her
undergraduate degree from Michigan State University in East Lansing.
PhD, FNP-BC, CNE, FAANP, ANEF, FAAN President-Elect(October 2023 – October 2025) Dean & Professor, University of North Carolina Greensboro School of Nursing
Dr. Debra J. Barksdale is the Dean at the UNC Greensboro School of Nursing. Dr. Barksdale holds a PhD from the University of Michigan, a MSN from Howard University, and a BSN from the University of Virginia. In addition, she obtained a Post-Masters Certificate in teaching from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. Dr. Barksdale is a certified family nurse practitioner (NP) and a certified nurse educator. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners and the NLN Academy of Nursing Education. Further, she is a fellow of the prestigious American Academy of Nursing and has completed two terms on the board of directors where she also served as the liaison to the Diversity and Inclusivity Committee and three expert panels and was the 2021 Policy Conference co-chair. In addition, she is a former Department of Health and Human Services Primary Health Care Policy Fellow and a fellow of the Wharton AACN Executive Leadership Program. She also served as a Translational Research Fellow with the Wilder School of Government and Public Policy at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Dr. Barksdale is a past President of the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF). Additionally, she is a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Executive Nurse Fellows Alumnae. Previously, she was appointed to the Veteran’s Choice Act Blue Ribbon Panel which conducted an independent review of assessments of the Veteran Administration (VA) to ensure that the recommendations reported to Congress served our U.S. veterans and to transform the VA into an effective 21st Century model of service.
Dr. Barksdale was one of 19 members appointed to the 21-member Board of Governors for the new Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) by the U.S. Government Accountability Office under the Obama Administration. She was the only nurse appointed to the PCORI Board for its first eight years (2010-2018). She chaired the Engagement, Dissemination, and Implementation Committee, one of the organization’s three strategy committees and served on the research proposal selection committee which confirmed which proposals would be brought to the full Board for funding.
Dr. Barksdale has exhibited a sustained commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion as evident in her NP practice history, former position in the Office of Multicultural Affairs at the University of Michigan School of Nursing, PhD dissertation, research and scholarship, demonstrated commitment to mentoring, presentations, publications, consultations and other work in various capacities.
PhD, RN, ACNP-BC, FNAP, FAAN Secretary (October 2024 – October 2026) Ruth M. Anderson Endowed Professor & Associate Dean for Research, Case Western Reserve University, Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing
Dr. Ronald Hickman is the inaugural Ruth M. Anderson Endowed Chair and Associate Dean for Research at Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU). He is a registered nurse and a board-certified acute care nurse practitioner who has provided care for patients undergoing general and cardiothoracic surgery, and patients in the intensive care unit. As a nurse scientist, Dr. Hickman is nationally known for his pioneering work focused on technology-based solutions to improve chronic disease self-management and end-of-life care. His innovative work integrates knowledge from several disciplinary domains to develop technologies and understand biobehavioral mechanisms that influence how patients, and their families make decisions and manage their health or acute illness.
Dr. Hickman’s impact on practice and science earned him several prestigious honors. He is an elected fellow of the National Academies of Practice, the Luther Christman Society, and the American Academy of Nursing. Dr. Hickman is the second nurse to hold the distinction of an Emerging Leader in Health and Medicine by the National Academy of Medicine. His scholarship has also garnered numerous regional and national awards and his commitment to advancing diversity and inclusion has received recognition from the American Association of Men in Nursing and the American Nurses Association.
Dr. Hickman’s continuous and highly impactful contributions to nursing science and its integration into practice have earned him great respect. He is committed to advancing diversity and inclusion to ensure a representative nursing workforce and the delivery of equitable nursing and health care.
PhD, ACNP-BC, FAHA, FAAN Treasurer (October 2023 – October 2025) Director, Nursing Research Department; Research Scientist III; Nurse Practitioner, Heart Transplantation, Mechanical Circulatory Support Programs; Assistant Professor, Biomedical Sciences and Medicine, Cedars Sinai Medical Center
With over 40 years of advance practice nursing experience in cardiac surgical care, ventricular assist devices, and transplantation; Dr. Coleman has paired her clinical practice with a research career focused on health disparities. Her research spans bench to bedside to community – with work on genomic transplant disparities, family caregivers, and church-based preventive blood pressure education. She has worked with teams to create numerous programs in the cardiovascular service line such as Lung volume reduction, heart, lung transplant programs, ventricular assist device program with updated training based on new devices used for research and practice.
She is the Director of Nursing Research and Quality Improvement of the Cedars-Sinai Health System. Her scientific and professional contributions have led to membership on the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Advisory Committee on Organ Transplantation (ACOT); Member National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) Committee on: A fairer and More Equitable, Cost-Effective and Transplant System of Donor Organ Procurement, Allocation, and Distribution; Chair, Genomic Nursing and Health Care Expert Panel for the Academy of Nursing, National Mentor, National Coalition of Ethnic Minority Nurse Associations (NCEMNA) and Advisory Council, UC Davis Betty Moore Nursing Innovation Fellowship. On 28 July 2023, Congress authorized an overhaul of the United States Organ Transplant system based on the sentinel work of the NASEM committee.
Azita Emami
Board Member
PhD, MSN, BSN, RNT, RN, FAAN Yale School of Nursing
PhD, MSN, BSN, RNT, RN, FAAN Board Member (October 2024 – October 2026) Dean & Linda Koch Lorimer Professor of Nursing, Yale School of Nursing
Azita Emami joined the Yale School of Nursing as Dean in 2023. She is an active researcher, an international advocate for expanding nursing’s role in primary care, and a powerful voice for global equity of healthcare access.
Dr. Emami serves as a trustee of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and on several professional boards and committees. She was a U.S. leader of the international Nursing Now initiative, a three-year global campaign (2018-2020) in collaboration with the International Council of Nurses and the World Health Organization that raised the visibility, status, and education opportunities of nurses worldwide. She also led the U.S. “Year of the Nurse and the Midwife” effort (2021), part of a global U.N. initiative.
Equity of opportunity in nursing education is a focal point for Dean Emami, who has been a national leader in developing efforts directed at making diversity, equity and inclusion a priority at schools of nursing. She initiated creation of the nation’s first Center for Antiracism in Nursing, and has written and spoken in numerous professional settings about the ways in which both patients and the profession benefit from understanding and addressing implicit bias and historical racism.
Dr. Emami has forged strong relationships and collaborative exchanges with nursing programs in many countries, including Thailand and China. She fosters in both faculty and students a perspective that encourages global engagement and emphasizes the importance of understanding impact on health outcomes of the social determinants of health.
Dr. Emami earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the renowned Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, where she grew up after emigrating from Iran. She earned a master’s degree in international health care from Karolinska and the Red Cross College of Nursing; a nursing education degree with a teaching certification, and a doctorate in medical sciences from Karolinska.
The Dean’s academic leadership experience spans two countries and 25 years, including positions as Executive Dean of the University of Washington School of Nursing, Dean of the College of Nursing at Seattle University, Head of the Division of Nursing in the Department of Neurobiology Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, and Academic Leader in the Division of Elderly Care in the Department of Nursing at the Karolinska Institutet.
Dr. Emami maintains an active research schedule, with collaborations around the world. Her research reflects her interest in topics ranging from dementia care, challenges in cross-cultural care, and immigrant healthcare policy to the development of cultural competence in clinical nurses. She is internationally recognized for her innovative research on dementia, including development of an oral data collection method for a biomarker of stress. Her research has resulted in more than 80 publications in peer-reviewed journals nationally and internationally.
DNP, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN Board Member (October 2024 – October 2026) Executive Vice President and Chief Experience Officer, Wellstar Health System; Board of Directors, the DAISY Foundation
Susan Grant has operated in healthcare for over 30 years. Her wealth of experience in various roles such as Executive Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer at Beaumont Health in Detroit, Michigan, has led to incredible achievements, including leading the nursing practice of over 10,000 nurses across all care settings and overseeing successful Magnet redesignation of two hospitals. In addition, she helped secure the initial designation of four of eight hospitals in the system at that time.
Grant received her Doctor of Nursing Practice from Vanderbilt University, a Masters in Psychiatric/Community Mental Health Nursing from the University of South Carolina and her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the Medical College of Georgia. She is currently the chair-elect of the Building Health Systems Excellence expert panel with the American Academy of Nursing, is a member of the Nurse Executive Council for The Beryl Institute and serves on the Board of Directors for the Daisy Foundation Board.
PhD, MPH, RN, CNS, FAAN Board Member (October 2023 – October 2025) Dean & Laura Lee Blanton Chair in Nursing, The University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing
Dr. Eun-Ok Im is Dean, Professor, and Laura Lee Blanton Chair at The University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing. Dr. Im received a BSN (magna cum laude) and an MPH from Seoul National University in South Korea. She received her second master’s degree (MSN) from UCSF, and finally a PhD in Nursing from UCSF in 1997. She also completed 1.5 years of postdoctoral studies with Dr. Afaf I. Meleis at UCSF. Dean Im is an internationally known methodologist and theorist in global women’s health, addressing gender and ethnic disparities in health/illness experiences of midlife women. Over two decades, Dr. Im has successfully solicited NIH funding to support her research including five R01s, one R21, and one R61/R33 as PI, with about 450 publications (232 refereed journal articles published or in press). By developing the theoretical and methodological structures and frameworks for ethical and culturally sensitive research in the Digital Age, Dr. Im’s studies have led and impacted over 200 students and researchers far beyond the scope of her own work. Her leadership is also reflected in her national and international service (president of the Asian American Pacific Islander Nurses Association, editor in chief of Advances in Nursing Science).
Dr. Im is a pioneer and leader in the use of computer and mobile technologies to study the experiences of racial/ethnic minority women and to eliminate gender and ethnic disparities globally. Her research began in the late 1990s when advanced computer and mobile technologies began to emerge, and it continued with additional technological and theoretical advances. She has made groundbreaking contributions in Internet-based research methodologies and the articulation of techniques for dealing with complex sets of data using fuzzy logic (an early machine learning method) and for providing culturally tailored interventions for racial/ethnic minorities. Additionally, situation specific theories that Dr. Im proposed in the late 1990s are now considered as major types of nursing theories by the level of abstraction that are based on sensitivity to the uniqueness and diversity in health/illness experience and a deep concern for questions of social and health disparities. Situation-specific theory with high specificity has proven especially useful as a guide for developing and adapting tailored/targeted interventions for underserved populations.
Due to her pioneering and ground-breaking contributions to nursing science, she has received numerous national and international awards including the 2014 International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame Award from the Sigma Theta Tau International, the 2020 Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science (CANS) Outstanding Nurse Scientist Award, the 2022 SNRS Distinguished Researcher Award, the 2022 FNINR Faye Glenn Abdellah Research Leadership Award, the 2023 Oncology Nursing Society Distinguished Researcher Award, and the 2023 Helen Nahm Research Lecture Award. In 2019, she received the Global Mentor Award from the International Network for Doctoral Education in Nursing for her work in mentoring international doctoral students and serving as a role model in doctoral education in nursing and research. She was also selected in 2019 to be one of the 2019 NINR Director’s lecturers.
PhD, RN, APRN, FAANP, FAAN Board Member (October 2024 – October 2025) Dean and Professor, Kent State University College of Nursing
Versie Johnson-Mallard is a recognized national leader with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM), the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), National League for Nursing (NLN) and American Academy of Nursing (AAN) who works as an agent for collaborative opportunities for faculty, staff and students. Her strategic vision for the College of Nursing is to work collectively with other academic units on building research, scholarship and education initiatives.
Dr. Johnson-Mallard led funding collaborations with NASEM and National Institutes of Health (NIH) and engaged academic institutions, such as the UF Health Cancer Center, in developing interprofessional scientific innovations on cancer technology, prevention and management. Her research focus is on first generation and underserved populations of health care professionals and health consumers in the field of reproductive health methodology, culturally specific interventions as well as identifying strategies which may be used to inhibit the oncogenic activity of high-risk HPV genotypes.
PhD, RN, FAAN Board Member (October 2023 – October 2025) Joseph Blades Centennial Memorial Professor in Nursing; Director: Indigenous Nursing Research Enhancement (INRE) Post-Doc Fellowship Program; The University of Texas at Austin, School of Nursing
John Lowe, PhD, RN, FAAN is the Joseph Blades Centennial Memorial Professor in Nursing and the Director of the Indigenous Nursing Research Enhancement Post-Doc Fellowship Program at the University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing. He is also a Faculty Affiliate of the Native American and Indigenous Studies Program at the University of Texas at Austin and an Indigenous Scholar Affiliate of the University of Southern Queensland in Ipswich, Australia. He is an alumnus of the American Nurses Association Ethnic Minority Fellowship predoctoral program, and has served as the Chair of the National Advisory Committee. He recently served as an appointed member to the National Advisory Council of the National Institutes of Nursing Research. Dr. Lowe is the first Native American man to receive a PhD degree in Nursing and to be inducted as a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing. He developed the first Indigenous Nursing Research Center and hosted the first and third International Indigenous Nursing Research Summits.
Dr. Lowe has represented Native American and Indigenous health care professionals in many national and international forums and with national leaders and actively serves in elected, appointed, advisory and consultant positions among national and international health organizations and editorial boards. He has provided health-care services and research consultation to underserved and disadvantaged groups in several countries and advocates for the culturally competent health care of Native Americans and Indigenous people globally. He developed the cultural-based Native-Reliance model that is being used to guide research studies among Native American and Indigenous populations.
Dr. Lowe also developed the Talking Circle intervention that addresses the mental, emotional, and behavioral health of Native American and Indigenous youth. The Talking Circle intervention has been noted by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs as a “Promising Evidence-Based Program” for the well-being of youth, recognized as the first manualized Talking Circle intervention, featured as one of the American Academy of Nursing’s “Edge Runners,” innovators, and is featured in The Future of Nursing 2020-2030. Dr. Lowe also co-authored the Native American Nursing Conceptual Framework which is being used to guide nursing curriculums. His work has received several acknowledgments including his recent induction into the Researcher Hall of Fame in the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. Dr. Lowe has presented nationally and internationally and has published several articles and books that report the findings of his research.
PhD, PHNA-BC, RN, ANEF, FAAN Board Member (October 2024 – October 2026) Professor, Dean Emerita, Saint Louis University Trudy Busch Valentine School of Nursing
Teri Murray is professor and dean emerita of the Trudy Busch Valentine School of Nursing at Saint Louis University which offers baccalaureate through doctoral education programs. She holds Bachelor’s and Master’s of Science degrees in Nursing from Saint Louis University, a Master’s degree in Education from the University of Missouri-Saint Louis, a PhD in Higher Education Administration from Saint Louis University and a certificate in Management and Leadership in Education from Harvard University.
Dr. Murray has been actively involved in workforce development and governmental affairs at state and national levels. She skillfully uses regulatory, public, and legislative policy to promote and lead innovation in nursing education and healthcare. Dr. Murray has worked tirelessly to advance diversity in nursing education and the nursing workforce. Her research and policy interests are focused on the social determinants of health, population health, and the interplay between social environment and health outcomes.
Dr. Murray is a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Executive Nurse Fellows Program, and is a recipient of the Salute to Excellence Healthcare Award for Stellar Performance. She has numerous publications, presents nationally, and has been funded for various innovative educational initiatives.
PhD, RN, FAAN Chief Executive Officer, American Academy of Nursing
Suzanne Miyamoto is the CEO of the American Academy of Nursing (Academy). The Academy’s mission is to improve health and achieve health equity by impacting policy through nursing leadership, innovation, and science. With two decades of policy, advocacy, and non-profit experience, Dr. Miyamoto provides visionary and strategic leadership to help the organization achieve its goal of healthy lives for all people. Dr. Miyamoto is highly regarded for her expertise in public policy and developing strong partnerships to advance sound policy solutions that are evidence-based, patient-centered, and community-oriented. Throughout her career, she has worked with a wide network of stakeholders across the health care industry from insurers to consumer organizations. She is a successful leader in the development of advocacy-based coalitions reaching Congress and the Administration.
Prior to her position at the Academy, Dr. Miyamoto served as the American Association of Colleges of Nursing’s (AACN) Chief Policy Officer. In her 12 years of service at AACN, Dr. Miyamoto supported the membership as a policy analyst, advocate, and strategist at the federal level. She simultaneously led the Nursing Community Coalition— the largest national nursing coalition focused on elevating the voice of the profession in health policy discussions. In these roles, Dr. Miyamoto worked with both political parties to ensure that funding for the health care workforce increased, helping to double federal spending for nursing education. She advised and helped ensure the passage of critical legislation such as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2009, the Affordable Care Act in 2010, and the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act in 2018.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Miyamoto strengthened the Academy’s outreach and policy impact. As one of the nursing leaders who briefed the White House on pandemic matters, she informed the Administration of the Academy’s call for emergency funding, protections for patients and health care professionals, global health diplomacy, and health equity in communities of color. Dr. Miyamoto continued the Academy’s advocacy throughout the pandemic by leading efforts for social justice to address racism and increased access to immunizations among communities underserved by medical resources. In collaboration with external funders, she secured grant funding to improve the delivery of services to communities through health care leadership, innovation, and science. Recognized for her leadership during this time, she was a lead co-author on Clinicians and Professional Societies COVID-19 Impact Assessment: Lessons Learned and Compelling Needs, a National Academy of Medicine Perspectives’ Discussion Paper.
Dr. Miyamoto is a member of the National Academy of Medicine’s Leadership Consortium, the National Quality Forum’s Board of Directors, Sibley Memorial Hospital-Johns Hopkins Medicine Board of Trustees, the Association of American Medical Colleges’ Research and Action Institute External Advisory Committee, and the National Minority Quality Forum’s Advisory Board. Her influence at the state and federal levels is found in her policy contributions to the State Commission on Patient Safety for the Michigan Health and Safety Coalition, the National Institutes of Health, and on Capitol Hill. Dr. Miyamoto is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, an Honorary Friend of the National Institute of Nursing Research, and a 2014 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Executive Nurse Fellow.
Dr. Miyamoto received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, Master of Science in Nursing, and Doctorate of Philosophy in Nursing from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She holds a faculty appointment at Georgetown University, School of Nursing.
About the Board of Directors
The Academy is governed by a 10-member board of directors, elected by the Fellows. Board members oversee the Academy's strategic planning and financial management.
