Beverly Malone

Beverly Malone, PhD, RN, FAAN
President and CEO, National League for Nursing
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Under Dr. Beverly Malone’s leadership, the National League for Nursing (NLN) has advanced the science of nursing education through enhancing stakeholder collaboration, increasing diversity in nursing scholarship, and championing evidence-based practice. Dr. Malone’s distinguished career has blended policy, education, administration, and clinical practice, including service as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health under President Bill Clinton.

As a reviewer, she contributed to the groundbreaking Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, "The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health," and served on the Minority Health Federal Advisory Committee, a federal panel established to advise the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services. Presently, Dr. Malone serves as Vice Chair at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Board of Directors, co-leads the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) Health Professional Education and Communication Working Group, and serves on NAM’s Steering Committee. She is a member of ecoAmerica’s Leadership Circle Executive Committee.

In 2025, Dr. Malone received multiple honors, including Sigma Theta Tau International’s Nell J. Watts Lifetime Achievement in Nursing Award, the National Black Nurses Association (NBNA) Lifetime Achievement Award, and the University of Maryland School of Nursing’s Dean’s Medal for Distinguished Service. Modern Healthcare named her among the 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2025.

The American Nurses Association (ANA) named Dr. Malone as its 2024 Hall of Fame Award recipient. The American Academy of Nursing (AAN) selected her as its 2024 Mary Elizabeth Carnegie Leadership in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusivity (EDI) Awardee. The NBNA recognized Dr. Malone as a 2024 inaugural Fellow in the Academy of Diversity Leaders in Nursing. In recognition of her global impact, The Lancet profiled Dr. Malone, placing her among an elite group of leaders shaping the future of health care. 

The year prior, Modern Healthcare honored Dr. Malone as one of the nation’s leading health care executives, naming her to its 2023 list of the 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives in health care. In 2023, the American Nurses Credentialing Center presented Dr. Malone with the prestigious HRH Princess Muna Al Hussein Award for her international leadership in advancing nursing excellence. That same year, she received the ANA President's Award and Villanova University selected her for the M. Louise Fitzpatrick Award for Transformative Leadership. Dr. Malone was featured as one of 25 Outstanding Women for Women’s History Month by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education (2023).

Dr. Malone was honored as part of the 2022 STATUS List, the most definitive accounting of leaders and influencers in the life sciences and was recognized by Morehouse School of Medicine as one of 12 Influential Persons in Health, Science, and Innovation. That same year, she was included on HealthTech's list of 30 Healthcare IT Influencers Worth a Follow.

Modern Healthcare presented her with a Top 25 Women Leaders’ Luminary Award in 2021 and named her to its inaugural list of five Minority Healthcare Luminaries. Additionally, the International Society of Psychiatric Mental Health Nurses honored her with its Living Legends Award.

In 2020, Dr. Malone received the University of Cincinnati’s Linda Bates Parker Legend Award, was named an Honorary Member of the Philippine Nurses Association of America, and received a special award of distinction from the NLN Board of Governors. She was also bestowed the Gail L. Warden Leadership Excellence Award by the National Center for Healthcare Leadership and was conferred the AAN’s highest nursing honor, “Living Legend.” From 1996 to 2000, Dr. Malone served two terms as president of the ANA, representing 180,000 nurses in the U.S.

Dr. Malone has earned additional accolades, including the Florence Nightingale Award, induction into the National Alliance for Care at Home Home Care and Hospice Hall of Fame, and induction into the Nursing Hall of Fame at Tuskegee University in Alabama. She received the Fellowship Ad Eundem of the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. Dr. Malone has been awarded more than 20 honorary doctorates – both domestically and abroad – including from Georgetown University.

Dr. Malone served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under President Bill Clinton and earlier as a member of his Advisory Commission on Consumer Protection and Quality in the Healthcare Industry. She is frequently called upon by congressional leaders and policymakers to offer subject matter expertise and public testimony on strategies for nursing workforce development and mitigating nursing shortages that threaten health care delivery across the U.S. in urban, suburban, and rural communities alike.

A recognized global leader, Dr. Malone served as General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) of the United Kingdom (UK). The RCN’s membership of 400,000 nurses constitutes the world’s largest professional nurses’ union, and Dr. Malone shattered barriers as the first American of color to hold the role of General Secretary. Leveraging this influential position, Dr. Malone served as a member of the UK delegation to the World Health Assembly; the Commonwealth Nurses Federation; and the Higher Education Funding Council for England. She also served as Vice Chair of the Brussels-based European Federation of Nurses Association. Furthermore, she has the distinguished honor of her portrait being displayed at the National Portrait Gallery in London.