NLN Announces 2025 Class of Fellows in the Academy of Nursing Education

NLN Announces 2025 Class of Fellows in the Academy of Nursing Education

Induction Ceremony Planned for Honors Convocation during the NLN Education Summit in Orlando, Florida, September 17-19

Washington, DC – Twenty-three distinguished nurse educators have been selected as the 19^th class of fellows for induction into the prestigious National League for Nursing Academy of Nursing Education.

With the addition of this newest class, academy membership has now reached 429 fellows. These new fellows join a fellowship of leaders in nursing education who teach in a range of programs across the spectrum of higher education. They are affiliated with top-ranked teaching hospitals, academic institutions, and other organizations committed to advancing the quality of health care in the US and globally.

Following tradition, the induction ceremony will take place at the Honors Convocation, prior to the closing Gala at the 2025 NLN Education Summit on Friday, September 19. This year's gathering in Orlando, Florida, will include a festive celebration of the Academy fellows, along with formal recognition of other recipients of honors, scholarship awards and research grants. 

In a competitive application process, the Academy of Nursing Education Review Panel has a great deal to consider before recommending fellowship candidates to the NLN Board of Governors, the oversight body for the academy. Evaluations consider applicants’ contributions to innovative teaching and/or learning strategies; nursing education research; faculty development activities; academic leadership; promotion of public policy initiatives that advance nursing education; and/or collaborative educational, practice, or community partnerships.

NLN Chair Patricia Sharpnack, DNP, RN, CNE, NEA-BC, ANEF, FAAN, Dean and Strawbridge Professor at the Breen School of Nursing and Health Professions at Ursuline College in Ohio, congratulated the 2025 fellows on behalf of the NLN Board, saying, “Academy fellowship is a wonderful achievement, and we applaud your extraordinary leadership, fortitude, creativity, and compassion in inspiring and motivating your students. Thanks to you, generations of nursing students have learned to do their best to deliver outstanding, inclusive care to a diverse patient population as they transition to practice in an increasingly dynamic and challenging health care environment.”

NLN President and CEO Beverly Malone, PhD, RN, FAAN, said, “Fellows proudly support the mission and core values of the National League for Nursing while assisting in the work required to prepare graduates from all types of nursing programs, implementing transformative excellence in nursing education with daring ingenuity. Fellows proudly serve as mentors and resources for new educators and those in clinical practice who aspire to join the ranks of nursing faculty. We are so pleased to honor the wisdom, experience and enthusiasm of the Class of 2025 and all the fellows for fulfilling the Academy’s mission.”

2025 Academy of Nursing Education Fellows

• Nicole Blodgett, PhD, RN, CHSE
• Benjamin Joel Breboneria, DNS, MA, MSN, RN, CNE, NEA-BC, PMP, ACP
• Alison Davis, PhD, RN, CNE, CHSE
• Crystel Farina, PhD, MSN, RN, CNE, CHSE
• Susan Forneris, PhD RN CNE CHSE-A FAAN
• Frank Hicks, PhD, RN, CNE
• Deanna Howe, PhD, RN, CNE
• Deborah Hunt, PhD, MS, BSN, RN
• Karen Kesten, DNP, APRN, CCNS, CNE, FAAN
• Amanda Kirkpatrick, PhD, RN, FAAN, FNAP
• Beth Latimer, DNP, GNP-BC, CHSE, FNYAM
• Loretta Lee, PhD, CRNP, FNP-BC, CNE, FADLN, FNAP
• Ashley Darcy Mahoney, PhD
• Mary Ann McLaughlin, Ed.D, MSN, RN
• Eleonor Pusey-Reid, DNP, M.Ed, RN
• Bridgett Sellars, RN, PhD, CNE, FACHE, NE-BC
• Virginia Simmons, DNP, CRNA, CHSE-A, FAANA, FAAN
• Larry Slater, PhD, MAc, RN-BC, CNE, FAAN
• LisaMarie Wands, PhD, RN, FNAP, CHSE-A, CNE
• Cheryl Williams, PhD RN CNE
• Kathleen Williamson, PhD, MSN, RN
• Lisa Woodley, PhD, RN, CNE, CHPN
• Caitlin Yeager, PhD, RNC-NIC, CHSE, CNE
  

Application for admission to the Academy in 2026 opens in November. Eligibility criteria and other details may be found at NLN.org. For more information about the 2025 NLN Education Summit, including online registration, visit Summit.NLN.org.

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