The American Nurses Association (ANA) is dedicated to serving all 4 million registered nurses and harnessing their expertise, knowledge, and wisdom to protect, improve, and promote better public health and health care for all.
Consisting of four officers and five directors-at-large, the board is elected by the ANA Membership Assembly and accountable to the members of ANA. Its duties – fully defined in Article IV, Section 3 of the ANA bylaws – include oversight of corporate responsibility and fiduciary duties, strategic leadership, and the implementation of policies established by the ANA Membership Assembly.
PhD, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN
The 38th president of the American Nurses Association (ANA), the nation’s largest nurses organization representing the interests of the nation’s 4 million registered nurses.
A sought-after presenter and prolific author, Jennifer S. Mensik Kennedy, PhD, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, serves as the 38th president of the American Nurses Association. In this national leadership role, Mensik Kennedy boldly advocates for the nation’s 5.5 million RNs. In 2023, she was named by Modern Healthcare as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare.
Mensik Kennedy is a sought-after presenter and prolific author based on her insights about and experience involving key nursing issues. Her books include Lead, Drive, and Thrive in the System, 2nd edition, and The Nurse Manager’s Guide to Innovative Staffing, 2nd edition. She co-authored Lead like a Nurse, A Nurse’s Step-By-Step Guide to Transitioning to the Professional Nurse Role, and The Power of Ten, 2nd edition, and contributed a chapter to The Career Handoff: A Healthcare Leader’s Guide to Knowledge & Wisdom Transfer across Generations.
Prior to her presidency, Mensik Kennedy held key leadership positions within the nursing profession, including serving the American Nurses Association as Treasurer, Second Vice President, and Director-at-Large. She also served as President of the Arizona Nurses Association from 2007 to 2010. Additionally, Mensik Kennedy held the role of governor of nursing practice for the Western Institute of Nursing in 2010-2014.
Mensik Kennedy earned a PhD from the University of Arizona College of Nursing with a focus on health systems and a minor in public administration from the Eller College of Management. She holds an MBA from the University of Phoenix and a BSN from Washington State University. Mensik Kennedy also earned an ADN from Wenatchee Valley College-North. Prior to assuming the presidency of American Nurses Association, she was an associate clinical professor at the Oregon Health and Science University School of Nursing.
Mensik Kennedy was inducted in 2014 as a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. She has been recognized as Alumna of the Year by both University of Arizona College of Nursing and Washington State University College of Nursing.
DNP, RN, CPHQ, NEA-BC
Dr. Anita Girard is a seasoned healthcare leader with a successful history of enabling, improving, and working with the healthcare industry.
Dr. Anita Girard is a seasoned healthcare leader with a successful history of enabling, improving, and working with the healthcare industry. She is highly skilled in nursing management, evidence-based practice, patient advocacy, nursing education, new leader mentorship, role-based clarity, nursing shared governance, and driving quality clinical outcomes. She has significant experience related to LEAN implementation and ANCC Magnet Designation in healthcare systems. Dr. Girard is actively engaged in local, state, national, and international communities to promote the nursing profession and improve the quality of healthcare. She is broadly published on nursing empowerment and building resilient teams. Dr. Girard has a strong business development background with a Doctor of Nursing Practice focused on Executive Leadership from the University of San Francisco. In her most recent role, she drove practice and professional development at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center as the Chief Nursing officer and Vice President of Nursing and was the President of the American Nurses Association of California.
BSN, RN, CCRN, CPST
Amanda Oliver, BSN, RN, CCRN, CPST, currently practices as the Trauma Injury Prevention and Community Education Coordinator at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, IL.
Amanda Oliver, BSN, RN, CCRN, CPST, currently practices as the Trauma Injury Prevention and Community Education Coordinator at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, IL. In 2023, she was awarded the Loyola University Medical Center Nursing Community Excellence award and was named as a Pinnacle Nurse Leader for her work in this role.
Amanda has a long history of board service. Currently, she serves as Secretary of the American Nurses Association (ANA) and President of the Illinois Nurses Foundation (INF), and serves on the Illinois Nursing Workforce Center Advisory Board. In her past service, Oliver served as ANA Director at Large- Staff Nurse and Director at Large- Recent Graduate. She additionally has served on the ANA-Illinois board of directors, and she served as both first vice president and as elected executive consultant of the Student Nurses Association of Illinois (SNAI). She continues to work with SNAI as a special consultant to develop future nurse leaders.
Her additional accolades include top 5 finalists for the Illinois Nurses Foundation Nurse of the Year, Illinois Nurses Foundation “40 under 40” Emerging Nurse Leader, and a Pinnacle Nurse Leader in 2017 for her outstanding contributions to nursing. Amanda leverages her passion for public policy and advocacy by speaking to nurses and nursing students across the country about the importance of nurses’ participation in advocacy.
Amanda earned her BSN from the University of St. Francis, Joliet in 2015 and is currently enrolled at Loyola University Chicago Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing pursuing her MSN.
Joan Widmer, MS, MSBA, RN, CEN currently works as the Executive Director of NH Healthcare Workers for Climate Action, a non-partisan, interdisciplinary, nonprofit organization that uses the trusted messenger voices of healthcare workers to share information on the health impacts of climate change with other healthcare workers, policymakers, and the general public .
Ms. Widmer has a unique and varied professional background. Before becoming a nurse, she had a successful career in multiple corporate accounting and finance roles, including her appointment as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of a publicly traded corporation (Telular Canada, Inc.). In her capacity as a VP of Finance & Accounting, Corporate Controller, and/or CFO, Ms. Widmer was responsible for the day-to-day financial and accounting management, including the preparation of financial statements, business plans, strategic plans, and monitoring performance against these plans. In addition, Ms. Widmer oversaw the internal and external audit processes, created and maintained banking relationships, and prepared the corporate annual report for shareholders.
In 2004, Ms. Widmer elected to pursue a second career in nursing. She holds a Bachelor of Arts, with a double major in European History and Literature from the University of California, San Diego, and a Master of Science degree in Business Administration, with a concentration in Finance, from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She completed her first nursing degree at Rivier College School of Nursing and received a Master’s of Science in Nursing, Evidence-Based Practice from the University of New Hampshire; where she also taught as an adjunct clinical faculty member for several years. Ms. Widmer was appointed the Nurse Executive Director of the New Hampshire Nurses Association in October 2016 (through November 2020) and she was responsible for the day-to-day operations of this non-profit professional organization for New Hampshire nurses. She served as spokesperson for the organization and testified on numerous occasions before NH legislative committees regarding bills impacting nursing and healthcare. Ms. Widmer currently works as the Executive Director of NH Healthcare Workers for Climate Action, a non-partisan, interdisciplinary, nonprofit organization that uses the trusted messenger voices of healthcare workers to share information on the health impacts of climate change with other healthcare workers, policymakers, and the general public.
Ms. Widmer was honored with election to the business honor society Beta Gamma Sigma and to the honor society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau. She has been published in the Journal of Emergency Nursing and New Hampshire Nursing News and is the co-author of a research brief published by the Carsey School of Public Policy, University of New Hampshire. She has spoken nationally and internationally on nursing topics. She currently serves nationally as Secretary for the American Nurses Association’s (ANA) Political Action Committee Board of Trustees and as a member of ANA’s Finance, Investment & Audit Committee. She served on the Nursing Service Organization’s Advisory Board between 2017 and 2021.