AACN Election 2025
Posted about 2 months ago by Belinda Wallbank
Hello everyone,
Voting Begins TODAY for the AACN Election 2025 which includes our President-elect, Board of Directors and Nominating Committee!
I wanted to share a bit about a few candidates that I feel are just amazing nurses and would be excellent representatives for us.
The first individual I have known and worked with for nearly 30 years. She really is remarkable and loves working with critical care nurses today at Indiana University Health, Adult Academic Medical Center as much as she did as a new nurse graduate at Ball Hospital in Muncie, IN.
She is a gal with strong, hardworking, mid-west values for sure. I am so excited that Audrey Glossenger, MSN, NPD-BC, CCRN, Nursing Professional Development Specialist has been nominated to be on the ballot for the Board of Directors.
Because I know her so well, I would like to share a bit about why I think she is a great candidate. Audrey Glossenger, MSN, NPD-BC, CCRN, Nursing Professional Development Specialist has been nominated to be on the ballot for the National AACN Board of Directors and this is my personal endorsement for her!
She was our former Region 9 Chapter Advisory Team representative when it included IN and IL chapters. So, our MI chapters will not likely be as familiar with her.
Most importantly, Audrey has been a longstanding and very active member of AACN and her local chapter. She really has been an advocate and pillar within the community of nursing.
Her AACN experience and activities include but not limited to:
- Ambassador, 2011-present
- Beacon Award Review Panel, 2024
- Sepsis Micro-credential Item Writing Committee, 2023 National Teaching Institute & Critical Care Exposition (NTI)
- NTI Poster Presenter, 2024
- NTI Podium Presenter, 2023
- Region 9 - Chapter Advisory Team (CAT) member, 2019-2024
Local chapter involvement with the Central Indiana Chapter of AACN:
- Secretary, 2024-present
- Board Member, 2013-present
- Board Advisor, 2020-2024
- Past President, 2017-2019
- Coordinator of Critical Care Bowl CIC AACN, 2015-2019
- Secretary, 2014
- Social Media Chair, 2013
Audrey has been involved in many professional endeavors in her hospital and professional organizations. She has been a unit-level educator supporting onboarding, professional development, competency maintenance and continuing education for both new and tenured staff. Audrey had led numbers of programs, developed curriculum, and taught content. But her strongest gift to nurses is her unwavering support for success. She loves mentoring and building up professional nurses. One example of this has been her co-leading her organization’s onboarding/mentoring team for Nurse Managers. Audrey believes in the power of a Healthy Work Environment as she fosters it in her daily work. Not surprising, her issues statement is on supporting nurses in their professional development.
Other key professional activities outside of AACN:
- Member, Magnet Writing Committee for organization’s fifth successful Magnet® designation, 2022-present
- Co-lead, Nursing Professional Development Practitioner Mentoring Program, 2022-present
- Program lead, Charge Nurse Development Program, 2022-present
- Member, Association for Nursing Professional Development, 2011-present
- Co-author, “Real world utilization of a nurse-driven urinary catheter removal protocol in patients with epidural pain catheters”, American Journal of Infection Control, 2021
If Audrey is to be elected for the Board of Directors, her roles and responsibilities would include is as follows:
- Define and support the vision, mission and values.
- Ensure effective planning.
- Manage resources effectively.
- Determine, monitor, evaluate and strengthen programs and services.
- Act with integrity and uphold all legal requirements.
- Assess board performance and ensure board succession.
- Ensure effective communication between all AACN entities & subsidiaries
When voting you will be able to nominate up to 3. However, I am in full support of Audrey Glossenger and plan to only vote for her in the director role.
There are two other awesome candidates on this ballet that I would like to point out. I have had the pleasure of working with them in my CAT role and these are exceptional nurses.
Both are on the ballet for the Nominating Committee.
The first one is Sandra Waugaman, who is from North Carolina. Sandy has been involved in her local chapter and is a CSI participant. She also has presented and had a poster recently at NTI. Nonetheless, I know her best as our Chapter Advisory Team (CAT) co-lead for all the chapters in the US. One of her practice passions is sepsis and rapid response teams. Sandy’s issue statement focuses on concerns regarding reduced access to nursing communities and the opportunity for connections. She feels that AACN can strengthen virtual access to help alleviate this challenge.
Lastly, I am endorsing Heather Przybyl. Heather lives in Arizona where she practices as a CNS. She is one of my fellow CATs. Like others she is involved in her local chapter, has presented and had posters at national conferences. She is impassioned about meaningful recognition and quality which she supports as a Beacon reviewer, award reviewer, and through numerous publications. Her issues statement highlights her thoughts on combatting nurse burnout.
As always, it is appreciated that you take time out of your day for this very special purpose of voting. I invite you to review the candidates yourself and read their provided bios. All the candidates are certainly impressive.
Reminder - You must be a member to receive an email with a ballot and election information! So please check your email and consider voting for Audrey, Sandy, and Heather today!
As shared, these are my personal thoughts and endorsements. Review all the candidates and vote.
Thank you,
Belinda Wallbank, MSN, RN, NPD-BC, CNRN
AACN Region 9 CAT covering Indiana and Michigan
317-418-3792