The Board President’s Award recognizes an individual or entity for extraordinary service to NACNS. It was established in 2013 to honor individuals or groups that make significant contributions toward the accomplishment of the NACNS mission.
This is awarded by the NACNS President.
2023
Jan Powers, PhD, RN, CCNS, CCRN, NE-BC, FCCM, FAAN
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2022
Sean M. Reed, PhD, APRN, ACNS-BC, ACHPN, FCNS
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2020
Anne E. Hysong, MSN, APRN, CCNS, ACNS-BC, FCNS
Anne Hysong comes from a long line of nurses dating back to her Great Grandmother in the 1920’s. Her mother was a critical care nurse for 40 years and her grandmother a L&D nurse for 35 years. Anne didn’t always want to be a nurse, but no one was surprised with her decision. She graduated from Georgia Southern University in 2001 with a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing. She started her career caring for patients in a Coronary Care Unit and was quickly drawn to the complexity of medical-surgical critical care patients. Choosing to advance her career by becoming a Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS), Anne graduated from Georgia State University in 2006 with a Master’s of Science in Nursing. Since then she has worked at Northside Hospital – Duluth in the Intensive Care Unit/Intermediate Care Unit, which is a three time American Association of Critical Care Nurse’s BEACON Award of Excellence winner. As a unit based CNS, Anne provides direct patient care and advocacy, nursing unit leadership and advanced clinical expertise. She leads and participates in system wide teams to produce favorable outcomes which reduce/eliminate Value-Based Purchasing financial penalties, reduce overall mortality rate, and improve associate satisfaction, engagement and workplace culture. As a strong proponent for continued growth of the profession, Anne frequently precepts CNS students. She has won awards for her work including Mercer University MSN Preceptor of the Year, Gwinnett County Chamber of Business Healthcare Excellence award winner, and finalists for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Nurse of the Year and March of Dimes APRN of the year.
Over the last 14 years as a Clinical Nurse Specialist, Anne has volunteered her time to advance the recognition of the Clinical Nurse Specialist role. She joined the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists (NACNS) and her local affiliate while she was still a student. She volunteered 5 years of active leadership service to her local affiliate. During this time, she was also an appointed a member of the Georgia Board of Nursing’s Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) Committee and was an integral part in writing the Board of Nursing Rule that gave CNSs APRN licensure. She has been interviewed by local media outlets describing the Clinical Nurse Specialist role and its impact on the health of communities. Anne also served as the CNS representative to the Coalition of APRNs in Georgia.
In 2012, Anne was elected to the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists Board of Directors for 2 years. She subsequently served 3 years as Secretary, then a year as President-Elect, President and Immediate Past President. Throughout her 8 years of experiences, she’s helped identify gaps in knowledge of the CNS Role, most notably in undergraduate nursing programs. Several years ago, Anne was afforded the opportunity to speak at the National Student Nurses Association Annual Convention. The excitement generated at this convention further fueled her passion. Since then, she has worked to strengthen the relationship between NACNS and NSNA. Anne is a guest lecturer for undergraduate nursing programs in the greater Atlanta area covering topics such as respiratory distress, pulmonary conditions, general critical care, and graduate nurse career panels. Regardless of the topic, she always takes time to discuss her role and the positive impact on her community.
Another passion of Anne’s is end of life planning and educated decision making. She is a guest lecturer at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. Her areas of focus are advanced care planning, educated decision making, and how to prepare oneself for difficult or end of life discussions as a provider. Through this program Anne feels she can help change the views of end of life within her community.
Anne currently lives in Dacula, Georgia with her incredibly supportive husband, Drew, of 16 years and their beautiful children, Audrey (10) and Michael (6).
2018
Janet Fulton, PhD, RN, ACNS-BC, ANEF, FAAN
Professor and Associate Dean for Graduate Programs at Indiana University School of Nursing is recognized for her extraordinary service to NACNS and outstanding professional achievement as a CNS educator and acknowledges his/her commitment to excellence and innovation in preparing CNSs and in implementing the NACNS Statement on CNS Practice and Education.
2016
Kathleen Baldwin, PhD, RN, ACNS, ANP, GNP, CEN
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2015
Patricia Bielecki, MS, APN/CNS, RNC-OB
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2014
Brenda Lyon, PhD, RN, FAAN
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2013
Kelly Goudreau, DSN, RN, ACNS-BC, FAAN
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