Leadership

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.

Dr. Debbie Hatmaker, a nationally known nursing leader, is the Chief Nursing Officer of the American Nurses Association (ANA) Enterprise, which consists of the ANA membership organization representing the nation’s 4 million registered nurses; the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), which promotes excellence in nursing and health care globally through credentialing programs; and the American Nurses Foundation, ANA’s charitable arm. 

Dr. Hatmaker’s diverse practice experience serves her well as an advocate on behalf of patients, nurses, and the profession. After an early career in public health and maternal-child health, she was on faculty at the Medical College of Georgia School of Nursing for 16 years and practiced as a sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) and SANE educator.

Dr. Hatmaker has served in many elected and appointed leadership positions. These include president of the Georgia Nurses Association from 1999-2002 and first vice president of ANA from 2006-2010. The ANA Board of Directors appointed her president of ANCC, where she served two terms from 2007-2011.

In recognition of her many outstanding accomplishments for the nursing profession, Dr. Hatmaker was inducted as a 2012 fellow in the American Academy of Nursing. 

As Executive Vice President Patient Care Operations, System Chief Nursing Officer at Boston Children’s Hospital, Laura J. Wood, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN leads the discipline of nursing and provides system-level oversight of patient care delivery in support of the organization’s network, satellites, and expanding care delivery settings. Boston Children’s serves as the pediatric training center for Harvard Medical School, where nurses in concert with interprofessional care teams actively translate science to care delivery as part of the world’s largest pediatric research enterprise - treating more children with rare and complex conditions than any other hospital in the world.

Since joining Boston Children’s in 2013, Wood has further strengthened the hospital’s exceptional nursing practice environment through: the creation of nurse-designed care delivery strategies, the implementation of advanced practice clinician career advancement models in concert with a doubling of the APRN workforce, expansion of healthy work environment supports with positive system-wide outcomes, quality-safety-experience innovations, strategic contributions to nursing workforce diversity and inclusivity and the formation of the organization’s formal Office of Health Equity, and promotion of child-health and informatics public policy advocacy. In 2014-15, she jointly launched the organization’s high reliability organization (HRO) quality improvement initiative with the hospital’s president and other key leaders, resulting in ongoing reductions in the rate of serious safety events and numerous improvements to care quality — including national recognition of nurse-sensitive outcomes measurement performance.

Under Wood’s leadership, Boston Children’s nursing has achieved two successive ANCC Magnet® re-designations representing the most prestigious international distinction a health care organization can receive for direct care nursing excellence and achieved by only 12% of hospitals nationally.  Over the past decade, she has guided the launch of Boston Children’s nurse residency program that was subsequently awarded ANCC Practice Transition Accreditation Program with Distinction designation. Additionally, she supported several pediatric specialty-focused teams to be recognized via the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses Beacon Award program in all five intensive care units and through the Emergency Nursing Association to achieve three successive Emergency Nurses Association Lantern Award designations.

Earlier in her career, Wood held progressive nursing and operational leadership roles within three leading academic health care settings: The Johns Hopkins Hospital Children's Center, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and The University of Pennsylvania Health System serving in pediatric nursing, educational, and operational leadership roles. Additionally, she served as National Vice President, Clinical Solutions, Siemens Healthcare (subsequently Cerner/Oracle Corporation), where she managed clinical and business professional services, and subsequently led clinical IT business development for the U.S.

Wood received a Bachelor of Science (BSN) degree in Nursing, Magna Cum Laude, from West Virginia University School of Nursing; a Master of Science (MS) degree from The University of Maryland, Baltimore; and a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing. She is a Johns Hopkins University Deans Award recipient and Fralic Nursing Leadership Fellowship recipient. Wood is an elected Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, a Robert Wood Johnson (RWJ) Foundation Executive Nurse Fellow alumna, and completed the both the MGH Institute of Health Professions Health Disparities Leadership Fellowship and Harvard Medical School Macy Foundation Fellowship for Leaders in Collaborative and Humanistic Interprofessional Education.

Wood serves on a wide-range of regional and national boards, including: American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC); Boston Children’s Hospital (ex officio member); Friends of the Institute of Nursing Research (FNINR); Johns Hopkins University Nursing Advisory Board; Pediatric Physician Organization of Children’s (PPOC); PHLOW Children’s Hospital Coalition to reduce pediatric drug shortages; Risk Management Foundation for Harvard affiliated health systems (CRICO); and, the SIGMA Foundation for Nursing Scholarship.

MSN, RN, NEA-BC, CCM

Senior Vice President, Chief Nursing Officer

Humana

In her role as Chief Nursing Officer, Kathy oversees Humana’s strategy of improving the experience of Humana’s community of nearly ten thousand nurses, care managers, and social workers, and promoting a culture that engages, values, and inspires clinical professionals while impacting health outcomes. Focus areas include clinical quality and innovation, clinician growth and development, and clinician engagement and recognition. She also leads initiatives to support the health and well-being of Humana’s clinical communities leveraging partnerships across Humana, as well as external partnerships such as the ANA Healthy Nurse Healthy Nation initiative and the IHI Joy in Work Collaborative. Kathy collaborates with other leaders of the Humana Home Solutions strategy to best support member health by advancing capabilities in the home.

Prior, Kathy served in various senior leadership roles at the company, including as Vice President and Chief of Operations at Humana At Home, where she led clinical operations including Care Management Services for Humana members as well as private pay clients, homecare operations including licensed and certified home health agencies. She was a founding member of the Humana At Home Innovation Team, which developed a consumer-centered health experience initiative focused on envisioning the future of health care delivery in the home.

Prior to Humana, Kathy was Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of SeniorBridge, a national Care Management and Homecare company acquired by Humana in 2012. Kathy has more than 30 years of experience in nursing, with a concentration in geriatrics, home care, managed care, and care management. Kathy holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Seton Hall University, a Master of Science in Nursing Management and Executive Leadership from Sacred Heart University, where she received the Dean’s Leadership Award, and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree, also at Sacred Heart University. Kathy is a Registered Nurse, and holds board certifications as Nurse Executive, Advanced, and Case Management Nursing Honor Society. Kathy is a member of the Board of Directors for SeniorBridge, as well as serving on the Board of Trustees for the American Nurses Foundation. She is a member of The American Nurses Association; Sigma Theta Tau, the nursing honor society; The Case Management Society of America, The American Organization of Nurse Leaders, and The American Association of Managed Care Nurses.

Kate Judge has more than 25 years of professional experience in the areas of fundraising, charity management, and communications. Her development work has supported education, healthcare, and human service missions in domestic and international organizations.

She most recently was co-principal of End/Start Consulting, where she worked on projects that focused on the assessment and reorganization of major and annual gift programs, board development and training, and the creation of campaign materials and branding concepts.

Before this, Kate served as Assistant Dean at University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine, where she led fundraising for the school’s $125m capital campaign. While at the University of Pennsylvania she also directed development at the university’s top-ranked School of Nursing for eight years – with both Dean Norma Lang (past Foundation Chair) and Dean Claire Fagin (ANA  Hall of Fame inductee) – where she played a key role in creating one of the nation’s largest nursing scholarship programs.

She has also directed development and communications at the American Red Cross, Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter, and consulted with the national Red Cross organization on affiliate/national coordinated fundraising.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology and Economics (Beloit College) Kate has focused particular attention in her work on the link between fundraising and finance within organizations. Her commitment to the non-profit sector as a volunteer has included board service with social service and religious organizations in the Philadelphia community.