As the American Nurses Association (ANA) marks its 130th anniversary year, more than 400 nursing leaders advanced the vital business of the organization to further its mission for the near and long term. On the final day of the ANA Membership Assembly, held on June 27 in Washington, DC, the association’s governing and official voting body set the course to expand membership, address urgent issues facing the profession, and elected national leaders to the ANA Board of Directors and Nominations and Elections Committee.

ANA Membership Assembly elects new President, Secretary, Directors-at-Large, and members of the Nominations and Elections Committee.

The American Nurses Association (ANA) announces that the voting representatives of its Membership Assembly elected Anita Girard, DNP, RN, CNL, CPHQ, NEA-BC, of the American Nurses Association\California, as the new president to represent the interests of the nation’s more than 5 million nurses.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Nurses Association (ANA) has approved a significant update to its bylaws, expanding membership eligibility to include licensed practical nurses and licensed vocational nurses (LPNs/LVNs).

2026 Membership Assembly Day 1

Nurses from across the United States convened today on Capitol Hill as part of the American Nurses Association (ANA) Hill Day, where they carried out one of the most fundamental acts of democracy: engaging directly with elected representatives about the policies and regulations that shape nursing practice, affect patients, and impact the nation’s health.

More than 500 nurses representing 49 states, two U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia convened on Capitol Hill for the American Nurses Association’s (ANA) annual Hill Day, the organization’s premier advocacy event that brings the nursing voice directly to members of Congress and their staff.

SILVER SPRING, MD - Today, the American Nurses Foundation (ANF) announced the inaugural awardees of its latest grant, Nurse-Led Solutions Using AI and Innovation. The program reflects ANF’s sustained investments into nurse-led research and innovation. Central to that work is the conviction that nurses, as the most direct link between patients and the healthcare system, must be at the center of how emerging technologies are evaluated, adopted, and shaped. 

Washington, DC – The American Nurses Association (ANA), the American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology (AANA), the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN), the American College of Nurse Midwives (ACNM), the American Holistic Nurses Association (AHNA), the Association of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nurses (APHON), Chi Eta Phi Sorority, Incorporated, the Health Ministries Association (HMA), the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists (NACNS), and the National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health (NPWH) are pleased to announce the National Rural Health Association (NRHA) has joined the lawsuit challenging the Department of Education’s exclusion of advanced nursing degrees from the definition of “professional degree” programs.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Nurses Association (ANA), the American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology (AANA), the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN), the American College of Nurse Midwives (ACNM), the American Holistic Nurses Association (AHNA), the Association of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nurses (APHON), Chi Eta Phi Sorority, Incorporated, the Health Ministries Association (HMA), the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists (NACNS), and the National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health (NPWH) have jointly filed a lawsuit challenging the Department of Education’s exclusion of advanced nursing degrees from the definition of “professional degree” programs in the final rule implementing federal student loan borrowing limits.

SILVER SPRING, MD – Today, the American Nurses Association (ANA) announced it has been recognized by ASAE with a 2026 Gold Circle Award in the Advocacy category. ANA earned this award because of its advocacy around the Department of Education’s student loan eligibility criteria for professional degrees for nursing students, generating more than 250,000 signatures on ANA’s petition, over 14,000 comments submitted, 140 Congressional signatories, and over 6 billion media impressions in under 5 months. 

SILVER SPRING, MD - The American Nurses Association (ANA) is aware of the legal actions taken this week challenging the Department of Education's rule excluding nursing and other health professions from the professional degree category for federal student loans.