Historic meeting honors past, shapes the future of ANA in its 130th year

2026 Membership Assembly Day 2

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.

ANE CEO Angela Beddoe

A stronger future

In her greetings and report, CEO Angela Beddoe emphasized the association’s work to build a stronger, more aligned organization prepared to advocate for nurses, elevate the profession, and deepen engagement with members and partners.

“This morning, I want to focus on how we turn responsibility into action: through strategy, operational discipline, member engagement, stronger data, and a clearer public voice for nursing,” Beddoe said.

Beddoe pointed to the launch of the 2026–2030 Strategic Plan to guide the organization’s work around three priorities: Advocate, Elevate, and Engage.

“This plan is our operating blueprint for the next five years,” Beddoe said. “This arc gives us direction and guides our work to amplify the voice of nurses, champion innovation and well-being, enhance engagement and partnerships, and build the operational and financial strength required to support this mission for the long term.

Building momentum

Last year, Beddoe spoke about “Imagining into 2040” as a future-facing effort to ask bigger questions about who we need to become. In her remarks today she added,

“Preparing for 2040 does not mean we only look ahead. We also have to manage the moments in front of us,” she said. Beddoe highlighted examples of forward momentum including national advocacy, strategic partnership, and engagement initiatives including:

• ANA’s national advocacy campaign opposing the exclusion of nursing from the federal professional degree definition, which generated more than 250,000 petition signatures, 14,000 comments, 140 congressional supporters, and more than 6 billion media impressions. This campaign was recognized by the American Society of Association Executives with the Gold Circle award.
• The power of strategic partnership during National Nurses Week through our engagement with HBO in Los Angeles. In connection with the new season of The Pitt, ANA joined HBO to honor nurses and healthcare workers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. Those appreciation events were about gratitude and also visibility. They connected a national conversation about healthcare to the real nurses and healthcare professionals whose skill, courage, and compassion make care possible every day.
• The Power of Nurses™ storytelling campaign has generated more than 54 million impressions and is sharing stories nationwide that show how nurses transform lives, communities, and healthcare. Our campaign video, A Nurse Saved Our Family Ranch, has been watched more than 7 million times in full and is airing on networks nationally, along with digital platforms and social media. Buses are carrying The Power of Nurses™ through 10 major cities, including one in Washington, D.C. this week and will continue to roll out into even more cities across the country. Attendees were treated to a preview of the next video installment in the national campaign.
  
  

“These moments matter,” Beddoe said. “They remind nurses that we see them, not only in policy debates or membership reports, but in their workplaces, their communities, and their daily practice. They also create new entry points for nurses who may not yet know ANA well, but who can begin to see that this organization is present, relevant, and working on their behalf.”

Landmark change

Following a multi-year effort beginning in 2017, the Assembly approved a historic update to its bylaws, expanding membership eligibility to include licensed practical nurses and licensed vocational nurses (LPN/LVNs).

The change reflects ANA’s commitment to strengthening the nursing workforce and advancing professional advocacy, and ensures more nurses can access professional resources, community, and representation through ANA.

“The Power of Nurses™ is in our unity, across specialties and settings, and today ANA is proud to welcome licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses into our membership community. LVNs and LPNs are essential to patient care and to the strength of our profession,” said ANA President Jennifer Mensik Kennedy, PhD, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN. “By expanding eligibility, we’re building a more inclusive ANA that reflects the full nursing team, resulting in improved outcomes for nurses and the patients and communities we serve.”

The full effect of the bylaws change will take place over the coming months as the LPN/LVN model is operationalized following the Membership Assembly. 

Action on the issues

In addition to bylaws actions, Assembly representatives approved the full Professional Policy Committee Report, including three Dialogue Forum proposals:

• Establishing a Framework for the Prevention, Reporting, and Accountability of Incivility, Bullying Across Nursing Education and Practice Settings  
• Nurses Leading Health Care Sustainability.
• Integrating Cannabis Nursing Competencies Through Education and Policy to Advance Patient Safety and Compassionate Care in Practice.

Newly elected ANA Board of Directors and Nominations and Elections Committee members L-R Heidi Sanborn, Anita Girard, Ahnyel Burkes, Josephine Agyei, Mavis Mesi, Jacqueline McEuen, Nelson Tuazon. Not pictured:  Seth Schweiger

Election news

The voting representatives of the Assembly elected the following leaders: 

• Anita Girard, DNP, RN, CNL, CPHQ, NEA-BC, of the American Nurses Association\California, to serve as President. 
• Heidi Sanborn, DNP, RN, CNE, of the Arizona Nurses Association to serve as Secretary.
• Ahnyel Burkes, DNP, RN-BC, NEA-BC, of the Louisiana State Nurses Association, and Nelson Tuazon, DNP, DBA, RN, NEA-BC, CENP, CPPS, CPHFH, CNE, FACHE, FNAP, FAMSN, FAAN, of the Texas Nurses Association, to serve as Directors-at-Large. 
• Josephine Agyei, BSN, RN, of ANA-New York, was elected to serve as the Director-at-Large, Staff Nurse.

Elected to serve on the Nominations and Elections Committee are:

• Jacqueline McEuen, MSN, BS, BSN, RN, of the Arkansas Nurses Association
• Mavis Mesi, DNP, MSN, FNP, RN, of the Colorado Nurses Association 
• Seth Schweiger, BSN, RN, of the Minnesota Organization of Registered Nurses

ANA President Jennifer Mensik Kennedy joined by eight former ANA presidents and NSNA president D. Ryan Barrett, Sr  

Perspective from former presidents 

In a first, eight former ANA presidents joined Dr. Mensik Kennedy in a former president’s luncheon, Presidential Perspectives: Legacy, Leadership, and Shaping the Future of Nursing. This leadership forum reflected on nursing’s past to inform its future and built continuity and leadership across the generations through the participation of ANA’s Next Generation Ambassadors.

Giving back

Total philanthropy raised for the American Nurses Foundation—through its Text-to-Give and Foundation Donors Luncheon—amounted to more than $25,000. These funds support nurse-led initiatives involving nurse well-being, innovation, and reimagining nursing.

Nurses legacy memorial

The Assembly led a tribute to remember nurses who have passed away in the past year during the Nurses' Legacy Memorial. Visit the memorial.