The AARP Center for Health Equity through NursingSM (A-CHEN) Volunteer Ambassadors are proven, influential nurse leaders committed to leveraging their roles to influence change in the systems in which they work and beyond. Ambassadors are part of a network of peer leaders who share best practices, opportunities and learnings to implement change, and promote scalable solutions to ending structural barriers to health and well-being.

Meet the Ambassadors

Dale Beatty, DNP, RN, FAAN
Chief Nurse Executive
and Vice President
Stanford Health Care

Crystal Beckford, MA, RN
Chief Nursing Officer and Vice President of Patient Care Services for Luminis Health Doctors Community Medical Center

Robyn Begley, DNP, RN, FAAN
Chief Executive Officer American Organization for Nursing Leadership

Alquietta Brown, PhD, RN, NEA-BC   
Vice President, Nursing for Inova Behavioral Health Services/Chief Nurse Executive, Inova Mount Vernon Hospital

Edna Cadmus, PhD, RN, FAAN
Clinical Professor, Executive Director
Rutgers University School of Nursing

Jim D’Alfonso, PhD, RN, FAAN
Executive Director Professional Excellence and KP Scholars Academy
Kaiser Permanente

Connie Delaney, PhD RN, FAAN
Professor and Dean
University of Minnesota School of Nursing

Deborah Ford, MSU, BSN
Chief Nursing Officer, Vice President Quality
Ochsner Health System

Beverly Hancock, DNP, RN
Senior Director, Leadership Development
American Organization of Nurse Leaders

Lauran Hardin, MSN, FNAP, FAAN
Chief Integration Officer
HC2 Strategies, Inc.

Deb Harding, DNP, RN,NEA-BC
Vice President, Chief Nurse Executive
Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist

Grissel Hernandez, PhD, MPH, RN
Executive Director, Center for Education & Professional Development
Stanford Health Car

Melanie Heuston, DNP, RN
Chief Nursing Officer
West Virginia University

Nancy Holecek, MAS, BSN, RN
Executive Vice President, Chief Nursing Officer
RWJ Barnabas Health

Georgia Jackson, DNP, MPH, RN
Director of Workforce Development and Patient-Family Centered Care
Emory Healthcare

MaryEllen Kosturko, DNP, MAHSM, RN
Executive Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer
Hartford HealthCare

Paul Leon, RN, PHN, FAAN
Chief Executive Officer
National Health Care & Housing Advisors, LLC

Jerry Mansfield, PhD, RN, NEA-BC
Vice President and
System Chief Nurse Executive University of Texas Medical Branch

David Marshall, JD, DNP, RN
Senior Vice President, Chief Nursing Executive
Cedars-Sinai

Margaret Moss, PhD, JD, RN
Professor, Associate Dean for Nursing and Health Policy
University of Minnesota

Adrianna Nava, PhD, MPA, RN
Research Scientist, Performance Measurement
National Committee for Quality Assurance

Charlotte Parent, MHCM, RN
Vice President of Business Development
LCMC Health

Susan C. Reinhard, PhD, RN, FAAN
Visiting Professor for the Betty Irene Moore Fellowship for Nurse Leaders and Innovators at the University of California, Davis

Cynda Rushton, PhD, RN, FAAN
Anne and George L. Bunting Professor of Clinical Ethics
Johns Hopkins School of Nursing

Mary Beth Russell, PhD, RN, FNAP
Senior Vice President
RWJ Barnabas Health

Kathleen Sanford, DBA, MA,RN
Executive Vice President, Chief Nursing Officer
CommonSpirit Health

Kelli Saucerman-Howard, DNP, RN
Chief Nursing Officer
Cleveland Clinic Akron General

Maureen Schneider, PhD, MBA, FACHE
President
Chilton Medical Center
Senior Vice President
Atlantic Health System

Blake Smith, MSN, RN
Documentation Sr. Analyst Nebraska Medicine

Hussein Tahan PhD, RN, FAAN
Chief Nursing Officer
MedStar Ambulatory Services

Nina Vaid Raoji, DNP, APN-BC, RN
Founder/ Lead Facilitator
Empowerizeme

Antonia M. Villarruel, PhD, RN, FAAN
Professor and Margaret Bond Simon Dean of Nursing
University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing

Courtney Vose, DNP, RN, FAAN
Senior Vice President, Chief Nursing Officer
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital

Ena Williams, PhD, RN, FAAN  
Senior Vice President / Chief Nursing Officer  
Yale New Haven Hospital  

Tad Worku, MSN, FNP, CEN
Mission Coach
Inland Empire Health Plan

Leslie Wright-Brown, PhD, MS, RN-BC
Director, Diversity and Inclusion at Saint Barnabas Medical Center, RWJBH

Deborah Zimmermann, DNP, RN, FAAN
Chief Executive Officer
The DAISY Foundation