ALISO VIEJO, Calif. - July 8, 2025 – The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN), the world’s largest specialty nursing organization, announces its Board of Directors for fiscal year 2026, with terms effective July 1, 2025
Rebekah Marsh, BSN, RN, CCRN, is the new president of the AACN Board of Directors. She is a clinical nurse educator for acute care/telemetry at Harborview Medical Center, University of Washington Medicine, Seattle. A second-career nurse, she is the first graduate of AACN’s Clinical Scene Investigator (CSI) Academy nurse empowerment program to serve as AACN president.
“Nurses can use our curiosity, clinical skills and compassion to improve the care provided to patients and create a healthcare system that works better for everyone,” Marsh said. “To be authentic leaders, we need to foster and maintain the healthiest work environments. Together, we are moving forward On Purpose and building the future for our profession and our patients.”
Tonka Williams, MHA, MSN, RN, CMSRN, begins a one-year term as presidentelect. She is senior nursing director for practice and innovation at MedStar Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C., where she leads strategic efforts to advance patient care through clinical excellence, innovation and interprofessional collaboration.
Sara Knippa, MS, RN, ACCNS-AG, CCRN, PCCN, begins a one-year term as secretary and her third year as a director. She is a critical care clinical nurse specialist at UCHealth in Aurora, Colorado.
Kelly Carter, MS, RN, NE-BC, begins a one-year term as treasurer and her second year as a director. She is nursing director of the Surgery Nursing Division at VCU Medical Center in Richmond, Virginia.
Joining the board as directors are Daniel Arellano, PhD, RN, ACNP-BC, FNP-BC, AOCNP, CCRN, CEN, CFRN, EMT-P, FCCM, FAANP; Jennifer Hayakawa, DNP, CNS, CNRN, CCRN; and Audrey Roberson, PhD, RN, CPAN, NPD-BC. They each serve a three-year term.
Arellano is an acute care nurse practitioner in the ICU at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, and an assistant professor of nursing at University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.
Hayakawa is director of nursing research and innovation at Children’s Hospital of Orange County, part of Rady Children’s Health, in Orange, California.
Roberson is a clinical assistant professor at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Nursing in Richmond, where her responsibilities include leading the Nurse Leadership and Organizational Science graduate program in several areas.
Jennifer Adamski, DNP, APRN, ACNP-BC, CCRN, FCCM, becomes immediate past president and co-chair of the AACN – AACN Certification Corporation Nominating Committee. She is a clinical associate professor and director of the Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Program at Emory University’s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Atlanta, and a critical care flight nurse practitioner.
Returning to the AACN board with Dana Woods, MBA, AACN chief executive officer, are the following directors:
- Jarrod Atkinson, MS, RN, NEA-BC, CCRN, is associate chief nursing officer at Unity Hospital - Rochester Regional Health, Rochester, New York. He also serves a concurrent one-year term on the AACN Certification Corporation board.
- Kristina Brooks, DNP, MBOE, RN, CCRN, AACC, LSSBB, is assistant vice president of quality at West Virginia University Hospitals in Morgantown.
- Dawn Carpenter, DNP, ACNP-BC, CCRN, FAANP, is a nurse practitioner at Guthrie Clinic in Sayre, Pennsylvania, and an associate professor at UMass Chan Medical School, Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing.
- Desiree Hodges, MBA, BSN, RN, CCRN, NE-BC, is nurse manager of a critical care unit at Novant Health in Charlotte, North Carolina. She also serves a concurrent one-year term on the AACN Certification Corporation board.
- Dannette A. Mitchell, MSN, APRN, ACNS-BC, CCRN, FCNS, is a clinical nurse specialist in medical critical care, with a focus on improving patient outcomes, at ChristianaCare in Wilmington, Delaware.
- Lynn Orser, MSN, RN, CCRN, PCCN, NPD-BC, is a nursing professional development specialist, critical care, at Hartford Healthcare, St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
About the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses: For more than 50 years, the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) has been dedicated to acute and critical care nursing excellence. The organization’s vision is to create a healthcare system driven by the needs of patients and their families in which acute and critical care nurses make their optimal contribution. AACN is the world’s largest specialty nursing organization, with about 130,000 members and nearly 200 chapters in the United States.
American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, 27071 Aliso Creek Road, Aliso Viejo, CA 92656; 949-362-2000; www.aacn.org; facebook.com/aacnface; x.com/aacnme