National AACN Board Members Begin 2026-2027 Term

ALISO VIEJO, Calif. – July 8, 2026 – The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN), the world’s largest specialty nursing organization, announces its Board of Directors for fiscal year 2027, with terms effective July 1, 2026.

Tonka Williams, DNP, MHA, MSN, RN, CMSRN, is the new president of the AACN Board of Directors. 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.

“We need the perspectives of those throughout AACN, the nursing profession and our communities to make sure the healthcare system we build today works for all of us,” Williams said. “With ‘Every Voice. Every Story. Every Table,’ we can shape decisions so that they begin to reflect the patients we serve and the nurses delivering that care.”

Sara Knippa, MS, RN, ACCNS-AG, CCRN, PCCN, begins a one-year term as president-elect. She is a critical care clinical nurse specialist at UCHealth in Aurora, Colorado.

Jennifer Hayakawa, DNP, CNS, CNRN, CCRN, begins a one-year term as secretary and her second year as a director. She is director of nursing research and innovation at Rady Children’s Health, Orange, California.

Daniel Arellano, PhD, RN, ACNP-BC, FNP-BC, AOCNP, CCAPP, CCRN, CEN, CFRN, EMT-P, FCCM, FAANP, begins a one-year term as treasurer and his second year as a director. He 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.

Joining the board as directors are Susan Bartos, PhD, RN, CCRN; Myra King, DNP, APRN-CNS, ACNS-BC, CCRN-CSC, FCNS; Shelly Orr, PhD, RN, CCRP; and Olena Svetlov, DNP, BA, RN, AGNP/CNS, CCRN, PHN, NE, FCNS, FCCM. They each serve a three-year term.

Bartos is a clinical outcomes specialist at Carolinas Medical Center, Atrium Health, in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she specializes in cardiology, critical care, clinical outcomes and research methodologies.

King is director of advanced practice nursing and a clinical nurse specialist in the cardiovascular intensive care unit (ICU) at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.

Orr serves as director of clinical research operations at VCU Health, Richmond, Virginia.

Svetlov is a clinical nurse specialist and cardiac subject matter expert at UCLA Health, University of California, Los Angeles.

Rebekah Marsh, BSN, RN, CCRN, becomes immediate past president and co-chair of the AACN – AACN Certification Corporation Nominating Committee. She is a clinical nurse educator for acute care/telemetry at Harborview Medical Center, University of Washington Medicine, Seattle.

Returning to the AACN board with Dana Woods, MBA, AACN chief executive officer, are the following directors:

• Kristina Brooks, DNP, MBOE, RN, CCRN, AACC, LSSBB, assistant vice president of quality at West Virginia University Hospitals in Morgantown
• Dawn Carpenter, DNP, ACNP-BC, CCRN, FAANP, nurse practitioner at Guthrie Clinic in Sayre, Pennsylvania, and an associate professor at UMass Chan Medical School, Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing
• Kelly Carter, MS, RN, NE-BC, nursing director of the Surgery Nursing Division at VCU Medical Center in Richmond, Virginia. She also serves a concurrent one-year term on the AACN Certification Corporation board.
• Dannette Mitchell, MSN, APRN, ACNS-BC, CCRN, FCNS, a clinical nurse specialist who focuses on improving patient outcomes by advancing nursing practice at ChristianaCare, Newark, Delaware. She also serves a concurrent one-year term on the AACN Certification Corporation board.
• Audrey Roberson, PhD, RN, CPAN, NPD-BC, clinical assistant professor at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Nursing, Richmond

About the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses: For more than 55 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 more than 136,000 members and about 170 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