In January 2021, the Association for Nursing Professional Development (ANPD) conducted their annual election for new board members. Nominees were solicited through a public call to ANPD's membership, whereas an ANPD member could self-nominate or nominate a colleague for any of the open positions on the Board of Directors (BOD). There were four open positions: president-elect and three directors. A member could run for an office if they did not hold a position with a competing organization, thus leading to a potential conflict of interest (Hayes, 2020). ANPD is excited to welcome both new and familiar faces who will be continuing their service for the cycle! Sheila St. Cyr, the current director, was selected as president-elect. Mandi Walker and Dale Callicutt were both reelected to serve on the BOD. New to the team is Stephanie Zidek, who will be serving as a director, as well. Directors will serve a 2-year term, whereas the president-elect will serve a 3-year term (1 year as president-elect plus 2 years as president).
Sheila St. Cyr, MS, RN, NPD-BC, started in nursing professional development (NPD) in 1995 when she was working in oncology education, and she has been certified in NPD for 16 years. In her current role, Sheila manages and coordinates University of Oklahoma Medicine's medication diversion surveillance program. Prior to this role, she served as a manager and director of the clinical education department at University of Oklahoma Medicine, an 850-bed academic medical center.
Sheila has a long history of involvement in ANPD. She has been a member for 17 years and has presented at several conferences. She was a member of and then chaired the Recognition Committee in 2008 and 2009. She was a member of the Convention Content Planning Committee for 4 years, serving as co-chair in 2018 and chair for the 2019 convention. She is in her second year as a director on the ANPD BOD and has served as a mentor in ANPD's Leadership Academy for 2 years. On a personal note, Sheila would like to share the following with the ANPD members:
My desire to serve as President-Elect stems from my many years of involvement with the organization. As an NPD practitioner, it is important to be actively involved in and support the organization. I want to be a servant leader to this very important organization of like-minded practitioners whose existence is essential to the core of nursing practice in providing high-quality and safe care. I look forward to working alongside the current President, Susan Bindon, to prepare me for the President role. While in the President role, I will lead and work with the Board to be thoughtful, mindful, insightful, and passionate about moving the organization forward. I look forward to collaborating with Board members and ANPD staff to serve our members, meet our strategic goals, and grow our profession. Thank you for this amazing opportunity. I am honored and humbled to serve.
Stephanie Zidek, MSN, AGCNS-BC, NPD-BC, has been involved in NPD for 7 years and has been a member of ANPD for the last 5 years. She is certified in NPD. Stephanie serves as the system director for Nursing Education and Professional Development at Advocate Aurora in Downers Grove, Illinois, which serves customers in both Illinois and Wisconsin. Stephanie stated that she wanted to serve on the ANPD BOD so that she could contribute to the specialty of NPD on an international level. She currently serves on the ANPD Scope and Standards committee. Lastly, Stephanie identifies herself as a transformative leader who embraces changes, challenges the status quo, and strives for innovation. She believes in inspiring and empowering teams to help them grow and shape the future of nursing and NPD practice.
Mandi Walker, DNP, RN, CCRN-K, NPD-BC, NEA-BC, was reelected to a second term as a director on the ANPD BOD. Mandi has been in NPD since 2009, a member of ANPD since 2013, and in an NPD leadership role since 2016. She currently serves as the system executive director of professional practice for University of Louisville Health, where she oversees NPD, nursing research, and nursing excellence for the academic health system. Mandi is the BOD liaison to the ANPD Products and Services Committee and is coauthor of the ANPD Board Updates column for the Journal for Nurses in Professional Development. Mandi sees establishing NPD as a nursing specialty, while elevating the practice of NPD practitioners across the globe as a key to the future of the nursing landscape. She is passionate about proving the value of NPD through thorough program analysis, including return on investment, and has presented for ANPD and others on the topic.
Dale Callicutt was reelected to serve on the ANPD BOD. He currently works for Novant Health and is primarily based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He serves as the manager of the Center of Professional Practice and Development and has been a member of ANPD for 10 years. Dale is currently the board liaison to ANPD's Recognition Committee and has been involved with this committee for the last 4 years. He has been involved with three ANPD Leadership Academies and has attended multiple conferences. He shares that the knowledge gained in helping others grow professionally is very rewarding. He is engaged and is an outcomes focused leader who strives to mentor, transform, and impact nurses in growth and development opportunities.
Serving on the ANPD BOD includes responsibilities that involve governance, finances, staff, and future direction. BOD members promote the organization to others while staying current on issues and trends impacting the association and its membership responsibilities. They also focus on succession planning by recruiting future leaders. ANPD BOD thoughtfully listens, analyzes, and assesses ideas within the organization. They also represent the organization professionally and consistently as ANPD moves into the future (Robinson, 2019). The newly elected BOD took their place following the 2021 ANPD annual convention, "Aspire to Inclusivity," in August.
References