NCSBN Elected New Members to Its Board of Directors During Its 2014 Delegate Assembly

CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwired - Aug 19, 2014) - The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN), www.ncsbn.org, elected new members to its Board of Directors (BOD) during its 2014 Delegate Assembly. Those elected include:

President
Shirley Brekken, MS, RN, executive director, Minnesota Board of Nursing, was elected president after having served as vice president from 2010-2014. She previously served as Area II director from 1990-1992. She has served on 12 NCSBN committees/task forces as either chair or committee member. Brekken is a partner in several Minnesota efforts related to patient safety and advancing a "Just Culture" (Minnesota Alliance for Patient Safety); nursing excellence (Stratis Health Institute); nursing workforce (Minnesota Center for Nursing founding member and BOD, Minnesota Health Education and Industry Partnership Steering Committees and Governor's Healthcare Reform Workforce Committee); technology (Governor's e-Licensing Steering Committee); and nursing leadership (Minnesota Organization of Leaders in Nursing).

President-elect
Katherine Thomas, MN, RN, FAAN, executive officer, Texas Board of Nursing, previously served as Area III director and a director-at-large on the NCSBN BOD. She also served as the NCSBN representative to the APRN Joint Dialogue Group and was a member of several NCSBN Advanced Nursing Practice committees and chaired several advanced practice committees from 1995-2007.

Treasurer
Julia L. George, MSN, RN, FRE, executive director, North Carolina Board of Nursing, was reelected treasurer after having served in that office since 2011. She previously served as the Area III director from 2007-2011 and is a Fellow of the NCSBN Institute of Regulatory Excellence. George served on the NCSBN Resolutions Committee from 2002-2003 and the NCSBN Practice, Regulation & Education Committee from 2003-2004.

Directors-at-Large
Joe Baker, Jr., executive director, Florida Board of Nursing, was reelected director-at-large. He previously served on the NCSBN Nursing Education Committee from 2011-2012. Baker has worked as the executive director for numerous regulatory boards since June 1995, both with the Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation and the Florida Department of Health. 

Gloria Damgaard, MS, RN, FRE, executive secretary, South Dakota Board of Nursing, was reelected director-at-large. She previously served on the NCSBN Commitment to Ongoing Regulatory Excellence Committee from 2011-2012 and the NCSBN Resolutions Committee from 2005-2007. She served from 2006-2009 as chair of the Nurse Licensure Compact Administrators. 

NCSBN delegates also elected members of the Leadership Succession Committee (LSC):
Area I - Pamela Randolph, MS, RN, FRE, board staff, Arizona State Board of Nursing
Area II - Deb Haagenson, RN, board member, Minnesota Board of Nursing
Area III - Patricia Dufrene, MSN, RN, board staff, Louisiana State Board of Nursing

Founded March 15, 1978, as an independent not-for-profit organization, NCSBN was created to lessen the burdens of state governments and bring together boards of nursing (BONs) to act and counsel together on matters of common interest. NCSBN's membership is comprised of the BONs in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and four U.S. territories -- American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands and the Virgin Islands. There are also 21 associate members that are either nursing regulatory bodies or empowered regulatory authorities from other countries or territories.

NCSBN Member Boards protect the public by ensuring that safe and competent nursing care is provided by licensed nurses. These BONs regulate more than 3 million licensed nurses, the second largest group of licensed professionals in the U.S.

Mission: NCSBN provides education, service and research through collaborative leadership to promote evidence-based regulatory excellence for patient safety and public protection.

The statements and opinions expressed are those of NCSBN and not the individual member state or territorial boards of nursing.

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