Installment of Officers Marks Beginning of 2020-2022 Board of Directors Term
The start of a new fiscal year in July marked the beginning of a new term of office for a majority of CANP’s Board of Directors, including the installation of a new President and President-Elect, as well as several new officers appointed to the association’s primary governing body.
The Board of Directors is the sturdy backbone of CANP, leading the organization in its mission to promote the NP movement and professional development of advanced practice nursing. The board has oversight over state lobbying efforts on behalf of the association, the management firm that manages the organization, and the diverse group of 12 committees that fill the association’s governance functions from government relations to advanced nurse education and from finance to membership.
On July 1, longtime CANP leader Patti Gurney, MSN, NP-BC, officially became the organization’s President. Gurney previously served on many CANP committees and as the Vice President of Corporate Affairs. Her tenure also includes serving two years as President-Elect. In addition to the statewide association, Gurney was president of the Sacramento chapter and held several other leadership positions from 2004-2014.
Cynthia Jovanov, DNP, FNP, NP-BC, takes office as the new President-Elect, having been elected to that position after a vote of the CANP House of Delegates (HOD). Jovanov previously served as CANP’s Vice President of Finance and as Inland Empire Chapter President. Per CANP bylaws adopted by the HOD in 2014, the sitting President-Elect automatically ascends to the position of President following the completion of the previous President’s term.
Karen Ayers, NP, is our new Vice President of Finance and chairs the newly established Health Justice Work Group. A graduate of the University of California, San Francisco, Ayers commitment to CANP and the profession runs deep. She previously served as CANP’s Vice President of Finance, Vice President Corporate Affairs, and president of the North Coast Chapter July 2007-June 2015, then again from July 2017 to today.
Longtime member CANP member Jeffrey Vu, NP-BC, continues in the role of Vice President of Corporate Affairs. Vu has held various leadership roles with CANP, as well as the Orange County Chapter, where he served as President during the 2016-2017 term.
Karen Bradley, DNP, continues her service to CANP as the Immediate Past President. She has long been committed to her colleagues and the profession as a longtime active member of the Inland Empire Chapter and as a previous Chair of the Health Practice Committee, she also served two years as President Elect.
The new fiscal year also begins the terms of several appointed members of the board. Liana Garrett, MSN, NP, will serve as Membership Chair. Tiffany Nielsen, DNP, and Linda Trinh, DNP, MPH, NP-BC, NP-C are our Educations Co-Chairs. Alexa Curtis, NP-BC, and Amy Ziegler, DNP, took over for Aimee Paulsen, DNP, on October 1 as Co-Chair of the Health Policy and Practice Committee Co-Chairs.
With Nurse Practitioner Week November 8-14, which recognizes the extraordinary contributions of NPs, we especially want to thank all of our volunteer leaders for the countless hours of service they provide to CANP and our members, their dedication to promoting a strong nurse practitioners’ movement, and the professional development of advanced practice nursing.
CANP is the unifying voice and networking forum for nurse practitioners, providing expert guidance and advancing the nurse practitioner profession statewide. CANP is committed to supporting nurse practitioners, bridging health care gaps and meeting patients’ needs. CANP envisions revolutionizing health care, and it does so in part by advocating for NPs on policy and practice issues, expanding access to care and building grassroots advocacy at the chapter level. These efforts, since the association’s founding 43 years ago, have resulted in transformative legislation that over time has removed barriers to NP practice. Among the many victories large and small are the ability to do direct billing, write prescriptions, supervise medical assistants, and, with this year’s historic passage of AB 890, work without physician supervision.