National League for Nursing Welcomes Elaine Tagliareni, Immediate Past President of the NLN, to Post of Chief Program Officer

New Head of Professional Development Also Named

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New York, NY — January 27, 2010 — The National League for Nursing is pleased to announce the appointment of its immediate past president, Elaine Tagliareni, EdD, RN, CNE, FAAN, to the position of chief program officer. In her two-year term, which concluded in September, Dr. Tagliareni was the Leagues dynamic, articulate public face, setting a tone of inclusiveness as she communicated the NLN mission and values through media appearances, published editorials, and the "Presidents Message" in the NLNs respected, peer-reviewed research journal, Nursing Education Perspectives.

The NLN also announced that Janice Brewington, PhD, RN, FAAN, whose contributions during the past year have been critical to maintaining the NLN core value of excellence in the area of program development, will become the senior director, professional development, as Dr. Mary Anne Rizzolo, retires from that position. From the publication of NLN books on diversity, the science of nursing education, and clinical education to the development of our competency model, Dr. Brewington has established a record of accomplishment. And Dr. Rizzolo, who spearheaded the NLNs involvement in simulation and has been at the forefront of innovation since she joined the staff in 2001, will remain a consultant to the NLN.

Commenting on the moves, NLN CEO Beverly Malone, PhD, RN, FAAN, remarked, "I am thrilled that Elaine has agreed to come on board in this key role. Nurse educators across the academic spectrum will undoubtedly benefit from the vision she brings to our profession. And the NLN is sure to gain from her extraordinary professionalism and inspiration as a thought leader and role model. I am also delighted that Janice will continue to enhance the team in professional development, facilitating the NLNs leadership as a resource for the progression of nursing education."

Added NLN president Dr. Cathleen Shultz, "We want to thank Mary Anne for her dedicated service to the NLN. Her commitment and contributions to transforming the field of nursing education will reverberate for years to come, and although she will no longer be a daily presence in the office, her wisdom and experience will continue to guide us."

Among Dr. Tagliarenis noteworthy achievements during her presidency was her coordination of an ambitious two-phase collaborative grant between the NLN, the NLN Foundation for Nursing Education, and Community College of Philadelphia, funded by the Independence Foundation and the John A. Hartford Foundation with additional contributions from Laerdal Medical. The grant focuses on the preparation of nursing students to care for older adults. The three-year Phase II initiative is ongoing, and will be part of Dr. Tagliarenis portfolio. In addition, as head of the NLNs Research and Professional Development unit, she will oversee all faculty development activities at the League, including the Annual Education Summit, the Immersion Experience, and web-based seminars and workshops.

As NLN president, Dr. Tagliareni capped years of involvement in League committees and activities, playing a key role in fostering innovation and in promoting the nurse educator as an advanced practice role. Her previous NLN activities range from membership on the Board of Governors and its Executive Committee to chair of the NLN Foundations Scholarship Review Panel and participant in the NLN Think Tank on the Preparation of Nurse Educators.

Dr. Tagliareni joined the NLN from Community College of Philadelphia where she spent the major portion of her teaching career. There, she was professor of nursing and held the Independence Foundation in Community Health Nursing Education chair. In that capacity, she served on the board of the National Nursing Centers Consortium, a group that successfully lobbied for the inclusion of nurse-managed health centers in the health care reform legislation currently pending in the House and the Senate.

In addition to a BSN from Georgetown University, Dr. Tagliareni holds a masters in mental health and community nursing from the University of California, San Francisco, and a doctorate in education from Teachers College, Columbia University. In 2008, Dr. Tagliareni was named Pennsylvania Professor of the Year by CASE-Carnegie Foundation and received the 2008 Northeast Regional Faculty Award and the national William H. Meardy Faculty Award from the Association of Community College Trustees.

Dr. Brewington, a pediatric nurse practitioner, was provost and vice chancellor of academic affairs at the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University before joining the NLN in 2009. Reflecting on the critical thinking involved in nursing and the teamwork that must be practiced, Dr. Brewington brought her skills to the corporate world in 2004-05 as executive-on-loan to the Gillette Corporation, working in cross-functional teams (i.e., inter/multidisciplinary teams) as manager for the University Relations Department.

Reporters/Editors: To arrange interviews, please contact Karen R. Klestzick, chief communications officer, at 212-812-0376 or kklestzick@nln.org.

Dedicated to excellence in nursing, the National League for Nursing is the premier organization for nurse faculty and leaders in nursing education. The NLN offers faculty development, networking opportunities, testing services, nursing research grants, and public policy initiatives to its 30,000 individual and 1,200 institutional members who represent nursing programs across the academic spectrum.