NLN CEO Beverly Malone - One of 100 Most Influential in Health Care

Washington, DC, September 3, 2015 – Each year, the editors of Modern Healthcare evaluate stacks of nominations to determine who among America’s policymakers, public servants, activists, corporate executives, entrepreneurs, health care professionals, and others have had the most dramatic influence on the nation’s health care. This year, that process led the magazine to tap the National League for Nursing’s outspoken CEO, Beverly Malone, PhD, RN, FAAN, for its prestigious list. In Modern Healthcare’s 14th annual survey, Dr. Malone was named 68th in the 2015 rankings, released August 22. This year’s list was topped by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and President Barack Obama.

“I am so pleased to be among such illustrious company,” Dr. Malone remarked. “But what’s even more meaningful to me than this individual honor is the attention it brings to the important work of the NLN. I sit at the helm of an organization dedicated to promoting excellence in nursing education to build a strong and diverse nursing workforce to advance the health of the nation and the global community. The NLN Board of Governors, our outstanding professional and administrative team, as well as our membership, deserve this recognition along with me.”

There is no question Dr. Malone is an inspirational role model, a vocal presence in national and international health care policy circles. Within the past three years, for example, Dr. Malone was elected to the Institute of Medicine and tapped to join the board of the Kaiser Family Foundation. She has been instrumental in engaging corporate partners and foundations in support of the NLN’s mission to build and sustain an outstanding inclusive nursing workforce informed by the NLN’s core values: caring, integrity, diversity and excellence.

Said NLN president Marsha Adams, PhD, RN, CNE, FAAN, ANEF: “Through Dr. Malone’s pioneering vision and guidance, the NLN is universally recognized as a leader in transforming nursing education. She has helped change the conversation to include lifelong learning, academic progression, and multiple entry points to professional practice, a major recommendation of the IOM’s Future of Nursing Report.”

Perhaps what best reflects Dr. Malone’s stature on the cutting edge of health care leadership today is the growth in NLN membership she has nurtured in the eight years she has led this premier professional association for nurse educators in all types of higher education.

Dr. Malone is understandably pleased by the membership trend. “We have worked hard to communicate a vision of transformation in nursing education to meet the demands of the dynamic, technologically rich 21st-century health care environment. The NLN’s growth clearly reflects how strongly that message has resonated among health care professionals committed to preparing a diverse, culturally competent nursing workforce able to provide safe, effective patient care.

“As proud as I am of the NLN’s strength as a professional association, I am prouder still of the impact NLN members and member schools have had on students, a lasting effect that leads to our ultimate mission to advance the health of the nation and the global community,” stated Dr. Malone.

Editors/Reporters: For interview opportunities with Dr. Malone, please contact Karen R. Klestzick, chief communications officer at the NLN, at 202-909-2483 or kklestzick@nln.org. The entire list of 2015 Modern Healthcare 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare is available here.

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 more than 40,000 individual and more than 1,200 institutional members, comprising nursing education programs across the spectrum of higher education and health care organizations.