ANA 2025 Membership Assembly: Harnessing the power of nurses
The 2025 American Nurses Association (ANA) Membership Assembly took place in Washington, D.C. June 28-29. The Membership Assembly, ANA’s highest governing body, consists of elected representatives from ANA state nurses associations, ANA’s individual member division, ANA organizational affiliates, and board of directors. WSNA had the largest state delegation with 12 representatives.
Hill Day
The day before the Membership Assembly convened, more than 500 nurses from across the country gathered in D.C. for ANA Hill Day. They came together to elevate the voice of nursing and to advocate for critical legislative priorities, including opposing Medicaid cuts, securing funding for nursing workforce programs, preventing workplace violence, and supporting full practice authority for advanced practice nurses.
WSNA members met in person with Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell. Tristan Twohig of Providence Holy Family in Spokane participated in a press conference Cantwell held the next day to highlight the damage of cuts to Medicaid.
Our members also met with members and staff for most of Washington’s congressional delegation. The 500 nurses who participated carried stethoscopes to leave behind lawmakers as reminders of the power of nurses—the nation's most trusted professionals and the heartbeat of healthcare.
Launching the Membership Assembly, President Jennifer Mensik Kennedy declared that “together, we harness the power of nurses to shape our future, the future of healthcare, and the health of our nation.” She emphasized that the assembly “drives the nursing profession forward,” and highlighted the recently revised Code of Ethics for Nurses.
CEO Angela Beddoe said the Membership Assembly is “a time and space where we … do the important work of shaping the future of the association.” She said this means that nurses “must be nimble enough to respond to change and bold enough to drive it."
Newly appointed Chief Nursing Officer Bradley Goettl identified deep connections as core to the strength of nursing. He called for partnership to continue strengthening the nursing profession “to ensure that nurses remain not only the most trusted, but also the most respected voice in healthcare.”
AI, rural health, and more
Voting representatives approved proposals on advancing rural health and ethical use of artificial intelligence; they also discussed revising ANA's Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice.
The Membership Assembly also debated and adopted several amendments to the ANA bylaws. A proposed amendment to admit licensed practical/vocational nurses (LPNs/LVNs) into ANA membership, traditionally limited to registered nurses, drew much discussion. The proposal was referred to committee to develop more detailed recommendations for consideration at the 2026 Assembly.
Get to know your nurses
The second day of the Membership Assembly included a lunchtime conversation between CEO Angela Beddoe and best-selling author Suleika Jaouad, who writes the “Life Interrupted” column for the New York Times.
Jaouad discussed her ongoing cancer journey. She was first diagnosed with a rare form of acute myeloid leukemia in 2011, which was treated successfully but returned in 2021 and again in 2024. She spoke of her experiences of hospitalization, treatment, and survival, expressing her appreciation and admiration for nurses. She also shared advice for patients: Get to know your nurses. They are by your side throughout the day.
Bold action
Voting representatives overwhelmingly approved a resolution, Defending Nursing's Principles and Protecting Our Patients, submitted by WSNA, 12 state nurses' associations — California, Delaware, Florida, Hawai’i, Illinois, Minnesota, Montana, Ohio, Oregon, Nebraska, New Mexico, and Vermont — along with the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, an ANA organizational affiliate. The resolution called on ANA to “advocate clearly and directly” in opposition to federal policies that run counter to ANA principles in areas including access to care, science-based public health measures, diversity, and health equity.
The resolution’s statement of purpose decried “federal policy changes [that] threaten the nursing profession and the patients we serve,” calling for ANA to be “more visible and direct about its position on foundational issues affecting the profession and patient care” while affirming that “our values and priorities … transcend any political party or identity.” The resolution urged the ANA Board to take “immediate, visible, and sustained public positions in opposition to federal policies,” including those that erode access to care or coverage; undermine nursing workforce diversity; attack science-based public health practices; dismantle DEI efforts; restrict rights to unionize and take collective action; dismantle life-saving care around the world; remove access to health-related databases; permit ICE raids in healthcare facilities; limit access to reproductive healthcare; and attack LGTBQ+ rights.
The resolution further declared that “ANA must directly articulate the profession’s strong opposition to these threats and reaffirm ANA’s commitment to equity, patient-centered care, public health, professional autonomy, and evidence-based nursing practice.”
In introducing the resolution, WSNA President Justin Gill said the following:
“Nurses and the public from across the country are looking at ANA right now. I hope that I can look back at this [meeting] and know that my professional association will have our backs in directly resisting obvious threats. Let’s stare down the challenges that we face with the boldness and directness that this time calls for.”
In addition to Gill, representatives from several other state nurses associations urged support for the resolution, as did Darcel Reyes, President-elect of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care.
The resolution passed with a decisive 76.73% vote in favor.
The Membership Assembly voted in ANA Board members and officers, re-electing Vice-president Anita Girard of California and recent graduate at-large member Nikule Abel of Minnesota, and newly electing Treasurer Trish Richardson of North Carolina and at-large member Amanda Savage of Maine.