Board of Commissioners & Nominations Committee Members Elected to

Three- & Two-Year Terms

Washington, DC — The National League for Nursing Commission for Nursing Education Accreditation (NLN CNEA) is pleased to announce the outcome of its 2023 election. All those elected will begin three-year terms for the Board of Commissioners and two-year terms for the Nominations Committee effective January 1, 2024.

Rowena Elliott, PhD, RN, CNN, CNE, AGNP-C, GS-C, LNC, ANEF, FAAN was re-elected to a second term on the board as a nurse educator on the NLN CNEA Board of Commissioners. Dr. Elliott is a professor/clinical track at the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.

The other newly elected members of the Board of Commissioners include:

Representing Nursing Practice:

• Tammy Buchholz, DNP, RN, CNE, FRE, associate director for education, North Dakota Board of Nursing, Bismarck
• Mykale Elbe, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, family nurse practitioner, Right from the Start Pediatrics and Assistant Dean of Nursing of Catherine McAuley School of Nursing, Maryville University, St. Louis, Missouri

Representing the Public:

• Natalie Ransom, DNP, RN, CENP, NEA-BC, division chief nurse executive, HCA Healthcare, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
• Cody Stansel, MSN, RN, NE-BC, OCN, CMSRN, administrative director, nursing, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee

Newly elected members of the Nominations Committee are:

• Maria Mackey, PhD, DNP, RN, CNE, associate professor, East Stroudsburg University, Pennsylvania, representing diploma nursing programs
• Brenda Elliott, PhD, RN, CNE, ANEF, coordinator of MSN, CAGS, and RN to BSN Programs and assistant professor, Messiah University, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, representing master’s nursing education programs
• Jennifer Vaughn, DNP, RN, NE-BC, CNE, executive assistant dean of administration, associate professor and NPR project director, Upstate Medical University College of Nursing, Syracuse, New York, representing practice doctorate nursing programs

“We are thrilled to work with this outstanding group of qualified nurse educators, and we welcome our new public members. These diverse individuals will help to advance the NLN CNEA’s work ensuring quality nursing education accreditation excellence,” said NLN CNEA Executive Director Teresa Shellenbarger, PhD, RN, CNE, CNEcl, ANEF. “I appreciate that the voters took their time to review the candidates and elect these exceptional individuals representing nursing programs from across the academic spectrum as well as dedicated leaders in nursing practice.”

“The NLN CNEA Board of Commissioners Executive Committee is thrilled to have such an esteemed list of newly elected and re-elected members who will continue the organization’s commitment to our core values of caring, diversity and inclusion, integrity, and excellence,” said NLN CNEA Board of Commissioners Chair Joan Darden, PhD, RN, ANEF.

The 15-member board provides leadership and direction to the accreditation services and is responsible for all accreditation decisions on nursing programs that seek accreditation from the NLN CNEA. The Nominations Committee is one of many standing committees and special task forces that facilitate the work of the Commission. 

More information about the NLN CNEA, including how to begin the accreditation process, can be found at CNEA.NLN.org.