Leadership at NANN
NANN is governed by a ten-member board of directors consisting of three officers, six directors, and the chair of the National Association of Neonatal Nurses Advanced Practice (NANN-AP), a division of NANN. Leadership at NANN is based on a defined set of competencies that speak to the qualities, capabilities, and expertise valued by the organization and critical to success in carrying out NANN's purpose.
2024-2025 NANN Board of Directors
President
2024-2026
Taryn Edwards, MSN APRN NNP-BC
Taryn Edwards joined NANN before graduating from the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Nursing in 2004. She started as a nurse at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) right after nursing school and found deep satisfaction in the care of critically ill neonates. In 2010, she graduated from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Nursing with a Master of Science degree and began practicing as a neonatal nurse practitioner for the general, thoracic, and fetal surgery team within the NICU at CHOP. In 2021, Taryn transitioned to full time at Nemours Children’s Health Delaware. She has participated in Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing’s Maternal Child Health Leadership Academy as a leadership fellow in 2008 and as a mentor in 2012. She has served as newsletter editor and President of NANN’s Delaware Valley Chapter, NANN Board of Directors from 2015-2019 as a Director-at-large, and NANN-AP Council from 2019-2023 as a council member. Her professional interests include the surgical neonate, human milk and breastfeeding, and the environmental impacts on maternal-child health.
Immediate Past President
2022-2024
Rachael Zastrow, NNP-BC APNP CPNP-PC
Rachael Zastrow has been a neonatal nurse practitioner since 2010 and currently practices at Advocate Aurora in Wisconsin. She is dually certified as a neonatal nurse practitioner and as a pediatric nurse practitioner in primary care. Rachael was part of the inaugural class of NANN’s emerging leader fellowship program in 2017, chair of the NANN Professional Development Committee, is past president of the local Wisconsin chapter of NANN, past NANN director-at-large board member, chair of ONE NANN, project advisory member for Birth Defects and Infant Disorders (BDID), co-chair of the Neonatal Morbidity and Mortality Task Force, NCC NNP certification exam content team member, and immediate past president for NANN. She was working on her PhD at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee which was placed on hold during her presidency and she looks forward to completing that now that her term is complete.
Secretary/Treasurer
2024-2026
Melissa Hamms, BSN MBA RN
Professional Affiliation,
Nationwide Children's, Columbus OH
Melissa Hamms graduated with a baccalaureate degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Nursing and within 6 months transferred from Women’s Health into the Newborn Intensive Care Unit. She found her passion and began her career journey to improve care in the newborn intensive care department. She has spent her 30+ years as a bedside nurse, nurse manager and is currently a Director of the Neonatal Network at Nationwide Children’s. She graduated in 2001 from Franklin University with a master’s degree in business (with a healthcare focus). She has been actively involved in NANN and was a founding member and president of the Central Ohio Association of NANN. Her passions beyond creating the best care practices for neonates include mentoring new leaders and program development.
NANN-AP Council Chair
2024-2026
Leanne Nantais-Smith, PhD RN NNP-BC
Leanne Nantais-Smith is Associate Clinical Professor and Director of Advanced Practice and Graduate Certificate Programs at Wayne State University (WSU) College of Nursing (CON) in Detroit, Michigan. She is also a certified Neonatal Nurse Practitioner (NNP) and Coordinator of the NNP Specialty. Leanne completed a Master of Science in Nursing with NNP specialty in 1989 and Doctor of Philosophy in 1997, both from WSU. Leanne is a member of multiple organizations, including NANN/NANN-AP, Sigma Theta Tau, American Association of Nurse Practitioners , and the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF). She was inducted as a Fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) in June 2022. She has multiple presentations (peer-reviewed and invited) and publications in advanced practice neonatal topics and has worked on several HRSA Advanced Nursing Education Workforce grants to expand the APRN workforce. She is currently a co-investigator on a HRSA ANEW ($2.6m) grant related to investigating new models of APRN primary care clinical education. Her educational interests focus on NNP clinical education and mentoring doctoral students with implementation of quality improvement initiatives. Her research interest focuses on identifying noninvasive biomarkers of necrotizing enterocolitis.
Director-at-Large
2023-2025
Jill Beck, MSN RNC-NIC C-NNIC C-ELBW
Jill has been a NICU nurse since 2002 after graduating from The College of New Jersey with her BSN and MSN in Nursing Education from Villanova University. She is a Clinical Nurse in the NICU at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. There, she worked on multiple QI initiatives across many disciplines and acted as a mentor for staff for their ongoing research. She is a proud Fellow of NANN’s 2018 Emerging Leader Fellowship. Through the Fellowship, Jill created and developed a podcast for NANN and is now the host of NANNcast. Her passion is creating a platform to share new innovations and hot topics in neonatology on NANNcast with the hope of creating better patient outcomes for our tiny babies. She is currently enrolled in the NNP program at the University of Connecticut.
Director-at-Large
2023-2025
Jennifer Fries, MSN NNP-BC C-ELBW C-NNIC
Jennifer Fries began working as a NICU nurse as a new graduate RN in 2012, when she graduated with her ADN from Fayetteville Technical Community College. She earned her BSN from East Carolina University in 2018 as a Graduate with Distinction and a member of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. She is passionate about professional development and volunteers as part of the team that develops the specialty certification exam for neonatal nurses, is an NRP Instructor Mentor, has been an Item Reviewer for the NCLEX-RN, and has participated in many other activities ranging from a bereavement conference panel to breastfeeding support. Jennifer has been honored to serve on the NANN Awards Selection Task Force and as a NANN Annual Conference Abstract Reviewer. Her areas of professional interest are neonatal resuscitation, staff nurse advocacy, and breastfeeding.
Director-at-Large
2024-2026
Meghan Luh, MSN APRN NNP-BC NE-BC
Professional Affiliation,
Advocate Aurora
Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin
Meghan Luh has been practicing as a neonatal nurse practitioner since 2009. She is currently the lead neonatal nurse practitioner at Advocate Aurora Medical Center in Summit, WI, and is also a member of the neonatal nurse practitioner team at Children’s Wisconsin in Milwaukee. She completed her bachelor’s degree in nursing at Marquette University and subsequently obtained her master’s degree in nursing from the University of Florida. Meghan has served NANN in many roles, notably as a board member for the State of Wisconsin Association of Neonatal Nurses in addition to being a member of the NANN Awards Selection Task Force Committee and a NANN Annual Conference Abstract Reviewer. Most recently, she was honored to serve a two year term as a NANN Director-at-Large and is enthusiastically looking forward to a second term. Meghan is passionate about leadership and obtained ANCC certification as a nurse executive. In addition, she is a certified lactation consultant. Meghan's areas of professional interest include care of the late preterm infant, promotion of breastfeeding, and nurse leadership.
Director-at-Large
2024-2026
Andrea Morris, DNP RNC-NICU
Professional Affiliation,
California State University, Dominguez Hills
Staff Nurse Director-at-Large
2023-2025
Martha Lee, BSN RNC-NIC
Martha Lee bio coming soon.
Staff Nurse Director-at-Large
2024-2026
Sherri Trammell-Johnson, RNC-NIC MSN
Professional Affiliation,
Augusta University, Georgia
Sherri started her nursing career at the Medical College of Georgia Hospital and Clinics, now WellStar MCG Health/Children’s Hospital of Georgia, in the well-baby nursery in 1986, following in her mother’s footsteps as a baby nurse. She then transferred to the NICU in 1990 for bigger and better endeavors. Over the course of 30+years in the same NICU, a Level IV NICU, Sherri has seen first-hand how the world of neonatal nursing has changed and advanced. Sherri has been a member of NANN since 2010 and has enjoyed the opportunities of being a local president and volunteering on the local and national levels. Her goal is to be a mentor for young NICU nurses to become passionate about their work and to BE INTENTIONAL!
NANN's Past Presidents
- 2022-2024: Rachel Zastrow
- 2020-2022: Gail Bagwell
- 2018-2020: Joan Rikli
- 2016-2018: Lori Brittingham
- 2015-2016: Regina Grazel
- 2014-2015: Cheryl Carlson
- 2014–2015: Pam Spivey
- 2012–2014: Cheryl Carlson
- 2010–2012: Susan Reinarz
- 2008–2010: Lori Armstrong
- 2007–2008: Peggy Gordin
- 2005–2006: Robin Bissinger
- 2003–2004: Catherine Witt
- 2001–2002: Margaret Conway-Orgel
- 1999–2000: Frances Strodtbeck
- 1997–1998: Lynn Lynam
- 1995–1996: Carole Kenner
- 1993–1994: Patricia J. Johnson
- 1991–1992: Linda Bellig
- 1989–1990: Tracy Karp
- 1987–1988: Charles Rait
- 1984–1986: The organizational work of the association was led by an interim board of directors consisting of Linda Bellig, Patricia J. Johnson, Tracy Karp, Donna Lee Loper, Linda McCollum, and Charles Rait.
National Association of Neonatal Nurses Advanced Practice (NANN-AP) Council
NANN-AP is governed by an elected Council composed of eight NNPs from across the United States. One of the eight council members is appointed chair and also serves on the national board of directors of the National Association of Neonatal Nurses (NANN). Council members exhibit NANN's core set of competencies and leadership qualities required to effectively lead the membership division into the future.
Chair
2024-2026
Leanne Nantais-Smith, PhD NNP-BC FAANP
Leanne Nantais-Smith is Associate Clinical Professor and Director of Advanced Practice and Graduate Certificate Programs at Wayne State University (WSU) College of Nursing (CON) in Detroit, Michigan. She is also a certified Neonatal Nurse Practitioner (NNP) and Coordinator of the NNP Specialty. Leanne completed a Master of Science in Nursing with NNP specialty in 1989 and Doctor of Philosophy in 1997, both from WSU. Leanne is a member of multiple organizations, including NANN/NANN-AP, Sigma Theta Tau, American Association of Nurse Practitioners , and the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF). She was inducted as a Fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) in June 2022. She has multiple presentations (peer-reviewed and invited) and publications in advanced practice neonatal topics and has worked on several HRSA Advanced Nursing Education Workforce grants to expand the APRN workforce. She is currently a co-investigator on a HRSA ANEW ($2.6m) grant related to investigating new models of APRN primary care clinical education. Her educational interests focus on NNP clinical education and mentoring doctoral students with implementation of quality improvement initiatives. Her research interest focuses on identifying noninvasive biomarkers of necrotizing enterocolitis.
Immediate Past Chair
2024-2025
Barbara Snapp, DNP APRN NNP-BC
Dr. Snapp is a neonatal nurse practitioner and member of the Children’s National in Washington, DC, NICU team working in Virginia and is also an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Dr. Snapp serves on several boards in the metropolitan DC area including the steering committee for the state collaborative. She is often involved in multiple activities on the national level as well. Dr. Snapp has had a career-long interest in neonatal resuscitation both as instructor and author. She has served NANN in many capacities for over the last 30 years and has authored several publications. Dr. Snapp enjoys creating new research projects and mentoring new nurses and NPs.
Member-at-Large
2024-2026
Leann Baker, DNP APRN NNP-BC C-ONQS
Professional Affiliation,
Norton Children/s Medical Group
Leann Baker, DNP, APRN, NNP-BC, C-ONQS is an Assistant Professor at the University of Louisville; her faculty position is a joint appointment between the Schools of Medicine and Nursing. Some of her duties include track coordinator for the Neonatal Nurse Practitioner program and leader of a team focused on the development and implementation of an Interprofessional Collaborative Practice curriculum for the Department of Pediatrics. Leann has been practicing as an NNP since 2009, and her current clinical service is for Norton Children’s Medical Group – Neonatology based in Louisville, KY. She is also the leader of the Neonatal Advanced Practice group. Leann has previously served two terms as a member of the NNP Excellence Awards Committee. Leann currently serves on the Kentucky Perinatal Quality Collaborative (KyPQC) as a member of the steering committee and a lead in the neonatal work group. She has been a member of the KyPQC annual conference planning committee for three years. Her passions are in quality improvement and patient safety, leadership (specifically servant leadership), education, and neonatal palliative care. Leann is excited to serve on the Council and be an advocate for neonatal care.
Member-at-Large
2024-2026
Tracey Bell, DNP APRN NNP BC C-ELBW, CNE-cl
Professional Affiliation,
University of Pittsburgh
Tracey Bell is an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing, currently serving as the coordinator of the Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Program. She graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill with both her BSN and MSN. Her DNP was obtained from Duke University. In addition to her academic role, she has over 20 years of clinical experience as a NNP, most recently at Emory University in Atlanta and UPMC in Pittsburgh.
She served on the NANN Committee for the 2023 Revision of Curriculum Guidelines and Education Competencies for Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Programs. In 2023, she was awarded the NANN APRN Excellence Award.
Dr Bell has published several manuscripts and has presented both at both national and international conferences. She is on the editorial board for the journal Advances in Neonatal Care, serving as the section editor for “Case Study of the Month".
Member-at-Large
2023-2025
Tosha Harris, DNP APRN NNP-BC
Dr. Harris knew she was called to become a neonatal nurse and care for critically ill neonates even before completing nursing school at the University of Louisiana at Monroe in 1999. She began her nursing career at LSU Health Science in Shreveport, Louisiana. After ten years collaborating with the extraordinary neonatal nurse practitioners in her unit, she decided to pursue her Master of Science in Nursing degree from Northwestern State University. While in school, Dr. Harris was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau. Dr. Harris and her family moved to Memphis, Tennessee, in 2012 where she began work as a neonatal nurse practitioner at LeBonheur Children’s Hospital (LBCH). The mentorships experienced during her time there were instrumental in honing her clinician and leader skills. In 2017, she accepted an inaugural position as one of two NNPs at a Level III NICU with an active delivery service in Tupelo, MS, and established the NNP role in that setting. Many NNPs have since followed her example. 2018 was a busy year for Dr. Harris as she graduated from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) with her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree and was selected for the second cohort of the NANN/Synova Associates Emerging Leader Fellowship. Since that time, Dr. Harris has presented at NANN annual conferences as both a podium and poster presenter, served as conference symposium planning committee member, served as volunteer faculty for the UTHSC College of Nursing, and performed as a manuscript reviewer for Advances of Neonatal Care. In addition, she is currently serving as editor of the NANN E-News bi-monthly newsletter. She has authored several articles for the newsletter in addition to contributing book chapters to neonatal texts. Dr. Harris’ current clinical practice occurs in Level IV NICUs throughout the country. Her practice continues to demonstrate the passion for neonatal care, especially practicing from a trauma-informed framework and empowering future clinicians and leaders of our profession through education and professional development.
Member-at-Large
2024-2026
Erna Josiah-Davis, MSN NNP-BC
Professional Affiliation,
UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital
Member-at-Large
2024-2025
Desi Newberry, DNP NNP-BC
Professional Affiliation,
Duke University School of Nursing
Desi Newberry is an associate professor and director of the neonatal nurse practitioner program at the Duke University School of Nursing. Dr. Newberry is a board-certified NNP with over 20 years of experience. She currently practices at the University of North Carolina Newborn Critical Care Center the Duke University Intensive Care Nursery.
Dr. Newberry graduated from Duke University with her DNP in 2012, having previously earned her MSN from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her BSN from Michigan State University. She is also a Certified Health Simulation Educator (CHSE).
Dr. Newberry contributes to both nursing associations and nursing publications. She is proud to have been selected for the 2023 NANN Leadership Award. She served on the NANN Committee for the 2023 Revision of Curriculum Guidelines and Education Competencies for Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Programs to revise the Curriculum Guidelines and Education Competencies for Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Programs. She also serves as a section editor for the neonatal nursing journal Advances in Neonatal Care.
She has authored and co-authored three book chapters and over 30 articles in peer-reviewed, national neonatal nursing journals. Her research currently focuses on improving health equity for all neonates through the examination of diversity in NNP students and faculty, the use of simulation for implicit bias training, and working toward the elimination of inappropriate labeling in the NICU.
Member-at-Large
2024-2026
Heather Stephens, DNP APRN RNC-NIC ACCNS-N
Professional Affiliation,
Hershey Medical Center
Heather Stephens is a Neonatal Clinical Nurse Specialist and is the Neonatal Clinical Nurse Practice Leader at Penn State Health Hershey Children’s Hospital. She received her Diploma of Nursing at Lancaster Health Alliance, undergraduate at Penn State University and Doctorate of Nursing Practice at Rush University. Heather has been a nurse for 24 years, 22 of those as a neonatal nurse.
She is currently a member of NANN-AP for a second term, an item question writer for the American Association of Critical Care Nurses for the neonatal CNS exam, an exam reviewer and recently elected to the Cribs for Kids Advisory Board. Heather holds a strong belief that in order to advance neonatal nursing practice, there must be a bridge from evidence-based care to the advanced practice nurses and bedside nurses for them to pursue, seek and implement best practices. Heather’s interests include developmental care, reduction in BPD, promotion of the use of human milk and safe sleep practices.