Pamela F. Cipriano

Pamela F. Cipriano is the 29th President of the International Council of Nurses and a Professor at the University of Virginia’s School of Nursing and Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. She is known nationally and internationally for her influence and advocacy to raise the voice, visibility, and stature of nurses to lead health care delivery, policy development, and promotion of health worldwide.

Her leadership journey began when she was elected President of the National Student Nurses Association. Her passion and commitment to advocacy led to her election as the 36th President of the American Nurses Association (ANA) where she raised the profile and recognition of nurses. Notably, during the Ebola epidemic (2014-2016), she spoke out on the protection of nurses, healthcare workers and patients, and advocated for evidence-based public health approaches to prevent transmission of the virus. She was a frequent presence in national media providing factual information to restore public trust.

Under her leadership, ANA’s influence on public policy and health grew. Significant initiatives include ANA’s Grand Challenge, Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation ™ in 2017 to improve nurses’ health and the health of the nation, and policies for nurse well-being from safe staffing to eliminating workplace violence. She became an inaugural member of the Steering Committee for the National Academy of Medicine’s (NAM) Action Collaborative on Clinician Well-Being and Resilience, which is implementing the National Plan for Health Workforce Well-Being to support and sustain a healthy workforce.

Dr. Cipriano has served at every level of practice and leadership—staff nurse, clinical specialist, manager, director, chief nurse executive, chief clinical officer, chief operating officer, professor and Dean. Her many awards and honors recognize tireless leadership and impact. She was the 2010 Distinguished Nurse Scholar-in-Residence at the National Academy of Medicine, which is funded by AAN, ANA, and the American Nurses Foundation, and served as inaugural editor-in-chief of American Nurse Today (American Nurse Journal), ANA’s official journal, from 2006 to 2014. She has received nursing school distinguished alumna awards and at the university level, she is the first nurse to receive the Distinguished Alumni award from the University of Utah and was named Alumna Summa Laude Dignatus by the University of Washington, their highest honor. Among her many other accolades and awards are AAN’s Health Care Leader, and the Daisy Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

Dr. Cipriano advocates for the health and well-being of the world’s 28 million nurses as well as global health security. She serves on the Universal Health Care 2030 (UHC2030) Task Force, which has authored an action agenda for high level political commitments at the United Nations for improving health access for all people. She has addressed the World Health Organization on workforce lessons learned from COVID-19, and the United Nations stakeholder meeting on pandemic prevention, preparedness, and recovery.
Dr. Cipriano was inducted as a Fellow into the American Academy of Nursing in 1991. She earned her RN diploma from the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, BSN from American University, MN from the University of Washington and PhD from the University of Utah. She holds advanced nurse executive certification from American Nurses Credentialing Center.