Message from Board Chair and Executive Director

From Our Board Chair

Dear colleague,

In 2014, a dedicated group banded together to bring to life one of the most daunting recommendations in the 2010 Future of Nursing report: “Nurses […] should serve actively on advisory committees, commissions and boards where policy decisions are made to advance health systems to improve patient care.”

Though we nurses comprise the largest group of health professionals, we remain vastly underrepresented in board leadership positions. The Nurses on Boards Coalition (NOBC) is setting out to transform this reality.

The future we envision is one in which every health care-related board has at least one nurse member. We invite you to be part of this transformative journey.

Although no one can predict what the health care system of the future will look like, I have no doubt that the nation’s 3.8 million registered nurses are the ones who should lead the change we wish to see.

Thank you for supporting nurses’ role as thoughtful strategists. Our health care will be better for it.

Sincerely,

Marla J. Weston
Board Chair, Nurses on Boards Coalition

From our Executive Director

Welcome to the Nurses on Boards Coalition! Thank you for visiting our website.

I am honored and excited to serve as the Executive Director for the Nurses on Boards Coalition as we work together to advance our mission to improve health in communities across our nation. I am fortunate to work alongside many dedicated people and organizations at the local, state and national levels, as we collaborate to improve health.

From my own experience first as a nurse, and later as a board director, I know first-hand what it means to bring the nursing perspective into the boardroom. With 3.5 million nurses in our country, nurses represent the largest segment of our healthcare workforce. It simply makes good business sense to have the nursing perspective represented in all places where decisions and policies affecting health are made including corporate, governmental, non-profit, advisory, governance boards, commissions, panels or task forces that have fiduciary or strategic responsibility.

Formed in 2014, NOBC was initially funded through a generous grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Effective July 1, 2017, NOBC became an independent organization, as was the vision of our founding member organizations.

In April 2017, NOBC members created and adopted the following Strategic Imperatives to guide our work: 1) Facilitate board placements, 2) Create a dynamic organization focused on transformative growth, 3) Promote collaboration among states and national organizations to integrate strategies, 4) Demonstrate the impact of nurses on boards, 5) Develop member synergy strategy and value.

Much has already been accomplished and momentum is building! Achieving the goal of ensuring at least 10,000 nurses on boards by 2020 will require a groundswell of support from individuals and organizations across the country.

Everyone has a role to play:

Nurse leaders, please be counted in our database by reporting if you are currently serving on a board, or would like to be considered for a board seat.
NOBC is funded through member dues, strategic partnerships, sponsorships and donations from foundations, corporations, and individuals. Contributions can be made  here.
Organizations may join our work through contributions and/or considering a nurse to serve on your board

Feel free to contact me directly at  laurie@nursesonboardscoalition.org  to discuss how you can join our efforts to improve the health of communities across our nation.

I look to the future with a bright sense of optimism. I envision the day when the right nurse leader will be seated at the table on every board. Please join us as we work together to make it happen!

With gratitude,

Laurie Benson

Executive Director, Nurses on Boards Coalition
laurie@nursesonboardscoalition.org
608-215-4425

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