Announcing the Slate of Candidates for the 2026 AWHONN Board of Directors

Your voice is important! The AWHONN Board of Directors has approved the slate of candidates, presented by the Nominating Committee, for the 2026 Board of Directors. AWHONN members will elect a President-Elect and three Directors.

Elections will open on June 23, 2025, at the 2025 AWHONN Convention and close on July 8, 2025. Newly elected Board members officially take office on January 1, 2026.  For questions or comments, please email leadership@awhonn.org.

AWHONN Bylaws Question

As an AWHONN voting member, you have the vital right to vote on governance updates. In 2025, two proposed changes to Article IX of the AWHONN Bylaws will be up for a vote: Section 2 and Section 4. You will be asked to approve, oppose, or abstain from voting on the proposed amendment.
Review the full listing of the proposed change here.

Receiving Your Ballot

AWHONN has partnered with Survey & Ballot Systems (SBS) to administer the election. For AWHONN voting members to ensure your election-specific broadcast email arrives safely in your inbox on June 23, 2025, simply add the following email address as an approved sender: noreply@directvote.net

President-Elect Candidates

Debbie Ketchum, DNP, RN, MAOM, NEA-BC, RNC-MNN, C-EFM (Idaho)

Debbie Ketchum is a visionary Doctor of Nursing Practice executive leader dedicated to transforming maternal and child health and nursing practice. Her expertise and unwavering commitment drive positive change and empowers teams to thrive. Debbie is an experienced nurse currently serving as a clinical engagement executive at PeriGen, an advanced perinatal system company, and a peer reviewer for maternal-newborn policy. Debbie is passionate about empowering care teams through relationships, research, education, and advocacy.

Her professional journey began as a commissioned officer and nurse in the United States Army. Over her career, she has expanded her expertise, taking on roles such as bedside nurse, manager, service line system senior director, and director of nursing practice. She has gained valuable experience across various health care environments, including community and rural settings, large academic institutions, and regional health systems, covering acute, post-acute, and ambulatory care. 

Debbie holds a Doctor of Nursing Practice and a master’s degree in organizational management. She is a board-certified advanced nurse executive with certifications in maternal-newborn care, electronic fetal monitoring, and respectful, equitable care. 

Debbie is inspired to share her insights and unwavering commitment to empowering teams and health care systems. She aims to help envision and achieve exceptional perinatal outcomes, high reliability, and a vibrant, meaningful professional culture in the workplace. 

Read Debbie’s CV
Amber Weiseth, DNP, MSN, RNC-OB (Massachusetts)

Dr. Amber Weiseth, DNP, MSN, RNC-OB, is a Research Scientist at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Director for the Delivery Decisions Initiative (DDI) at Ariadne Labs. In this role, she leads a research and advocacy portfolio focused on improving dignity and safety in childbirth and reducing racial and ethnic disparities.

Dr. Weiseth is also the CEO of Unravel Healthcare, where she works to enable hospitals and clinicians to implement best practices in obstetric care in the U.S. Her clinical training and scientific expertise have enabled her to support culture and behavior change at the clinician, hospital, and system levels, while using implementation science and quality improvement best practices. Dr. Weiseth has been an obstetric nurse for over 20 years and is on the Board of Directors for the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN).

Read Amber’s CV

Director Candidates

Shawana Burnette, DNP, RNC-OB, NEA-BC, CLNC, FAWHONN (North Carolina)

Dr. Shawana Burnette is an innovative thought leader with over 20+ years of nursing leadership experience and 22+ years of experience as an OB nurse. She is currently the Director of Nursing Excellence Programs for Advocate Health Enterprise Nursing, where she supports the ANCC designation program portfolio through resource alignment and strategic collaboration. Shawana has been recognized as one of North Carolina’s Great 100 Nurses, a Daisy Nurse Leader award recipient, and an inaugural AWHONN Fellow.

She serves her community as a member of the Women’s Advisory Board for Mecklenburg County, and she is a member of the Board of Directors for Crittenton of North Carolina, an organization that provides shelter and resources for homeless pregnant women. She is an ardent advocate for rightful care outcomes with a commitment to creating inclusive care cultures for all. Shawana works closely with AWHONN’s efforts to impact cultures of Respectful Maternal Care (RMC), serving as a member of the evidence-based group to develop the framework and toolkit for RMC initiatives. She speaks nationally on the impact of respectful care models and leadership development. Shawana aspires to create mind shifts to ensure all people receive necessary access and opportunities to care, respectfully.

Read Shawana’s CV
Andrea Carpitcher, RNC-OB, MSN-Educ (Armed Forces)

Andrea Carpitcher brings seven years of active-duty experience dedicated to advancing the health care of women and newborns. Andrea’s civilian career began with 17 years as an RN in various settings, enriching her expertise in both clinical and leadership roles. As a Native American (Cherokee) nurse and mother, she possesses a unique perspective as both caregiver and care recipient on and off the reservation.

Andrea has championed initiatives like breast and cervical cancer early detection and prevention programs as well as hypertension in pregnancy awareness throughout her reservation and through various national platforms such as the CDC, HRSA, and the NACDD. She has spearheaded programs like TeamBirth, Baby Friendly, and infant safe sleep practices to the tribal settings. Notably, she led the first Tribal and federal Indian Health Service implementations of the TeamBirth initiative and achieved recognition for being the first Indian Health Service hospital in the U.S. to earn the National Safe Sleep Hospital certification. She also teaches EFM and POEP AWHONN programs and serves on the Protocols and Procedures workgroup.

With a track record of a passion for enhancing outcomes for Native American women, Andrea is committed to driving impactful change and fostering health equity across all underserved populations.

Read Andrea’s CV
Veritta Henderson, PhD, MSN, BSN, RNC-EFM (Georgia)

Dr. Veritta Henderson is a dedicated nurse who advocates for nursing. She has devoted her career to nursing practice improvements, quality improvement, and leadership development. She has been a director, manager, perinatal practice specialist, faculty, and workedin Mother/Baby, Labor and Delivery Public Health.

Dr. Henderson has special interests in perinatal risk reduction and strategies for making nursing documentation untouchable to risk and surveyors, while focusing on eliminating perinatal disparities and prioritizing nursing education. Dr. Henderson is a researcher and published author. She is passionate about legal implications affecting nurses, and she champions a multidisciplinary approach to legal work by helping risk leaders support nurses. Veritta has been active in AWHONN as a Director on the Board and can help continue the board’s strategic plans for global impact. She helped start the Fellows program to highlight our brilliant nurses and continues to support the AWHONN Awards Committee. She has been a member of AWHONN for many years and was the Chair for the AWHONN VTE in Pregnancy Advisory Board in 2018, helping to co-write the practice brief for this topic. Veritta is a journal peer reviewer with a PhD in Nursing, always keeping nursing education at the forefront.

Read Veritta’s CV
Kandis McLean, DNP, FNP-C, MSN-ED, RNC-OB, RNC-MNN, C-EFM, CHSE, NEA-BC, FAWHONN (New York)

Dr. Kandis McLean is an Associate Professor for Maternal Child Simulation at Nassau Community College and appointed Director of Nursing for Maternal Health over Suffolk County, NY. She is also a practicing family nurse practitioner in the obstetrical department for Columbia University/NYP ALLEN. Her maternal consultant work has been sourced to Pearson, National League of Nursing, and a 12-system hospital, NYC Health and Hospitals, to deliver AWHONN fetal monitoring and simulation.

Kandis utilizes simulation to address diversity, equity, and inclusion in maternal care and obstetrical training. In efforts to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality, she travels internationally to teach health care teams best practices for obstetric complications and how to work collaboratively to decrease adverse outcomes. She is also a current member of the NY State Maternal Mortality Committee for the Department of Health in New York State for legislative recommendations. She possesses her Doctorate in Nursing Leadership and holds a Master of Science in nursing education and a secondary Master of Sciencein family nursing practice. Her current research focuses on virtual reality for students in the clinical space to enhance training, perinatal mood disorders, substance use, and using simulation to improve the gaps in maternal care delivery as impacted by social determinants.

Read Kandis’ CV
Lauren Nunally, MPH, RM, BSN, FAWHONN (Georgia)

Lauren Nunally is a purpose-driven nurse leader with over 30 years of experience in maternal and neonatal health, quality improvement, and health equity. As Director of Clinical Strategy and Transformation at Morehouse School of Medicine, she lead initiatives that integrate evidence-based, patient-centered, and equity-focused solutions into clinical systems and policies.

Recognized for her ability to connect vision to action, she’s built collaborative partnerships across clinical, academic, and community sectors-leading statewide perinatal collaboratives, guiding over 200 hospitals in national quality improvement efforts, and influencing data-driven policy and practice. As a Certified Cultural Intelligence (CQ) Facilitator, she helps organizations embed inclusive leadership and culturally responsive strategies that reflect the communities they serve.

Her leadership is rooted in integrity, collaboration, and the belief that sustainable change begins with listening—especially to those who are too often unheard. She brings this commitment into every space she serves, ensuring diverse voices inform meaningful action.

As a committed AWHONN member and an inaugural Fellow, Lauren remains dedicated to advancing the nursing profession through mentorship, advocacy, and service. She welcomes the opportunity to contribute these strengths to the Board focused on shaping the future of nursing through equity, inclusion, and innovation.

Read Lauren’s CV
Nichole Rekowski, RN, BSN (Michigan)

Nicole Rekowski earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Saginaw Valley State University in 2004 and has been a registered nurse for 20 years, with a focus in maternal child health. Throughout her career, she has worked in various roles, including travel nurse, nurse manager, ambulatory nurse, labor and delivery nurse, and perinatal mental health nurse navigator.

Nicole currently works for Henry Ford Health at the West Bloomfield campus where she has a dual role working as a staff nurse in labor and delivery and serves as the perinatal mental health nurse navigator for the Henry Ford Health System.

In addition to her clinical experience, she has been actively involved in professional leadership through AWHONN. She was honored to be a 2017 AWHONN Emerging Leader, served on the AWHONN National Finance Committee, and previously held the role of secretary-treasurer for the AWHONN Michigan Section. Currently, she serves as the AWHONN Michigan Section Chair, advocating for excellence in perinatal nursing and maternal health.

Nicole is deeply passionate about maternal mental health and wellness, which has led her to further her education. She is currently pursuing her Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner degree at Michigan State University to expand her ability to support the mental health needs of perinatal individuals and families.

Read Nicole’s CV
Janet Tucker, PhD, MSN, RNC-OB (Tennessee)

Dr. Janet Tucker is currently an associate professor with teaching responsibilities in maternal-child nursing for undergraduate students as well as qualitative methods for PhD students at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Nursing in Memphis, Tennessee. She served on the AWHONN research advisory panel for four years and as chair in 2023.

Dr. Tucker’s research focus has been on the experience of expectant women who receive a fetal anomaly diagnosis. She has presented nationally and regionally on topics focused on the high-risk obstetric population. Dr. Tucker was awarded the Outstanding Research Study Paper Award at the 2017 AWHONN Convention. During the COVID pandemic, she led a research team exploring the experience of nurses working in labor and delivery during the first year of the pandemic.

Dr. Tucker has extensive experience in maternal-child health nursing. She has worked in several inpatient labor and delivery units, high-risk outpatient settings, and as a childbirth educator for 10 years. Most recently, she worked as the program director of the Fetal Center at LeBonheur Children’s Hospital, providing care to expectant women facing a fetal anomaly diagnosis during pregnancy. Dr. Tucker holds a national inpatient Labor and Delivery certification by NCC.

She has served as a mentor in the Sigma Theta Tau Maternal Child Health Nursing Leadership Academy.

Dr. Tucker is a member of AWHONN, Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Honor Society, and the Tennessee Nurses Association. She was appointed to the Tennessee Birth Defects Registry Advisory Committee in 2018.

Read Janet’s CV