Chief nursing officers are adept at driving service line expansion, care standardization, workforce development and much more, all in the name of exceptional patient care.
The CNOs featured on this list seamlessly combine clinical and leadership expertise to support providers and patients alike. They are strategic drivers of nursing practice growth and improvement, resulting in enhanced patient safety and satisfaction.
Note: This list is not exhaustive, nor is it an endorsement of included CNOs, organizations or associated healthcare providers. CNOs cannot pay for inclusion on this list. CNOs are presented in alphabetical order.
Contact Anna Falvey at afalvey@beckershealthcare.com with questions or comments.
Sponsored by:
BlueSky Synergy pioneered the first healthcare-specific contract staffing software 20+ years ago and has continued to lead the industry with tools for the changing workforce landscape. Originally created as a partnership between a staffing agency and a health system, there’s something for everyone in an exceptionally configurable, surprisingly affordable BlueSky system. BlueSky Synergy clients reduce reliance on staffing agencies while transforming their staffing office into a profit center.
Sarah Brown, MSN, RN. CNO of UnityPoint Health (Des Moines, Iowa). Ms. Brown serves as UnityPoint Health's chief nursing officer. She first joined the system in 2007, serving as a registered nurse in the intensive care unit at Allen Hospital in Waterloo. She went on to serve as vice president and chief nursing executive for UnityPoint Health–Waterloo, and as regional ambulatory vice president for UnityPoint Clinic. Ms. Brown became Nurse Executive Advanced - Board Certified with the American Nurses Credentialing Center in 2022.
Trish Celano, MSN, RN. Senior Vice President and CNO at AdventHealth (Altamonte Springs, Fla.). Before being named to her current roles, Ms. Celano served as AdventHealth's senior vice president and regional chief clinical officer for the Central Florida Division-North Region as well as senior vice president and CNO for AdventHealth Orlando. She has more than 25 years of nursing and patient care experience. Her experience also includes serving at AdventHealth for Children as the facility's first CNO, where she led the hospital to earn a prestigious Magnet designation, which recognized the hospital for excellence in nursing.
Judy Chabot, MSN, RN. CNO and Vice President of Clinical Operations at Tenet Healthcare (Dallas). Ms. Chabot is chief nursing officer and vice president of clinical operations for Tenet Healthcare, as well as United Surgical Partners International. Her role entails the development and implementation of quality, safety and patient experience programs. These initiatives aim to enhance enterprisewide professional nursing practices. Ms. Chabot brings 29 years of clinical and leadership experience in acute care hospitals with Tenet. Prior to her current role, she was group chief nursing officer for Tenet's Southern California Group and chief nursing officer for Los Alamitos (Calif.) Medical Center.
Erica DeBoer, RN. CNO of Sanford Health (Sioux Falls, S.D.). Ms. DeBoer is CNO for Sanford Health, which serves over a million patients and is the largest rural health system in the country. She has been instrumental in leading systemwide initiatives aimed at leveraging technology, AI and automation to solve for unprecedented nursing workforce shortages. She has also helped to lead an expansion of workforce development programs to build a stronger pipeline of the next generation of caregivers. With her help, the system has welcomed nearly 300 internationally educated nurses to date and intends to onboard an additional 400 foreign nurses over the next three years.
Sally Deitch, MSN, RN. Executive Vice President of Nursing and Operations Infrastructure at Ascension (St. Louis). Ms. Deitch has executive responsibility for leading Ascension’s nursing practice, operations and regulatory for all sites of care and has responsibility for Ascension subsidiaries Medxcel Facilities Management and The Resource Group. Her works enables a unified strategy across Ascension’s hospitals and ambulatory facilities to ensure alignment, collaboration and consistent implementation of operations. Ms. Deitch is past president of the National Association of Latino Healthcare Executives, former chair of the Texas Hospital Association, a past regent-at-large of the American College of Healthcare Executives, board member of the American Hospital Association Regional Policy Board and a member of the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
Phyllis Doulaveris, DNP. Chief Nurse Executive for Kaiser Permanente (Oakland, Calif.). Dr. Doulaveris serves as chief nurse executive for Kaiser Permanente and as senior vice president for Kaiser Permanente National Patient Care Service. She brings 25 years of experience in nursing strategy, care standardization and evidence-based care to her roles. At Kaiser, she advances innovation and elevates nursing practice across the care continuum. She also formulates nursing career path options and addresses nationwide workforce shortages. Prior to joining Kaiser, Dr. Doulaveris served as senior vice president for patient care services and chief nursing officer for Phoenix-based Banner Health, where she oversaw 18,000 nurses spanning 31 acute care hospitals. She is an advanced American Nurses Association board certified nurse executive.
Gerardo Flores, DNP, RN. Chief Nursing Executive for Christus Health (Irving, Texas). Dr. Flores became chief nursing executive for Christus Health in July 2022, after serving as deputy chief nursing executive for three years prior. Before that, he joined Christus in 2019 as vice president and chief nursing officer for Northern U.S. nursing operations. Dr. Flores started his career in nursing as a nurse assistant over 30 years ago with the Sisters of Mercy in Laredo, Texas.
Mary Beth Kingston, PhD, RN. Executive Vice President and CNO at Advocate Health (Charlotte, N.C.). Dr. Kingston joined Aurora Health Care in 2012 and was appointed to CNO at Advocate Aurora Health in 2018. When Advocate Aurora Health merged with Atrium Health in late 2022 to create Advocate Health, Dr. Kingston was named CNO of the entire larger system. She serves on the American Hospital Association board of trustees and is a past president of the American Organization of Nurse Executives. She is a recipient of the American Assembly for Men in Nursing's Inclusion and Diversity Award and was recently inducted as a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing.
Gay Landstrom, PhD, RN. Senior Vice President and CNO at Trinity Health (Livonia, Mich.). Dr. Landstrom leads the hospital's efforts to ensure top quality, zero harm and exceptional patient experience. She first served as CNO for Trinity Health before its merger with Catholic Health East, then became CNO for its west and midwest division. Dr. Landstrom has been an appraiser for the Magnet Program Office of the American Nurses Credentialing Center since 2006. She is an inaugural fellow of the American Organization for Nursing Leadership and a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing.
Jacalyn Liebowitz, DNP. CNO of Adventist Health (Roseville, Calif.). Ms. Liebowitz became chief nursing officer for Adventist Health in January 2020. In her role, she guides the system's clinical practice, care delivery, nursing education and the patient care executive team. She launches care transformation programs and is responsible for clinical workforce and nursing leadership development. Ms. Liebowitz prioritizes evidence-based care and innovation in her leadership of the system's nursing practice. She is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
David Marshall, DNP, RN. Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Executive of Cedars-Sinai (Los Angeles). Dr. Marshall has served as senior vice president and chief nursing executive of Cedars-Sinai since June 2019. He has over 30 years of experience in healthcare, ranging from bedside nursing to nursing leadership. Before joining Cedars-Sinai, Dr. Marshall was system chief nursing and patient care services executive for the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. In 2021, he was named the James R. Klinenberg, MD, and Lynn Klinenberg Linkin Chair in Nursing. He has served on the board of directors of the American Organization of Nursing Leadership and is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing.
Maribeth McLaughlin, BSN, RN. Chief Nurse Executive of UPMC (Pittsburgh). Ms. McLaughlin is UPMC's chief nurse executive, a role she stepped into in August of 2022. She has spent over 30 years with UPMC and has served as an executive team member at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital for 16 years, most recently as vice president of operations and vice president of women's health and newborn services. Prior, she was vice president of patient care service and chief nursing officer for UPMC Magee. During her tenure with UPMC, Ms. McLaughlin has driven several systemwide initiatives, one of which resulted in UPMC Magee earning its first Magnet designation.
Sammie Mosier, BSN. Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Executive for HCA Healthcare (Nashville, Tenn.). As senior vice president and chief nursing executive, Ms. Mosier leads nurse executives and over 93,000 registered nurses across HCA Healthcare's network of hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers and other care sites. She is a passionate advocate for nurses and is committed to their professional development at all levels, as demonstrated by her leadership of the system's Nursing Advocacy Agenda, Unit of Distinction Awards and the HCA Inspire mobile app. Ms. Mosier has been with HCA since 1996, when she began as a medical-surgical nurse at Frankfort (Ky.) Regional Medical Center.
Kim T. Nguyen, PhD, MSN. Vice President and CNO–Central Staffing Office and Patient Logistics at Texas Health Resources (Arlington, Texas). Dr. Nguyen is vice president and chief nursing officer for the central staffing office and patient logistics at Texas Health Resources. Before assuming the role at THR in 2020, Dr. Nguyen served as chief nursing officer for Carrollton (Texas) Regional Medical Center for three months. Prior, Dr. Nguyen was vice president of nursing for Parkland Hospital in Dallas for nearly three years. Dr. Nguyen previously spent almost seven years as director of nursing at The Heart Hospital Baylor Plano (Texas) and almost 10 years as administrator for Jackson Health System in Miami.
Shannon Pengel, MSN, RN. CNO at Cleveland Clinic. Ms. Pengel is the CNO for the system's main campus. She oversees nursing activities and operations throughout all the main campus's facilities, which have about 1,400 beds. She was previously the associate CNO for the main campus. Ms. Pengel also served as the clinical nursing director of Cleveland Clinic's Anesthesiology Institute and the Miller Family Heart and Vascular Institute.
Betty Jo Rocchio, DNP, RN, CRNA. Senior Vice President and Chief Nurse Executive at Mercy (St. Louis). Dr. Rocchio became senior vice president and CNO of Mercy in October 2020. She joined the organization in August 2013 as vice president of perioperative services and later served as chief nursing optimization officer. She also has experience as chief nurse anesthetist, system director of surgical services, vice president of nursing and CNO at Mount Carmel Health System in Columbus, Ohio.
Pam Rudisill, DNP, RN. Senior Vice President and CNO at Community Health Systems (Franklin, Tenn.). Dr. Rudisill has been CNO at Community Health Systems since 2014. Responsible for developing clinical best practices across the organization’s 77 hospitals, Dr. Rudisill is credited with helping lead the company’s 89 percent reduction in the serious safety event rate. She introduced a care team model of nursing to the organization in 2022 that utilizes LPNs, LVNs and patient care technicians to support RNs, enabling them to practice at the top of their licenses and reduce burnout. She was instrumental in helping establish a strategic partnership with Jersey College to create hospital-based schools of nursing in seven markets and has been a strong advocate of virtual nursing and other technology-based investments in nursing services. She served as past president of the American Organization of Nurse Executives and was inducted into the American Academy of Nursing.
Kathleen Sanford, BSN, RN. Executive Vice President and CNO at CommonSpirit (Chicago). Ms. Sanford is tasked with managing and operating the nursing practice, patient care services and care coordination for the 140-hospital health system. Prior to joining CommonSpirit in 2006, she served as chief nurse and acting state surgeon/medical commander of the Washington Army National Guard. She has also served on several boards, including the American Hospital Association, the Tri-Council for Nursing, and as president of the American Organization for Nursing Leadership.
Veronica Scott-Fulton. Chief Nurse Executive at Bon Secours Mercy Health (Cincinnati, Ohio). Ms. Scott-Fulton joined Bon Secours in 2023 and is responsible for leading nursing strategy for the organization's 22,000 nurses. Previously, she served as chief nursing executive for Ascension Health’s Illinois market, overseeing the nursing strategy for 14 hospitals and 5,000 nurses. She is committed to cultivating a positive work environment and ensuring positive patient experiences.
Maureen Sintich, DNP, RN. Chief Nurse Executive and Executive Vice President, Inova (Falls Church, Va.). Since September 2017, Dr. Sintich has led Inova’s nursing professional practice team and six CNOs representing Inova's five hospitals and nursing informatics. She has deep experience in nursing strategy, including models of care, staffing standards, patient experience and the integration of population health initiatives. Prior to Inova, she held an executive role at Edison, N.J.-based Hackensack Meridian Health.
Annette Sy, DNP, RN. Chief Nursing Executive of Keck Medicine of USC (Los Angeles). Ms. Sy has served as CNO of Keck Medicine of USC since 2012, where she leads approximately 1,300 nurses in her oversight of all inpatient and outpatient nursing services. She is responsible for ensuring survey readiness, clinical quality standards, positive patient experience and nursing competency in both inpatient areas of Keck Hospital of USC and USC Norris Cancer Hospital, as well as outpatient care clinics. Under Ms. Sy's leadership, Keck Hospital reached its first Magnet designation in 2018, which was renewed in 2023. Ms. Sy also created the hospital's nursing professionalism program in partnership with the Vanderbilt University Center for Patient and Professional Advocacy, as well as the Keck Medicine Nursing Institute. Ms. Sy has over 30 years of nursing experience, and most previously served as associate administrator of ambulatory care services for two USC-owned hospitals.
Janet Tomcavage, MSN, RN. Executive Vice President and Chief Nurse Executive at Geisinger (Danville, Pa.). Ms. Tomcavage drives strategies to improve Geisinger’s practice of nursing, focusing on retention and recruitment that promote professional development and recognition. Recruitment efforts, like Geisinger’s Internal Traveler Program, hired more than 400 RNs in less than a year, with 85 percent from outside the system. This past year, Geisinger’s Nursing Scholars Program helped contribute to its highest ever promotions of internal employees to RN. Ms. Tomcavage also guided the Geisinger Lewistown Hospital School of Nursing expansion, which converted from a diploma to associate degree program, more than doubling enrollment and serving as a direct pipeline to the nursing workforce. Retention and recruitment efforts led to a 7.8 percent voluntary turnover rate, much lower than the national average. She also sponsors innovative redesign of inpatient care and champions virtual nursing to support admissions, discharges, fall prevention and patient and family education.
Sylvain "Syl" Trepanier, DNP, RN. Senior Vice President and System CNO at Providence (Renton, Wash.). Dr. Trepanier is Providence's senior vice president and chief nursing officer, where he represents the nursing practice at the highest level. He brings extensive nursing and health system experience, particularly in executive leadership, organizational transformation and system standardization. He first joined Providence in 2017 as a regional chief clinical officer, a role in which he honed his expertise in clinical strategy across service lines like medicine, nursing, quality, infection prevention, care coordination, clinical operations, clinical education, case management and social services. He is a fellow of the American Organization of Nursing Leadership.
Janice Walker, BSN, RN. CNO at Advocate Health (Charlotte, N.C.). Dr. Walker joined Advocate Health as its Southeast Region chief nursing officer in January 2024. In her new role, she is responsible for the strategic leadership of over 18,000 nurses across Atrium Health’s 40 hospitals and hundreds of care sites. She brings 25 years of healthcare experience to the position, having most recently served as system executive vice president and system chief nursing executive for Dallas-based Baylor Scott & White Health, as well as executive lead of the BSW Healthcare System Nursing Institute.
Maureen White, RN. Executive Vice President and CNO at Northwell Health (New Hyde Park, N.Y.). Ms. White is in charge of developing and implementing health strategies, nursing policies, protocols, strategic planning and operational standards. In 2011, she received the American Organization for Nurse Executives Mentorship Award. Before taking on her current roles at Northwell Health, she served as vice president for patient care services of Manhasset, N.Y.-based North Shore University Hospital and LIJ Medical Center in New Hyde Park.