Ten members of the Emory Nursing community will be among the distinguished nurse leaders inducted into the American Academy of Nursing 2024 Class of Fellows. The inductees include faculty members and a doctoral student from the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing and nursing leaders from Emory Healthcare.

With over 3,000 Fellows, the Academy represents nursing’s most accomplished leaders in policy, research, administration, practice and academia. Induction into the Academy is a significant milestone that marks extraordinary contributions to improving health.

“These new inductees represent the best of Emory Nursing and their commitment to nursing by providing the highest quality of care and leadership to develop and inspire the next generation of nurses,” says Sharon Pappas, PhD, RN, FAAN, chief nurse executive for Emory Healthcare. “This honor continues to support the concept that when nurses lead, the rest will follow — creating better communities for us all locally and globally. Congratulations to our 2024 fellows of the AAN.”

Glenna Brewster, PhD, RN, FNP-BC
Assistant Professor (Tenure Track), School of Nursing

Brewster studies sleep disturbance experienced by persons with cognitive impairment and their care partners and tailors behavioral interventions to address their sleep disturbance. Her research also involves tailoring psychoeducational interventions for caregivers of persons living with dementia in the Caribbean. Currently funded by the National Institute on Aging, she has received funding from the Alzheimer’s Association, National Hartford Center of Gerontological Nursing Excellence (NHCGNE), National Institute of Nursing Research and Emory Global Health Institute. She is president of the NHCGNE Board of Directors and vice president of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia Association.

Renée Byfield, MS, RN, FNP, C-EFM
PhD Student, School of Nursing

Byfield is a T32 National Institute of Health Pre-doctoral Nurse Scholar. As program director at the Institute for Perinatal Quality Improvement, she co-authored the SPEAK UP Against Racism Program, a national perinatal equity curriculum and cultural change paradigm to accelerate the elimination of perinatal disparities by addressing the maternal mortality crisis. This program has reached thousands of perinatal professionals in 37 states, resulting in greater collaboration between local and state governments, health care facilities and educational institutions. She has held leadership positions across university, hospital and ambulatory settings, and her research interest is in obstetric violence and the use of data science to mitigate it.

Ethan Cicero, PhD, RN
Assistant Professor (Tenure Track), School of Nursing

Cicero’s research advances methodological knowledge around conducting studies with transgender, nonbinary, and other gender-expansive communities, and identifies pathways for healthy aging and reducing the risk of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias among these communities. His scholarly work, supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Alzheimer’s Association and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, shaped the position statements of several professional nursing organizations and served as scientific evidence in multiple U.S. Supreme Court cases, including Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board, which set legal precedent that Title IX protections extend to transgender students

Carrie McDermott, PhD, RN, APRN, ACNS-BC
Corporate Director, Nursing Professional Practice, Emory Healthcare
Assistant Professor (Clinical Track) and InEmory Co-Director, School of Nursing

McDermott helps lead the School of Nursing’s InEmory program, an accelerated Master of Nursing (MN) program, and Emory Healthcare’s Nurse Residency Program. In this work, she has executed initiatives to support nursing transitions to practice by redesigning the preceptor role and implementing competency-based orientation, establishing an apprenticeship program, and advancing nurse competency-based education in social determinants of health and health literacy. Her work building innovative academic-practice partnerships is supported by more than $6.4 million in grant funding.

Quyen Phan, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC
Associate Professor (Clinical Track), School of Nursing

Phan’s expertise includes public health, primary care, academic-practice partnerships and nursing education. She is the primary investigator of two Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)-funded grants totaling $8 million that expand health care to rural and underserved populations through nurse-led mobile health programs and clinical faculty and preceptor training. An Emory Master of Science in Nursing program alumna, she is also a co-investigator on HRSA grants that prepare nursing students to address social determinants of health and train community health workers.

Courtney Pitts, DNP, MPH, FNP-BC, FAANP
Professor (Clinical Track) and Family Nurse Practitioner Program Director, School of Nursing

Pitts leads the school’s Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) master’s and doctoral programs. She is a nationally certified FNP with a clinical background in primary care and the management of patients living with HIV. She is also an associate editor for the Journal for Nurse Practitioners, a member of the National League for Nursing’s public policy committee and a former member of the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties Board of Directors. In 2021, she was appointed to the National Advisory Council on Nurse Education and Practice.

David Reinhart, DNP, MBA, RN, NCOR
Director of Education, Perioperative Services Enterprise, Emory Healthcare

Reinhart has been a perioperative nurse for 37 years and is a life member of the Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses (AORN), serving as a member of its Board of Directors. His focus on education and service has been impactful, addressing critical shortages and enhancing perioperative care standards nationwide. He collaborated with AORN to initiate an evidence-based perioperative nurse residency program to tackle the scarcity of skilled cardiovascular operating room nurses. Adopted by 145 health systems, the program trains aspiring perioperative nurses, improving surgical outcomes.

Irene Yang, PhD, MSN, RN
Assistant Professor (Tenure Track), School of Nursing

A School of Nursing faculty member since 2016, Yang is a biobehavioral scientist and registered nurse who conducts biobehavioral research investigating the oral-systemic connection. She collaborates with researchers on the intersections between oral health, oral microbiome, oral health care access, maternal outcomes, mild cognitive impairment, and e-cigarette use. In 2023, she received a $3.9 million grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke to study the contribution of the oral microbiome to Alzheimer’s disease risk. 

Adrianna Nava, PhD, MPA, MSN, RN, who served the School of Nursing as a 2023-3024 Visiting Scholar, will also be part of the AAN 2024 Class of Fellows. President of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses, Nava is also an applied research scientist in health equity sciences for the National Committee for Quality Assurance and a capstone faculty member for the Harvard Medical School’s Safety, Quality, Informatics and Leadership Program. Modern Healthcare recognized her as one of the Top 25 Emerging Healthcare Leaders in 2023.

Daniel Jackson Smith PhD, AGPCNP-BC, CNE 18N 20G 21G 21N, is a Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing alumnus who will also be a part of the AAN 2024 Class of Fellows. He previously served as a clinical instructor and research associate at the School of Nursing. He joined the Fitzpatrick College of Nursing faculty in January 2022 as its inaugural Weingarten Endowed Assistant Professor. He brings a research passion for studying the effects of climate change on the health outcomes of disenfranchised populations and how to build climate resilience and adaptation skills in communities and health systems.

“With exceptional subject matter expertise, each new Fellow will be vital to achieving the Academy’s mission of improving health and achieving health equity by impacting policy through nursing leadership, innovation and science,” said Academy President Linda D. Scott, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FNAP, FAAN. “Earning the FAAN credential is a significant recognition of one’s accomplishments and signifies the future impact they will make in collaboration with their colleagues in the Academy.”

The newest Fellows represent 37 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and 14 countries. The Academy will induct them on November 2 during its annual Health Policy Conference in Washington, D.C.

As one of the nation's top nursing schools, the Emory University Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing is committed to educating visionary nurse leaders and scholars. Home to the No. 1 master's, No. 3 BSN and No. 6 DNP programs nationwide, the school offers undergraduate, master’s, doctoral and non-degree programs, bringing together cutting-edge resources, distinguished faculty, top clinical experiences, and access to leading health care partners to shape the future of nursing. Learn more.

With nearly 24,000 employees and 11 hospitals, Emory Healthcare is Georgia's most comprehensive academic health system. It has 2,796 licensed patient beds and over 3,450 physicians serving metro Atlanta and Georgia. It also provides services through a joint venture at St. Francis–Emory Healthcare Hospital in Columbus, 10 regional affiliate hospitals and a clinically integrated physician network. Learn more.