Joanne Disch
CHAIR CLASS OF 2008
Joanne Disch, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N., of Minneapolis, MN, was elected Board Chair. In that capacity she also chairs the Board Governance Committee, the Governance Review Committee and the CEO Evaluation Committee. She also chairs the Governance Review Committee and the CEO Evaluation Committee. Dr. Disch previously chaired the Board Audit and Finance Committee as well as the National Nominating Committee and the Board Nominating Committee. She has been a member of the CEO Evaluation committee for four years.
Currently, Dr. Disch is professor and director of the Katharine J. Densford International Center for Nursing Leadership, and holds the Katherine R. and C. Walton Lillehei Chair in Nursing Leadership at the University of Minnesota School of Nursing. She has been an administrator in a number of health care facilities and has past experience as an educator, leader, researcher, policy maker, and spokesperson. She has served as a member and chair of numerous committees including executive, strategic planning, audit and finance, and public affairs.
In a volunteer capacity, Dr. Disch was president of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN), a 65,000-member nursing specialty organization, and president of the AACN Certification Board. She also chaired the American Nurses Association's Committee on Nursing Practice Standards and Guidelines, and the University Healthcare Consortium's Council of Chief Nurse Executives. Currently she serves on several editorial boards, and is a member of the Boards of Directors for the American Academy of Nursing and Allina Health System.
Dr. Disch has received numerous awards including the Dorothy Garrigus Adams Award for Excellence in Fostering Professional Standards from Sigma Theta Tau International, and Outstanding Alumna Awards from the University of Wisconsin School of Nursing and the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing. She is a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing.
