2026 KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Jennifer S. Mensik Kennedy, PhD, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN

A sought-after presenter and prolific author, Jennifer S. Mensik Kennedy, PhD, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, serves as the 38th president of the American Nurses Association. In this national leadership role, Dr. Mensik Kennedy boldly advocates for the nation’s 5.5 million RNs. In 2025, and for the third consecutive year, she was named by Modern Healthcare as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare.

Dr. Mensik Kennedy’s insights and experience involving key nursing issues have informed her public appearances and writing. Her books include Lead, Drive, and Thrive in the System, 2nd edition, and The Nurse Manager’s Guide to Innovative Staffing, 3rd edition. She co-authored Lead like a Nurse, A Nurse’s Step-By-Step Guide to Transitioning to the Professional Nurse Role, and The Power of Ten, 2nd edition, and contributed a chapter to The Career Handoff: A Healthcare Leader’s Guide to Knowledge & Wisdom Transfer across Generations.

Prior to her presidency, Dr. Mensik Kennedy held key leadership positions within the nursing profession, including serving the American Nurses Association as Treasurer, Second Vice President, and Director-at-Large. She also served as President of the Arizona Nurses Association from 2007 to 2010 and as Governor of Nursing Practice for the Western Institute of Nursing from 2010 to 2014.

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