Two Vanderbilt University School of Nursing faculty members were named to the newest cohort of American Academy of Nursing fellows. Associate Professor Stephanie DeVane-Johnson, PhD, MSN’97, CNM, FACNM, and Associate Professor Jessica Van Meter, DNP’15, MSN’07, will be recognized at the Academy’s annual Health Policy Conference, which will take place October 16-18 in Washington, D.C.
The American Academy of Nursing recognizes nursing leaders in policy, research, practice, administration and academia. Induction into the fellows’ academy is one of the highest honors in nursing and represents recognition of a fellow’s accomplishments and expertise.
“This is a very deserving honor for Stephanie and Jessica, and I am thrilled that they are both being recognized for their contributions to our profession,” said Dean Pamela R. Jeffries, PhD, FAAN, ANEF, FSSH. “These honors from the academy highlight the excellence of our faculty. I look forward to celebrating them this fall.”
DeVane-Johnson’s work focuses on direct clinical care delivery and the advancement of culturally responsive perinatal care for Black women. She is currently co-principal investigator on a community engagement project that trains Black doulas to mitigate the Black maternal mortality rate in the state of North Carolina. She has written and published in multiple peer-reviewed journals on the impact that cultural and socio-historical influences have on African American infant feeding decisions.
Van Meter is recognized for her work in pioneering the bachelor’s in emergency nursing program at Georgetown Public Hospital in Guyana, South America. As director, she designed and launched the first program of its kind in the Caribbean. It is designed to address workforce shortages in emergency nursing and prepares specialty nurses to manage high-acuity patients in under-resourced settings. The program has been adapted to include other specialties to further the professionalization of nursing around the world, including in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Uganda and Mozambique.
Joining DeVane-Johnson and Van Meter in the 2025 AAN Fellows class are eight VUSN alumni. Cynthia Comer Borum, DNP, BSN’85, Alison Bradywood, DNP’20, Nancye Feistritzer, DNP’13, David House, DNP’16, Heather Hair Meissen, DNP’21, MSN’05, Audra Rankin, DNP, MSN’08, Paula Tucker, DNP’14 and Melody Riggenbach Wilkinson, DNP, MSN’99, will also be inducted in this year’s ceremony.