2024 National Leadership Award Recipients Announced
Media Contact: Bryan Black
Drs. Kahlil Demonbreun and Angela Golden will be honored at the 2024 AANP National Conference in Nashville, Tennessee.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — The American Association of Nurse Practitioners® (AANP) is pleased to announce Kahlil Demonbreun, DNP, RNC-OB, WHNP-BC, ANP-BC, FAANP, FAAN as the recipient of the 2024 Towers Pinnacle Award, and Angela Golden, DNP, FNP-C, FAANP, FOMA, as the recipient of the 2024 AANP Sharp Cutting Edge Award. Both nurse practitioners (NPs) are exemplary leaders who have made significant contributions to advancing the NP role nationally or internationally.
The Towers Pinnacle Award was launched in 2013 by the AANP Board of Directors in honor of Jan Towers, PhD, NP-C, CRNP, FAAN, FAANP. It is presented annually to an individual who has made outstanding national contributions resulting in the increased recognition of NPs and the advancement of health policy or regulations.
Demonbreun, the 2024 AANP Towers Pinnacle Award recipient, is a practicing women's health NP and the women’s health medical director at the Columbia VA Health Care System in Columbia, South Carolina. His dedication to advanced practice nursing reaches beyond the patient care arena through his contributions to health care policy change and regulation. Demonbreun’s ten-year sustained participation on the AANP Health Policy Committee has resulted in summaries of more than 75 articles of federal and state legislation to advance NP practice. His eight-year tenure as an AANP state representative for South Carolina proved pivotal to leading the charge and crafting language for legislation that would eliminate barriers to access NP care. He has penned advisory opinions and position statements during his decade-long senior leadership capacity on such challenging endeavors as the South Carolina Board of Nursing’s Advanced Practice Committee. As chair of the South Carolina Nurses Association APRN Chapter, he met with federal and State Senators and House Representatives, organized grassroots advocacy and provided critical testimony toward FPA. He holds a visible presence on social media and in the political arena where he continues to advocate for advancement of the NP role.
The Sharp Cutting Edge Award was created in 1996 in honor of Nancy J. Sharp, MSN, RN, FAAN, and recipients of this award have shown leadership through innovative services, technologies or advocacy activities that have advanced NP practice and patient care on a national level.
Golden, the 2024 AANP Sharp Cutting Edge Award recipient, is a family NP, current fellow of AANP and past AANP president. Her dedication to health care led her to design and execute an obesity intervention and treatment clinic in rural Arizona utilizing innovative, integrated technology for advancing care, modeled by other practices across the country. Her partnerships with elected officials, national agencies and professional organizations have enhanced the understanding of how NPs positively impact health care access and social justice across all its complex facets. Golden has a great deal of experience as a consultant in the development of patient education materials, has authored a book, “Treating Obesity in Primary Care,” written peer reviewed articles, participated in research and been interviewed on obesity treatment. She presents nationally and internationally with an emphasis on obesity, health policy, leadership and clinical care.
"I am proud to recognize the achievements of both Drs. Angela Golden and Kahlil Demonbreun,” said AANP President Stephen A. Ferrara, DNP. “Both of these NPs demonstrate the leadership skills and forward-thinking approach to care that patients have come to rely on in more than 1 billion visits annually. Golden and Demonbreun represent the paragon of NP achievement, inspiring their peers while serving their communities.”
Demonbreun and Golden will be honored on Wednesday, June 26, during the Opening General Session at the 2024 AANP National Conference in Nashville, Tennessee.
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The American Association of Nurse Practitioners® (AANP) is the largest professional membership organization for nurse practitioners (NPs) of all specialties. It represents the interests of the more than 385,000 licensed NPs in the U.S. AANP provides legislative leadership at the local, state and national levels, advancing health policy; promoting excellence in practice, education and research; and establishing standards that best serve NPs' patients and other health care consumers. As The Voice of the Nurse Practitioner®, AANP represents the interests of NPs as providers of high-quality, cost-effective, comprehensive, patient-centered health care. To locate an NP in your community, visit npfinder.com. For more information about NPs, visit aanp.org.