2026 National Leadership Award Recipients Announced
Media Contact: Bryan Black
Drs. Mary Beth Bigley and William Rosa will be honored at the 2026 AANP National Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — The American Association of Nurse Practitioners® (AANP) is pleased to announce Mary Beth Bigley, DrPH, ANP-BC, FAAN, as the recipient of the 2026 Towers Pinnacle Award, and William E. Rosa, PhD, MBE, NP-BC, FAAN, FAANP, as the recipient of the 2026 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.
Bigley, the 2026 AANP Towers Pinnacle Award recipient, has spent her career reflecting extraordinary leadership in clinical practice, academia, federal service and national NP education. As a former clinician and faculty member, a Director within the Office of the Surgeon General (OSG), the Director of Nursing at Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and currently Chief Executive Officer of the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF), Dr. Bigley exemplifies NP leadership throughout all of her work.
Bigley is widely recognized as a visionary leader in NP health policy and education. As CEO of NONPF, she has established national priorities for NP education. Her leadership of the 2022 National Task Force for Quality Nurse Practitioner Education revision set the standards that all NP programs follow, influencing NP preparation nationwide. Her federal roles positioned her as a key liaison to legislators, non-governmental organizations and stakeholder groups, strengthening the understanding of NPs across the health policy arena.
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.
A prolific scholar, globally recognized palliative NP specialist, thought and servant leader and advocate, 2026 AANP Sharp Cutting Edge Award recipient, Dr. Rosa has led multiple interprofessional and international initiatives to drive meaningful and measurable change across NP practice, policy, education and research. Dr. Rosa’s endeavors are anchored in a social justice lens that amplifies and addresses the unmet palliative care and pain relief needs of historically marginalized populations.
Rosa’s work centers on identifying and advocating for systemic change to increase palliative care access and eliminate the disparities that disproportionately affect people of color in economically developing nations. Rosa co-created the curriculum for the first graduate nursing program in Rwanda and helped implement the first nurse-led, community-based palliative care program in Liberia. He has been recognized as an International Council of Nurses Global Nursing Leadership Institute Scholar, an American Psychosocial Oncology Society Health Equity Scholar, a Robert Woods Johnson Foundation Future of Nursing Scholar and a Cambia Health Foundation Sojourns Scholar.
“The achievements of Drs. Rosa and Bigley have been transformative for patients and providers across the globe,” said AANP President Valerie J. Fuller, PhD, DNP, AGACNP-BC, FNP-BC, FAAN, FNAP, FAANP. “As leaders, visionaries and clinicians, Bigley and Rosa are the embodiment of NP excellence.”
Bigley and Rosa will be honored on Wednesday, June 24, during the Opening General Session at the 2026 AANP National Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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The American Association of Nurse Practitioners® (AANP) is the largest professional membership organization representing the 461,000 licensed nurse practitioners (NPs) in the United States. As The Voice of the Nurse Practitioner®, AANP advances health policy and promotes excellence in practice, education and research to support high-quality, patient-centered care. Learn more at aanp.org.