Fellows of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners Announce 2025 Award Recipients
Media Contact: Bryan Black
Distinguished leaders and innovators will be honored for their contributions to the nurse practitioner role.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — The American Association of Nurse Practitioners® (AANP) is pleased to announce that the Executive Committee of the Fellows of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (FAANP) has named the recipients of the 2025 Loretta C. Ford Award and FAANP Legacy Award. The FAANP program was established in 2000 to recognize nurse practitioner (NP) leaders who exemplify the values of their profession through research, practice and advocacy.
“On behalf of AANP, I am honored to congratulate Drs. Rasch and Wheeler on receiving two of the most distinguished recognitions in our profession,” said AANP President Stephen A. Ferrara, DNP, FNP-BC, FAANP, FAAN. “Their visionary leadership, sustained commitment to advancing nurse practitioner practice and unwavering advocacy have made enduring contributions that continue to shape policy, education and practice for nurse practitioners nationwide. These awards not only honor their remarkable achievements but also underscore the sustained impact of their efforts on improving access to care and advancing the nurse practitioner role.”
2025 Loretta C. Ford Award for Advancement of the Nurse Practitioner Role in Health Care
Named for the co-founder of the NP role, Loretta C. Ford, EdD, RN, PNP, NP-C, CRNP, FAAN, FAANP, this award is presented annually to an NP who demonstrates participation in health care policy development at an international, national or local level; sustained and specific contribution to the clarification of the role and scope of practice of NPs; or creative and effective action that turns a challenge to the NP role into an effective opportunity to advance practice and improve patient outcomes. The 2025 Loretta C. Ford Awardee for Advancement of the Nurse Practitioner Role in Health Care is:
Randolph F. R. Rasch, PhD, RN, FNP, FNAP, FAANP, FAAN, FADLN
Dr. Rasch has an exemplary history of public service, working with underserved and minority populations as a public health nurse (PHN) in inner city of Benton Harbor, Michigan, and as a pioneer in correctional health care. He served in a variety of positions in the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC). As the first statewide director of nursing services/programs director in the TDOC, he provided leadership and direction for nursing services, assisting the director of health services with the overall development, management and operation of TDOC health services. As part of a three-member management team, he was responsible for designing and implementing a system of health care for the TDOC.
Dr. Rasch has over 30 years of experience teaching in BSN, MSN, DNP and PhD programs in nursing, serving in roles as a department chair and director of nurse practitioner programs in schools of nursing at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Vanderbilt University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. By governor appointments, he has served in committees and task forces in the states of Tennessee and Michigan, including, among others, Michigan’s Coronavirus Task Force on Racial Disparities, chairing the Primary Care Connections Workgroup of the Task Force and serving as an inaugural member of the Tennessee Early Comprehensive Systems Advisory Committee of the Tennessee Department of Health. A Fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (FAANP), the National Academies of Practice (FNAP), the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN) and the Academy of Diversity Leaders in Nursing (FADLN), Dr. Rasch holds the distinction of being the first African American male NP (a graduate of the FNP program at Vanderbilt School of Nursing), the first African American male public health nurse in the state of Michigan and the first African American male to hold a PhD in nursing (University of Texas at Austin).
2025 Legacy Award
The FAANP Legacy Award honors, recognizes and memorializes a member of FAANP whose lifelong career has had a profound and enduring impact on the profession and the NP role, articulating a dream that others share and follow. The vision, innovation, courage, persistence and inspiration of the honoree are essential components of the legacy. The 2025 FAANP Legacy Awardee is:
Kathy J. Wheeler, PhD, APRN, FNP-BC, FAANP, FNAP, FGNLI
Dr. Wheeler has loved being a family nurse practitioner for four decades, caring for patients in rural and inner city settings. Though retired from teaching and practice at the University of Kentucky (UK), she continues to volunteer at Mission Frankfort, a free clinic for the uninsured.
She was instrumental in the formation of the Kentucky Coalition of Nurse Practitioners and Nurse Midwives (now Kentucky Association of Nurse Practitioners and Nurse Midwives), one of the first statewide professional organizations for advanced practice nurses (APNs) in the country. After 18 years of effort, she celebrated NP prescription authority in Kentucky and even watched the bill be signed into law at the state capital.
For AANP she served many years as Kentucky State Representative, many years as Region 4 Director and two terms as Treasurer. While serving on the AANP Board of Directors she championed the creation of the International Committee, the International Ambassador Program and the International Specialty Interest Group. For FAANP she oversaw the creation of a series of recorded presentations on policy development, available on the website for many years. Most recently she co-chaired the Health Policy Subgroup of the International Council of Nurses NP/APN Network, leading and participating in multiple global APN studies.
Her first teaching position was with the Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing (now Frontier University), soon after they transitioned to distance/hybrid education for nurse practitioners. Because of the newness of distance education, she decided to earn her PhD in education, concentrating on distance education. She worked at Frontier many years but was offered a position at her alma mater (UK) as they transitioned their program to a distance/hybrid format and from a master’s degree to DNP.
She has presented and published extensively on policy, education, diabetes, global development, mindfulness and business issues.
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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 431,000 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.
The Fellows of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (FAANP) program was established in 2000 and is dedicated to the advancement of NPs and the high-quality health care they provide. Recognized as NP leaders who have made outstanding contributions to NP education, policy, clinical practice and research, AANP Fellows volunteer their expertise as reviewers, topical experts, committee members, journal contributors, mentors and more. FAANP strives to support AANP’s mission, develop NP leaders of the future and advance the NP role. Learn more at aanp.org/fellows.