Stephen Ferrara Assumes Presidency of American Association of Nurse Practitioners
Media Contact: Bryan Black
AUSTIN, TEXAS — The American Association of Nurse Practitioners® (AANP), the largest professional membership organization representing the nation’s 355,000 licensed nurse practitioners (NPs), is pleased to announce Stephen A. Ferrara, DNP, as the association's new president. On June 25, Ferrara succeeded April N. Kapu, DNP, who had served with distinction as AANP President since 2021.
“Dr. Ferrara is widely known and respected. We are honored to have him as AANP’s new president,” said AANP CEO Jon Fanning. “As an AANP Board of Directors member over the past seven years, he has played an instrumental role in developing strategies to raise awareness of the high-quality, patient-centered care provided by NPs, while also advocating for Full Practice Authority. We look forward to his leadership as more and more patients choose nurse practitioners as their health care provider.”
"I am proud to represent the voices of more than 355,000 licensed NPs nationwide and the lifesaving care we deliver in countless patient visits each year,” said Ferrara. “As nurse practitioners, we play a vital role in health care delivery, and I am committed to fostering professional growth, advocating for our interests and promoting our invaluable contributions to patient outcomes."
Ferrara is an actively practicing NP with years of clinical and health policy development experience, from which he drew to help secure full and direct access to NP-delivered care for patients in the state of New York. Ferrara formerly served as executive director of the Nurse Practitioner Association New York State. He is a member of the senior leadership team at Columbia University's School of Nursing, serving as the associate dean of clinical affairs and associate professor. In this role, he is responsible for overseeing the NP primary care faculty practice located in New York City, where he teaches health policy in the Doctor of Nursing Practice program.
Ferrara has a special interest in health information technology and the integration of evidence-based practice into daily practice. His doctoral work examined the impact of group health visits on the health of patients with Type 2 diabetes and the extent that this intervention led to better health outcomes. Ferrara has been honored with the AANP New York NP State Award for Excellence and inducted as a Fellow of AANP, the American Academy of Nursing and the New York Academy of Medicine.
As president of AANP, Ferrara will lead the organization in advancing the NP role by shaping health care policy, driving research and innovation and promoting high-quality, person-centered care. He will work with AANP's board of directors, members, CEO and stakeholders to further elevate the role of NPs as essential providers within the health care system.
As Ferrara succeeded Kapu and began his two-year term as president, Kapu started her one-year term as AANP Immediate Past-President.
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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 355,000 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.