Melinda Earle, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, FACHE, has been named to the 2022 American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL) class of fellows (FAONL is the special designation for these fellows). Earle will be recognized at the AONL’s annual meeting in April in San Antonio.
“Melinda is an exemplary faculty director who has transformed the program for the College of Nursing and shepherded the Transformative Leadership: Systems DNP to being one of the premier programs in the nation,” says Christine Kennedy, PhD, RN, FAAN, the John L. and Helen Kellogg Dean of the College of Nursing. “She is a tenacious, passionate educator and is nationally renowned for her deep and broad knowledge. This well-deserved recognition celebrates all she has done to influence the field.”
Earle leads the Transformative Leadership: Systems program, ranked No. 1 in the country, designed for nurses looking to gain expertise in improving outcomes and leading change at a system level. She has more than 20 years of leadership experience across numerous service lines. Until 2015, she served as associate vice president of hospital affairs and director of Rush Children’s Hospital.
In addition to her many positions within the hospital, Earle is an active leader in nursing’s professional organizations. She is past president of the Illinois Organization of Nurse Leaders and the National Association for Women’s Health and a 2013 Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellow. Earle is the chair of the board of directors of Heartland Alliance Health and serves as a director on the Heartland Alliance Board. She is also a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives, the Illinois Organization of Nurse Leaders, the Chicago Health Executive Forum and Sigma Theta Tau-Gamma Phi.
“The FAONL is preeminent for nurse leaders who personally and professionally make health care better through innovative, influential and inspiring nursing leadership,” said AONL CEO Robyn Begley, DNP, RN, in a press release.
“It is truly an honor to be inducted as a fellow of the AONL,” Earle says. “I am proud to demonstrate that nurses are paving the way for health care transformation and look forward to continuing my work to shape the future of health care.”
