First ONS Board of Directors Appointed Under Society’s New Process Takes Office
The close of the Oncology Nursing Society’s (ONS’s) annual business meeting on April 29, 2023, during its 48th Annual ONS Congress®, also marks an opening—it’s the moment the 2023–2024 ONS Board of Directors officially takes office.
This year’s Board is:
- Danya Garner, PhD, RN, NPD-BC, OCN®, CCRN-K, Houston, TX
President (2023–2024), Director-at-Large (from 2021–2023) - Deborah "Hutch" Allen, PhD, RN, CNS, FNP-BC, AOCNP®, Pittsboro, NC
Secretary (2023–2025), Director-at-Large (from 2022–2023) - Kris Mathey, MS, APRN-CNP, AOCNP®, Hillard, OH
Treasurer (2023–2025), Director-at-Large (from 2022–2023) - Susan Brown, PhD, MSN, CENP, Glendora, CA
Director-at-Large (2023–2026) - Valerie Burger, MA, MS, RN, OCN®, CPN, Bellmore, NY
Director-at-Large (2023–2024) and Treasurer (from 2021–2023) - Patricia Geddie, PhD, APRN, AOCNS®, FCNS, Winter Park, FL
Director-at-Large (2021–2024) - Jessica MacIntyre, DNP, MBA, APRN, AOCNP®, Coral Gables, FL
Director-at-Large (2023–2026) - Jeanene "Gigi" Robison, MSN, APRN, AOCN®, Cincinnati, OH
Director-at-Large (2022–2025) - Trey Woods, RN, MSN, NP-C, Madison, MS
Director-at-Large (2023–2026)
The 2023–2024 Board also marks the first incoming class appointed by the ONS Leadership Development Committee (LDC) under the member-approved bylaws change that moved the process from a ballot vote.
“The LDC has worked continuously to review and refine our strategies for identification and development of ONS members for Board service,” LDC Chair Chip Bailey, Jr., PhD, RN, FAAN, said. “We established processes to select individuals we are confident will best position the Society to advance our strategic objectives and to ensure the new members would be ready to serve on day one.”
Bailey said that LDC members independently reviewed every notification of intent the committee received. Then, the LDC met as a group to conduct a balanced review of all notifications using an established rubric with vetted metrics to arrive at a list of ONS members who were invited to submit a full Board application. They repeated the independent review process for all full applications, conducted interviews with each member who applied, and finally completed an analysis of each candidate’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats, and an additional Board-supplied metric.
“We approached our work with deep respect for each member who was interested in Board service,” Bailey explained. “LDC members treated candidate information confidentially.”
Bailey said that the three new directors-at-large appointed under the process (Brown, MacIntyre, and Woods) ensure that the 2023–2024 Board reflects the diversity of the ONS member community and the patients they serve. “They bring their experiences of oncology leadership in a rural medical center in Mississippi, cofounding an accredited oncology nurse practitioner fellowship program in Florida, and supporting the development of a government relations committee that championed California’s Cancer Care Equity Act,” he said. “Each of these individuals has served ONS in their local chapter or nationally on Congress planning teams.”
Learn more about ONS leadership (https://www.ons.org/why-ons/ons-leadership) and the Society’s leadership process (https://www.ons.org/about-ons/ons-leadership/leadership-process). If you’re ready to also learn more about serving on the ONS Board of Directors, begin by completing the Leadership Interest Questionnaire (https://oncologynursingsociety.formstack.com/forms/ons_leadership_interest_questionnaire).