Laura Fennimore, DNP, RN, CNE, NEA-BC, FAAN

Dr. Laura Fennimore exemplifies what it means to advance the nursing profession beyond the boundaries of a paid role through an extraordinary commitment to service, leadership, mentorship, scholarship, and advocacy. She has dedicated countless hours to supporting and developing nurses at the local, regional, and national levels. She is a long-standing member of the Southwest Pennsylvania Organization of Nurse Leaders (SWPONL) Education/Membership Committee, where she has helped support the professional growth and engagement of nurses throughout the region.

Laura serves as a mentor in the Sigma Eta Chapter Mentorship Program, providing guidance, encouragement, and professional development support to emerging nurses and nurse leaders. As an Adjunct Professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing, she shares her expertise with future generations of nurses, helping prepare them for successful careers and leadership roles in healthcare.

Laura also advances nursing knowledge and evidence-based practice through her service as a manuscript reviewer for seven respected nursing journals, including the Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, Journal of Professional Nursing, Nursing Administration Quarterly, and Nursing Education in Practice. Through these volunteer scholarly contributions, she helps ensure that high-quality research and best practices are disseminated across the profession. In addition, her advocacy work as a Commissioner on the American Nurses Association's National Commission to Address Racism in Nursing demonstrates her commitment to advancing equity, inclusion, and positive change within nursing and healthcare.

Laura’s impact extends well beyond her local community through her active engagement in organizations that strengthen nursing on a national scale. Nationally, she serves on the Oncology Nursing Society's Leadership Succession Committee, a prestigious appointment responsible for reviewing and selecting candidates for the organization's Board of Directors. Through this role, Laura helps shape the future leadership of one of the nation's largest professional nursing organizations.

She further contributes to the profession through her service on the Association for Leadership Science in Nursing's Bylaws, Policy & Procedure Committee, helping strengthen the governance and sustainability of an organization dedicated to advancing nursing leadership science. As Treasurer of Sigma's Eta Chapter, she supports the chapter's mission of fostering scholarship, leadership, and service among nurses. Laura's recognition as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing reflects her significant and sustained impact on the profession. Collectively, her leadership, mentorship, advocacy, scholarship, and service activities demonstrate an unwavering commitment to strengthening the nursing community and advancing the profession across multiple levels of influence.