American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Announces New Chief Executive Officer

AUSTIN, Texas, March 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) announces the appointment of Timothy R. Knettler to the position of AANP Chief Executive Officer, effective March 20, 2009. He replaces Judith Dempster, DNSc, FNP, FAANP, who will retire after 13 years as CEO of AANP. Although retiring from AANP, Dr. Dempster will continue in her role as Executive Director of the AANP Foundation.

Knettler has over 19 years of healthcare and professional association experience, most recently eight years with the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) of the United States and the FSMB Research and Education Foundation. In addition to his many years of health policy experience, Knettler brings an extensive background in the management of non-profit health care organizations to his new CEO role.

Knettler is a strong advocate for advancing health policy and collaborating with state, national and international organizations, to help ensure AANP a seat at the table in important health care discussions. He brings strong business expertise with proven ability to improve the quality and delivery of existing services and the development of new ones. He is well known within the health care field and among policymakers and is recognized for his research and analytical abilities.

A sought-after speaker, Knettler has presented more than 37 professional speeches that included multiple national and international engagements over the last five years.

Knettler received his BA in Psychology from Oral Roberts University and his MBA in Marketing from the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. He will be based at the organization's administrative office in Austin, Texas.

"I am pleased and excited to begin a new era in the history of AANP with Mr. Knettler," said AANP President Diana "Dee" Swanson. "We are in a time of tremendous change within the healthcare community. With our new CEO and our staff, we will be working diligently to be active participants in bringing the AANP and NPs to the forefront of reforming health care in the U.S. While we will greatly miss Dr. Dempster, we will continue to promote patient centered high-quality, cost-effective care provided independently by NPs."

AANP was founded in 1985 and is the oldest, largest and only full-service national professional organization for nurse practitioners of all specialties. With more than 26,500 individual members and 145 group members, AANP represents the interests of approximately 125,000 nurse practitioners around the country. AANP continually advocates for the active role of nurse practitioners as providers of high-quality, cost-effective and personalized health care. For more information about AANP, visit www.aanp.org.

SOURCE American Academy of Nurse Practitioners

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http://www.aanp.org