Joanne Disch Elected AARP Board Chair

Minneapolis, MN - Joanne Disch Ph.D., RN, FAAN, was elected Chair of the AARP National Board of Directors at the organization's biennial National Leadership Conference earlier this month in Baltimore. In her two-year term, Dr. Disch will work with the Board to provide leadership and to ensure coordination and efficiency as the Board conducts its business.

A leader in the nursing field, Dr. Disch is a professor at the University of Minnesota School of Nursing, and director of the school's Katharine J. Densford International Center for Nursing Leadership. She holds the Katherine R. and C. Walton Lillehei Chair in Nursing Leadership there as well.

"Joanne is a nationally recognized leader in health care, so we look forward to her leadership of the AARP Board, especially as it deals with critical health issues of older people," said AARP President Erik D. Olsen. "We will also benefit from her extensive organizational experience at the University of Minnesota School of Nursing and on numerous national health-related boards."

Dr. Disch was formerly president of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN), a 65,000-member nursing specialty organization, and president of the AACN Certification Board. Currently she serves on several editorial boards, is a member of the boards of directors of the American Academy of Nursing and Allina Health System. Within AARP, Dr. Disch has served as Chair of the Audit and Finance Committee and the National Nominating Committee, and as a member of the CEO Evaluation Committee.

During her distinguished career, Dr. Disch has received numerous awards, including the Dorothy Garrigus Adams Award for Excellence in Fostering Professional Standards from Sigma Theta Tau International, and Outstanding Alumna Awards from the University of Wisconsin School of Nursing. She was honored with the establishment of the Joanne Disch Excellence in Medical Nursing Practice Award from the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization of 36 million members that helps people 50-plus have independence, choice and control in ways that are beneficial and affordable to them and society as a whole. AARP produces AARP the Magazine, published bimonthly; AARP Bulletin, its monthly newspaper; AARP Segunda Juventud, a bimonthly magazine in Spanish and English; NRTA Live & Learn, its quarterly newsletter for 50-plus educators; and its website, www.AARP.org. AARP Foundation is an affiliated charity that provides security, protection and empowerment to older persons in need with support from thousands of volunteers, donors and sponsors. AARP has staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

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