It is an honor to nominate Dr. Angela A. Appiah for the Nurses on Boards Coalition (N.O.B.C.) DAISY Nurse Leader Awards. Dr. Appiah has been a member of the NOBC-NY for the past seven years. She became the NOBC-NY State Contact/representative two and half years ago. As the State contact/representative, she has led multiple transformations of the NOBC-NY committee by restructuring how the group represents N.O.B.C. within the State of New York and leading diverse programs to promote awareness and engage nurses on diverse boards. Examples of initiatives she collaborated with the NOBC-NY group to initiative successfully include: Collaborating with the NOBC-NY committee to hold webinars to talk to not only nurses in N.Y. but globally on nurses on boards 101 through a panel-style webinar twice a month in 2023. These webinars reached over 250 nurses and demonstrated a return on investment by enlisting them in the N.O.B.C. database for potential board placement and adding them to a listserv of nurses who receive monthly board announcements. She collaborated with the N.O.B.C. NY group to consolidate and improve the percentage of state nurses on boards from 55 to 70 percent in 2023. Her collaboration with the group resulted in assigning committee members to each region in New York to recruit more nurses on diverse boards and educate them. She collaborated with diverse organizations in New York, such as the New York Organization for Nursing Leadership and the New York State Action Coalition (N.Y.S.A.C.), to hold a webinar to discuss nurses on diverse boards sharing their experiences to increase recruitment boards. She is the NOBC-NY representative to the N.Y.S.A.C. She continues bridging the gap between the two entities by sharing progress and ideas to improve both coalitions. Dr. Appiah upholds the (N.O.B.C.) values of representing national and state efforts by nurses and others working to build healthier communities.

She also lives the mission to improve community health through the service of nurses on boards and other bodies. Examples of how she demonstrates these values and mission are: As the Co-chair of the N.O.B.C. State and National Integrated Strategy Work Group from 2023 to the present, her impact has included collaborating with the workgroup to enhance the State Contacts/presentative webinars and ongoing development. I am an active member of the New York State Action Coalition (N.Y.S.A.C.) and hold leadership roles within the coalition. I am also involved in initiatives performed by the coalition, such as D.E.I.B. and the collaboration on a toolkit for nurses and other health professionals on diverse issues. She founded the Hudson Valley New York Black Nurses Association Inc. (H.V.N.Y.B.N.A.: https://hudsonvalleynybna.org/), a chapter of the National Black Nurses Association Inc.(NBNA.org). She provided 22 novice members with an opportunity to sit on the board. She also introduced board orientation to the group to help sustain and educate the new board members.

Globally, Dr. Appiah advocates for helping ethically diverse nurses have the opportunity on boards since representation does matter. Examples of how she has demonstrated this include her involvement with: She is a role model, mentor, coach, and sponsor of nursing leadership excellence by placing ethically diverse nurses on boards. She is the chair of the National Black Nurses Association Inc. Nominating committee, where she leads the organization's nominating process for Board appointment and develops the next generation of board leaders. She is also an appointed member of the Oncology Nursing Society (O.N.S.) Leadership Development Committee. This committee combines ensuring diverse members are represented on the O.N.S. board with mentoring and coaching O.N.S. members interested in board and committee opportunities.

She advocates for N.O.B.C.'s mission to improve community health by sitting on diverse boards, leading community initiatives to improve population health, and actively serving on a board. Examples of her recent board engagement include being a board member of the Alzheimer's Association - Hudson Valley Chapter, Amazing Grace Children Charity, She has individually mentored, coached, and sponsored hundreds of ethically diverse nurses and other healthcare professionals on boards or in board service.

Not only does Dr. Appiah exemplify and create an environment where attributes of trust, mutual respect, continued professional development, and ethical behavior are modeled and supported, but she has also embedded these tenets in her Global leadership in advocating for nurses on boards and in programs that she develops. Examples include her engagement in creating a multitude of mentoring, coaching, and sponsorship programs, including her first program development at New York Presbyterian Cornell campus mentoring program, Hudson Valley New York Black Nurses Inc. Greater New York City Black Nurses Inc. She is an Interim chair for the National Black Nurses Association Inc. Collaborative Mentoring Program (C.M.P.), she is the program development/strategic planning liaison for the National Association of Health Services Executives (N.A.H.S.E.) mentoring program collaborating with chapters to increase their member's board involvement and mentoring in health care services. She also leads the development of the American Association for Cancer Education (AACE) and New York Organization of Nursing Leadership mentoring organization mentoring programs. She continues to enforce sitting on boards as part of the programs she develops for mentoring, coaching, and sponsorship. To prepare the next generation of D.N.P.s, NPs, B.S.N.s, PhDs, etc., for sitting on boards, she incorporates sitting on boards education in her Leadership course work with students as an Adjunct Associate Professor at Pace University, as well as mentor and precept these diverse nurses in the different programs. She also does this with students in other nursing programs, not only with Pace students.

My adoration for Dr. Appiah's work with nurses and other health professionals sitting on boards stems from her demonstrating compassionate leadership by volunteering to coach, mentor, and sponsor nurses curious about sitting on boards, tapping nurses with skills needed on boards, and coaching them through the process. She recognizes that every member of the nursing community is a significant contributor, an essential part of closing the gap with nurses sitting on diverse boards and strives to enhance the holistic approach to supporting individuals with what they need to excel. She is thoughtful and aware of others' lived experiences and how they use those experiences to impact the health of communities and the population's health. It is very impressive how Dr. Appiah uses the practice of head and heart to inspire and influence people and to see how those she influences pay it forward by inspiring and influencing others. I wholeheartedly nominate Dr. Appiah to be an N.O.B.C. DAISY Nurse Leader due to her contribution to improving the health of our populations and communities through the examples mentioned.