NHNA Board of Directors hires full time Executive Director, Carlene Ferrier DNP, MPH, RN, NEA-BC

Carlene Ferrier DNP, MPH, RN, NEA-BC has recently been appointed as the full-time Executive Director of the New Hampshire Nurses Association (NHNA). Prior to this role, she has served in multiple volunteer positions including as a member of the Commission on Government Affairs, treasurer, president -elect, president, and past president. She is delighted to be appointed to lead the organization at a time when the nurse’s voice is needed in multiple healthcare and policy forums, there is renewed momentum to collaborate on a New Hampshire Nursing Workforce Center, and excitement is building to plan a special program for our 120th anniversary!

     Carlene has been a nurse primarily in New Hampshire (NH), for thirty-six years in community health, population health, and public health. Her first job after graduating from the University of New Hampshire (UNH) was at a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) as the prenatal nurse during a time when NH had one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the country. This role was formative in helping her understand the impact of the social determinants of health as well as the importance of being part of an organization that values every team member. She then moved into home care and pursued a Master of Public Health from the University of Massachusetts. Her focus shifted from individual care to population care.

     As the Program and Policy Director at the March of Dimes, she oversaw development of a population-based plan to reduce birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality. One of her proudest moments was when the NH Birth Conditions Program bill was signed into law in 2006 after a long legislative process; from seeking a sponsor, to taking part in developing the rules. From there she was hired as the Executive Director of the last NH Public Health Network to form, where she and her team stood up twenty-two vaccination clinics against H1N1. In addition, she was an adjunct clinical faculty in community health nursing at UNH. She then returned to her roots at the FQHC and became the Quality Improvement Director for Community Health Access Network.

     At the Department of Corrections, State of New Hampshire, as the Director of Nursing, she supervised forty-nine nurses and oversaw nursing care for over 2700 inmates, where she was able to use her combined expertise in nursing and public health. She developed new models of care, addressed the longtime nurse staffing shortage leading to full staffing for the first time, and recruited five nursing schools for clinical placements within the four state prisons. Most recently, she served our Veteran population as the Health Promotion Disease Prevention Program Manager at the Manchester VA Medical Center. There she led the effort through data collection and analysis to identify challenges, priorities for improvement, and opportunities for disseminating and sustaining best practices to improve population health.

     Finally, in May 2022, she achieved her long-term personal goal of completing a Doctor of Nursing Practice from UNH. In her current position, she looks forward to continuing to work with more than fifty amazing nurse volunteers who help achieve the mission of NHNA, to Empower nurses to shape the future of health and wellness. Please visit nhnurses.org.