Yvette Conyers, selected from among 147 applicants, will receive $25,000 in support of her project, titled “Nursing Policy Academy: Experiential Learning to Advance Nursing Policy and Leadership.”
Yvette Conyers, DNP, RN, FNP-C, CTN-B, CFCN, CFCS, CNE, FADLN, CWCN-AP, assistant professor and associate dean for strategic engagement and impact at the University of Maryland School of Nursing (UMSON), has been named one of two recipients nationwide of the 2025 - 26 American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) Faculty Scholars Grant from the Foundation of Nursing, the philanthropic arm of the AACN.
Conyers, selected from among 147 applicants, will receive $25,000 in support of her project, titled “Nursing Policy Academy: Experiential Learning to Advance Nursing Policy and Leadership.”
The project seeks to implement and evaluate a one-year Nursing Policy Academy with 10 students from UMSON’s bachelor’s and master’s entry-into-nursing programs. The goal is to assess the academy’s impact on building policy competencies through hands-on experience in health care policy processes, enhancing leadership skills via direct interaction with policymakers and advocacy organizations, and fostering long-term engagement in policy advocacy efforts.
“Receiving the AACN Faculty Scholars Grant is both an honor and a deeply affirming moment in my journey as a nurse educator and advocate,” Conyers said. “Personally, it reflects the culmination of years of my dedication to advancing health equity, culturally responsive care, and policy engagement. Professionally, it validates the importance of integrating experiential learning into nursing education, especially in the realm of health policy, and affirms the value of preparing nurses to be leaders and changemakers beyond the bedside.”