Auburn University College of Nursing is pleased to announce that Linda Gibson-Young, professor and coordinator of the College’s Outreach Program, has been selected as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (AAN).
Gibson-Young will be inducted alongside distinguished nurse leaders from across the globe during the AAN Health Policy Conference in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, October 18, 2025. This event offers a unique opportunity to highlight nursing leadership, science, and innovation as colleagues, friends, families, and sponsors gather in Washington, D.C. to celebrate nursing’s transformative efforts to improve health. Induction represents the largest cohort of exceptional leaders in the organization’s history. This year’s conference theme is “Impact Through Integrity and Trust: Our Role as Navigators and Translators.”
The newest Fellows represent 42 states, the District of Columbia, and 12 countries. Their extensive expertise will enrich the thought leadership of the over 3,200 Academy Fellows who together advance the Academy's mission of improving health and achieving health equity by impacting policy through nursing leadership, innovation, and science.
Gibson-Young has an academic background in population health with a focus on pediatrics. Her work involves undergraduate and graduate students in outreach and research. She holds a Ph.D. in nursing, an MBA, and is certified as a family nurse practitioner (ANCC). In 2021, she was recognized as a Distinguished Fellow of the National Academies of Practice in Nursing. In 2016, she became a Fellow in the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (FAANP) and a Leadership for Academic Nursing Program (LANP) Fellow with the American Association of Colleges in Nursing (AACN). In 2015, she received the Outstanding Research Award from The National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF). Collaborative and interdisciplinary teams work with Gibson-Young's outreach and research across Alabama. Her research interests explore rural health disparities, child asthma, school-based health education interventions, population health outcomes, and health behaviors in children and adolescents.
Induction into the AAN represents a major milestone in a nurse leader’s career, recognizing the lasting impact of their work. Fellows are selected by their peers in acknowledgment of their significant contributions to advancing public health through leadership, innovation and service, both within the profession and beyond.
The AAN is both a policy organization and an honorific society that recognizes the most accomplished leaders in nursing across policy, research, practice, administration and academia. Its Fellows represent a diverse array of influential roles in health care in the U.S. and around the world. Induction into the Fellowship is more than a professional honor — it is a call to action. Fellows contribute their collective expertise to advance health equity, inform policy and drive innovation through nursing leadership and scientific impact at national and global levels.
Click here to view the 2025 class of new fellows of the American Academy of Nursing.
