Secretary/treasurer, two board members also picked in annual election

SCHAUMBURG, Ill., Oct. 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- A believer in the power of connecting people and building the community of emergency and forensic nurses, Vanessa Gorman, DNP, MSN, RN, CCRN, FAEN, FCENA, of Australia, has been chosen as the 2027 Emergency Nurses Association president-elect.

Gorman currently serves as the association's secretary/treasurer and has been a member of the ENA Board of Directors for five years. Prior to joining the board, her involvement in the association included serving on ENA's Global Advisory Committee and the ED Leadership Committee. She will serve as president-elect in 2027 and as president in 2028. Chris Parker, MSN, RN, CNL, CEN, CFRN, CPEN, TCRN, NEA-BC, NPD-BC, NRP, of Virginia, is the incoming 2027 ENA president.

"I look forward to working with Chris and the rest of the board in the next year, continuing to move the association forward so that every member finds value and sees we are strong advocates for what they need," Gorman said. "I love that this association is global and has such reach and impacts so many people. We can come together with that shared purpose regardless of geography."

Gorman – a Melbourne resident whose professional experience includes statewide government operations in Victoria, Australia, and more than a decade of emergency department leadership – is ENA's first global president-elect.

"That milestone is more than one person or one country. It demonstrates that emergency nursing leadership can come from anywhere in the world," Gorman said.

ENA voters also selected a new secretary/treasurer, two directors and four members of the Leadership Development and Elections Committee. The election results were announced Oct. 1 as part of Emergency Nursing 2026, ENA's annual education and networking conference in Phoenix.

2027 ENA Secretary/Treasurer:
Tyler Babcock, MSN, MBA, RN, CEN, NEA-BC, TCRN, of New Jersey

ENA Board of Directors:
Heidi Gilbert, MSN, RN, CEN, SANE-A, TCRN, of Oklahoma
Heather Knapp, MSN, RN, CEN, CPEN, CPHQ, of Idaho

Leadership Development and Elections Committee:
Region 1: Katherine Hammond, DNP, APRN, CEN, FNP-C, of Oregon
Region 3: Renee Cecil, DNP, RN, CEN, SANE, TCRN, of Kentucky
Region 5: Marvella Cephas, DNP, RN, CEN, NEA-BC, of New Jersey
Member-at-large: Terry Foster, MSN, RN, CEN, CPEN, CCRN, TCRN, FAEN, of Kentucky

About the Emergency Nurses Association
The Emergency Nurses Association is the premier professional nursing association dedicated to defining the future of emergency nursing through advocacy, education, research, innovation, and leadership. Founded in 1970, ENA has proven to be an indispensable resource to the global emergency nursing community. With 40,000 members worldwide, ENA advocates for patient safety, develops industry-leading practice standards and guidelines, and guides emergency health care public policy. ENA members have expertise in triage, patient care, disaster preparedness, and all aspects of emergency care. Additional information is available at www.ena.org.

ENA Media Contact:
Paige Fumo Fox
Communications and Media Relations Manager
847.460.4042
paige.fumofox@ena.org