Chief Executive Officer Emeritus of the American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE)
Pamela Thompson, MS, RN, CENP, FAAN, is Chief Executive Officer Emeritus of the American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE). Prior to her appointment, she served 16 years as AONE CEO and Senior Vice President Nursing/Chief Nursing Officer of the American Hospital Association. She was responsible for the management and administrative leadership of AONE, as well as the AHA Workforce Center, and addressing issues specific to strengthening the health-care workforce and the redesign of patient care delivery. Thompson was also the National Program Director of a four-year Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant to study promising practices to accelerate academic progression of Associate Degree prepared nurses to preparation at the Baccalaureate Degree.
Before joining AONE, Thompson was Vice President of the Children's Hospital, Obstetrics, Psychiatric Services and Strategic Planning at Dartmouth Hitchcock.
Thompson served as the Chair of the National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF) Board of Directors, was a member of the Lucien Leape Institute of NPSF and the NPSF Board of Advisors. She was also Chair of the New Hampshire Hospital Association Board of Trustees and the New Hampshire Foundation for Healthy Communities, as well as Past President of the New Hampshire Organization of Nurse Executives. Thompson was a founding member of the Behavioral Health Network in New Hampshire and served as Chairman of the Board.
Thompson is the recipient of numerous awards including the American College of Healthcare Executives 2009 Edgar C. Hayhow Award for an article she co-wrote about the results of a national survey on chief nursing officer retention and turnover. She also received the California Association of Nurse Leaders Lifetime Achievement Award, the National League for Nursing's President's Award, the AONE Lifetime Achievement Award, the American Association of Critical Care Nurses' Distinguished Career Award, and the Executive Fellows in Innovation in Healthcare Leadership inaugural Kathy Malloch Innovation in Education award.
She earned her Master of Science degree from the University of Rochester, New York and her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Connecticut. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing.
Thompson's passion is her international work. She has developed and taught in numerous leadership programs in Croatia, Central and Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union Republics, Tanzania, and Mozambique. She resides in Manassas, Virginia with her husband, Bob. She is a beekeeper and enjoys travel and cooking. She and Bob have two adult children, Garrett and Durete.