Board of Directors & LeadershipExecutive CommitteeMelanie Gibbons Hallman, DNP, CRNP, FNP-BC, ACNP-BC, ENP-C, CNS, FAEN, FAANP, FAAN | President
Contact via EmailJudson Smith, DNP, MSN, AGACNP-BC, FNP-BC | President-Elect
Contact via EmailWesley Davis, DNP, ENP-C, FNP-C, AGACNP-BC | Immediate Past-President
Contact via EmailDavid T. House, DNP, CRNP, ENP-C, FNP-BC, CNS, CEN, CNE, FAEN, FAANP | Board Chair
Contact via EmailBoard MembersFrederick Barton, ENP, FNP, MSN, RN, NREMT-P
Frederick Barton, MSN, ENP-C, FNP-C, has been a nurse practitioner for five years, practicing in emergency departments of all sizes across the country and now works primarily in critical access facilities. He holds MSNs from Columbia University in New York as well as Emory University in Atlanta. He also completed a fellowship in emergency medicine at Carilion Clinic in Roanoke, VA. He has a passion for austere medicine and providing evidence-based, quality care to underserved populations. He has worked in Central America, Eastern Europe, and Africa and works with multiple international medical non-profits. In 2024, he received the AAENP’s inaugural award for excellence in advocacy and currently serves on the international outreach committee.
Contact via EmailDr. Amanda Hitt, DNP, ENP-C, FNP-BC
Dr. Amanda R. Hitt, DNP, ENP-C, FNP-BC, is a dedicated emergency nurse practitioner with over a decade of frontline experience in high-acuity settings, including emergency departments and flight nursing. As an assistant professor at the University of North Alabama, she contributes to advancing nursing education, particularly through innovative simulations and mentorship. Her expertise includes navigating care in crisis situations and addressing compassion fatigue among emergency healthcare providers. A published author and conference presenter, Dr. Hitt actively supports professional growth through leadership roles in the American Academy of Emergency Nurse Practitioners and other organizations.
Contact via EmailCindy Kumar, MSN, ENP-C, FNP-BC, AGACNP-BC
Contact via EmailLisa Leonard MSN, FNP-C, ENP-C
Contact via EmailNicole Martinez, PhD, RN, FNP-BC, ENP-C, PHN
Contact via EmailStaffJennifer Wilbeck, AAENP Executive Director
Contact via EmailHarrison Breuer | Association Executive
Contact via EmailStefanie Yandell | Event Manager
Contact via EmailFoundersKyle Kincaid
Elda Ramirez
Arlo Weltge, M.D., MPH, FACEP
|
Dr. Hallman has been an innovative and respected administrative and clinical leader in prehospital and hospital-based emergency services for over four decades. She created the first ED fast-track clinic in Alabama and developed a model advanced practice nurse-managed occupational health / urgent care clinic serving over 4,500 municipal employees. Her academic commitment is evidenced by envisioning and championing development of the ENP academic pathway at The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Nursing, where she is an Associate Professor and ENP subspecialty co-coordinator. Her scholarly contributions show-casing the ENP role serve to elevate academic rigor and quality excellence within ENP education and demonstrate necessity on interdisciplinary emergency teams. She actively practices as an ENP. 
Judson Smith MSN, AGACNP-BC, FNP-BC brings a wealth of diverse nursing, emergency care, and fiduciary experiences to AAENP. Most recently, he has served as the Finance Committee Chair and Treasurer/Secretary for AAENP and is serving as President-Elect. Currently, Dr. Smith serves as a full-time Instructor of Nursing. He coordinates the pharmacology series for various levels of students at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing in Nashville, TN. He maintains his clinical practice working in both wilderness and urban settings. 
Wesley Davis is an assistant professor and the Family/Emergency Nurse Practitioner Specialty Coordinator at the University of South Alabama College of Nursing. He also has an adjunct faculty appointment at the University of Wyoming Faye Whitney School of Nursing. Dr. Davis received his Doctor of Nursing Practice and Masters of Science in Nursing from the University of South Alabama. His doctoral work focused on improving emergency care by augmenting patient flow through emergency departments. 
David T. House, DNP, CRNP, ENP-C, FNP-BC, CNS, CEN, CNE, FAEN, is an Associate Professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Nursing where he serves as Co-Coordinator of the Emergency Nurse Practitioner (ENP) Pathway and teaches in both the master’s and doctoral programs. He is a Scholar with the UAB Center for Interprofessional Education and Simulation and a Fellow of the 2019-2020 UAB Interprofessional Leadership program. He specializes in emergency services with over 23 years’ experience in administrative and clinical roles and has practiced as an ENP for more than 14 years. His passion and interests include emergency nursing, advanced practice, simulation, and interprofessional education and collaboration with an overarching goal to enhance healthcare outcomes. Dr. House’s service to AAENP includes Lead Regional Director since 2019 and Bylaws committee Chair for two years. Most recently, he served as co-author of the 2021 ENP Competencies.
Cindy Kumar has over 25 years of healthcare experience which encompasses the lifespan and includes intermediate care, urgent care, emergency department and trauma nursing. Ms. Kumar is a triple board-certified Family, Adult-Gerontology Acute Care and Emergency Nurse Practitioner. She currently is a full-time clinician in Austin, Texas in both Adult and Pediatric Emergency Departments. 
Lisa Leonard MSN, FNP-C, ENP-C, has been a nurse practitioner in the emergency department for close to 13 years in both urban areas and critical access hospitals and continues to be actively working clinically. She has served as the chair for the finance committee for AAENP, and has also been a member of the practice committee for AAENP. She was involved in contributing to the AAENP practice toolkit for advanced practice registered nurses in emergency care. She has also contributed to fundamentals of critical care which was published. She is passionate to contributing to the education and advancement of nurse practitioners in the emergency department.
Nicole Martinez, PhD, FNP-BC, ENP-C, PHN, is the Director of the DNP Program at the Sue and Bill Gross School of Nursing at the University of California, Irvine. Dr. Martinez is a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP-BC) and an Emergency Nurse Practitioner (ENP-C). Dr. Martinez received her PhD in Nursing from the University of San Diego, her Master’s in Nursing at Western University of Health Sciences and a Bachelor of Science in Biology at the University of California, Los Angeles. She is licensed in the state of California and has over 17 years of experience in emergency health. Dr. Martinez has had previous academic appointments as the Clinical Faculty Director of the FNP program at Georgetown University and as a Clinical Associate Professor at the Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science at the University of San Diego. 
Dr. Jennifer Wilbeck received her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree from Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, Georgia following a Master of Science in Nursing (Acute Care Nurse Practitioner) and a post-master’s certificate in Nursing (Family Nurse Practitioner) from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN. She has over twenty years of experience in emergency health care including pre-hospital, emergency department, critical care access and trauma care. For her sustained contributions in emergency care, she was inducted as a fellow in the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners in 2016 and in the American Academy of Nursing in 2019. 
Dr. Kyle Kincaid served as a Director for Schumacher Clinical Partners leading Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants working in Emergency Departments throughout Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, and Washington. Additionally, Dr. Kincaid held a faculty appointment at the University Of Texas Health Science Center in Houston where he taught in the graduate ENP and undergraduate programs. 
Dr. Elda Ramirez received her Doctor of Philosophy from Texas Woman’s University in 2006, Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston 1993, her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center 1988 and her Pre Nursing from the University of Houston. Elda Ramirez joined the UTHHSC faculty in 1994 as a Clinical Instructor in the Acute and Continuing Care Department. As of September 2014 she has attained the title of Professor of Clinical Nursing. 
Dr. Arlo Weltge is a Clinical Professor of Emergency Medicine at UTHealth (University of Texas Medical School in Houston). He holds academic appointments at the Baylor College of Medicine, UT Houston School of Nursing, and the Houston Community College Program in EMS.