Board of Directors

The AWHONN Board of Directors assures effective leadership and sound management; establishes strategic direction; oversees business required to carry out the mission and goals of the association; sets core program and fiscal functions; and appoints panels and committees.

Board of Directors Point of Contact: leadership@awhonn.org

Elizabeth A. McIntire, MSN, RN, WHNP-BC, C-EFM, President

Beth McIntire earned her BSN from DePauw University and her MSN-WHNP from Indiana University. She has 39 years of inpatient perinatal and women’s health nursing. Outpatient experience consists of maternal fetal medicine and general OB/GYN practices.

Her achievements include developing the largest maternal transport program in Indiana and being a finalist in the Indianapolis Business Journal Health Care Hero Award. She has lectured extensively on fetal heart rate monitoring, perinatal safety, high-risk obstetrics, and maternal transport. Beth is the IU Health Ball Service Line Leader with strategic and operational oversight of level III perinatal service.

Debbie Ketchum, DNP, MAOM, RN, NEA-BC, RNC-MNN, C-EFM, President-Elect

Debbie Ketchum, a dedicated and transformational Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) servant leader, has nearly three decades of experience in maternal and child nursing, as well as nursing leadership.

She currently serves as a clinical engagement specialist and expert consultant in perinatal safety and outcomes at PeriGen. Additionally, she is a subject matter expert peer reviewer for best practice maternal-newborn policies with Elsevier and is a certification author for the National Certification Corporation’s Maternal-Newborn exam.

Julie Zimmerman MSN, RNC-OB, C-EFM, Secretary-Treasurer

Julie Zimmerman is a staff nurse at UnityPoint – St. Luke’s Hospital Birth Care Center in Cedar Rapids, IA.

Julie has a BSN and MSN in Women’s Health from the University of Iowa College of Nursing. For over 40 years, she has been a staff nurse at UnityPoint – St. Luke’s Hospital Birth Care Center in Cedar Rapids, IA. Julie also serves as nurse residency program facilitator. She teaches EFM and POEP AWHONN programs and was previously an educational outreach coordinator.

Adriane Burgess, PhD, RNC-OB, CCE, C-ONQS, CPHQ, C-LSSGB, FAWHONN, Director

For over 25 years, Adriane Burgess has devoted her nursing career to serving birthing people and their families. She has certifications in inpatient obstetrics, clinical quality and safety, and in childbirth education. Adriane is passionate about advocating for improvements in the care provided to birthing people and their babies.

As a nurse leader, she has led numerous large-scale initiatives to promote the adoption of evidence-based practices and to highlight the expectation of equitable care for all women and birthing people. In her current role with the Maryland Patient Safety Center, she leads the statewide implementation of B.I.R.T.H Equity Maryland, a program aimed at training non-obstetric providers on disparities in maternal health, the impact of implicit bias, and identifying urgent obstetric warning signs and Count the Kicks an evidenced-based stillbirth prevention program. Adriane has earned several national awards including the AWHONN Outstanding Innovative Program Award, as well as awards through Safe Healthcare for Every Women and the Department of Health and Human Services for quality improvement projects focused on outcomes in obstetric and gynecologic care. As a dedicated member of AWHONN, she served as the Pennsylvania State Section Chair, national committees, and as a writer and reviewer for AWHONN products. In 2023 she received the AWHONN Leadership Award and was inducted as an AWHONN Fellow.

Shawana Burnette, DNP, NEA-BC, ANLC-P, CLNC, FAWHONN, Director

Shawana Burnette is an innovative thought leader with over 20+ years of nursing leadership experience and 22+ years of experience as an OB nurse. Shawana works closely with AWHONN’s efforts to impact cultures of Respectful Maternal Care (RMC), serving as a member of the evidence-based group to develop the framework and toolkit for RMC initiatives.

She is currently the Director of Nursing Excellence Programs for Advocate Health Enterprise Nursing, where she supports the ANCC designation program portfolio through resource alignment and strategic collaboration. Shawana has been recognized as one of North Carolina’s Great 100 Nurses, a Daisy Nurse Leader award recipient, and an inaugural AWHONN Fellow. She is an ardent advocate for rightful care outcomes with a commitment to creating inclusive care cultures for all.

Andrea Carpitcher, MSN, RNC-OB, Director

Andrea Carpitcher brings seven years of active-duty experience dedicated to advancing the health care of women and newborns. Andrea’s civilian career began with 17 years as an RN in various settings, enriching her expertise in both clinical and leadership roles. As a Native American (Cherokee) nurse and mother, she possesses a unique perspective as both caregiver and care recipient on and off the reservation.

Andrea has spearheaded programs like TeamBirth, Baby Friendly, and infant safe sleep practices to the tribal settings. Notably, she led the first Tribal and federal Indian Health Service implementations of the TeamBirth initiative and achieved recognition for being the first Indian Health Service hospital in the U.S. to earn the National Safe Sleep Hospital certification. She also teaches EFM and POEP AWHONN programs and serves on the Protocols and Procedures workgroup.

With a track record of a passion for enhancing outcomes for Native American women, Andrea is committed to driving impactful change and fostering health equity across all underserved populations.

Elizabeth Kester, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, Director

Elizabeth Kester is a nurse leader and passionate advocate for women’s rights and patient-centric and empowered birth experiences.

Elizabeth is the Vice President, Clinical Services at Pomelo Care, a virtual maternity care program delivering 24/7 personalized care via telemedicine to improve pregnancy outcomes and reduce disparities. Elizabeth also serves as the Marketing Director for March for Moms, a national advocacy organization that promotes policies to ensure that every family can grow with dignity and support. In this role, she has partnered with many professional societies, leading maternal health organizations, and industry partners to advocate in Washington, D.C.

Elizabeth holds an advanced degree in communications, specializing in marketing and design, having enjoyed a successful career in advertising before she transitioned to women’s health nursing. Elizabeth has experience delivering care in maternity services in vastly different settings, from rural critical access hospitals to large academic medical centers and now virtually. She resides in southern New Hampshire and Harwich, Massachusetts, with her husband and two children.

Mary Dawn Koenig, FACNM, PhD, RN, Director

Mary Dawn Koenig is an Associate Professor at the University of Illinois Chicago College of Nursing. Born in Canada, she received her BScN from McMaster University, her MSN with a specialty in midwifery from Yale University, and her PhD in nursing from the University of Pennsylvania.

The overarching aim of her research is to improve maternal and child health outcomes, specifically by studying how these outcomes are affected by the bidirectional relationship between nutritional status and the development and function of the body’s immune and inflammatory response. She approaches this through several lines of inquiry: 1) evaluating the effect of inflammation on nutritional status; 2) investigating inflammatory mechanisms that lead to poor outcomes; and 3) mitigating the negative effects of inflammation. Mary Dawn has been active in the care of pregnant people for over 27 years. She has been an active member in AWHONN during this time, serving as an abstract reviewer and corresponding and panel member of the Research Advisory Panel. She volunteered as a community advisory board member for the March of Dimes. Mary Dawn works with the community organization NewMoms where she provides programming related to nutrition, meal planning, and stress reduction techniques.

Matthew W. Medina, MSN, CNM, RNC-OBEFM, FAWHONN, Director

Matt is a master’s prepared Registered Nurse and Nurse Midwife in Massachusetts. He is also certified in Inpatient OB and electronic fetal monitoring. Matt works at Brigham & Women’s Hospital as both a Midwife and Labor Nurse.

Additionally, Matt is a Midwife at Boston Medical Center. Matt holds a special place in his heart for the Night shift and only works after 7 PM. The most memorable births happen after the sun goes down! Matt became involved with the Massachusetts section in 2012 and was hooked! He was lucky enough to be chosen to be an Emerging Leader in the Class of 2017 and hasn’t looked back from there as a national volunteer leader. He found a passion for EWEB when he was selected to participate with the Development Committee that same year he became an ELP. He’s participated on several committees with AWHONN but his tenure on the Development Committee was the most rewarding, having enjoyed the responsibility of helping to disperse the funds raised with EWEB back to our membership. He’s also served on the Convention Planning Committee, Nominating Committee, and now the Ethics & Compliance Committee. In 2023, Matt was proud and honored to have been inducted into the inaugural group of AWHONN Fellows.

Shellie R. Nelson, PhD, RNC-OB, Director

Shellie Nelson has recently completed her her PhD in Nursing Science.

Shellie has faithfully given her time to Women’s Services as a nurse, charge nurse, manager and director. Her clinical experience includes an outstanding academic background which includes; a BBA in accounting from Prairie View A&M University, a BSN in nursing from Avila University, and a Master’s of Science in Health Systems Management from Texas Woman’s University.

Nichole Rekowski, RN, BSN, Director

Nicole Rekowski earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Saginaw Valley State University in 2004 and has been a registered nurse for 20 years, with a focus in maternal child health. Throughout her career, she has worked in various roles, including travel nurse, nurse manager, ambulatory nurse, labor and delivery nurse, and perinatal mental health nurse navigator.

Nicole currently works for Henry Ford Health at the West Bloomfield campus where she has a dual role working as a staff nurse in labor and delivery and serves as the perinatal mental health nurse navigator for the Henry Ford Health System.