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Alabama NAPNAP Officers


President

Staci A. Simmons

Staci A. Simmons DNP, APRN, CPNP-AC, CNE

President

Dr. Staci Abernathy Simmons is a full-time Clinical Assistant Professor and the DNP Program Coordinator at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. She earned both her BSN and MSN degrees from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and completed her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) at the University of Alabama. She is a Certified Nurse Educator (CNE) and is currently training to become a professional coach, further expanding her ability to support and mentor nursing professionals.

With a strong foundation in pediatric critical care, Dr. Simmons brings over 20 years of clinical experience from diverse settings, including emergency departments, air medical transport, neonatal intensive care units, and pediatric intensive care units. She is a certified Acute and Continuing Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and maintains an active clinical practice in the pediatric CVICU and CCU at Children’s of Alabama.

Dr. Simmons’ scholarly interests focus on nurse leader development, quality improvement initiatives for pediatric populations, and advancing DNP education. Her dedication to clinical excellence, academic leadership, and professional development continues to shape the next generation of nurse leaders.


President-Elect

Linda Gibson-Young

Linda Gibson-Young Ph.D., FNP-C, RHN-C, MBA, FAANP, FAAN

President-Elect

Dr. Linda Gibson-Young is a nationally recognized nurse leader, educator, and clinician committed to advancing pediatric and rural health outcomes through academic-practice partnerships, advocacy, and interprofessional collaboration. As a Professor at Auburn University College of Nursing, she leads outreach efforts through the Auburn University Rural Health Initiative, overseeing nurse practitioner–led clinics that provide critical services to underserved communities across Alabama.

Dr. Gibson-Young earned both her MSN (2003) and PhD (2012) from the UAB School of Nursing. Her research and practice focus on improving care for children and families facing asthma, food insecurity, and other health disparities—particularly in rural and school-based settings. She is a Certified Asthma Educator (AE-C), Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP-BC), and recognized for involving students at every level in meaningful community-engaged scholarship and service.

Her leadership experience includes serving on interdisciplinary statewide coalitions and policy committees, as well as active involvement in the Alabama Chapter of NAPNAP. She brings a strong record of grant-funded initiatives, peer-reviewed scholarship, and mentorship of emerging nurse leaders.

As President-Elect, Dr. Gibson-Young will focus on elevating pediatric nurse practitioner visibility, expanding advocacy efforts, and strengthening student and early-career involvement to ensure a robust future for pediatric nursing in Alabama and beyond.


Immediate Past President

Leslie Pitts

Leslie Pitts MSN, CPNP-AC, CDCES, AP-PEN

Past President

Leslie Pitts, MSN, CPNP-AC, CDCES, AP-PEN, is an acute-care pediatric nurse practitioner with 16 years of experience at Children’s of Alabama in Birmingham, Alabama. Throughout her career, Leslie has worked as a bedside RN in pediatric intensive care, as a diabetes and insulin pump educator in the endocrine clinic, and as a nurse practitioner in the endocrine clinic. She served as a consultant with the Alabama Department of Public Health for state newborn screening for over 12 years, which fueled a passion for research within pediatric rare diseases, particularly Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia. In 2022, Leslie was awarded the Advanced Practice Excellence Award by Children’s of Alabama.

Leslie is currently pursuing a dual DNP-PhD degree at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She continues a close relationship with pediatric Endocrinology at Children’s of Alabama, where she will implement a transitional care program for adolescents with CAH later this year for her DNP project. Her dissertation research will continue to focus on adolescent and young adult transitional care within the Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia population.

Leslie is married, has two children, ages 11 and 8, and lives with her family in Pelham, Alabama. When not reading and writing for school, you can find Leslie driving a minivan full of children to the sport of the season or volunteering with her church children’s ministry. Leslie serves on the Junior Board of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and proudly lives with Type 1 Diabetes for over 20 years. As a fun fact, Leslie owns an axolotl named Falkor. Axolotls are salamanders with central hypothyroidism, and as a result, they do not progress beyond their aquatic state. As an endocrine nerd, she could not pass up owning one of these fascinating creatures!


Secretary

Kristina Miller

Kristina Miller DNP, RN, CPNP-PC, CNE

Secretary

Kristina Miller is a Board-Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner in Primary Care. She received her Master of Science in Nursing from University of South Alabama as a Pediatric Clinical Nurse Specialist in 2010, her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) from Samford University in 2015, and a post-graduate certificate as a Pediatric Primary Care Nurse Practitioner in 2020. She has been working as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner at Wilmer Medical Clinic in 2021 and started working as a full-time instructor at the University of South Alabama in 2011, joining the PNP track faculty in 2021. Kristina loves to care for children in rural and underserved communities, and as a Certified Nurse Educator (CNE) she enjoys providing quality education to both undergraduate and graduate nursing students.

She is currently serves as the Department Chair for Maternal-Child Nursing at the University of South Alabama. Kristina has a passion for implementing evidence-based practice in her own clinical role and mentoring DNP students who are implementing quality improvement projects in the primary care PNP role. In her free time, she enjoys spending time outdoors and with her family. She has a husband (Robert), daughter (Emily), son (Will), and two crazy dogs (Mocha and Abby – German Shorthaired Pointers).


Treasurer

Addie Mendheim

Addie Mendheim MSN, CPNP-AC/PC

Treasurer

Addie Mendheim is a dedicated pediatric acute care nurse practitioner with a decade of experience in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at Children’s of Alabama. After beginning her career as a bedside nurse, she earned her Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in 2019 and transitioned to a nurse practitioner role specializing in pediatric critical care. In 2024, Addie took on the position of PICU Lead Advanced Practice Provider (APP), where she combines clinical expertise with a passion for APP education. She is currently developing a specialized curriculum to enhance training and education for PICU APPs. Outside of work, Addie enjoys traveling the world with her husband, Logan, playing pickleball, and running alongside her spirited dog, Ziggy Piggy.


Communications

Megan Killen

Megan Killen MSN, CRNP, CPNP-AC

Communications Chair


Social Media

Tennille Gaines

Tennille Gaines DNP, CPNP-PC, FNP-BC,

Social Media Chair

Tennille Gaines is a primary care pediatric nurse practitioner with over 20 years of experience in a rural health clinic in Fort Payne, Alabama. She is currently serving as the social media chair for Alabama NAPNAP.  Tennille lives in Crossville, Alabama with her husband and daughter. She enjoys her family time and watching her daughter in extracurricular activities.  


Continuing Education

Stephanie Phillips

Stephanie Phillips

Continuing Education Chair

Stephanie Phillips is a certified Nurse Practitioner who has lived in Jackson County her entire life.  She attended undergraduate studies at Northeast Alabama Community College and went on to finish her studies at UAH.  She proudly follows in the footsteps of her Mother, who was a nurse for a beloved Pediatrician in the area.  Growing up in an atmosphere quickly fostered a love for Pediatrics.  Stephanie has worked as a Nurse Practitioner since 2010.  With her passion for pediatrics, Stephanie loves building relationships with her patients' families, focusing on their safety, wellness, and overall mental and physical health.  As a mother of two girls, Stephanie understands the importance of our patients' families' feeling heard and understood.  She puts herself in her patient's shoes, anticipating questions, calming their fears, and being thorough in examinations and communications with patients and their families.  In her spare time, she enjoys traveling with friends, spending time with her dog, Mocha, watching movies, volunteering at her church, and cooking.

Ann Lambert

Ann Lambert DNP, MSN, PPCNP-BC

Continuing Education Co-Chair

Dr. Ann Waldrup Lambert is a Clinical Professor at Auburn University College of Nursing. She earned her BSN from Auburn, MSN from the University of South Alabama, and CRNP post-master’s certificate at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She completed her DNP at Auburn University.

Her current faculty role focuses on pediatric content for undergraduates and graduate FNP students. She is also the Program Director for the annual study abroad medical mission trip to Ecuador. The majority of her NP work experience has been in primary care pediatrics in a rural setting. Dr. Lambert’s scholarly interests focus on safe sleep for infants and community support for breastfeeding.


Legislative

Kathleen Calhoun

Kathleen Calhoun

Legislative Chair

Olivia May

Olivia May DNP, CPNP-PC

Legislative Co-Chair

Olivia May is a board-certified pediatric nurse practitioner with 24 years of experience in primary care pediatrics.  She received her Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and her Doctor of Nursing Practice from the University of South Alabama. Her experiences as a PNP have taken her from the rural areas of West Alabama to the more urban city of Tuscaloosa and as far away as East Asia. She spent 14 years teaching both undergraduate and graduate students at the Capstone College of Nursing and in 2018 transitioned back into full-time clinical practice. She is an associate professor in the College of Community Health Sciences at the University of Alabama. She has received the Excellence in Teaching Award from the Alabama League for Nursing, the Cindajo Overton Outstanding Educator Award from the Alabama State Nurses Association and the Outstanding Nurse Practitioner of the Year Award from the Nurse Practitioner Alliance of Alabama.

Dr. May works full time in the pediatric clinic at University Medical Center providing care to children from Tuscaloosa and all the surrounding counties of West Alabama. She also works directly with 3rd and 4th year primary care track medical students from the Heersink School of Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham as well as the family practice residents of the University of Alabama Family Medicine Residency Program. She and her husband Joe have two daughters, Mary Win and Ginny Tate.

 


Community Engagement

Alexandra Armstrong

Alexandra Armstrong MSN, CRNP, CPNP-AC

Community Engagement Chair

Alexandra "Allie" Armstrong is a Board Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner. She received her Masters of Science in Nursing from UAB in 2014. She has been working as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner at Children’s of Alabama in the Pediatric Endocrinology Department since 2014, and started working as a full-time instructor in the Acute Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Track at the UAB School of Nursing in Fall of 2022. Allie is interested in and has worked to build specialty clinics for underprivileged patients, high-risk patient populations, and children who have undergone adverse childhood events. 

She is currently serving as the secretary for the Alabama Chapter of the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP) and also served as President of the Alabama Chapter in the 2020-2021 year. Allie is active in the young leaders board for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and in her free time, her husband and she serve as foster parents for the Jefferson County Department of Health. They have a daughter - Levy, and a daughter in heaven - Ellis, and two dogs, Gandalf and Jorah.

Heather Hyde

Heather Hyde DNP, CRNP, CPNP-PC

Community Engagement Co-Chair

Heather Hyde is an Assistant Professor at University of Alabama at Birmingham's (UAB) School of Nursing (SON). She is a certified primary care pediatric nurse practitioner  with many years of pediatric nursing experience in both intensive care at Children’s Hospital of Alabama and outpatient settings. She earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice, Master of Science in Nursing and Bachelor of Science in Nursing degrees from UAB. Her scholarly project focus was on improving the treatment of pediatric obesity in outpatient settings by implementing motivational interviewing techniques. She continues to work with her fellow colleagues to develop initiatives on the management of pediatric obesity and access to care. She is a member of the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners, Sigma Theta Tau in the Nu chapter and Global Rural Nursing Exchange Network.  


Membership

Sherita Ethridge

Sherita Ethridge

Membership Chair

Dr. Sherita Etheridge is a full-time instructor and specialty track coordinator for the pediatric primary care nurse practitioner program at UAB School of Nursing. She is a certified pediatric primary care nurse practitioner and a certified nurse educator. She is currently a member of National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners and the membership chair for the Alabama chapter. She has over 20 years of pediatric nursing experience. Most of my pediatric experience occurred at Children's of Alabama. My work experiences include pediatric urgent care/emergency medicine and anesthesia pre-screening.  

 

Amy Urban

Amy Urban

Membership Co-Chair


Student Liaison

Allison Ford

Allison Ford

Student Liaison