Board Room

Page updated 03/29/99

The Mississippi Nurses Association's Board of Directors is composed of ten members, listed below. You may access individual MNA Council activities information by clicking on the Council member's position.

Karen Utterback, MSN, RN, CNA, CHCE; MNA President

Ann Barnes, BSN, RN; MNA Vice President

Bonnie Stewart, MS, RNC, CCRN; MNA Secretary

Janet Y. Harris, MSN, RN; MNA Treasurer

Lynn Chilton, DSN, RN, GNP; Director, MNA Council on Health Affairs

Rebecca Cagle, DSN, RN, FNP; Director, MNA Council on Nursing Education

K. C. Arnold, MS, RN, ANP; Director, MNA Council on Nursing Practice

Bess Blackwell, MSN, RN, CNA; Director, MNA Council on Organizational Affairs

Barbara Rogers, PhD, RN; Director, MNA Council on Nursing Research

Betty R. Dickson, MNA Executive Director

President - Karen Utterback, MSN, RN, CNA, CHCE

Karen Utterback is a member of District 7 in Hattiesburg where she works as Vice President, Health Services, for South Mississippi Home Health. She began her career as a staff RN and has moved through positions such as Head Nurse in a Skilled Nursing Facility, Recertification/Admisson Nurse, Branch Office Manager for a home health agency, and Regional Manager for that agency. She became an RN through the Associate Degree program at Parkland College in Champaign, IL and since then earnened her BSN from William Carey College and her MSN from USM School of Nursing.

Karen is a member of the National Association for Home Care, American Red Cross, Hattiesburg Chamber of Commerce, and the MS State Department of Education, vocational education division.

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Vice President - Ann Barnes, BSN, RN

Ann Barnes is serving her second term as MNA Vice President. She is presently Assistant Administrator for the Sta-home Health Agency in Jackson. She earned her ADN degree from Hinds Community College and completed her BSN at the UMC School of Nursing. She has been extensively involved with MNA, including serving as an ANA delegate, chair of the Reseach committee, and a board member of District 13.

A board member for the Make-A-Wish foundation, Ann also serves as the President of the Madison-Ridgeland Rotary Club and on the Fellowship of Christian Athletes adult chapter. She is also an American Red Cross Nurse.

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Secretary- Bonnie Stewart, MS, RNC, CCRN

Bonnie is currently serving her second term as MNA Secretary. She is presently a clinical specialist at Biloxi Regional Medical Center and is a member of District 5.

She earned her BSN and MSN from the University of Southern Mississippi, GulfPark Campus. she is a long time member of MNA where she has served on the Convention Planning Committee. She was recipient of MNA's 1996 Nurse Researcher of the Year award and the 1995 Nurse of the Year award.

As secretary, Bonnie also serves as liaison to the Mississippi Nurses Foundation Board of Directors.

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Treasurer - Janet Y. Harris, MSN, RN

Janet is president of Health Resources, Inc., a private staffing/consulting agency in Jackson, MS. She is a longtime member of MNA, District 13, and has served on the membership and awards committees.

Janet received her BSN and MSN from the University of Mississippi School of Nursing. For 11 years she was Nursing Director at MS Baptist Medical Center. She is a member of several organizations, including: American Medical Administrators, AONE, B&PW, MS Economic Council, Sigma Theta Tau, Phi Kappa Phi. Her honors include: 500 Notable Women, Woman of the Year, B&PW, Who's Who of Women Executives, Who's Who in the South and Southwest.

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Council on Health Affairs - Lynn Chilton, DSN, RN, FNP/GNP

Lynn Chilton is serving her second term as Director, Council on Health Affairs. Her DSN is from the University of Alabama, Birmingham, with a major in Health Policy. She is an Associate Professor at MUW School of Nursing in the graduate program. A Geriatric and Family Nurse Practitioner, she began her nursing career in Mississippi as a staff RN in 1973. In addition to teaching in the nurse practitioner program at MUW, Lynn also is a volunteer primary care provider at a children's shelter.

She is a member of District 17, and has served MNA as a convention delegate, an ANA delegate, a member of MNA's PAC, and a member of the Research Committee. A member of the American College of Nurse Practitioners, she has been the Mississippi Representative to their Washington Summit for the past five years. She was part of a Mississippi delegation that helped convince Sen. Thad Cochran to endorse and sign the Advanced Nursing Practice bill that allows all NPs and CNS's in all settings to be reimbursed by Medicare.

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Council on Nursing Education - Rebecca Cagle, DSN, RN, FNP

Rebecca Cagle presently serves as a Family Nurse Practitioner for ACCESS Family Health Services and as part-time adjunct faculty at UMC. She completed both her LPN and ADN degrees at Itawamba Community College, BSN at MUW, MSN from UMC School of Nursing, DSN at the Universiy of Alabama, and her FNP degree from MUW.

Rebecca has served as an Assistant Professor at MUW, RN at the Oktibbeha County Hospital, and LPN at Gilmore Memorial Hospital. She is a member of the MNA Northern NP SIG, Sigma Theta Tau, Phi Kappa Phi, the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, and a Neuman Systems Associate member. Her honors include: National Deans List, Academic Acheivement Award for Nursing, Who's Who Among American Colleges and Universities, Who's Who in Nursing. She also received the Claude G. Callender Memorial Scholarship at UMC and the MUW Alumni Scholarship.

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Council on Nursing Practice - K. C. Arnold, MS, RN, ANP

KC Arnold received her BSN from State University of New York at Binghamton. She came to Mississippi through military assignment with Keesler Regional Medical Center where she was nurse manager and a certified diabetic educator. She now practices in Ocean Springs as an ANP and Certified Diabetes Educator. She is also certified as an adult acute care nurse practitioner. She is a member of the American Health Association and a member of the Coast Chorale Choir.

Her MSN is from the University of South Alabama. K. C. is a member of District 6 and was the DNA 6 scholarship recipient. She has also served MNA on the convention planning committee.

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Council on Organizational Affairs - Bess Blackwell, MSN, RN, CNA

Bess Blackwell is the Head Nurse at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. She earned her BSN and MSN at the UMC School of Nursing and has been certified in Nursing Administration. She has served on the board of District 13 numerous times and has been a member of MNA's Awards and Health Affairs Committees, as well as chairing the Bylaws Committee.

Bess is a member of Sigma Theta Tau, the Southern Nurses Research Society, the Eliza Pillars Registered Nurses Association, and the National Black Nurses Association. She also serves on the advisory board for LPN students at Hinds Community College. Past honors include MNA Staff Nurse of the Year, MNA Administrative Nurse of the Year, and recognition by the Outstanding Young Women of America.

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Council on Nursing Research - Barbara Rogers, PhD, RN

Barbara Rogers, a member of District 13, is a professor at the UMC School of Nursing. A graduate of the Gilfoy School of Nursing, she obtained her BSN from the UMC School of Nursing, MN from Montana State University School of Nursing, MS from Colorado State University, and PhD from the University of Arizona School of Nursing.

Beginning her career as a Staff Nurse in Recovery Room and Infirmary, she then accepted positions such as Graduate Research Associate, Nursing Instructor, Assistant Professor, Professor, Coordinator of Nursing Research, and Post-Doctoral Research Fellow.

Barbara is currently a member of the Southern Nursing Research Society, Phi Kappa Phi, Wound Healing Society, Amercan Diabetes Association, Council of Nurse Researchers of American Nurses Association, Sigma Xi, Sigma Theta Tau, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

 

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Executive Director's Report - Betty Dickson

Please call the MNA office or check the MS State Legislature Website for up-to-date information. To reach your legislator during session, call (601) 359-3770.

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