Want to get involved with NAON, but not sure where to start? Learn more about each of our committees and task forces by reading the descriptions below or contacting the committee chair. Once you’ve found the committee(s) you’d like to join, fill out a Willingness to Serve form. Please understand that submitting a volunteer interest form does not guarantee your immediate placement on a committee due to available opportunities. Positions will be filled based upon need and the interest and qualifications of volunteer candidates. You will be contacted by a representative of NAON when a volunteer position becomes available.
Acquiring Interested Members Committee (AIM)
Chair: Kyala Hayes, MSN, RN, ONC
The AIM committee strives to match the skills of interested members with volunteer positions within the organization.
Advancing the Career of Orthopaedic RNs (ACORN)
Chair: Shana Brewer, RN, ONC, GERO-BC, MEDSURG-BC, COHC
The ACORN committee serves as the voice of NAON’s early career nurse members to ensure their needs are met by the association. Our goal is to share the benefits of nurturing early career nurses into their chosen specialty while retaining our seasoned members and encouraging their continued support. This committee implements activities including webinars, website resources, mentorships, online education, and events to engage and attract new nurses to NAON. The ACORN committee is always open to suggestions to ensure members' needs are met by the association.
Chapter and Affiliate Team (CAT)
Chair: Heather Barnes, DNP, APRN, CPNP, ONC
The CAT’s responsibilities include recommending methods to strengthen and promote chapter growth, assessing chapter viability, and facilitating new affiliates to form or weak chapters to fold. The CAT serves as a resource to the chapter presidents and affiliate leaders and has bi-weekly contact with chapter and affiliate leaders.
Leadership Search Committee (LSC)
Chair: Gary Salcedo, BSN, RN, ONC
The LSC is appointed by the NAON Executive Board to actively recruit candidates for elected offices. The committee prepares a ballot that is sent to active members at the beginning of each calendar year. To download the candidate application packet, click here. To view position descriptions and the future election cycle,
click here.
NAON Education Committee
Chair: Diane Jeselskis, BSN, RN, ONC
The Education Committee consists of three units: Congress Unit, Webinar Unit and the Activities and Products Unit. The committee is responsible for developing, implementing, and evaluating the NAON education programming for both NAON's Annual Congress, reviewing and revising current NAON’s educational products and activities, and planning, authoring and reviewing new educational products and activities.
NEC: Congress Unit
The NEC Congress Unit is responsible for shaping and supporting the overall educational experience of the Annual Congress. In collaboration with the Director of Education, the committee develops content categories and topic areas, and evaluates and scores submitted proposals across these categories. It carefully reviews podium presentation submissions, selecting sessions based on factors such as evaluation scores, audience needs, content categorization, inclusion of pharmacy-related topics, educational level, prior year feedback, and input from unit members. Committee members also support presenters by assisting with troubleshooting both before and during the conference and, when possible, attend Congress to provide onsite guidance and serve as a resource at the NEC booth. Following the event, the committee reviews overall and session-specific evaluations to identify opportunities for improvement and helps guide future program development. Members may also participate in additional activities as directed by the committee chairperson, Board, or Director of Education.
NEC: Webinar Unit
The Webinar Unit plays a key role in developing and maintaining high-quality webinar content. The team assists in soliciting and evaluating new submissions, identifies current topic needs, and coordinates with subject matter experts to schedule and record webinars. Members provide constructive feedback to webinar authors throughout the development process and serve as final reviewers for assigned products to ensure accuracy, relevance, and overall quality before release.
NEC: Activities and Products Unit
The Activities and Products Unit is responsible for supporting the development, review, and ongoing improvement of clinical resources and educational materials. Members are required to hold at least a baccalaureate degree, with orthopaedic certification preferred. The unit assesses existing products and activities to identify those in need of revision and facilitates the review and grading of recent peer-reviewed literature to ensure content reflects current evidence. It plays a central role in updating existing Clinical Practice Guidelines and developing new ones as assigned, with members contributing to authorship and serving as final reviewers to ensure quality and accuracy. The unit also collaborates through regular conference calls and email communication to maintain workflow and participates in additional activities as directed by the committee chairperson or Director of Education.
Research Committee
Chair: Melissa Bourne, PhD, RN, CNE, ONC
The Research Committee brings research to the forefront of NAON activities. The NAON research grants provide funding for promising research projects by qualified investigators in the field of orthopaedic nursing.