2025-2026 AAHFN Board of Directors

Robin Miller
DNP, MPH, ACNP-BC, CHFN
President
Portland, OR

Robin is a nurse practitioner within the Advanced Heart Failure Program at Providence St. Vincent’s Medical Center. She specializes in the care of patients with advanced heart failure, cardiogenic shock, those requiring MCS, and pre- and post-cardiac transplant. She provides education to caregivers in her region on AHF and cardiogenic shock, focusing on early recognition and treatment. Robin is also an assistant professor at OHSU’s AGACNP Program, serving as faculty since 2014.

Robin has been an active member of the Annual Meeting Committee and was previously part of the Advanced Heart Failure Symposium Committee.  She recently participated in a joint AAHFN program, working to engage nurses in cardiogenic shock management at the Houston Shock Symposium.

Robin earned her BSN from CSU Fresno, her MSN from UCLA and was awarded her DNP from University of Arizona.  She is certified as an Acute Care NP by American Nurses Credentialing Center and as a Heart Failure Nurse from American Association of Heart Failure Nurses.

Linda J. Ordway
RN, MSN ACNP-BC, CHFN
President Elect 
Boston, MA

Linda is the in-hospital Clinical Lead in NP in the Advanced Heart Failure Program at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, which is a tertiary, cardiac transplant and ventricular assist device certified referral center. 

She was a bedside critical care RN for 16 years prior to becoming a board certified acute care nurse practitioner in 1997. Linda has been caring for advanced heart failure patients in the hospital setting for 20 years as both a CNS and NP and has been an AAHFN certified heart failure nurse for 9 years. The population of patients she c ares for are primarily ACC/AHA stage D, requiring daily hemodynamic monitoring and continuous vasoactive agents to optimize and stabilize their decompensated states while being evaluated and/ or waiting for advanced therapies such as cardiac transplant and mechanical ventricular assist devices (VAD). In Linda's current role, she provides direct care as an acute care NP and provides consultation in planning and facilitating transitions in care from the acute care setting (hospital) to home or other facilities. She also provides education to nurses and physicians-in-training on many topics, pertaining to management of Stage D HF. A specific area of focus involves providing education and counseling to patients and caregivers regarding decisions surrounding treatment options for Stage D HF, management of these therapies once the treatment has been decided and withdrawing therapies when end of life is approaching. Linda remains an active committee member of AAHFN and has presented at multiple national meetings on topics pertaining to areas of her cardiovascular expertise in nursing and has also been published in these areas. 

Chris M. Bell

MSN, ACNP
Secretary
New Albany, MS

Chris is a nurse practitioner with the Cardiology Associates of North Mississippi with a practice emphasis coordinating, and managing a heart failure failure and arrhythmia clinic consistent with practice guidelines complimented by contemporary research- working to better coordinate heart failure and electrophysiology practice. He was fortunate to have started the heart failure nurse practitioner program for his group in May 2004

Chris has an emerging interest in cardiac amyloid and has been involved with novel therapeutics; as well as focus groups to advance a better understanding and treatment of this underappreciated disease state. 

Chris earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the Loewenberg School of Nursing, University of Memphis in 1998, followed by a Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Tennessee in 2002 with an Acute Care specialty. He is an active co-investigator in clinical research through his group. He is also a preceptor for the Nurse Practitioner Fellowship Program through North Mississippi Medical Center which started in 2016. Chris has been a member of AAHFN since 2008 and has the privilege of serving on both the Annual Conference and Advanced Heart failure Symposium Planning Committees. 

Amy Corcoran is a heart failure nurse at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, Oregon. While she has served as a bedside nurse on the cardiac step-down unit since graduated nursing school in 2005, Amy has also continued developing her skillset through participation on the unit-based nursing practice council and the magnet committee, as well as taking on the roles of staff educator and heart failure champion. She serves as a committee member on the hospital-wide Heart Failure Best Practice committee where represents bedside nursing.  Amy has developed a group-based heart failure education series for in-patients, in which the class topics alternate between nutrition and symptom management.  The unique set-up of having patients learn in a group setting with their peers has been beneficial in improving heart failure knowledge, as well as providing emotional support.  Amy has spoken at numerous community events geared towards people living with heart failure. She is also is involved in the American Heart Association and OHSU community hub for heart failure.  She has been a speaker and moderator for workshops put on through this program to help caregivers in the community learn more about heart failure.  Amy’s goal is to increase heart failure educational resources geared towards bedside, clinic and community nursing so they in turn can provide exceptional care to their patients. 

Amy has been an active member of AAHFN since 2014 and has served as the chair of the Membership committee since 2019.  She earned her BS in Life Sciences from University of Portland and her BSN from Oregon Health and Science University. She is certified as a Heart Failure Nurse from AAHFN. 

Stephanie Barnes
DNP, AGNP-C, CHFN
Director
Chapel Hill, NC 

Stephanie Barnes is a Nurse Practitioner and the Clinical Director for Advanced Heart Failure Services at Duke University Hospital (DUH). In this role, Stephanie provides clinical and programmatic oversight for the mechanical circulatory support (MCS) program. She previously supported the Cardiology Advanced Practice Providers at DUH as Team Leader for 4 years. Stephanie is a Clinical Associate at the Duke University School of Nursing.  

Stephanie has worked in Cardiology and Cardiothoracic Surgery for her entire nursing career. First, as a staff nurse in CT Surgery, then after obtaining her Nurse Practitioner license, has been in cardiology with a focus on heart failure, MCS and cardiac transplantation. Stephanie is certified by the AANP as an Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner and by AAHFN as a Certified Heart Failure Nurse. Stephanie was recognized by Duke University Health System as a Friends of Nursing award winner in 2021.  

Stephanie has served the AAHFN as a member and past Chair of the Annual Meeting Committee for two years. She is a member HFSA where she has volunteered as a member of the Annual Scientific Advisory Work Group. She serves as a volunteer with the American Heart Association.

Stephanie has provided local, regional and national lectures on various topics related to heart failure and MCS.  She has published in peer reviewed journals and served as the co-Editor of the Heart Failure Nursing Certification Core Curriculum Review (3rd Ed.). She enjoys partnering with the multidisciplinary team to improve quality of care for heart failure patients and develop high quality heart failure and mechanical circulatory support programs. Stephanie has a passion for nursing and advanced practice professional development and mentorship and has served as a preceptor and committee member for multiple Clinical Nurse Specialist, Nurse Practitioner and Doctoral students. 

Stephanie received her Bachelors of Science in Nursing from the University of South Carolina, Masters in Nursing from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Doctorate in Nursing from Duke University. 

Janet Roman
DNP, APRN, ACNP-BC, CHFN, ACHPN
Director
Tampa, FL

Dr Janet Roman is an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, CHFN, and Advanced Certified Hospice & Palliative Care Nurse. She has been the Principal Investigator in many studies to advance palliative care use in heart failure patients.

Dr Roman is an educator. She wanted to be a solution to the nursing shortage and has educated nurses for decades. She is currently the Director of Hospice & Palliative Care and an associate professor in the graduate clinical programs at the University of South Florida.

Dr. Roman devoted the past decade to advancing HF interventions in palliative care and hospice. Her goal is to improve outcomes in HF patients at the end of life, alleviating symptoms, honoring goals of care, which in turn reduces HF hospitalizations. She works feverishly in the community educating underserved minorities on managing modifiable conditions that can lead to HF like diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia. 

At AAHFN, Dr Roman has served two terms on the former publications committee, was the Connection editor, was a certification board member for two terms, and is the chair of diversity,  equity, and inclusion. Dr. Roman has authored many articles for the Connection, edited white papers for AAHFN, authored tip sheets, patient guidebooks, and authored a chapter in the Core  curriculum textbook.

Jennifer Fox
MSN, RN, ACNPC-AG, CCRN, CHFN
Director
New York, NY 

Jen is currently the Lead Heart Transplant Nurse Practitioner at Weill-Cornell New York Presbyterian. Jen graduated from Thomas Jefferson University with her Bachelors in Nursing in 2009 from the accelerated program. She started working on a telemetry unit at Princeton Medical Center with quick transition to the ICU/CCU unit. She started taking care of heart failure patients at this first job and immediately became passionate about heart failure patients. She stayed in this unit for several years while continuing on at Thomas Jefferson to obtain her Masters. She graduated in 2013 from Thomas Jefferson University, Summa Cum Laude, with her Acute-Care Adult Gerontology degree. She started working in a cardiology practice, Hunterdon Medical Center, and developed her first heart failure clinic. She joined AAHFN in 2013 as her first year as an NP. Jen moved to Florida in 2016 and worked in the CT-ICU caring for advanced heart failure and transplant patients. She moved back home to Philadelphia in 2018 and worked at Lankenau Medical Center/Main Line Health doing advanced heart failure and pulmonary hypertension. During her time there she helped build the heart failure program and started APP grand rounds in 2020 for Main Line Health. She became the education chair for AAHFN and has been for the past 3-4 years. During her years as a Nurse Practitioner she was a preceptor for numerous students from several colleges in the Philadelphia and Florida areas. She presented several cardiology topics to other medical colleagues along with the general public. She is a speaker for several companies educating on disease state topics. She is also a member of PHPN, ISHLT, ARC and ACC organizations. She was a Sub-I in several research trials over the years.

Laura Peters 
DNP, FNP-C, FACC, FHFSA
Director
Denvor, CO 

Laura L. Peters is a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner and an Associate Professor of Medicine with the Advanced Heart Failure and Cardiac Transplant team at the University of Colorado. She specializes in the care of advanced heart failure patients with a particular focus on heart transplant recipients. She is Lead for the Heart Failure APPs. She is also Lead of the Children’s Hospital Colorado and UCHealth Heart Transplant Transition Program. She is an adjunct professor at the CU College of Nursing.

She is the DNP Project Coordinator for the Office of Advanced Practice. As the DNP Project Coordinator she builds relationships with academic institutions and connects DNP students with quality initiative across UCHealth for DNP projects. She is involved in several quality improvement projects throughout the organization. She is passionate about the impact of mental health, healthy lifestyle habits, and advance care planning in patients with chronic disease states.

Dr. Peters is actively involved in AAHFN, including the Annual Meeting Committee (Chair 2025), the Communications Committee, the Scientific Statement Committee, and the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force. She is actively involved in other cardiology professional organizations and is passionate about building collaborative relationships to improve care of patients living with heart failure.

S. Craig Thomas 
MSN, APRN, ACNP-BC, ACNS-BC, CHFN
Immediate Past President
Faber, VA

Craig has been a heart failure/ cardiovascular nurse since 2001, working as a bedside nurse, Nurse Manager and now an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner in the Heart Failure program as well as Clinical Instructor in Nursing for UVA School of Nursing. He received his BS degree in Biology from James Madison University, his BSN, MSN and post-Master’s ACNP from University of Virginia.  He is certified as a Clinical Nurse Specialist, and Acute Care NP by American Nurses Credentialing Center and as a Heart Failure Nurse from American Association of Heart Failure Nurses.

Craig has been heavily involved in heart failure readmission reduction strategies, remote monitoring and transitional care strategies for UVA Health.  He has first-hand knowledge of the impact nursing care has on patient transitions. He is the Supervisor of the University of Virginia Medical Center’s Cardiology Home Visit program, one of the first Grand-Aide Chronic care/ Transitional care heart failure programs in the US. 

Craig has been a member of the AAHFN since 2007, member of the Education Committee since 2013 and had been Chair of the committee from 2015-2018.  In 2018 he joined the Board of Directors and has been the organizations Treasurer until 2023 when he assume the President-Elect position.