2026
NPCB Board of Commissioners Election
Meet
the Candidates
FNP
Member-at-Large
Taiwo Arise, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC,
CNE
Tai
Arise is an experienced nurse practitioner who currently still serves
in clinical practice. She has more than ten years of clinical practice
as a clinician, her background includes correctional health, primary
care, and urgent care medicine, where she continues to provide
comprehensive assessment, diagnostic reasoning, and evidence based
management for adult patients across the life span. Tai brings
significant governance and leadership experiences, she has served as
curriculum chair and administrator for graduate programs, while
contributing to program quality and competency based education. Tai is
committed to NPCB's mission of ensuring certification excellence,
public protection, and advancement of nurse practitioner practice
through rigorous, equitable, and evidence-driven assessment.
**********************************
Dominic M. Etli, DNP, MPH,
MSN/Ed, FNP-C, COHN-S
Dominic
M. Etli, DNP, MPH, APRN, FNP-C, COHN-S, is a nurse practitioner,
clinical informatics leader, epidemiologist, data scientist, and
professor with more than 27 years of healthcare experience. He serves
as Clinical Operations Manager and practices in Occupational Medicine
at the Nevada National Security Site, where his work integrates
advanced practice nursing, workforce health, clinical operations,
informatics, and healthcare analytics.
Dr.
Etli also serves as adjunct faculty in graduate nursing education, a
member of the Nevada State Board of Nursing Advanced Practice Advisory
Council, and a member of the ACOEM Ethics Committee. His professional
experience spans occupational medicine, primary and urgent care,
emergency and critical care, epidemiology, healthcare data science, and
advanced practice education.
He
brings to NPCB a multidisciplinary perspective centered on evidence,
professional accountability, rigorous certification standards, and
ensuring that NP certification remains credible, relevant, and
responsive to the evolving role of advanced practice nurses.
**********************************
Alison Farr, DNP, APRN, FNP-C,
MSCP
Dr.
Alison M. Farr, DNP, APRN, FNP-C, MSCP, is a full-time family nurse
practitioner, founder of Ascent Healthcare, and current member of the
NPCB Board of Commissioners. She leads an independent Vermont practice
providing relationship-based primary care and menopause management
through a hybrid membership and insurance model designed to improve
access, continuity, and sustainability for patient and provider. Her
clinical background spans primary care, cardiology, urgent care,
college health, emergency nursing, and forensic care. Since 2022, Dr.
Farr has supported AANPCB/NPCB through item writing, practice bank and
exam development, standard setting, exam review, and practice-exam
development. She joined the Board in 2025 to complete an unexpired term
and contributes the perspective of an actively practicing clinician and
small-practice owner. Her leadership is grounded in advancing rigorous
certification, representing NPs outside large academic systems, and
developing comprehensive care models that help patients feel heard,
respected, and well cared for.
**********************************
Stephanie Grasso, MSN, FNP-C, MSCP
Stephanie Grasso, MSN, FNP-C, MSCP,
brings more than 12 years of clinical experience across pediatrics,
women’s health, urgent care, and chronic pain management. She currently
practices at UNC in the Department of OB-GYN, Division of Minimally
Invasive Gynecologic Surgery at UNC Health. Throughout her career, she
has led an APP team, served as principal investigator of a nurse-led
research study, mentored registered nurses through clinical
advancement, and served as adjunct faculty, helping shape the next
generation of clinicians.
Stephanie’s recent contributions to
NPCB’s exam item validation and development have provided her with
firsthand insight into how rigorous, evidence-based standards protect
patients and elevate the profession. As healthcare enters a
transformational era shaped by AI and rapidly evolving practice models,
she is committed to ensuring NPCB’s certification standards remain both
rigorous and responsive to how NPs practice today.
Passionate
about translating complex clinical and policy concepts into practical
guidance, Stephanie would bring clarity, collaboration, and a strong
commitment to advancing the profession to her service on the Board of
Commissioners.
**********************************
Ken Stackhouse, MSN, MBA, APRN,
FNP-C, ENP-BC
Ken
Stackhouse holds an MBA from Texas Woman’s University, an MSN from
Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, and postgraduate ER
consolidation from UT Health Science Center at Houston. Dual-certified
in Family and Emergency Practice, he has practiced across Texas,
including eight years as a sole provider in a critical access hospital
covering both ER and inpatient care. He has authored/co-authored three
publications and delivered 54 national presentations.
Ken
has served in clinical practice, teaching, board leadership, and
practice management. His volunteer service includes Texas Peer
Assistance and FEMA disaster-drill peer evaluation, for which he
received a National Homeland Defense award. He received the 2023 Above
and Beyond Award from Texas Nurse Practitioners and AAENP’s inaugural
Community Engagement Award.
A
founding board member and past president of AAENP, Ken remains active
in advancing NP practice. He served as an ENP certification Content
Expert and portfolio reviewer for two years and is founder and
president of the Emergency Nurse Practitioner Foundation. He seeks
re-election to the AANPCB Board to continue supporting excellence in NP
certification and practice.
AGNP
Member-at-Large
Kristen Childress, DNP, APRN,
FNP-BC, AGNP-C, CWCN-AP
Kristen
Childress has been honored to serve as the Adult-Gerontology Nurse
Practitioner Commissioner for the NPCB, also serving as Vice Chair of
the Board this past year. She is committed to ensuring that nurse
practitioners are held to the highest standards and recognized for the
valuable role they play in achieving excellent patient outcomes,
aligning closely with NPCB’s mission of providing high-quality testing
and certification.
Kristen
brings unique expertise as a nurse practitioner entrepreneur, with a
talent for thinking outside the box and innovating to creatively
address challenges. As an academic leader and Teaching Professor who
works with both nurse practitioner students and interprofessional
teams, she is skilled at facilitating challenging conversations that
respect diverse interests and perspectives while guiding groups toward
shared goals. She believes these skills and perspectives are valuable
contributions she brings to the Board.
**********************************
Katherine Reina, DNP, APRN, AGNP-C, CCRN
Katherine
Reina, DNP serves as Director of Advanced Practice Nursing at Mount
Sinai Morningside and West, providing strategic leadership for advanced
practice nurses and advancing initiatives that promote clinical
excellence, quality, and patient-centered care. A recognized leader in
age-friendly healthcare, she has served as clinical program director
for delirium services and currently helps lead system-wide
standardization of delirium care across a large academic health system.
As part of this work, she has contributed to the development and
deployment of an innovative AI-enabled tool designed to support the
early identification and management of patients at risk for delirium.
Dr. Reina's expertise spans advanced practice leadership, healthcare
operations, workforce development, and interdisciplinary collaboration.
She is deeply committed to mentoring future NP leaders and advancing
NPCB's mission through excellence in practice, innovation, lifelong
learning, and leadership development.
**********************************
Hollie R. Seward, DNP, APRN,
AGNP-C, CCM, NEA-BC
Dr.
Hollie R. Seward is an accomplished advanced practice nurse leader with
over 17 years of clinical and leadership experience across the Veterans
Health Administration, academic, and community health settings.
Board-certified as an adult-gerontology nurse practitioner, she has led
enterprise-level APRN practice strategy, workforce development, and
program implementation, advancing high-reliability care and regulatory
compliance. Dr. Seward has served in key leadership and governance
roles as director of the primary care nurse practitioner residency
program, acting Associate Chief Nurse for employee and nursing
education, Lead APRN, and Chair of the APRN Council, influencing
credentialing, privileging, and policy at local and national levels. As
Affiliate Adjunct Faculty at the University of Hawai‘i, she contributes
to nursing education and curriculum development. Dr. Seward is
dedicated to advancing professional standards, supporting APRN
excellence, and promoting patient-centered, evidence-based care that
aligns with the NPCB’s mission of quality, integrity, respect, and
responsiveness.
