Faculty, Alumni Named to AAN’s 2026 Class of Fellows

The American Academy of Nursing will welcome several new members from the Columbia Nursing community to its 2026 Class of Fellows this fall. They will be inducted at AAN’s health policy conference, to be held October 8-10 in Washington, DC.  

This year’s inductees include Mary Hickey, EdD, vice dean of education, along with three Columbia Nursing alumni: 

• Cassandra E. Dobson, PhD '06

• Ragnhildur Ingibjargardottir Bjarnadottir, PhD '16 

• Jinjiao Wang, PhD '15 

Former Columbia Nursing postdoctoral fellows Dawon Baik, PhD, and Sarah Iribarren, PhD, will also be inducted at the ceremony. 

The newest fellows represent 39 states, the District of Columbia, and 17 countries.  

“It is a privilege to celebrate these remarkable nurse leaders whose vision, dedication, and accomplishments represent the very best of our profession. Through evidence-based innovation, leadership, and scholarship, they have improved outcomes, shaped policy and practice, strengthened nursing education and care delivery, and advanced scalable solutions that promote healthy lives for all people,” AAN president Debra J. Barksdale, PhD, noted in a press release.  

For more on this year’s inductees, read the AAN announcement.