Joan Widmer

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VITALS

Hometown Amherst, NH

Credentials MS, MSBA, RN, CEN

Ms. Widmer has a unique and varied professional background.  Prior to becoming a nurse, she had a successful career in multiple corporate accounting and finance roles, including her appointment as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of a publicly traded corporation (Telular Canada, Inc).  In her capacity as a VP of Finance & Accounting, Corporate Controller and/or CFO, Ms. Widmer was responsible for the day-to-day financial and accounting management, including the preparation of financial statements, business plans, strategic plans and monitoring performance against these plans.  In addition, Ms. Widmer oversaw the internal and external audit processes, created and maintained banking relationships and prepared the corporate annual report for shareholders.

In 2004, Ms. Widmer elected to pursue a second career in nursing.  She holds a Bachelor's of Arts, with a double major in European History and Literature from the University of California, San Diego and a Masters of Science degree in Business Administration, with a concentration in Finance, from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.  She completed her first nursing degree at Rivier College School of Nursing and continued to the University of New Hampshire where she graduated with a Master's of Science degree in evidence based practice from the School of Nursing, where she taught as an adjunct clinical faculty member for several years.  Ms. Widmer was appointed the Nurse Executive Director of the New Hampshire Nurses Association in October 2016 and she was responsible for the day-to-day operations of this non-profit professional organization for New Hampshire nurses. She served as spokesperson for the organization and testified on numerous occassions before NH legislative committees regarding bills impacting nursing and healthcare.  During her tenure, Ms. Widmer implemented plans and activities leading to a 22% increase in membership, a 33% increase in revenue.  She retired from this position at the end of November.

Ms. Widmer was honored with election to the business honor society Beta Gamma Sigma and to the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau.   She has been published in the Journal of Emergency Nursing and New Hampshire Nursing News and is the co-author of a research brief published by the Carsey School of Public Policy, University of New Hampshire.   She has spoken nationally and internationally on nursing topics.  She currently serves nationally on the American Nurses Association's (ANA) Political Action Committee Board of Trustees and ANA's Finance, Investment & Audit Committee, as well as on Nursing Service Organization's Advisory Board.  She is a volunteer liaison for the COVID Alliance Senior Support Team and will be serving at Greater Nashua's COVID-19 Vaccination Clinics.