Speakers

Rachel L. Minahan, MA  
Chief Government Affairs and Policy Officer
American Association of Colleges of Nursing

Rachel Minahan joined the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) in June 2018, where she leads the Association’s advocacy and policy portfolio. In this role, she works closely with Members of Congress, the Administration, national coalitions, and AACN member institutions to advance health and health care through a nursing lens. She also serves as Executive Director of the Nursing Community Coalition, a 64-member organization representing a broad spectrum of nursing education, practice, research, and regulation.

Prior to AACN, Rachel spent more than a decade in government relations and policy, including eight years as a Legislative Director and Senior Legislative Assistant at Polsinelli and Wheat Government Relations. She began her career on Capitol Hill and as a field organizer in Iowa, experiences that grounded her deep commitment to public service and advocacy.

Rachel earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Interdisciplinary Studies in Communication, Legal Institutions, Economics, and Government from American University, and a Master of Arts in Global Security Studies from Johns Hopkins University. She has also served as an assistant adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s School of Nursing and Health Studies, where she taught courses on the foundations of health systems and policy. 

Josh Adams, PhD
Director of Policy and Regulatory Affairs
American Association of Colleges of Nursing

Josh Adams is AACN's Director of Policy and Regulatory Affairs. Josh is a policy and research professional with extensive experience in advocacy, regulatory affairs, and strategic communications. He specialize s in translating complex policy and research issues into clear, actionable insights that inform decision-making and drive organizational impact. With a background spanning nonprofit, association, and corporate sectors, Josh has led initiatives to advance policy priorities, strengthen stakeholder engagement, and develop evidence-based strategies that connect research to real-world outcomes.

Andrew Bryant 
Government Affairs Coordinator 
American Association of Colleges of Nursing 

Andrew Bryant joined the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) in January 2024, where he helps implement AACN’s federal advocacy and legislative strategy. In this role, he helps keep various stakeholder groups and coalitions appraised of the latest developments at the federal level, leads presentations to student groups, coordinates various aspects of AACN’s Hill Days, and drafts advocacy alerts, press releases, and letters on key federal priorities.  

Prior to AACN, Andrew worked for two years as a Policy Assistant at Faegre Drinker Biddle and Reath LLP, where he provided support to a team of government affairs professionals working in numerous issue areas, including healthcare, energy, manufacturing, and transportation. Andrew began his career in advocacy as a field organizer in Virginia, and he holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 

Amanda Rosensky 
Government Affairs and Policy Manager 
American Association of Colleges of Nursing

Amanda Rosensky joined the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) as the Government Affairs and Policy Manager in October 2025. Prior to joining AACN, Amanda was a Presidential Management Fellow and civil servant at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Ser vice, where she worked first as a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) policy specialist before moving to the Agency’s government affairs team where she liaised with Congress to ensure the success of the 16 federal nutrition programs. Amanda began her career as an AmeriCorps VISTA, serving at Wake Forest University to strengthen their community engagement. Amanda earned her Bachelor of Arts in Politics & International Affairs and History from Wake Forest University and has a Master of Public Policy from the University of Virginia.

Speaker

Marta Okoniewski, MPA
Director of Student Engagement
American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN)

Marta Okoniewski is the Director of Student Engagement at the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). She led the development, launch, and growth of the GNSA, a national network providing high-value programs, services, and resources to nursing students enrolled in master’s and doctoral programs. Prior to joining AACN, Ms. Okoniewski worked as the Program Coordinator at New York University College of Nursing within the Academic and Clinical Affairs Department. She received her master’s in public administration from New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Scranton.

Speakers

Marta Okoniewski, MPA
Director of Student Engagement
AACN

Marta Okoniewski, MPA, is the Director of Student Engagement at the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). She led the development, launch, and growth of the GNSA, a national network providing high value programs, services, and resources to nursing students enrolled in master’s and doctoral programs. Prior to joining AACN, Ms. Okoniewski worked as the Program Coordinator at New York University College of Nursing within the Academic and Clinical Affairs Department. She received her master’s in public administration from New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Scranton.

Anne Pearson, BA
Student Services Coordinator
AACN

Anne Pearson is the Student Services Coordinator at the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). She supports graduate nursing students across the country through the Graduate Nursing Student Academy (GNSA) and Liaison leadership program. She has a background in education equity policy research and received her baccalaureate degree in political science from Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky.  

Speakers

Dawn Mueller-Burke, PhD, CRNP, NNP-BC
Assistant Professor/Neonatal Nurse Practitioner
University of Maryland Baltimore
University of Maryland Medical Center

Dr. Mueller-Burke has a clinical focus in the Neonatal Intensive Care arena where she spent most of her career as a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland School of Nursing (UMSON) PhD program with a focus in neonatal neurophysiology. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins University in a developmental genetics laboratory with a focus in stem cell biology. Her research sought to better understand neonatal brain injury and to identify potential interventions, including hypothermia and stem cell therapy to improve outcomes after neonatal brain injury. She shifted her focus to leadership and educational-based endeavors once joining the faculty at the University of Maryland School of Nursing in 2004 where she teaches across degree programs, specifically in the NNP program. She is nationally certified as a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner, with a per diem practice in the NICU at the University of Maryland Medical Center. In 2011 she served as the Faculty Chair of the DNP Transition Task Force incorporating the AACN Essentials, leading all the APN Master’s specialties at UMSON to the doctorate (DNP) beginning Fall 2014. She is currently the Chair of the New Essentials Curricular Revisions Taskforce at UMSON, with a targeted implementation of the graduate programs in the Fall of 2024.

Speakers

Marta Okoniewski, MPA
Director of Student Engagement
American Association of Colleges of Nursing

Marta Okoniewski, MPA, is the Director of Student Engagement at the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). She led the development and launch of the GNSA, a national network providing high value programs, services, and resources to nursing students enrolled in master’s and doctoral programs. Prior to joining AACN, Ms. Okoniewski worked as the Program Coordinator at New York University College of Nursing within the Academic and Clinical Affairs department. She received her master’s in public administration from New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Scranton.