Lorraine M. Jordan Advocate of the Year Award

2026 Lorraine M. Jordan Advocate of the Year Award

Charles Griffis

The Advocate of the Year Award is named in honor of Dr. Lorraine M. Jordan, Foundation CEO from 1987 to 2024. Lorraine is passionate about advocacy on behalf of nurse anesthesiology and was instrumental in creating this award to recognize those that go above and beyond to promote the profession and the Foundation’s mission of advancing the science of anesthesia through education and research. Lorraine is an accomplished leader, mentor, advocate, and friend to many AANA members and the nurse anesthesiology community. The 2026 Lorraine M. Jordan Advocate of the Year Award is presented to Charles Griffis.

Griffis has been a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) for more than 45 years, graduating from the UCLA Program of Nurse Anesthesia in Los Angeles, California.  In his clinical career at a tertiary medical center, he devoted himself to taking care of the sickest patients. He is an educator, a former program director and current faculty, training hundreds of nurse anesthetists and supervising hundreds of innovative scholarly research projects, including pain, wellness and suicide prevention for CRNAs and residents. He is a published researcher with a PhD in nursing pain physiology from UCLA School of Nursing.

“It is with great pleasure that I accept this award, honoring my amazing friend and advocate, Lorraine Jordan,” Griffis said.“ I helped Lorraine and others  build the AANA Foundation health services research focus that provides data supporting nurse anesthesia contributions to the welfare of the nation, and which we use every day in advocating for the profession. There is this link between the philanthropic arm and our great advocacy organization—Foundation research provides you with the ammunition used to fight for our profession.” Griffis said. “Together we will continue to show the country and the world the awesome super power of nurse anesthesia:  to relieve suffering and better the human condition; to care for surgical, obstetrical and pain patients, to provide service to rural, underserved populations who would otherwise have no-one to care for them, and to lead the world of anesthesiology into a safer, more compassionate, and more advanced future for all of us.”

Griffis has been an active volunteer and leader at AANA and AANA Foundation having received the Foundation’s John F. Garde Researcher of the Year Award in 2006. He currently serves as a guest editor and reviewer for the AANA Journal. He served as the Chair of the AANA Infection Control Advisory Panel (ICAP) and has authored numerous publications, podcasts and presentations. He is a former Chair of the AANA Foundation Board, and continues to serve on the Foundation’s Reviewer Corps, and is an AANA Foundation Friend for Life.