AANA Honors Education Excellence in Nurse Anesthesiology: Program Administrator of the Year Award Presented to Lori Anderson

Rosemont, Ill. – The American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology (AANA) will present Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) Lori Anderson, DNP, CRNA, APRN, FAANA, with the Program Administrator of the Year Award during its top educator experience, the 2026 EDGE Conference, February 4-7, in Louisville, Kentucky.

The Program Administrator of the Year Award was established in 1991 to recognize a CRNA who has made a significant contribution as a program director to the educational process of Resident Registered Nurse Anesthetists (RRNAs). The award recognizes the individual’s commitment to the profession of nurse anesthesiology and to the advancement of educational standards that further the art and science of anesthesiology and result in high-quality patient care.

Anderson has served as the program director of the Rosalind Franklin University (RFU) Nurse Anesthesia Program, located in North Chicago, Illinois, since 2019. Her accomplishments include improving student clinical experiences, increasing and retaining a strong faculty body, and supporting innovative methods of learning. During her tenure as program director, the student class sizes have increased more than 25%, and an additional location of operation in Colorado was initiated where no CRNA program had previously existed.

According to her colleague, “Dr. Anderson is the epitome of innovative learning. She was able to navigate the nurse anesthesia program flawlessly through the COVID pandemic, obtaining all necessary technical support during the pandemic to the degree that didactic students’ end of program surveys revealed no significant difference from activities previously offered in-person.”  In addition, end of program surveys from the graduates from the classes of 2023, 2024, and 2025 indicate between 95-100% of the residents in each cohort would “seek admission to the RFU program again.” This demonstrates the positive perceptions of graduates as to how the program is run and how the curriculum serves their needs to practice as CRNAs upon graduation.

Anderson is recognized as a champion of promoting diversity in the CRNA profession by increasing opportunities for students of diverse backgrounds. Since 2023, supported by her efforts RFU has served as a host site for the Diversity in Nurse Anesthesia Mentorship Program Information Session and Skills Labs. She also built a relationship with the Leadership Excel and Achievement Program (LEAP) to open additional opportunities to students that may not have had this access in past years.

“I am deeply honored and humbled to accept the AANA Program Administrator of the Year Award,” said Anderson. “I am so very grateful to have the privilege to be a champion of education for nurse anesthesiology and help shape and mentor the leaders in our field for tomorrow.”

As a testament to her unwavering dedication as a mentor and program director, a student writes, “Her leadership is visible in her contributions and improvements to our program and her commitment to excellence cannot be ignored, as she role models what it means to be the ‘Program Administrator of the Year” every single day.”

Among her leadership roles, Anderson is a former president of the Illinois Association of Nurse Anesthetists (IANA) and former president of the National Board of Certification and Recertification of Nurse Anesthetists (NBCRNA).

Anderson earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree and Master of Science in Nursing degree, Specializing in Anesthesia, from Rush University in Chicago. She received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Northern Illinois University in Dekalb, Illinois and a diploma as a Registered Nurse from Rockford Memorial Hospital School of Nursing in Rockford, Illinois.

To learn more about AANA Member Recognition awards, visit https://www.aana.com/membership/recognition/aana-awards/.