Chuck Griffis Named AANA Foundation’s Lorraine M. Jordan Advocate of the Year Award Winner

Rosemont, Ill. – The American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology (AANA) Foundation will present Chuck Griffis, PhD, CRNA, FAANA, with the Lorraine M. Jordan Advocate of the Year Award at the AANA 2026 Annual Congress, August 21-25 in Boston.

The Advocate of the Year Award is presented to an AANA Foundation supporter for outstanding commitment to the nurse anesthesia profession through individually supporting the AANA Foundation and encouraging others to do the same, or advocating for the profession in a magnanimous way.  The Advocate of the Year Award was recently named in honor of Dr. Lorraine M. Jordan, AANA Foundation CEO from 1987 to 2024, whose legacy and passion for advocacy was instrumental to advancing the science of anesthesia through education and research.

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.

Griffis also is a former President of the California Association of Nurse Anesthesiology, and is the chair of CANA Wellness Committee, presenting with CRNAs and residents at state meetings.

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