Wednesday, June 6, 2018
Posted by: Mary Elkordy
The Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) Board of Directors is pleased to announce that it has hired Suzanne Berry, MBA, CAE as its Interim CEO succeeding Lynn Erdman, MN, FAAN, who previously announced that she was stepping down as CEO, a position she has held since 2014. Nonprofit HR placed Berry in interim role and will be working on the permanent CEO position at a future date to be determined by the Board.
“On behalf of the BOD, I would like to express our enthusiastic support for Suzanne as she leads our AWHONN team into the future”, said AWHONN’s President Jenn Doyle, MSN, WHNP-BC, “She has phenomenal experience and expertise in association management and we look forward to working with her”. Ms. Doyle concluded, “On behalf of the Board and everyone at AWONN, I also want to extend my appreciation to Lynn Erdman for her leadership over the past 4 years.
“I am honored to serve as AWHONN’s Interim CEO” said AWHONN’s Interim Chief Executive Officer Suzanne Berry, MBA, CAE. “I look forward to promoting and implementing our mission to promote the health of women and newborns served by our members. ”
Berry, a seasoned executive, brings nonprofit leadership experience with an expertise focused on governance and infrastructure review, fundraising and development, marketing, strategic planning, project management, and finance. Since selling a successful association management company in 2007, Suzanne has been working with organizations in interim C-Suite positions. She has worked with the American Diabetes Association, American Society for Interior Designers, Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, and the International Association for the Study of Pain.
About AWHONN
Since 1969, the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) has been the foremost authority promoting the health of women and newborns and strengthening the nursing profession through the delivery of superior advocacy, research, education, and other professional and clinical resources. AWHONN represents the interests of 350,000 registered nurses working in women’s health, obstetric, and neonatal nursing across the United States. Learn more about AWHONN at www.awhonn.org.
About Suzanne Berry, MBA, CAE
Berry comes to AWHONN with over 30 years in the nonprofit sector, primarily in leading medical and scientific organizations. She has been serving in Interim C-Suite roles since 2014. Berry’s interim roles have included: Senior Advisor to the Executive Director overseeing Finance and special projects for the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP); Senior Strategic Advisor to the CEO for the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards (CFP Board) overseeing education, examination, talent management and communication; interim COO of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID); and Interim CEO of the American Diabetes Association.
Berry founded Association Resources in 1983 along with Peter J. Berry, CAE. Prior to selling AR in 2007, she developed and led a broad portfolio of health care clients. She served as Executive Director of the American Epilepsy Society (AES), the American Society for Experimental Neurotherapeutics (ASENT) and the International Society for Clinical Densitometry (ISCD). She was a strategic advisor to many of AR’s clients, including the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR) and consulted with organizations to develop and design certification programs. She has facilitated many strategic planning sessions for nonprofit organizations. She has also worked with associations to develop governance and board training programs.
Berry holds a Master in Business Administration from Northeastern University, Boston, MA. She is an active member of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), is a Certified Association Executive, and serves on the ASAE CAE Testing Committee and the ASAE Foundation Development Committee. She is also a National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Governance Fellow.
