ABNN Certificant of the Year Awards
New in 2026: ABNN now offers two Certificant of the Year Awards: one recognizing excellence in clinical practice and one recognizing excellence in nurse leadership. These changes ensure nominees are evaluated based on role-specific contributions and achievements.
The ABNN Certificant of the Year awards are presented each year at the AANN Neuroscience Nursing Annual Conference. These annual award recognizes a CNRN/SCRN certified Clinical Nurse and Nurse Leader's outstanding achievements in neuroscience nursing. The recipients contribute to neuroscience nursing through
Application Deadlines
ABNN Certificant of the Year Award applications are due Friday, October 30, 2026, to Morgan Cassidy, ABNN Operations Administrator, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Nominate yourself or a colleague today.
ABNN Certified Clinical Nurse of the Year Award
This award recognizes a CNRN or SCRN who provides direct patient care and demonstrates excellince in clinical practice. Recipients exemplify outstanding patient care, evidence-based practice, professional services, mentoring, advocacy, and promotion of certification.
View eligibility requirements and download the application.
ABNN Certified Nurse Leader of the Year Award
This award recognizes a CNRN or SCRN nurse leader serving in a formal leadership role, such as, nursing prodessional development, nursing manager, stroke coordinator, clinical nurse specialist, director, etc. Recipients demonstrate exceptional leadership, professional service, mentoring and professional development, advocacy, innovation, evidence-based practice, and promotion of certification.
View eligibility requirements and download the application.
Help promote the Certificant of the Year Awards at your hospital. Print and display the awards flyer to encourage your colleagues to nominate a deserving nurse.
Past Winners
2026 ABNN Certificant of the Year Winner:
Kim Apurado, PhD BSN RN CCRN CNRN SCRN
Recommended by: Jeanette Singson and Eunice Irungu
As a neuroscience and stroke nurse at Kaiser Permanente Redwood City Medical Center in California, Kim has led numerous initiatives to improve patient outcomes and streamline interdisciplinary collaboration. After obtaining his SCRN credential, he collaborated with nurse leadership to create a structured review program. Kim’s example motivated several colleagues to become certified, strengthening the unit and fostering a culture of professional pride and excellence.
2025 ABNN Certificant of the Year Winner:
Tina Resser, MSN ACNP-BC FNP-BC CNRN
Recommended by: Molly King and Brad Douglas
Tina Resser is a nurse practitioner in Cerebrovascular Neurosurgery at the Cleveland Clinic. For over 20 years, she has dedicated her career to the management of neurosurgical and neuro critically ill patients. Tina received her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. She has spoken and published in her clinical area of expertise. Tina was the co-founder of the Cleveland chapter of AANN and loves to educate anyone who will listen about cerebrovascular disease. She regularly precepts and lectures graduate students. When not managing patients, Tina enjoys spending time with her family and dreaming about her garden.
2024 ABNN Certificant of the Year Winner:
Angel Duzan, DNP RN ACCNS-AG CCRN CNRN SCRN ASC-BC
Recommended by: Jenae Chamberlain and Richard Scheer
Shortly after graduating from my associate degree program in 2000, I found my passion in neuroscience nursing. I started studying for my first certification, CCRN, just after passing the NCLEX and later my CNRN and SCRN. I am also board certified as an acute care clinical nurse specialist (ACCNS-AG) and stroke coordinator (ASC-BC) and firmly believe that specialty certification is essential to demonstrate the exceptional knowledge nurses use to deliver care to the growing complexity of patients every day. I currently serve as the Director of our Comprehensive Stroke Center where I am fortunate to lead our team in delivering on our commitment to provide the highest level of care to improve clinical outcomes, patient satisfaction, and resource utilization. My first nursing mentor said, “you should learn something new every day you come in to work”, and I use those words as a guiding principle as I practice and teach.
2023 ABNN Certificant of the Year Winner:
Linda Sugrue, BSN RN SCRN ASC-BC
Recommended by: Lenore Paterno and Raffaele Milizia
I’m a career nurse of 28 years and currently serve my community as the lead for our organization’s multidisciplinary Stroke Program. I have the honor of working beside a dedicated Medical Director and collaborative health care team who share in our mission of providing comprehensive care for patients across the stroke care continuum through best practices and a spirit of inquiry. As a stroke champion, educator, and mentor, I create innovative learning opportunities to teach, motivate, and support our team. I am an ardent patient advocate, a devoted lifelong learner, and a believer in nurse excellence. Professional Certification is an excellent way for nurses to demonstrate commitment to our specialty, to promote elevation of our practice, and to take pride in our personal growth. I highly recommend it.
2022 ABNN Certificant of the Year Winner:
Lisa Cohen, MS RN ACNS-BC CCRN-K CNRN
Recommended by: Brad Torrie and Taylor Pardo
The importance of certification was instilled in me early in my career by the nurses who worked with me in the MICU. I obtained my first certification -CCRN- in 1988 and the CNRN in 1996 and continue to emphasize the importance of obtaining certification to others. I have been a member of AANN since 1989 joining the local Chicago chapter and continuing with the Southeast Michigan chapter after returning home to the Detroit area in 1991. I have been a neuroscience clinical nurse specialist at Henry Ford Hospital for 28 years. I am fortunate to work with an extraordinary group of nurses, managers, educators, administrators, nurse practitioners, neurologists and neurosurgeons who are as passionate and dedicated as I am to provide exceptional care to every patient. I love about what I do. Being a neuro nurse is challenging in every realm- intellectually, physically, and emotionally – and it is always evolving. No two days are alike, and I learn something new every day.