President

Ann Converso President

In her 30-plus years as an acute medical/surgical and later I.V. therapy nurse at the Buffalo Veterans Affairs Medical Center (later the VA of Western New York Health Systems), Ann Converso has been an active and articulate voice for her veteran patients and the staff nurses around the country who provide bedside care every day.

Converso became president of the United American Nurses in 2007 following the death of UAN's first president, Cheryl Johnson, and was elected to a full term as UAN president in March 2008. Converso previously had served as UAN's vice president since 2000. In March 2008, Converso was elected to the AFL-CIO Executive Council, the only RN serving on the Council. In 2000, Converso was part of the UAN executive leadership team that paved the way for UAN's historic affiliation with the AFL-CIO.

Converso has been an especially powerful advocate for staff nurses in the VA health care system. She has used her seat on the National VA Partnership Council, the forum for federal labor unions and top VA management, to speak out strongly on the need to improve working conditions in VA facilities in order to attract and retain registered nurses in the federal system. In May 2001, Converso was appointed by Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony Principi to the staff nurse seat on the National Commission on VA Nurses, which shapes the direction of VA nursing at the highest levels.

Converso's union work began and continues at the local level, where she is chair of her local bargaining unit, and a past president of New York State Nurse's Association's Local District 1. As past chair of the Delegate Assembly of unionized staff nurses, Converso helped lead the push for state legislation promoting needlestick prevention and banning mandatory overtime. Photo by Lee Balgemann, Photographics, 2003.