SPEAK UP Director to be Inducted as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing

Renée Byfield Selected to be Inducted as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing

The Institute for Perinatal Quality Improvement (PQI) is pleased to announce that Renée Byfield, MS, RN, FNP, C-EFM, has been selected to become a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (Academy). Renée is the Program Director and co-author of the Institute for Perinatal Quality Improvement’s SPEAK UP Against Racism Program. Induction into the Academy is a significant milestone in a nurse leader’s career in which their accomplishments are honored by their colleagues within and outside the profession. Fellows are selected based on their contributions and impact to advance the public’s health.

The Academy is a policy organization and an honorific society that recognizes nursing's most accomplished leaders in policy, research, practice, administration, and academia to advance equitable solutions to the most complex health care challenges. Academy Fellows hold a wide variety of influential roles in health care in the United States and abroad. Induction into the Fellowship represents more than recognition of one's accomplishments within the nursing profession. Fellows contribute their collective expertise to the Academy, engaging with health leaders nationally and globally to improve health and achieve health equity by impacting policy through nursing leadership, innovation, and science.

Ms. Byfield has educated thousands of perinatal healthcare professionals with the goal of eliminating preventable perinatal morbidity and mortality. She has experience in obstetric and neonatal care, spanning leadership roles in nursing, management, education, and curriculum development. With a career encompassing academia, hospital, and ambulatory settings, she’s made significant contributions to institutions including Drexel University as Clinical Assistant Professor for nursing baccalaureate and masters level courses; the Association of Women’s Health Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) as Program Manager authoring and facilitating creation of internationally recognized perinatal, neonatal and simulation programs and was the clinical lead on the Postpartum Project Hemorrhage, a multi-state quality improvement project to improve Black maternal mortality in the US; NYP – Weill Cornell as Perinatal Safety Administrator launching team training and interdisciplinary simulation in-situ drills; and Kaiser Permanente GA as Nurse Manager for OB/GYN, Urogynecology where she launched the Percutaneous Tibial Nerve Stimulation clinic. She received AWHONN’s 2022 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Leadership Award in recognition of her role as a birth equity leader and innovator. As a PhD student at Emory University and a National Institutes of Health T32 Pre-Doctoral Training Scholar, her research focuses on using data science to mitigate obstetric violence.

PQI’s Founder & CEO, Debra Bingham, DrPH, RN, FAAN, said of Renée, “I’m so honored to work with Renée and have her share her expertise and brilliance as the Director and Co-Author of PQI’s SPEAK UP Program.”

The newest Fellows, selected from a competitive pool of applicants, represent 37 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and 14 countries. Their unique expertise and expansive body of knowledge will soon bolster the collective impact of over 3,000 Academy Fellows to achieve the Academy’s vision of healthy lives for all people.

Renée and the 2024 inductees will be recognized for their substantial, sustained, and significant contributions to health and health care at the Academy’s annual Health Policy Conference, taking place on October 31 – November 2, 2024 in Washington, DC during the Induction Ceremony on the evening of November 2nd. After the ceremony, the new inductees can use their FAAN (Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing) credential, the most prestigious recognition in nursing.

Learn more about the Academy and visit the policy conference website for more details. For individuals interested in attending the Induction Ceremony, tickets can be purchased online.

About the American Academy of Nursing
The American Academy of Nursingserves the public by advancing health policy and practice through the generation, synthesis, and dissemination of nursing knowledge. Academy Fellows are inducted into the organization for their extraordinary contributions to improve health locally and globally. With more than 3,000 Fellows, the Academy represents nursing’s most accomplished leaders in policy, research, administration, practice, and academia.