Joanne Evans, RN PMHCNS-BC MEd

Clinical Specialist in Adult Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing

Executive Director, Healthy Nurses…Healthy Communities

Nurse Planner, Physician Committee for Responsible Medicine conferences

Joanne Evans, RN, holds a Master’s degree in Counseling Education from the University of Virginia, and her service as a licensed Clinical Specialist in Adult Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing spans four decades.  She has held Clinical Faculty, Associate Faculty and Assistant Professor positions at various times with the University of Maryland School of Nursing, Frederick Community College and University of North Carolina Greensboro.  She also holds a Certificate in Plant Based Nutrition from T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies, and a Certificate in Holistic Nursing from the American Holistic Nurses Association.  

Joanne founded and serves as Executive Director of “Healthy Nurses…Healthy Communities”, which develops educational workshops and national conferences for nurses, and facilitates the work of community organizations involved with plant-based nutrition.  This organization focuses upon the potential for nurses to act as healthier role models, and upon the use of food as medicine in the treatment of heart disease, obesity, diabetes and other chronic conditions.
 
On behalf of Physician Committee for Responsible Medicine, Joanne has served as Nurse Planner for its International Conference on Nutrition in Medicine series, and developed its nurses nutrition website.  For eight years she served as Assistant Director for the Institute of Credentialing Innovation that was established by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), and over the years has consulted in other capacities for ANCC.  She has continued since 2014 to serve on the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists Task Force on Malnutrition in the Hospitalized Adult.

In 2015, Joanne’s article “Plant-based Nutrition:  Will Your Next Prescription Be for the Farmers Market OR the Pharmacy?” was published by the American Journal of Holistic Nursing.  She has made numerous presentations at conferences, state or national level professional meetings and medical institutions.  Her volunteer service in nursing practice has included medical missions to the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Jamaica and (after Hurricane Katrina) the New Orleans area, as well as advisement of ongoing community programs on behalf of transitioning foster youth.!