Claudia brings more than 20 years of experience to the position, most recently at the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), the credentialing subsidiary of the American Nurses Association. ANCC is the world’s largest and most prestigious board-credentialing organization for the field of nursing. It has certified more than 150,000 nurses in 30 practice areas, recognizes health care organizations for promoting safe and positive work environments through the Magnet Recognition Program and the Pathway to Excellence Program, and accredits providers of continuing nursing education. In addition, ANCC provides leading-edge information and education services to support its core credentialing programs.
During her four years with ANCC, Claudia led the development of a $25 million annual operating budget and rolling three-year capital budget, and supervised service contracts for finance, information technology, human resources, online services, and general counsel. She also developed business plans, led a “re-branding” initiative, and oversaw the marketing and customer service departments.
Before accepting the ANCC position, Claudia served as vice president of operations for Leadership Maryland, a highly respected non-profit that delivers statewide two-day educational programs to senior executives from diverse fields. Her accomplishments at Leadership Maryland included developing evaluation systems to ensure participant satisfaction and ongoing program improvement, implementing processes for greater efficiency in the competitive application process, and redesigning the database to expand search capabilities.
After earning a master’s in business administration, Claudia spent 11 years with the U.S. Naval Institute, beginning as membership promotion manager and being promoted first to production manager and then to director of membership and communications. As director, she became one of only six “direct reports” to the CEO of a 100,000-member professional association.
“I think the career progression that led me to BOC will allow me to hit the ground running as the Board and staff work to take BOC to the next level,” notes Claudia. “Our Board’s aim in recent years has been to implement a strategic plan that positions BOC for a future of growth. Building on that strong foundation the Board has created, BOC is ready to identify and achieve many new goals that will strongly benefit our certificants, accredited facilities, and the O&P and DME professions.”
Claudia is a Certified Association Executive (CAE), which is the American Society of Association Executives’ highest designation, awarded to individuals who have achieved significant results in the association industry. Although there are thousands of associations representing various interest groups in the U.S., fewer than 25% of ASAE’s member association executives hold the CAE designation.
Claudia spent her first few weeks with BOC building her familiarity with daily operations, budgets, her staff, and the other organizations that play roles in the worlds of O&P and DME. Shortly thereafter, she traveled to the AOPA National Conference, in the first of a series of trips that will take her around the country to get acquainted with BOC certificants and with national and state officials whose organizations play important roles in the work lives of BOC practitioners.
“I’m looking forward to immersing myself in our practitioners’ concerns,” she says simply. “I understand certification and its importance, and I have a lot of respect for the sound business practices that underlie our ability to serve our certificants and accredited facilities. I believe our nation will see a growing demand for specialized health practitioners whose mission is to help people stay as active as possible, and I think BOC’s practitioners will be at the forefront of that effort.”