By Sarah Morgan Johnson
Six University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing faculty members and alumni have been named Fellows of the American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology. They are among 40 nurse leaders to be inducted into the 2025 class of AANA Fellows and will be recognized in August at the AANA Annual Congress in Nashville, Tennessee. Distinguished researchers, advocates, educators and practitioners are selected based on their professional contributions to nurse anesthesiology.
This year’s faculty inductees include Clinical Assistant Professor Thomas Baribeault, DNP, CRNA, Clinical Assistant Professor Kesha Thurston DNP, MSHQS, CRNA (BSN 1998, MNA 2006, DNP 2019), and Assistant Professor and Doctor of Nursing Practice Nurse Anesthesia Pathway Interim Director Amy Yerdon, DNP, MNA, CRNA, CNE, CHSE (MNA 2011). The UAB School of Nursing alumni inductees include Lisa Lucas, CRNA, DNP (DNP 2013), Erica Moore, DNP, CRNA (MSN 2014), and Krista Niedermeier DNP, MNA, CRNA (BSN 1989, MNA 2006, DNP 2013).
“The 2025 Class of AANA Fellows candidates exemplify the highest standards of excellence, leadership, and service in nurse anesthesiology,” said Keith Macksoud, MA, CRNA, USAR(ret), FAANA, Fellows Selection Committee Chair. “These individuals have each made significant, lasting contributions to the profession and embody the values that the FAANA designation represents. It is an honor to recognize their dedication and achievements, which continue to elevate the impact of CRNAs across healthcare and beyond.”
Thomas Baribeault, DNP, CRNA
Baribeault is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the School’s DNP Nurse Anesthesia Pathway. He is the founder and President of the Society of Opioid Free Anesthesia and is on the board of directors for the Society of Nurse Anesthesiologists and Researchers. Baribeault is involved in the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation and serves as editor for the Journal of Nurse Anesthesia Education.
Lisa Lucas, DNP, CRNA (DNP 2013)
Lucas is the Chief CRNA for the Memphis Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the Chief CRNA consultant for Veteran’s Integrated Service Network 9. In 2024, she received the AANA’s Annual Alice Magaw Outstanding Clinical Anesthesia Practitioner Award for her outstanding contributions to nurse anesthesiology and direct patient care. She is an active member of the Tennessee Association of Nurse Anesthetists and the Association of Veteran Affairs Nurse Anesthetists.
Erica Moore, DNP, CRNA (MSN 2014)
Moore is an Assistant Professor and Assistant Program Director of the Nurse Anesthesia program in the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University. She is a strong advocate for nursing mentorship and participates in the Diversity Nurse Anesthesia Mentorship Program, the Fellowship in Nursing Development Program and the LatinX in Nursing Development Program. Moore serves on the AANA Faculty Stabilization Task Force Advisory Board and has served as board director and public relations committee member with the Georgia Association of Nurse Anesthesia.
Krista Niedermeier, DNP, MNA, CRNA (BSN 1989, MNA 2006, DNP 2013)
Niedermeier is the Director of Anesthesia at Children's of Alabama in Birmingham, where she has worked since 2006. She has been on the Board of the Alabama Association of Nurse Anesthetists since 2015 and served as President from 2022-2023. In 2023, she received the UAB School of Nursing’s Nurse Anesthesia Career Achievement Award.
Kesha Thurston, DNP, MSHQS, CRNA (BSN 1998, MNA 2006, DNP 2019)
Thurston is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the School’s DNP Nurse Anesthesia Pathway. She has been a CRNA for more than 15 years and is currently the CRNA manager of the UAB Multi-Specialty Anesthesia group. In 2023, Thurston was recognized as a UAB Medicine Clinical Excellence in Nursing Award recipient and in 2024 she received the Mary Hanna Memorial Journalism Award from the American Society of Peri Anesthesia Nurses.
Amy Yerdon, DNP, MNA, CRNA, CNE, CHSE (MNA 2011)
Yerdon is an Assistant Professor and Interim Director of the DNP Nurse Anesthesia Pathway at the UAB School of Nursing. She is director on the board of the Alabama Association of Nurse Anesthetists, where she also serves as Chair of the Professional Development Committee. Yerdon is a member of the National Board of Certification and Recertification for Nurse Anesthetists Continued Professional Certification Assessment Item Writing Committee and the AANA Practice Committee.
These fellows join several other AANA Fellows affiliated with the School, including Associate Professor and Interim Assistant Dean for Research and Scholarship Edwin Aroke, PhD, CRNA, FAANA, FAAN, alumna Terri M. Cahoon, DNP, CRNA, COI (BS 1994), alumna Lisa Allison Herbinger, DNP, CRNA, COI (DNP 2013), alumnus Larry Hornsby, BSN, CRNA, FAANA (BSN 1981, BS 1985), retired Associate Professor and former Nurse Anesthesia DNP Pathway Director Susan P. McMullan, PhD, MSN, CRNA, CNE, CHSE, FAANA, FAAN, alumna Heather Rankin, DNP, CRNA, FAANA (BSN 2002, DNP 2014), alumna Stacey Vandyke, DNP, APRN, CRNA, FAANA (DNP 2013), alumna Brooke Reeves Vining, MNA, CRNA, MSHA, LSSGB (MNA 2003) and Associate Professor and Vice Chair of the Department of Acute, Chronic and Continuing Care Bryan Wilbanks, PhD, DNP, CRNA, FAANA, FAAN (DNP 2012, PhD 2016).