2025-2026 NPD Leadership Academy
Apply now as a candidate or mentor!
Candidate Application
The deadline to apply is Wednesday, January 8, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. CT.
Target Audience: Novice NPD leaders or NPD practitioners who aspire to assume a formal NPD leadership role in the future.
Click to view qualifications
- BSN, MSN, or higher preferred
- NPD certification preferred
- Current ANPD member preferred
Click to view application requirements
- Complete online application
- Submit CV/resume (through online application)
- Submit personal letter of interest through online application (max. 1000 words), addressing the following points.
- State how/why this program will help you reach your professional goals. Please state your professional career goals.
- What specific skills do you need to build to support your NPD leadership career goals (examples may include):
- Communication skills
- Financial or other Business Management
- Leadership Presence
- Leading People
- Performance Improvement
- Personal/Professional Accountability
- Program/Project Development or Implementation
- Relationship Management/Influence
- Strategic Thinking
- Managing Change
- Measuring Outcomes
- Consulting
- Managing Meetings
- Other (please list)
- A program requirement is to implement an initiative within your organization. Please provide a general description of a potential work-based leadership initiative that you might implement and how it integrates with your organization’s strategic plan.
- Provide and upload a letter from your employer that highlights support for your participation in the program, including the following components:
- Qualities that make candidate a strong candidate for the NPD Leadership Academy
- Statement of organizational support for the candidate (commitment of leadership to allow candidate to participate in academy webinars)
- Support for 2025 and 2026 ANPD Aspire Convention attendance
- Support for completion of initiative (oversight/mentoring/necessary resources including time)
- Support for initiative dissemination if needed at ANPD 2026 Aspire Convention and internatllly at your discretion
Click to view responsibilities of participants
- Complete Strengthscope™ Assessment
- Attend the 2025 Aspire Convention, including Leadership Academy kick-off on April 29, 2025
- Participate in live seminars
- Complete required professional development activities
- Actively engage with mentor
- Adhere to established timelines
- Complete best-practice initiative and disseminate findings from initiative (submit for a poster presentation or panel discussion at the 2026 Aspire Convention)
Click to view tuition rates
The Registration fee for the one-year academy is $2,500 for members and $2,800 for non-members.
The fee includes:
- A copy of Leadership in Nursing Professional Development: An Organization and Systems Focus (2nd ed.) ($125 value)
- A copy of Nursing Professional Development: Scope and Standards of Practice (4th ed.) ($55 value)
- Strengthscope™ assessment ($60 value)
- 2025 Aspire Convention full registration ($750 members, $1,030 value non-members)
- Synchronous seminars and asynchronous webinars as described above ($480 value)
- Mentoring for the year, including consultations for Leadership Best Practice Initiative and networking opportunities (priceless)
Justification Worksheet
Download and customize the justification worksheet and letter template to portray to your supervisor or manager how you and your facility would benefit from your participation in ANPD’s Nursing Professional Development (NPD) Leadership Academy.
Continuing Education
Association for Nursing Professional Development is accredited with distinction as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.
The live kick off session, synchronous seminars, and asynchronous learning modules award NCPD contact hours upon meeting all requirements. Contact hours are subject to change based on schedule modifications. Details provided prior to activities. Participants are eligible for outcome-based continuing education upon meeting criteria.
Apply to Be a Candidate
“I don’t know that this project alone reflects the value I have gained from the Leadership academy. The concepts I have learned from the webinars and ideas I have shared with peers in this group are impacting my NPD practice daily and I feel significantly more confident and resourced in my role. I have implemented tools and standard work based on the scope of practice, started a novice educator development program founded in the NPD practice model, led groups through developing ROI on initiatives and exchanged valuable practice ideas with other participants.” Lindsey Lynd, MSN, RN, CMSRN, NPD-BC, Leadership Academy Alumna
Mentor Application
The deadline to apply is Wednesday, January 8, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. CT.
Click to view qualifications of mentors
- Master's prepared
- Current ANPD member
- Certified in NPD, NPD-BC, or NPDA-BC®
- 3-5 years experience in NPD Leadership role
- Leadership role not limited to organizational title
- Includes association, affiliate leadership, consultant
Click to view mentor application requirements
- Submit a personal letter of interest including, but not limited to, the following points:
- What attributes will the mentor bring to the mentoring relationship?
- Previous mentoring experience
- Why you would like to be a mentor
- Submit resume/CV
Click to view mentor responsibilities
- Attend the 2025 Aspire Convention, April 29 – May 2 in Las Vegas, NV to meet protégé
- *Exceptions are made if you are unable to attend but are accepted as a mentor
- Attend introductory mentor orientation (virtual)
- Attend scheduled initiative check-in meetings
- Meet regularly with protégé by phone or video conference
- Initiative
- Advise as needed
- Assist with overcoming barriers
- Promote adherence to timeline
- Provide resources and networking
- Validate completion
Click to view mentor recognition and rewards
- 2025 Aspire Convention registration discount of 10%
- Recognition at the 2026 Aspire Convention
- Lapel pin
Apply to Be a Mentor
"Take the plunge and commit! You will learn a lot of things that you never anticipated and will undoubtedly grow professionally!" Mary Holtschneider, RN-BC, BSN, Med MPA, NREMT-P, CPLP, Leadership Academy Mentor
Refund Policy
- Tuition for the NPD Leadership Academy may be refunded until 30 days prior to the start of the Leadership Academy Program and will be subject to withholding the Strengthscope® Assessment fee and a $150 processing fee. Refunds are processed by the method in which they were paid.
- No refunds will be granted less than 30 days before the start of the program.
- Participants who fail to complete the assignments and expectations of the Leadership Academy will be considered to have voluntarily withdrawn.