AANA Foundation Advocate of the Year Award Presented to Sonya Moore

Rosemont, Ill. (AANA)–The American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology (AANA) Foundation presented Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) Sonya Moore, DNP, CRNA, FAANA, with the Advocate of the Year Award during the AANA 2022 Annual Congress, August 12-16, in Chicago.

The Advocate of the Year Award, established in 2006 by the AANA Foundation, is presented to an AANA Foundation advocate or supporter for outstanding commitment to the nurse anesthesia profession through both individually supporting the AANA Foundation and also encouraging others to do the same, or advocating for the profession in a magnanimous way.

Moore is the program director for and an assistant professor of the Nurse Anesthesia Program at the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing at Case Western University in Cleveland, Ohio. She is also the principal of SDMS Anesthesia, LLC, in Cleveland Heights.

“I am above honored and humbled to be recognized by my peers and colleagues for my work and efforts. It is a pleasure giving back to a profession that has been good to me and my family for over two decades,” Moore said.

“Dr. Moore has a proven track record of expertise in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts … She uses educating others as a venue to focus on increased diversity and on developing a population identical workforce,” her nomination said.

In April 2021, Moore founded the Leadership Excel and Achievement Program (LEAP) at the Bolton School of Nursing. According to her nomination, “This is the first program of its kind in nurse anesthesia education with [the] goal of increasing diversity.”  The year-long certificate program prepares diverse students to enter a nurse anesthesia program, with automatic acceptance into a program upon completion. Recognizing that students who completed LEAP would also need financial support and to ensure the viability of the program, Dr. Moore reached anesthesia stakeholders for funding and received more than $150,000 in grants.

Moore earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree at University of Cincinnati and a Master of Science in Nursing at University of Akron. She earned her Doctorate Nursing Practice from Case Western University where she also completed the Coldiron Senior Executive Fellowship at the Marian K. Shaughnessy Leadership Academy.