AONL President

Ena Williams currently serves as the senior vice president and chief nursing officer at Yale New Haven Hospital, a 1,541-bed three-time ANCC Magnet ® designated, level I trauma academic medical center. She is the first African American CNO appointed at YNHH.

Williams began her career in Jamaica after graduating with a diploma in nursing from the University Hospital of the West Indies. She migrated to the United States and was employed as a staff nurse at Bronx Lebanon Hospital in New York before joining Yale New Haven as a staff nurse, quickly progressing through several leadership positions.

Williams serves as president of the American Organization for Nursing Leadership Board of Directors. She also serves on the Joint Commission Board of Commissioners, the American Nurses Association Foundation Board of Trustees, the Connecticut Hospital Association Board of Trustees, the American Hospital Association Committee for Clinical Leadership, the Gateway Community College Foundation, the University of Bridgeport Nursing Advisory Board, the University of Connecticut School of Nursing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee and Vizient Nurse Executive Network.

Williams holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Management and Leadership from Walden University, a Master of Science in Management and Master of Business Administration from Albertus Magnus College and a bachelor’s degree from Western Governors University. Williams is a graduate of the GE Health Management Nurse Executive Fellowship and is board certified in executive nursing practice from the American Organization of Nursing Leadership. She is also a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and the National Black Nurses Association’s Academy of Diversity Leaders in Nursing.